Eric Castelblanco '86 Levels the Playing Field
One advantage of being a first-generation student is you develop valuable life skills at an early age. Eric Castelblanco ’86 knows this better than anyone.
A native of Bogotá, Colombia, Eric and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was a young boy. Growing up the oldest of three children, Eric took on a leadership role within the family and was given a lot of responsibilities – as a teenager, he worked at his father’s machine shop, did the family taxes and filled out his own financial aid forms.
“I always felt my whole life that I was breaking ground,” said Eric. “The skills my parents instilled in me – work hard, be a self-starter and take pride in your own business – are the reasons why I’ve been able to achieve so much.”
Scholarships also played a big role in his success. It was only through scholarships that he was able to attend LMU.
“As soon as I arrived on campus, something switched,” he said. “Instead of having the responsibility of the family business and helping my parents, now I could devote all my time and energy to focusing on myself and my studies.”
And Eric thrived. Though he made the mistake of not seeking mentors, he did make some impactful connections with classmates, like accounting student David Cibrian ’85. Eric was so inspired by David’s focus and drive, he switched his major to accounting and mapped out a nearly identical career path: earn accounting degree, get CPA, go to law school, join a big law firm and strive for financial success.
Accounting not only gave Eric the direction he needed, it also motivated him to study hard, do his best and provided great training to becoming a lawyer. Eric’s hard work paid off when he graduated from LMU at the top of his accounting class. He worked for two years at KPMG, got his CPA license and then headed east to Harvard Law School where he earned his J.D. in 1991.
But Eric faced struggles early on in his legal career. His dreams of becoming a corporate lawyer were shattered when he discovered how unhappy he was. “I felt like I was on the wrong side,” he said. He tried to become an entrepreneur, but the unstructured environment proved too challenging. Finally, Eric found the joy and satisfaction he was searching for when he helped a Latina client with a housing issue. Thus, he found new purpose as a housing lawyer.
Eric started Castelblanco Law Group in 1995 and has since represented over 10,000 tenants and handled over 1,000 habitability matters related to unsanitary, unhealthful or unsafe conditions. Eric has been successful in securing for his clients – primarily low-income, Spanish-speaking residents – over $150 million in verdicts and settlements against irresponsible landlords.
“Twenty-two years ago, this industry didn’t exist,” he said. “I monetized a new area of law that was untapped. We are the largest firm in California that does this type of work. I’ve learned that to be a leader, you have to be a creator, you have to have vision and you have to be resilient.”
Eric has built an impressive career focused on social justice and helping the underserved, core values he learned growing up in an immigrant family and through his LMU education. Married with three daughters, Eric makes it a priority to stay involved with his alma mater. He is a member of the LMU Board of Regents, attends Accounting Society Banquets and recently participated in a Latino Executive Leadership Panel. He was honored in 2019 with the Leadership Award from the LMU Latino Alumni Association.
In 2018, Eric started a scholarship fund for accounting students of Latinx background, which he recently endowed for generations to come.
“I benefited from scholarships while I was at LMU and now I’m in a position to give back,” he said. “LMU changed my life. This is a way of honoring the impact LMU has had on my professional life and growth.”
Reflecting on when he was a student, Eric remembers thinking there was only one way to be successful, but he now realizes there are many ways to be successful.
“If you find yourself in a scenario that’s not fulfilling, change it,” he said. “You don’t have to follow the same path as everyone else. You have the power to create your own job, industry or opportunity. Don’t rely on a set structure…create your own structure. Create your own happiness.”