Disability Prompts Former Engineer to Help Disadvantaged

It was easy, said Anil Mehta, to walk away from a lucrative 11-year engineering job, change careers and become a pro bono lawyer.

After losing his arm in an industrial accident, his perspective on life changed and he saw things more clearly.

“When I lost my left arm I gained a new perspective on life,” said Mehta. “Working with the disadvantaged was just something I felt I needed to do.”

The 53-year-old Buena Park resident lost his arm in 1993 when the sleeve of the lab coat he was wearing got caught in the conveyor belt at his company’s Waterbury, Conn., plant.

At the time, he was director of environmental affairs for PGP Industries, a metal refining company in Santa Fe Springs.

The accident resulted in the amputation just above the elbow.

“It took a year for me to rehabilitate, more mentally than physically” said Mehta. “I was cocky at first. . . . I thought I didn’t need the psychological testing doctors wanted to give me, but I soon realized I couldn’t do the things I did before the accident.”

Simple things like showering, cooking and washing clothes took longer to do. During his rehabilitation, Mehta found the way to adjust to his new life.

“I began to realize that, as human beings, we have many problems, and I felt a way for me to help was to do volunteer work.”

Seven years before his accident Mehta began taking law school courses at Western State University College of Law in Fullerton during the evening to help him with environmental regulatory issues related to his work.

He decided two years ago to use his law skills to help disadvantaged people who needed help maneuvering through the legal system, especially in custody cases, but who could not afford to pay legal fees.

He never intended to become a practicing lawyer, but the more than 80 families Mehta has helped make him glad he has.

“At the time I felt a law degree would help me as an engineer,” said Mehta. “But I really had no plans to start a law practice.” And making some right decisions in the stock market allowed Mehta to volunteer his time instead of working for a for-profit law firm.

Since he joined the center, Mehta, a native of Mangrol, India, has volunteered more than 3,000 hours as the Orange County Public Law Center’s only full-time volunteer lawyer.

“You do pro bono work because the poor have traditionally been deprived of proper representation in the courts,” said Mehta. “I’ve been able to open up the court doors for them.”

In September the California State Bar Assn. named Mehta Attorney of the Year for Orange County and next month, in New York, he will be honored again when he receives the American Bar Assn.’s Pro Bono Publico Award, given annually to individuals and institutions for their contributions.

Mehta’s passion for the law has rubbed off on his 24-year-old daughter Jasmine, who is in her second year of law school at UCLA.

In January, Mehta enrolled in Golden Gate University to get his master’s degree in law.

“I’m looking forward to doing some kind of public service,” said Mehta. “Whether that be government work, nonprofit or legal research . . . just to stay in contact with issues that affect people.”

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Andre Briscoe can be reached at (714) 966-5848.