The Firm

Joseph Farzam has a remarkable life story. When he was only 14 years old, he fled the daily bombings and missile attacks of the then war-torn Iran and escaped through the borders to Pakistan, leaving his family behind. After a few months, he and the other refugees he was living among flew to Vienna, Austria. After about a year, he was granted refugee asylum and permitted to enter the United States.

Mr. Farzam attended Santa Monica high school and worked at McDonalds and local coffee shops to support himself. Although he worked 2 or 3 jobs, he valued education greatly and earned a bachelors degree from California State University, Northridge in biology and attended the prestigious Pepperdine University School of Law. He graduated with high marks and passed the California bar exam on the first try.

Early in his practice, Mr. Farzam became a certified and registered patent attorney helping inventors prosecute their patent applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Having been a victim of war and discrimination and having grown up with modest means, Mr. Farzam’s heart was always with the victims. Accordingly, over 19 years ago, in 2002, Mr. Farzam founded Farzam Law Firm as a law firm that would represent victims against insurance companies and the big corporations.

For Mr. Farzam, no case was too big, no area of law too challenging and no adversary too formidable. He successfully took on many corporate giants and litigated ferociously and aggressively and obtained many millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts.

Mr. Farzam has conducted more than 20 jury trials in multiple states, resulting in impressive verdicts. He successfully litigated against big companies such as Apple, Macy’s, Starbucks, Air France, Carnival Cruises, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Ralph’s, Federal Express and celebrities such as Anna Nicole Smith and Keanu Reeves. He has litigated before state and federal courts.

He has argued in front of the California Courts of Appeal and the Ninth Circuit. While licensed and practicing in California, he has also litigated and tried cases through the pro hac vice process in Texas, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, New York, Alaska, Colorado, Iowa, Montana, Oregon, Alabama, Illinois, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Indiana, building a firm which services clients both locally and nationally.

Mr. Farzam has litigated in the areas of personal injury, labor and employment, maritime law, products liability, business and patent litigation and has been certified as class counsel in a number of class actions in state and federal matters where he was appointed to represent thousands of class members.  Joseph Farzam is a fearless warrior who will go to any extent to seek justice and help his clients vindicate their rights against those who harmed them.

He has built a very successful practice with no advertising; almost all of his clients are either referred by satisfied former clients or other attorneys who refer him cases or bring him on as co-counsel to litigate and try difficult and complicated cases. Mr. Farzam has received the coveted titles of Super Lawyer, Los Angeles Magazine’s Top Lawyers and has received The Litigator Awards.  He is a proud member of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA) and California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA).

When he is not fighting for his clients, he enjoys spending time with his three children and spending time with friends.  Mr. Farzam is also an accomplished musician singing opera tenor and plays the piano, guitar and violin.  His favorite hobby however is giving back to the community through his charitable work providing legal services at no cost to those who cannot afford to hire an attorney.

An accomplished Civil Litigator with over twenty years of experience, focusing on personal injury and general civil litigation. Eagerly holding a position as a Civil Litigator with an established and stable Plaintiff’s Personal Injury Practice.

Harry Abraham has extensive litigation experience representing clients in personal, business, and entertainment matters, including personal injury, intellectual property, patent, corporate, commercial, contracts, product liability, medical malpractice, and employment disputes. He has gone to trial firsthand and has a proven track record of achieving favorable outcomes for his clients.

In addition to fighting for individuals’ rights in court, Mr. Abraham has counseled musicians, television producers, and athletes in their professional pursuits. Mr. Abraham also comes with a wealth of experience representing businesses from startups to multi-billion-dollar enterprises in the technology, insurance, advertising, medical, and entertainment industries on corporate, transactional, and intellectual property matters.

As the first born American in his Latin American family, Mr. Abraham’s diverse skill set, along with his fluency in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, makes him a valuable asset to our team.

When he is not in the office, you can find him playing soccer, footvolley (ask him), surfing, and traveling with his wife and dog. Mr. Abraham is a former pro soccer player and avid fan of the beautiful game.

Cyrus Whittaker, Esq. is an experienced litigation and trial attorney focusing in the areas of personal injury and employment law. Mr. Whittaker is passionate about fighting for injured clients and helping them obtain the maximum recovery possible.

Mr. Whittaker has experience working at two large insurance defense firms, as well as a prosecutor for the City of LA, where he tried multiple criminal trials to verdict. In 2023 alone, Mr. Whittaker tried three employment jury trials to verdict, and he has tried over twenty-five jury trials to verdict since becoming licensed to practice law in 2016.

Mr. Whittaker is licensed to practice in both California and Nevada, as well as Federal Courts. He has also passed the UBE bar examination for qualifying admission into all UBE jurisdictions. Mr. Whittaker served as an adjunct professor of Federal and California Civil Procedure, for the People’s College of Law, in Los Angeles, CA, for the 2021-2022 academic school year.

Mr. Whittaker is a graduate of the University of Washington, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. Mr. Whittaker obtained his law degree from UCLA School of Law. In addition, Mr. Whittaker is fluent in Spanish and frequently represents mono-lingual Spanish clients in both personal injury and employment cases.

Mr. Whittaker is committed to working relentlessly with each of his clients to obtain full justice for their injuries in the form of maximum possible compensation.

Ani Grigoryan joined forces with Farzam Law in 2020. Among the vast experience Ms. Grigoryan brings to Farzam Law, her practice is focused on personal injury and fighting for victims against insurance companies.

Ms. Grigoryan is licensed in California State and Federal Courts. When Ms. Grigoryan is not passionately advocating for her clients, she spends time with her family. She enjoys hiking, ice skating, and playing the piano. After taking a law class in high school, Ms. Grigoryan’s instructor offered her a position at her law firm where she experienced the challenging and rewarding qualities of a legal career.

After graduating high school, Ms. Grigoryan pursued double Bachelor’s Degrees in Business Law and Finance at California State University of Northridge. Excited about the opportunities, Ms. Grigoryan continued her education and started law school where she received her Juris Doctor Degree from Whittier Law School and her LL.M in Taxation from Loyola Law School.

Ms. Grigoryan remains dedicated to helping the injured and average folks toward recovery.

Christopher Forbes Goodrich, Esq. is our supervising employment attorney. Christopher has dedicated his legal practice to fighting for employees since joining the California Bar in 2016. Christopher has extensive litigation and arbitration experience handling cases that involve wrongful termination, discrimination, and sexual harassment, as well as countless wage and hour issues.

Christopher grew up in North Carolina, obtaining a bachelor’s of psychology from East Carolina University with a minor in sociology. There, he studied the intersection between law and psychology and developed a deep interest in using the law to help people who were underrepresented in the legal system. After receiving his undergraduate degree, Christopher accepted a scholarship offer to study at California Western School of Law.

At California Western, Christopher joined the Public Interest Law Foundation, which focuses on helping increase access to the law, and the Exonerate Student Organization, which focuses on raising awareness about wrongful convictions. Christopher also worked as a certified legal intern for the California Innocence Project and the San Diego Public Defender’s Multiple Conflict Major Case Unit. In both internships, Christopher represented criminal defendants facing life in prison. Despite the high stakes, Christopher was trusted to handle these cases against some of California’s most experienced prosecutors. Through these internships, Christopher learned how to advocate tirelessly for his clients, no matter the obstacle.

Christopher graduated from law school in 2016 in the top half of his class and passed the state bar on his first attempt. Afterward, he joined a large employment firm representing thousands of employees in cases against their former employers. Christopher was quickly promoted to team leader and assigned a large docket of cases to oversee from beginning to end—earning millions of dollars in settlements. Christopher was then tapped to lead that firm’s arbitration division, where he successfully navigated hundreds of cases through arbitration before leaving to join Farzam Law so that he could focus on providing a more personal approach to his clients.

As the supervising employment attorney at Farzam Law, Christopher makes sure that we never think of our clients as just a number. Christopher and his team maintain a smaller caseload than large corporate firms do so that he can dedicate more time and attention to your case.

Christopher and his staff are committed to helping distressed and mistreated employees obtain the largest possible recovery and peace of mind.

Sara Showkatian is an associate at Farzam Law Firm. She represents employees who have been mistreated in the workplace. Her practice includes wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour violations, unpaid wages, and other employment issues. She is a California licensed attorney who brings an array of knowledge and experience to Farzam Law Firm. She brings previous experience counseling and advising employers to prevent employment-related issues in the workplace. Her experience working with employers has helped her to become a better advocate for employees in workplace disputes. She is dedicated to fighting for her clients’ rights and works diligently to get them the best outcomes. She is attentive, caring, and communicative with her clients to keep them informed of the progression of their cases.