About the attorney
Your Southern California Attorney
Bela I. Ispas was born and educated in Romania. At 18 years old, not being too certain as to what he wanted to do with his life, he made two decisions: to get a job and to go to law school. The job he found was in outdoor advertising, and for the next four years, he grew from making signage designed by others to becoming the director of the largest outdoor advertising agency in the county. This was a period in which he learned valuable lessons about working with people (clients, business partners and employees) and about growing a business. He built this career while attending law school.
Also while in Law School, Bela, together with a group of friends, started developing relationships with a growing population of children living in the streets. As they learned about struggles these young men and women faced, and how to meet their needs, they decided to form a non-profit corporation directed at not only alleviating the circumstances their target group faced, but at the same time developing programs which would prevent further exodus of children-at-risk from abandoning their home and living on the streets.
After he graduated from Danubius University Law School in Galati, Romania, Bela put to good use his business experience and legal knowledge in community development work. He incorporated the non-profit, wrote the bylaws and helped create the policies, structures and systems needed to support the difficult work with children at risk, families and governmental institutions.
During the next ten years, Bela focused his practice of law in areas of corporations, tax law, employment law, family law, and dabbled a bit into criminal and administrative law. He provided legal assistance to at-risk families and children, counseling in particular matters as well as litigating in court on their behalf. He also navigated the corporation’s relationships with governmental partners (Mayor’s office, local tax agency, governmental agency in charge of accrediting social work organizations). This in a time when Romanian laws were constantly changing from communism to capitalism and then from an independent country to a European Union member. With most of the laws under constant change, Bela found himself in a position where he would have to train governmental agencies as to which laws they needed to apply and how. Another significant aspect of practicing law during this time was dealing with remnants of corruption in the governmental system. Whether inside a police station, educational system or healthcare system, Bela advocated often for the legal rights, and sometime basic humane treatment of at-risk-children.
In 2009 Bela married April Folkertsma, and a year later, as they were expecting their first child, they moved to Redlands, Southern California, where April grew up. For the next few years, Bela provided for his growing family by becoming a licensed contractor and building a successful business in this area. It was during this time that he took a temporary job as Director of Operations for a larger US non-profit corporation - Word Made Flesh, Inc. - the federation with which he partnered while doing community development work in Romania.
As Bela slowly settled into a life rhythm in Redlands (during his first six years in the United States, Bela and April welcomed three children, lived in five different houses and in two different states), he became a US citizen and decided he wanted to practice law in California. Bela passed the California Bar Examination in October 2020.
Bela I. Ispas is a member of California State Bar, California Lawyers Association and San Bernardino County Bar Association.
When he is not thinking of legal issues, Bela can be found snowboarding with his boys, riding his mountain bike on trails around Redlands, relaxing at the beach, laughing with his wife, kids and friends and living intentionally with his family.