Women in Business: A Lawyer Who Loves to Serve Her Community

 

Kumar Law fulfills its vision five years on

By Marin Heinritz / Photo courtesy of Rittu Kumar

When Rittu Kumar founded Kumar Law in October 2017, she visualized where she hoped the firm would be after her first five years. Though she couldn’t have anticipated the global pandemic or other major shifts and changes that would impact her business and her clients, she feels proud of how far she’s come in serving the communities that matter most to her.

“I do see myself where I anticipated being from the start,” Kumar says. “I have the loveliest clients I could possibly ask for. It’s been such a rewarding experience to continue to serve the community.”

Kumar Law largely focuses on working with families and individuals through estate planning services.

“For my estate planning clients it’s so satisfying and rewarding for me to ensure families’ assets are protected should something happen to them,” Kumar says. “Especially clients with children—that there are guardians in place for the children should something happen to the parents.”

A single mother of two daughters, Kumar feels a special affinity for working with families and enjoys giving educational presentations to moms’ groups and a variety of professional organizations, in addition to working hand in hand with financial advisors.

“I’m a mom myself, so with the hustle and bustle of parenthood in general, sometimes things seem to fall through the cracks,” Kumar says. “I like to be there as a reminder to take a step back. We’re doing all this for our children, so what better way to go through life than having your assets in place for them in case something happens to you.”

This part of Kumar’s business saw growth, especially through the pandemic.

“A lot more people in general want their estate planning done – COVID-19 didn’t discriminate,” she says. “I just keep reiterating to people no matter the circumstances, it’s important to have your trust in place.”

COVID-19 also influenced the other half of Kumar Law’s work serving businesses with a focus on employment law, business law, and contract disputes and negotiations.

“The pandemic affected everyone,” Kumar says. “I saw a shift in what the needs were of my clients. There was a pause in growth [for many businesses] and it was more about how we were going to navigate so the businesses could operate.”

In response, Kumar gave a lot of advice about the rapidly changing COVID-19 laws and offered many consultations “to make sure these businesses were protected and still able to operate pending all these transitions,” she says.

And toward the end of 2021 Kumar noted a rapid uptick for most businesses overall.

“Things are reopening now, people are having more confidence going out and about,” she says. “Things have been extremely busy since January 2022.”

Kumar says that many of her clients who were working out of their living rooms in 2017 “are now established businesses with office space and employees and they continue to grow,” she shares. “I love being able to help companies from the ground up.”

Kumar also loves living in Playa Vista, which she’s called home since 2007. She appreciates being able to take the kids to the park, walking to the grocery store and restaurants, and running into friends.

“I love the community and I love that it is a walking community,” Kumar says. “After a busy day you come home and you don’t have to take your car out again. It’s a very nice lifestyle to have.”

Kumar is also pleased to have been appointed to the board of trustees for the South Asian Bar Association of North America Foundation last year. It’s a group of lawyers who do pro bono work for the South Asian community in the United States and Canada, focusing on issues of discrimination, hate crimes, domestic violence, immigration rights, and community access to justice. They also provide grants to community-based organizations who work hands on in the South Asian communities across the United States and Canada “so we know there’s direct support for the amazing work they’re doing,” she says.

“I’m just so grateful to be part of the board,” Kumar adds. “This position has been very transformative for me.”

In some ways it’s just one more benchmark signifying in yet one more way she’s arrived at the place she’d hoped.

“After working in the profession for 19 years now it’s nice to be at a place where I can devote time for the work I do through the foundation,” Kumar says.

 

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