Top Lawyers: Mikhail Ilyaich On The 5 Things You Need To Become A Top Lawyer In Your Specific Field of Law
An Interview With Chere Estrin
Don’t get pushed around and don’t be afraid of the big corporations. Law is blind and treats everyone the same, regardless of size.
The legal field is known to be extremely competitive. Lawyers are often smart, ambitious, and highly educated. That being said, what does it take to stand out and become a “Top Lawyer” in your specific field of law? In this interview series called “5 Things You Need To Become A Top Lawyer In Your Specific Field of Law”, we are talking to top lawyers who share what it takes to excel and stand out in your industry.
As a part of this interview series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mikhail Ilyaich, Esq.
Mikhail Ilyaich is Personal Injury Attorney. Founding & Managing Partner of the Law Firm of Gregory Spektor & Associates. Mr. Ilyaich graduated from Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center. Mikhail Ilyaich Esq. is an active member of the New York State Bar Association and Queens Bar Association.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dig in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit more. What is the “backstory” that brought you to this particular career path in Law? Did you want to be an attorney “when you grew up”?
I got into the legal field in a summer job at age of 17, in the same building where I have an office now and I fell in love with the energy of the industry.
Can you tell us a bit about the nature of your practice and what you focus on?
We represent clients in all types of Personal Injury cases such as car accidents, construction site accidents, slip and fall and wrongful death.
You are a successful attorney. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? What unique qualities do you have that others may not? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Perseverance, discipline and attention to detail in order to analyze a case. I would like to think that I work harder than my opponents. I am up at 4am and go to the office until night time. Everyone has the big picture covered but for me the devil is in the details.
Do you think you have had luck in your success? Can you explain what you mean?
Everybody needs a little luck but hard work is what pays off in the end.
Do you think where you went to school has any bearing on your success? How important is it for a lawyer to go to a top-tier school?
It’s most important for a lawyer to pass the bar, but lots of smart people can’t afford to go to a top-tier school. Your success has more to do with a combination of effort and exposure to other professionals in the field. If you look closer, the puzzle is made out of many details.
Based on the lessons you have learned from your experience, if you could go back in time and speak to your twenty-year-old self, what would you say? Would you do anything differently?
Don’t get pushed around and don’t be afraid of the big corporations. Law is blind and treats everyone the same, regardless of size.
This is not easy work. What is your primary motivation and drive behind the work that you do?
Curiosity about how to get the most out of a case. How to learn of new case law that’s applicable to you. Also, learning about new tech companies and how they operate from a liability standpoint.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
We have now a very interesting case — a person tried to commit suicide by jumping off a roof, killing himself and another person on the ground in the proces. We represent the estate of the person who was killed on the ground. Our firm believes that the building where it happened should have insured that unauthorized people should not have had access to the roof and they should have secured the roof with guardrails or other means.
Our biggest project now is adding 5,000 sq feet of office space that we are filling with staff. The project entails finding the most qualified, ambitious and experienced professionals to work on representing and protecting our clients’ interests.
Without sharing anything confidential, can you please share your most successful “war story”? Can you share the funniest?
Don’t judge the book but its cover. For me great success is not the amount of money won but when you win a case that my other colleagues have turned down because they thought it was unwinnable. We just had a case where 7 other lawyers turned down a case but our client walked away with almost a quarter of a million dollars.
How has the legal world changed since COVID? How do you think it might change in the near future? Can you explain what you mean?
Legal work is like a living organism, it constantly adapts. Legal profession was propelled to the 21st Century and we now have many more virtual hearings and depositions so we don’t have to get 6 people into one room on the same date and same time. The system became more efficient from a time standpoint.
We often hear about the importance of networking and getting referrals. Is this still true today? Has the nature of networking changed or has its importance changed? Can you explain what you mean?
In our line of work, the most important referral is one from a former client, it validates that we are doing the right thing for them.
Based on your experience, how can attorneys effectively leverage social media to build their practice?
Video is now king on social media. For example, we employ a legal marketing firm, JurisQ, to film short video clips on the most commonly asked legal questions to educate the public about the personal injury law. We provide free content on social media and prospective clients get to see our personality and our knowledge of the law.
Excellent. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Become A Top Lawyer In Your Specific Field of Law?” Please share a story or an example for each.
In real estate it’s all about location, location and location, In law it’s all about discipline, discipline and discipline. You need to work the case diligently to learn all the details of how you can best represent your clients’ interests.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success and good health!
