Interview with Anthony

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INTERVIEW WITH ANTHONY AZEMIKA

WHAT DREW YOU TO LAW AS A PROFESSION? AZEMIKA: My mother telling my brother and I that we need to become lawyers because we argued with her like a couple of lawyers. She brainwashed three of her sons that way to become lawyers. Secretly, her sons believe that she just wanted to make sure that she had lawyers on her side if she ever got sued.

HOW DID YOU COME TO SELECT YOUR LEGAL SPECIALTY? AZEMIKA: Just like most of us, it picked me. I was working in San Francisco and my twin, Nick, was down here working for Ed Thomas. One day, he calls me and says that Ed wants to hire me too. Since Nick and I have always been close, I jumped at it just so I could work with my brother. I moved down to Bakersfi eld and slept on his couch for a month until I rented my own apartment.

IF YOU DIDN’T BECOME A LAWYER, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE PROFESSIONALLY? AZEMIKA: Doesn’t every boy want to be a pilot and fl y airplanes?

WHAT IS THE MOST REWARDING PART OF YOUR CAREER? AZEMIKA: Working with my twin brother for the last 26 years or more.

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU DEAL WITH REGULARLY IN LAW WHERE YOU HAVE TO TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND STEEL YOURSELF TO START WORKING? AZEMIKA: All the emails that we have to respond to. When I started practicing, we didn’t even have cell phones or pagers. When pagers came along, I used to carry a sandwich bag full of change to use the payphones at the courthouse to call the offi ce. Now, clients think that we need to be available to them instantly at all times. If we don’t respond to their emails within a few hours, they send us another email wondering why we haven’t responded to their email from this morning. There is no patience and realization that they are not our only clients.

IF YOU WERE TO SPEAK AT A HIGH SCHOOL ABOUT ENTERING LAW AS A CAREER, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY? AZEMIKA: Don’t listen to anyone who says there are too many lawyers. There is always room at the top. You have to care about your craft and always try to become better and you will be successful. This applies to any career they pick.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE KCBA EVENT OR ACTIVITY AND WHY? AZEMIKA: We used to do wine trips to the coast and that was really fun. We all would get on a bus and go to the coast and visit about three wineries where we would sample and buy wine. It was great hanging out with other lawyers in other fi elds and get to know them and their signifi cant other.

WHY ARE YOU A MEMBER OF THE KERN COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION? AZEMIKA: To get to know other local attorneys. Coming from San Francisco over 27 years ago, I have always appreciated our local bar and how close our bar members are. The attorneys in large markets don’t know each other as well as we do locally and the relationships you form with local attorneys is priceless compared to large markets.

FINISH THE SENTENCE “IN MY FREE TIME, YOU’LL FIND ME...” AZEMIKA: ...hanging out with my wife, on my road bike or walking for miles with my oldest who is now doing her 3L virtually at home in Bakersfi eld.