'A blessing both ways'

As an employer defense attorney with Jackson Lewis PC, Armen Zenjiryan enjoyed working alongside experienced litigators.

"When you're on the defense side, it's nice because you get to really build your skills as a lawyer. You're dealing with general counsels and in-house lawyers, and they push you to become better," the Burbank attorney said.

Still, while he appreciated the opportunity to learn from the best, part of him wanted to practice law in a less structured environment.

"One of the frustrating things for me was you had to get approval for everything you did, every single step. If I want to file a motion, compelling you to get approval from in-house lawyers and the insurance company, I don't want to be told that I have to get approval to do my job," Zenjiryan said.

Eventually, Zenjiryan came to the realization that he might be able to find the type of litigation work he sought on the opposite side of employment cases.

"I just felt like, being on the employee side, you can kind of spread your wings and do what you want to do and kind of be a cowboy if you want to be a cowboy for that one moment," he said.

Zenjiryan's co-worker at Jackson Lewis, Andy Tsarukyan, had similar thoughts about his position in the firm.

"Dealing with corporate clients there's a lot more objectivity. Dealing with an individual who may be low income, who maybe doesn't even speak English -- I speak Spanish and I've had a number of clients who only speak Spanish -- it's a lot more subjective when you're representing them. Their livelihood really is in your hands, whereas with a corporate client, their livelihood is not in your hands," Tsarukyan said.

With this mindset, Zenjiryan and Tsarukyan left Jackson Lewis in June 2018 to form their own, employee-focused law firm, Remedy Law Group LLP.

"They often would tell me that they were thinking about switching sides and going to the plaintiff side to fight for the little guy," said George S. Azadian of Azadian Law Group PC, who knew the attorneys in their Jackson Lewis days.

"I was very pleased when they made the leap a couple of years ago and since then we've been professional colleagues on the same side," the Pasadena-based employment attorney continued.

The same year, the pair began working with Patricia Mitchell, a sole practitioner in wrongful termination. She went on to become an associate with Remedy Law Group in 2021.

"Year after year over 20 plus years now I have watched people not get paid wages because they are illegal immigrants, I have watched women be sexually harassed, I have watched employees who have disabilities that have worked at companies for 20 years get terminated," Mitchell said.

"It's people's entire lives, and there are very few people really willing, like Andy and Armen are, to put their money where their mouth is and really stand up for these people," she continued.

Since forming the firm, the attorneys of Remedy Law Group have made a name for themselves litigating on behalf of employees facing daunting odds in legal battles against large corporations.

In one of the group's first cases, they found themselves opposing their former colleagues at Jackson Lewis in an age discrimination suit against Merchant Factors Corp.

"It was a great case because the other side tried to be very obstructionist, hide the ball, hide the evidence against them," Zenjiryan said. "We moved to compel, we sought evidentiary sanctions, we did everything. We took depositions of the highest ranking officers of the company. We were so aggressive."

During the trial, the group hired a forensic accountant to help sort through documents related to the case -- an expense their client gladly covered.

"If we had lost, there was nothing to recoup for us to repay him, so it just showed the amount of trust and teamwork," said Tsarukyan. "That's something that, when you think about where you've been and what you've had to go through, it gives the motivation to continue doing good work."

In the end, the firm earned their client a $13,300 award from the defense.

"That case was one of those situations where we did not let our client down. We had our claws in the other side and we were going after them. And we did, and we got a very successful settlement for our client," Zenjiryan said.

"What stands out is their tenacity. They are no holds barred attorneys and they don't cut corners. They are not afraid to put in the work and will push hard for the vindication of their clients' rights," said Jores Kharatian of Kharatian Law APC. The Pasadena attorney has worked with Remedy Law on cases ranging from Fair Employment and Housing Act matters to wage-and-hour disputes, including Private Attorneys General Act and class action lawsuits.

"One notable case was the matter of Lalonde v. Islands Restaurant, which was in arbitration. My firm and Remedy ended up having to take the case all the way to trial in arbitration, winning and obtaining an award of close to $700K," Kharatian said.

"They put in maximum effort for each and every case and don't leave a single stone unturned," he continued.

"They match professionalism with tenacious representation of their clients. They understand that you can get a good result by being professional," agreed Jeffrey A. Rager of The Rager Law Firm.

"They can grind out the work, they can do the legal research, they are good litigators and they can try cases. They're on the path to getting to the top of their profession," the El Segundo attorney continued.

For the attorneys of Remedy Law Firm, however, the greatest satisfaction comes from the difference they make in their clients lives.

"We've gotten some settlements where people have paid off their college loans, some people put down payments on a house or condo -- it's changed people's lives," Zenjiryan said. "They cry and they're so appreciative and they have so much gratitude. It's emotional. You get that satisfaction as a human being when you bring a sort of justice and that moment to them. That opportunity, it's a blessing both ways."