Isabel Leyva
Isabel Leyva is a Legal Assistant at Arias Sanguinetti Trial Lawyers, based in the firm’s Southern California office. With more than 11 years of experience in the legal field, she supports attorneys and clients in personal injury and sexual assault matters, helping manage case coordination, client communication, records, documents, deadlines, and the many details required to keep matters moving toward mediation, trial, or resolution.
She brings a distinctly people-centered perspective to legal work, shaped by both her professional experience and her background in social work. She believes legal advocacy and social work are naturally connected because both involve listening, understanding, compassion, and using your position to help someone navigate a difficult circumstance. Her commitment to helping others began at home. Watching her parents help others while growing up shaped Isabel’s own approach to giving back.
Early examples of generosity and responsibility shaped Isabel’s understanding of what it means to care for others. That foundation eventually led Isabel to study social work and work directly with people experiencing homelessness. In that role, she encountered individuals navigating mental health challenges, substance use, and other significant barriers. What she found most meaningful was being able to listen, make people comfortable enough to ask for help, advocate for their needs, and use her position to make a tangible difference rather than simply occupy it.
When Isabel transitioned into the legal profession, she recognized many of the same skills at work. Compassion, patience, active listening, and advocacy remained important, but they were now paired with the organization and procedural work required to move a legal case forward. In prior personal injury roles, she reviewed assigned cases and medical records, identified missing information, coordinated client appointments, gathered records and bills, and helped prepare matters for the next stages of the claims process. For Isabel, completing that work is about more than checking tasks off a list. She takes satisfaction in knowing that when records have been gathered, information is complete, and a file is ready to move forward, her work has helped bring the client one step closer to an outcome. That practical sense of progress has remained one of the most rewarding parts of her legal career.
Isabel pursued a paralegal certificate because she wanted to add another skill set to her professional background and better understand the legal field. Although pursuing additional education initially felt intimidating, the experience introduced her to like-minded classmates and instructors and strengthened her interest in seeing how far she can continue developing and applying her legal skills. Isabel earned her Bachelor of Social Work from California State University, Los Angeles. She also holds a Paralegal Certificate from West Los Angeles College and a Paraprofessional Mental Health Certificate from Pacific Clinics.
She values the kind of neighborhood relationships she grew up with — knowing the people around you, greeting one another, checking in, sharing food, and helping when someone needs something. Today, those relationships remain part of her everyday life, whether she is walking her dog and greeting familiar neighbors or exchanging small acts of kindness with people in her community. Outside of work, Isabel enjoys spending time with her family, her husband, and their Maltipoo, Chico. She also enjoys music, nature, and the simple moments that help her stay grounded and connected.