Discovery with Ramit Mizrahi

I can’t go a day without … black tea with milk and sugar, a habit I picked up during my year in London. 

If you were in my office, you’d … notice the art on the walls, including an original Dali etching (an incredible gift from two of my favorite clients), a couple of my own paintings (I dabbled in college), and a framed flyer for an episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood titled “When Parents Go to Work” (a birthday gift from my husband). 

The quality I most like in a lawyer is … collegiality. The best lawyers are consummate professionals who win on the merits.

My pre-trial routine is … meticulous preparation. A mentor once told me that we can’t control what the judge, the jury, the witnesses or opposing counsel will do; all we can control is how hard we work.

My career high point (so far) has been … getting a seven-figure arbitration award for two very deserving clients in an employment case I handled from intake to conclusion. 

If I weren’t a lawyer, I’d be … a research psychologist. In college, I was fascinated by the experiments of Stanley Milgram (obedience to authority), Philip Zimbardo (Stanford prison experiment) and Solomon Asch (conformity).

The SCOTUS justice I’d most like to meet is … Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 

My courtroom walk-up music would be … “Rip It Up (And Start Again)” by Orange Juice.

A different practice area that intrigues me is … criminal law—more trials, less discovery. 

My hero is … Fred Rogers, who exuded pure goodness. Also, all of the Righteous Among the Nations, who selflessly risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination.

On weekends I … can be found at the Huntington Library and Gardens, the Los Angeles Zoo, and the California Science Center—my 4-year-old’s favorite places.

My most bizarre talent is … I am a gifted Nutella-maker.

The talent I wish I had is … a photographic memory. Or even a really solid one. Sometimes I joke that I am all processor and no hard drive.

The three people I’d invite to dinner are … Oscar Wilde, American WWII spy Virginia Hall and the Dalai Lama.

I wish I had invented … Amazon.com. 

The last TV show I binge-watched was … Game of Thrones. I resisted watching for ages.

Nothing cheers me up like … the smiling selfie of the crested black macaque from 2011 (orchestrated by nature photographer David Slater).

The most annoying thing about my job is … discovery disputes.

The craziest thing I witnessed in a courtroom is … a man who stole my identity and very briefly practiced law under my name and bar number. I caught him in the act—tipped off by his opposing counsel. When I announced myself, his jaw almost hit the floor.