NLD Member Spotlight: Malak Behrouznami

“Working hard, handling difficult cases, and working late hours — sometimes staying up until 3:00 in the morning to make sure a trial is fully prepped — is completely worth it when you know you’re making a difference in someone else’s life,” says Deputy District Attorney Malak Behrouznami.

As a prosecutor, Behrouznami finds her work with domestic violence victims particularly fulfilling because she experienced violence in her home at an early age; Behrouznami, her sister, and her mother are domestic violence survivors. Exposed to the legal system at an early age, Behrouznami recalls testifying at a hearing where “some man in a suit waved what felt like a magic wand to get a piece of paper that helped protect us.” She later found out that man in a suit was a lawyer: “Now I feel like I’m paying it forward, as I’m the person in the suit for a kid when they take the stand.”

This exposure to the legal system and the protections it affords victims provided Behrouznami with an inkling early on in life to pursue a career in law; however, she explored different career paths and took the “scenic route” to get to where she is today.  

Taking the “Scenic Route” to the Law

Born in El Paso, Texas, Behrouznami lived in both El Paso and nearby Juarez, Mexico, before moving to San Diego with her mom and sister at age 10. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Peace and Conflict Studies. Upon graduating, she interned with the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps, a government law organization that represents the legal interests of soldiers and the U.S. Army. Afterwards, Behrouznami spent eight months volunteering with various social justice movements in Israel and Palestine before returning to the U.S. to start a career as a journalist. As a reporter for The Real News Network, Behrouznami spent a year covering politics and social justice issues in New York, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, and Canada.

Then, desiring to make a positive impact closer to home, Behrouznami returned to San Diego to open her own local business, Casa de Juice, a juice bar located on Midway Drive near Point Loma Plaza. Inspired by the fruit stand concept of Mexico, where she grew up, she opened Casa de Juice to offer healthy fast food and juice options to San Diego locals.

Although she enjoyed running the juice business, her sister and grandmother’s sudden cancer diagnoses in 2014 shifted her outlook and priorities, motivating her to finally pursue her dream career in law. For years, Behrouznami balanced the pros and cons of attending law school — the debt, the possibility it might not be a good fit, and being faced with the fear of failing at something she’s wanted to do for so long.

Behrouznami reflected, “Thankfully, both my sister and grandmother survived cancer, but that hardship really put things in perspective for me. Life is too short to not be doing something you truly love. At that point, I felt fully ready to commit to law school for the right reasons and not just because of social pressure or because I thought it was something that I should be doing. I knew it was what I wanted to do. I figured that a million ‘What Ifs?’ could be answered with a single ‘Why Not?’”

From 1L to the D.A.’s Office

When Behrouznami started law school at USD in 2015, she thought she might want to pursue tax or healthcare defense law. That all changed during her 3L year, when one of the attorneys at her law firm internship suggested she consider interning at the District Attorney’s Office. Previously poised for civil litigation, Behrouznami took an immediate liking to prosecutorial work and never looked back.

Now in her fourth year as a Deputy District Attorney, Behrouznami was recognized in 2021 by the National District Attorneys Association as one of two prosecutors nationwide selected for the Jackie Lacey Award for Aspiring Women Prosecutors. What she loves most about her job is the ability to provide a platform for people to be heard and give victims the opportunity to “set a boundary and stand up to an aggressor regardless of the verdict.” Behrouznami also assists with her office’s outreach programs, which provide resources and education to citizens about the different roles her office plays in preventing crime and protecting members of the community.

On March 6, 2021, Behrouznami prosecuted the D.A. office’s first post-COVID trial in the El Cajon branch. “With all of the plexiglass, the courtroom looked like an empty aquarium, but it felt so good to be back in the courtroom after a year,” she recalls. “It made my heart so happy to see the jurors that showed up to do their civic duty, during a time when there were so many unknowns, to enable someone they didn’t know to have their day in court.”

Behrouznami also praises the D.A.’s office for its collaboration, camaraderie, and commitment to promoting diversity. As a biracial, gay woman with Mexican and Middle Eastern heritage, Behrouznami believes it is important for the legal profession to reflect the population it serves, and she is encouraged by the progress towards this goal.

“I feel lucky to live in this time where diversity is part of the dialogue and efforts are being made to have conversations that were not happening before because people thought this was just the way that it is,” she said. “The D.A.’s office has been a part of this effort by promoting conversations about race, equality, and LGBTQ topics, both internally and as part of community outreach. It is all positive steps in the right direction.”

She is also encouraged by San Diego’s many diversity-focused law organizations and especially grateful for California ChangeLawyers and the Tom Homann LGBT Law Association for co-sponsoring a scholarship that she received to fund her bar exam studies and increase diversity in the legal field.

Advice for New Lawyers and Law Students

Behrouznami certainly empathizes with the stress and self-doubt of being a newbie attorney, noting: “When I was first starting out, there were times when people could tell from looking at me that I was so stressed out. They’d tell me I was going to be fine, but I couldn’t really feel that at the time. Learning the ropes takes time.”

She encourages law students to avail themselves of the full “buffet” of professional experiences and internships available to law students, because “you won’t know what you like or don’t like unless you try it.” She notes, “I interned with the D.A.’s Office because someone I worked with at my firm mentioned that their spouse loves their job and I asked if I could talk to them to learn more about what they do.”

Academic and professional success have not always come easy to her, particularly due to her lifelong struggle with ADHD. When it comes to organization and routines she states, “It took me a while to figure out what worked best for me. It’s trial and error, but in trying you learn what works and doesn’t work for you.”

She also emphasizes the importance of asking for help from others when needed: “There’s this fear that when we ask for help, we are putting a sign on ourselves admitting ‘I don’t know what I’m doing — but that’s why it’s called the ‘practice’ of law. Even as more experienced attorneys, we are all just trying our best.”

Ultimately, no matter the challenges and demands, working in a career that is satisfying at the end of the day helps offset the struggles and obstacles that you face in any job.

“It feels good to be able to leave your corner of the world a little bit better when you leave it than it was when you got here.”