MEET FAISAL
Faisal Gill is an immigrant, civil rights attorney, veteran, husband, and father who lives in Los Angeles. Originally born in Pakistan, Faisal’s family migrated to America when he was a child, where he was raised in Alexandria, Virginia in a heavily working-class, immigrant community. His father drove a taxi cab in Washington DC and his mother worked in retail.
While his parents always worked hard to provide for their children, the family frequently confronted financial hardship, including facing eviction on their apartment and no access to medical insurance. While he was always a curious learner as a child, Faisal struggled to focus on his studies and manage good grades, spending most of his time roaming the neighborhood with his friends.
That all changed one day when Faisal’s father took him and his brother to work with him in his taxi cab. After a day of sitting in the front seat of the cab, his father had a very sobering message for Faisal and his brother, “You both can either be in the front seat of the cab, or the back seat of the cab, the choice is up to you.” That message from his father, and having a child at the age of 18, forced Faisal to take his life seriously and start to focus on making something of himself.
After attending community college for a year, Faisal got into Ohio State University, but realized after two weeks of unhelpful visits to the financial aid department that he would not be able to afford his tuition. So, he returned back home, continued going to community college, and eventually attended American University for both undergrad and law school, working his way through both with various jobs.
Following his law school graduation, Faisal joined the Navy as a JAG Corp officer and was stationed in California. In his last duty station, Faisal was the city attorney for the Navy base with a mix of civilian and military population. He served in the Navy until 2001 before leaving to work in private practice.
After leaving the Navy, Faisal quickly became involved with Muslim interest groups, including serving as a spokesman on behalf of the American Muslim Council prior to and following 9/11. Shortly after 9/11, Faisal started his service in the Federal Government as a legal counsel for the Office of Personnel Management. Soon afterwards, Faisal learned he was the target of extreme government overreach. Through the work of Edward Snowden, Faisal discovered that he was being spied on by the National Security Agency (NSA), simply for being a prominent and politically active American Muslim.
Throughout his career as an attorney, Faisal has been determined to help those who face discrimination from our government, within our immigration systems, and from their employers. As a civil rights attorney, Faisal has taken on clients who faced discrimination from the federal government, state governments, immigration enforcement, and police departments.
Faisal recently won a settlement with the City of Los Angeles in a federal civil rights lawsuit brought by a Black Hollywood music producer who fought in court to have LAPD body camera video footage made public to prove allegations he was racially profiled before his arrest.
Faisal hopes to bring his perspective as an immigrant and civil rights attorney to the office of LA City Attorney and restore trust and transparency in local government. Faisal has 6 children and lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Aimee who is also an attorney.
READY FOR THE JOB
NAVAL BASE LEAD ATTORNEY
While serving in the Navy as a JAG Corp. officer, Faisal was the City Attorney for his Naval base, which consisted of over 40,000 people. Faisal needed to be well versed on a wide range of issues and litigate on behalf of both the military and civilians who lived on the base. In this role, he dealt with a variety of issues, including environmental protections.
LIFETIME OF LEGAL EXPERIENCE
Faisal has over 20 years of legal experience, across a wide range of disciplines including civil, criminal, and political law. This will be useful in overseeing the diverse caseload that comes through the City Attorney's office.
DEFENDING THE PEOPLE OF LOS ANGELES
As the only candidate in the race to litigate against the City (and win), Faisal has a unique understanding of how the City Attorney's office functions. And perhaps more importantly - exactly what needs to change. For example, in the Antone Austin case, the City Attorney's office fought tooth and nail to defend the police, despite ample evidence of their wrongdoings. Even after the case was settled - costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars - no corrective action was taken. This case inspired Faisal's run for City Attorney, because he learned exactly what needs to change to create an office that is driven by justice.
LOCAL BUSINESS OWNER
Faisal is a local business owner that operates his own law firm. With over 20 years of experience managing a successful practice, Faisal understands the needs of Los Angeles small business owners.