New Lawyer Division Member Spotlight: Aaron Sibley

It is often said that learning the law is kind of like learning a new language. This was no problem for civil litigator Aaron Sibley, who by 15 years old had already learned several computer programming languages and started his own website development company. Through his business, called Imminent Design, Sibley offered website creation services. In addition to designing websites, Sibley as a young entrepreneur also had to handle all of the managerial aspects of his business from accounting and staffing to banking, taxes, and licensures. 

Sibley, an Orange County native, initially called companies listed in the Yellow Pages to drum up clients. As business got busier, he hired other programmers and graphic designers to help, and eventually he and his business were even featured in the Orange County Register.  

“My favorite part about web design is finding solutions to a problem or task. These problems are often complicated, requiring creative solutions,” Sibley said. “Now as an attorney, my familiarity with technology helps me with client management, data management, and organizing evidence, witnesses, and documents. In litigation, you are piecing together, for example, which witness applies to what fact or legal issue. Like with web design, you are working with a bunch of puzzle pieces and figuring out how they all fit together.”  

While continuing to actively run his web design company, Sibley in college began exploring his interest in the law. He competed as a member of the nationally ranked Moot Court team at Cal State Long Beach and observed trials at the local superior court. Then he attended the University of San Diego School of Law, where he was a Moot Court competitor and International Law Journal staff member.  

During law school, he clerked for Workman Law APC, a local civil litigation firm that he found through his school’s employment board. The firm hired him as an associate in 2014 once he passed the bar exam, and Sibley has worked there ever since.  

“I am grateful for the mentorship of Chris Workman, who has been able to mentor me since the beginning and teach me some of the fundamentals that you don’t necessarily learn in law school,” Sibley said. “Another benefit of working at a smaller firm is that I get to handle cases from start to finish, from client intake, claims, and discovery all the way through trial, post-trial, and any appeals.”  

Sibley specializes in personal injury plaintiff litigation but also handles elder abuse, business disputes, and other civil issues. He enjoys working with the average person to help them pursue justice, especially in pro bono cases.   

“You learn something in every case: theories of liability, what themes to deliver to a jury, and how to develop those themes over the course of discovery,” Sibley said. “One of the most complicated parts is dealing with experts, getting expert opinions in order, establishing expert credibility, and making sure that by the time trial comes, you feel confident that the experts and evidence support your theory of the case.” 

Sibley remembers the learning curve he experienced as a brand-new attorney and says that learning the intricacies of litigation comes with time, practice, and courtroom experience. Now in his seventh year of practice, Sibley says that if he could give his “new lawyer self” one piece of advice, it would be to make every moment of trial count: “You have to have your evidence in order in advance, not just organized but tied to the theme of your case. During trial, there isn’t a lot of room for holes or missteps, so everything has to be ready to go and to be delivered to a jury.” 

Equally important is acting professionally towards opposing counsel, in and outside of the courtroom, and maintaining good relationships within the legal community. Sibley is the new lawyer representative for the SDCBA’s Civil Litigation Section, which has helped him learn more about his field and expand his professional network.  He praises San Diego for its “small community where I feel like I could pick up the phone and talk to any attorney, even if I have never spoken with them before, and they would be willing to help me.” 

Sibley advises New Lawyer Division members in any area of practice to keep clients routinely updated, to check the law and rules as to the substance and procedure of legal matters, and to take advantage of networking opportunities such as the Civil Litigation Section’s upcoming in-person Summer Happy Hour on August 31. 

“You just have to put yourself out there and meet people,” he said. “If you stick around long enough, people will remember who you are.”