Elijah Kimball Nielson

Described as a “bull dog” , a “pit bull”, and a “gatekeeper”, Attorney Elijah K. Nielson is not afraid to fight. In his first year of licensure Elijah second-chaired complex litigation involving Chinese corporations and $4 million dollars in damage claims and also took on members of the “Big 5” banking industry as a second chair in mortgage fraud litigation.

As lead attorney Elijah obtained a pre-litigation settlement of his client’s claim against a public entity, negotiated an easement dispute to final settlement, took an employer on for employment fraud, and beat down the intimidation tactics of an abusive contractor.

Not bad for a second-career attorney licensed in California since 2011 and Arizona since 2012.

“Sometimes people ask about my years of practice,” says Elijah shrugging, “but what they’re really asking is ‘Can I trust you to watch out for me?’ That’s a valid question for a client to have, no matter how long an attorney has been practicing.”

Elijah naturally understands people, and it doesn’t hurt that he has been licensed as a master’s level psychotherapist since 2004.

“Being a lawyer is not just about fighting battles in court. Sometimes it makes the most sense economically, psychologically, and emotionally to resolve problems outside of the courtroom—the real key is not simply knowing how to fight but where to take the fight,” says Elijah speaking from experience.

As an alumnus of Pepperdine Law’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution’s LL.M. program, ranked the number one dispute resolution program by U.S. News & World Report for the ninth consecutive year, Elijah has mediated cases throughout the Los Angeles court system, externed in China with the Beijing Arbitration Commission, and co-mediated employment-discrimination cases as an extern with U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

“I am client centered,” says Elijah, “my goal is to advocate for my client as effectively, professionally, and efficiently as possible. That’s my bottom line.” . .