Tips from the Bar: Carree Nahama, Esq.

Meet Carree Nahama, Esq.

Ever since the 6^th grade, Carree Nahama always wanted to be a lawyer. Ms. Nahama became the first in her family to attend and graduate from law school. While she had an initial interest in corporate law, she ultimately was drawn to civil litigation, specifically personal injury work. After interning at the Consumer and Environmental Protection Unit (CEPU) at the San Diego City Attorney’s office during law school, Ms. Nahama realized that “Torts had become [her] world.” Her experience at CEPU reinforced her interest in consumer rights litigation and eventually led her to start her own personal injury firm, Nahama Law. She has enjoyed a successful nine-year practice at Nahama Law, where she focuses one hundred percent (100%) on personal injury work involving car accidents, dog bites, civil rights, premise liability, brain injuries, injuries to children, and trucking accidents.

Early Beginnings 

With an interest in the legal field at a young age, Ms. Nahama followed her calling and graduated from UC Riverside with a Bachelors in English, and then headed straight into California Western School of Law. Looking back, she candidly admits that if she were to start her journey all over again, she would have taken a gap year or two prior to starting law school. Her first year of law school was a daunting experience (as most law students would agree), given the significant learning curve and the complexities of the legal profession. While she had an initial desire to become a corporate lawyer, it wasn’t until she had taken a Torts class that Ms. Nahama developed a passion for personal injury litigation and felt the need to gain further experience in this area of law. 

Legal Career 

The summer after her first year of law school, Ms. Nahama recalled working hard and hustling to secure an internship position at the City of San Diego Attorney’s Office. A memorable case she recalls while working there involved a consumer fraud claim against a wedding photographer. The clients of the photographer were charged a large up-front sum before any work was performed. On the day of the wedding, the photographer failed to show up and “ghosted” the bride and groom when they attempted to reach him. Because the photographer had collected the money and had not performed the work as agreed by his clients, the experience ignited a passion in Ms. Nahama to help people who had been wronged by others. 

The second internship out of law school consisted primarily of personal injury work. A case she believed shaped her career decision was one that involved a horrific automobile crash that resulted in a child’s death. Ms. Nahama sympathized with the victim’s family and committed further to advocating for people who needed help in their darkest times. 

Throughout her time in law school and upon graduation, she worked at various personal injury firms; she eventually branched out and started her own law firm. Nahama Law recently celebrated its ninth year of practice. During those nine years, Ms. Nahama worked extremely hard to get her business up and running, learning the ins and outs of private practice and running a successful law firm. She could not have done this without the support of her colleagues and the training and access to resources she received from Consumer Attorneys of San Diego (CASD), a plaintiff-focused group of approximately 800 attorneys. 

Ms. Nahama was recognized and honored with the “Streetfighter” Trial Attorney award from CASD in 2023 for a case she co-tried for a severely injured 10-year-old child entitled Villamor v. San Diego County Board of Education. Ms. Nahama spent countless hours during discovery in the case to figuring out the cause of the boy’s injuries which happened while he was at school and in the care of his teachers. Ms. Nahama and her co-counsel were able to successfully return a jury verdict for their client after having to try the case two times to verdict. Working on the Villamore case has been one of the most rewarding experiences of Ms. Nahama’s career. 

Advice for Young Attorneys and Law Students

Ms. Nahama advises young attorneys and law students starting out in the legal field to surround themselves with supportive people. As a mom of two teenage daughters, and celebrating her 20-year wedding anniversary, she has relied on the flexibility and understanding of her family at many critical points in her career. Starting her own practice, Ms. Nahama admits was a scary decision at first, however, she knew it was the right decision for her family and for her personal growth as a litigator. As her firm continued to grow, she learned the critical skill of delegating tasks both in and outside the office in an effort to continue to do the work she loves. 

Ms. Nahama also believes in the importance of exercise as it has helped her in maintaining a healthy mind in the midst of the day-to-day stressors involved in the legal profession. However, she notes that it is important to remember stress is part of the job, and it is critical to learn healthy coping strategies early, starting in law school. Younger attorneys and law students should make every effort to “not fight the stress but try to feel comfortable” in the midst of it. 

In an effort to mitigate stressors, she recommends checklists, which she keeps on a day-to-day basis. Not only does she have a calendar to keep all of her important events, but she also has a separate task list with the items she prioritizes that need to get accomplished for that day.  Instead of leaving the harder tasks until later that day, she prefers doing the “hard things first” to avoid feeling overwhelmed by the end of the day. 

Lastly, Ms. Nahama believes there is never a “right time” to start engaging in community service work and becoming a member of local bar organizations (such as CASD!) as a law student or new lawyer. The time to start is now! She encourages young attorneys to take opportunities to engage with people in the community in order to expand their interests and network early in their careers.