Camila P. Medici, Esq.
What inspired you to be a lawyer? Is this something you always knew you wanted to do?
I was always one of those people who couldn’t stay quiet in the presence of injustice. If someone was being mistreated or not getting what they were supposed to get, I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing. I had to take some action! I think I was born an advocate. I’ve always been able to stand in other people’s shoes and empathize with their situation, and I always had the courage to fight for them. Improving people’s lives and making a positive impact always made me feel good, and I felt being an attorney was the best way to do that.
What made you specialize in workers’ compensation?
Workers comp actually came to me. When I graduated law school in 2009, during the recession, there weren’t a lot of jobs, except in few areas, and workers’ comp was one of them, so I just fell into it. At first, I wasn’t sure this was something I wanted to do because I knew nothing about it, but I learned quickly and I realized it was a field that really needed me. This is a volume industry and many firms are too large and have too many files assigned to each attorney, so those attorneys are not able to take the time to understand each client’s situation and how to best help them. I knew that I was able to offer something different. I knew compassion, understanding, and hope could go a long way in not only bonding with the client to familiarize with the case enough to win big, but also in helping them heal emotionally from the toughest time of their lives. I offered what most attorneys can’t or don’t, and I stayed in this field because it was personally rewarding.
What is your specific area of focus?
My primary area of focus is definitely workers’ compensation, representing injured workers in New York, but I’m also a point of contact for clients who might need legal advice outside of my specialty in and out of NY. I’m very well connected to many other attorneys in various fields and states, including personal injury, social security, etc. I help people, especially clients who speak Portuguese or Spanish—I’m fluent in both—by connecting them with the best attorney for their need and staying involved in the case as much as necessary.
What specific characteristics set you apart from your legal peers?
Firstly, my practice is intentionally small so that I can devote ample time to each individual client, and with that I give them unparalleled personal attention and optimal results. I started the company because I felt that I needed free range to really work on my rendition of what it means to be a great workers’ comp attorney. My goal was to be the best in this field—a field in which lawyers are known for not providing enough attention. I know it may seem oxymoronic to be a boutique practice in a volume industry, but I was able to lower my overhead to successfully keep my practice small. This means I sometimes have to turn people away and refer them. My practice grows over 100 percent every year. But because I keep few files, I must maximize the value of each case, and since I’m only paid when I make my client money, this means my client gets the most for their case.
Secondly, by listening closely to clients and speaking fluent Portuguese and Spanish I am able to be a point of contact for many clients who need a lawyer in different fields but do not know how to find the right one or who to trust. Attorneys are infamous for not making time to speak with clients, but I always take the time and clients who reach out to me always speak with me directly. After understanding their needs, I can connect them with the best possible professional in the field they need help in. That way I also network with other competent professionals and make myself memorable so that others think of me if they come across someone I can help.
You’re also a life coach, which is unique among attorneys. Tell us more about this role.
I am, and I have a life coaching podcast called High Vibe Advocate. It has grown exponentially since I started it last February. I have four or five thousand listeners weekly. Because I’m a life coach as well as an attorney, I’m able to help my clients with both the emotional and the legal aspects of their claim. Getting hurt at work doesn’t only have financial ramifications, people also get depressed, anxious, discouraged. They sometimes lose their homes, their relationships fall apart, and it can feel hopeless and scary. I’m there for my clients in a unique way because I have the training and ability to show them that there is a silver lining, and I can help them navigate some of the most difficult times in their lives. My podcast is free and available on all platforms, and I even started a new podcast channel in Portuguese called “Canal do Alto Astral” with the same goal of providing a positive perspective and lifting people’s spirits.
What do you see for the future?
My future doesn’t look different. I’m living it. But I want to help as many people as possible. I want more people to know that they can always come to me to be their point of contact, I definitely feel perhaps in the future I will become more and more a referral source and the bridge that connects people with a successful outcome for their case and a life of their dreams. It’s important to have an attorney on your side, especially when selecting the right attorney in another field. I do that so incredibly well. Even if I won the lottery tomorrow, I would continue to do this because it’s my passion. Nothing is more fulfilling to me than helping others succeed.
Your passion for helping people extends to your personal life. Can you share a few examples?
I believe that we need to be the change we want to see, and that all ships will rise. In trying to be of service to others and seeing how I could help them, I have in turn been blessed with increasing success and connections to help even more people. My personal life includes plenty of volunteer work, and staying connected with the institutions that helped shape me. I am especially connected with The University of Maryland (Go Terps!) and I dedicate much of my time and money to them and their needs.
I also like to volunteer for causes such as Habitat for Humanity, doing some construction work. I get to help people in communities by providing them homes, and, by doing the work I also learn more about the work so many of my clients do, and with that I also learn how their work injuries impact their lives so they can be sure I understand what they are going through.
Do you have a motto that drives you?
Yes, going along with my experience doing construction work with Habitat for Humanity, I like to say: “In order to understand the work, you need to do the work.” A lot of times, lawyers are so detached that they can’t understand the impact of what their clients are going through and how it affects their lives. I’ve done the work. I know. And I am their bridge to success after a fall.
Camila was also included in the Top 40 Under 40 (downloadable PDF below) and is featured in the upcoming Top 100 Attorneys in America.
To learn more about her, visit : https://www.thetop100magazine.com/camila-medici
Watch Camila’s interview with Donna Drake at https://youtu.be/J9zNqUri-4Q
Camila P. Medici, Esq.
President — Medici Law, P.C.
445 Broad Hollow Road, Ste. 25
Melville, NY 11747
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camilamedici/
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