Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Faust of Sharif. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Sharif | Faust Lawyers, Ltd. formed in 2014. Its shareholders, Khodadad “Ko” D. Sharif and Matthew J. Faust tried a case together in 2013 while employed by different firms. The trial went so well that they decided to team up and form a trial-centric law firm, Sharif | Faust. Much of their work focuses on business litigation. Sharif | Faust represents their clients (and their businesses) in traditional civil disputes, but their cases commonly include family, intellectual property, criminal, bankruptcy, and securities litigation. Sharif | Faust has evolved with their clients’ needs and has expanded their transactional services as well, including contract drafting, business formation, and now trusts & estates.
Unlike other smaller law firms, Sharif | Faust doesn’t buy into the narrative that lawyers need to overly specialize in an area to be effective. Sharif | Faust Lawyers, Ltd. represents clients in business disputes whether they be in civil court, criminal court, family court, probate court, federal court, or even the various courts of appeals that oversee the trial courts. The term “business litigation” is a poorly defined word and can mean many things. For many lawyers, this means contract disputes or corporate petitions. At Sharif | Faust, we take a much more expansive view of this term because that is what our clients need us to do for them. For instance, all of the following are “business disputes” in which we have represented clients:
1. Our client had a contract with another party that was breached, and a court action was filed to enforce;
2. Our client was a shareholder in a corporation where the shareholders were fighting and could not decide how to run their business anymore;
3. Our client started a business with their spouse, then a divorce was filed, and a disagreement over who should end up with the business (and the price that should be paid) arose;
4. Our client was involved in an employment dispute (we represented both employees and employers);
5. Our client owns valuable intellectual property which another party was infringing;
6. Our client was accused by government agencies of securities misrepresentations (criminal charges and SEC securities claims were filed);
7. Our client was misled into purchasing a security by another and became a plaintiff in a lawsuit;
8. Our client needed help in bankruptcy court to try to collect on a debt litigated and/or proven in a civil case
9. And many other variations on these themes!
As you can see, the term “business litigation” can result in court actions being filed across many different venues. These include not just “traditional” civil lawsuits but family court, criminal court, and bankruptcy court cases and involve many different sorts of claims.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think any business owner can credibly say their origin story is a “smooth road.” There are always challenges facing a startup, and many of them fall outside the businesses’ services. Of course, litigation is a contentious and sometimes difficult process for the clients, and some of their stress gets imparted to the lawyers prosecuting their cases. But, on top of that, we face the normal struggles that any business owner faces–evolving regulations, managing vendors, hiring/scheduling, and, of course, the COVID shutdowns/reopenings that made 2020 and 2021 so challenging.
We’ve been impressed with Sharif | Faust Lawyers, Ltd., but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I’ve put a lot of this information in the previous question about our firm’s story, so if it’s alright, I thought I’d add in a little information that differentiates me from most attorneys. Attorneys typically have the poli/sci or history background. I came into my career from a far different quadrant–my college degree (before I went to law school and finished my law degree) was in trombone! I studied to be a professional musician and finished my BA in Music (Trombone emphasis). Before I came to San Diego, I played for a short time with a traditional German ensemble, Die Freistadt Alte Kameraden, located on the north side of Milwaukee (I’ve included a photo of me playing a traditional toasting song–Ein Prosit!–with the other trombones in the group. I still play the horn, and when I’m able to I play with a local trombone group.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My wife Kelly has been all of these things rolled into one, so she is the most obvious person I can think of. In addition, my business partner, Ko Sharif, has been key. I’ve worked in many jobs with unscrupulous colleagues, and Ko provides a moral compass which is essential to navigating the ethical issues that make the business of law difficult. I would be remiss to not mention my parents, Ted and Linda Faust, as well. I would not be a lawyer without them: my mother for encouraging me to go to law school (when I was “merely” an aspiring trombonist) and my father for helping me learn to write (“It’s not enough to mean what you say, you have to say what you mean.”). While the legal community is filled with people who are there mainly to tear others down, I’ve come across many more in the community who have become friendly adversaries or even friends throughout the litigation.
Growing up, I was a part of the local scout troop, and both my parents were extremely involved with the troop (with my father serving as the Scoutmaster and my mother serving nearly every committee position at one point or another). The value and ethics that organization has taught me carries on to my practice of law and forms an integral part of who I am today. Both my sons are in the program–when I was a scout, it was called “Boy Scouts,” but now it’s called “Scouts BSA”–and I’ve volunteered as an adult leader in numerous capacities (den leader, assistant scoutmaster, popcorn kernel, merit badge counselor, etc.) with their local cub scout pack and now scout troop.
I thought these experiences were important to include here. Most people’s perceptions of attorneys are formed by pop culture, and consequently, their opinions tend to be fairly negative. Indeed, many folks, when looking for an attorney, want a “bulldog.” Sometimes, they love the thrill of having someone act like a real jerk on their behalf. But this novelty typically wears off when they see how much it costs to constantly feed that machine. What most of my clients want is someone to help solve their problem. While we don’t have magic wands, the personalities and ethics of the attorney do matter. There’s a fine line between zealous advocacy (which all attorneys should aspire to) and overbilling a case (which is unethical). While Sharif | Faust works to vindicate and protect our client’s rights, we are conscientious of our clients and the fees resulting in their case. My experience as a “creative” helps me find creative solutions to problems. My experience with the scouts influenced me to value and aspire to key “scouting” virtues: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, courteous, thrifty, brave, and courteous.
NOTE to the editor: For privacy reasons, I didn’t include any photographs from troop outings, but my family loves camping, canoeing, backpacking, etc., so I was able to find a “selfie” from one of those that doesn’t have any scouts or scouting trademarks in it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shariffaust.com
