Santiago Duarte
Attorney
Duarte Law Group
Santa Ana, CA USA
“Focus on what the endpoint will be. Whatever else they will throw at you in the middle, just get through it.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationSantiago Duarte
01:11
Santiago Duarte Highlight05:10
Interview02:45
My Journey To Get To Loyola Marymount University02:25
My Journey To Becoming A Lawyer03:17
Facing Financial Obstacles In College01:01
Try Not To Have Too Many Regrets01:02
Balancing Work As A Lawyer And Spending Time With Your Family
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
I was born and raised in Ecuador—immigrated to the U.S. when I was 10 years old without knowing any English.
Started out taking ESL (English as a Second Language) classes in school, but I wanted to become more proficient in English, so I quit and started taking the regular classes instead.
Attended a community college for over seven years, balancing taking classes when I could and working full-time.
Eventually, I was able to transfer to Loyola Marymount University (LMU), where I received my bachelor’s degree in international business.
While at LMU, I was involved in a lot of minority student associations, and was one of the founding fathers and the first vice president of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity for minority students.
Worked as a corporate recruiter for Verizon Wireless for over seven years.
Decided to pursue my interest in becoming a lawyer and attended Whittier Law School, where I received my Juris Doctor degree in law in 2010.
In 2013, I opened my own practice, Duarte Law Group, where I focus the majority of my casework on immigration and criminal defense.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Bachelor
International Business/Trade/Commerce
Loyola Marymount University
International Business/Trade/Commerce
Loyola Marymount University
Doctorate
Law
Whittier Law School
Law
Whittier Law School
Career
Attorney
I am an attorney that specializes in immigration and criminal defense cases.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Law
Business
Accomplishing Goals
Skills & Qualities Beyond School
Recognize your short-comings and understand how you work best. Do things in stages and tackle challenges one at a time. Get involved in things and put yourself out there. Make yourself known!
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for college students
You have to focus on where you want to end up in life. Having that vision as your endpoint makes getting through things that are thrown at you much easier. You have to focus on the end goal.
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Myself:
"I can't do this. I can't be a lawyer."
Challenges I Overcame
First-Generation Immigrant
Learning Issues
Racial Discrimination
Interviewed By
LMU Roadtrip
Loyola Marymount University students and alumni
