By Kristine Thomas
As Sara and Tomas Hernandez start the New Year, it is with a sigh of relief and a heart of gratitude.
While it is impossible to predict what the New Year will bring, they know after the last few years they can endure whatever comes their way. “We have had four pretty tough years,” Sara, 36, said.
They have been together 11 year – seven of those married. In the last four years, Tomas started law school; became a father; had to stop attending law school when he was deployed to Afghanistan with the U.S. Army Reserves for more than a year and finished law school in 2013. Sara became a first-time mom, held down the “fort” while Tomas was away and started her own law firm.
They describe 2013 as the culmination of all their hard work – with Tomas, 34, graduating from law school and joining Sara at their law firm, Hernandez Law Office in Aumsville. Sara and Tomas said they each have their own strengths and focus areas but they do collaborate with each other on cases. Their firm focuses on immigration law, family law, trusts and estates planning and criminal defense. They also assist clients in other matters.
“We are grateful to be working together,” Sara said. “We now have the opportunity to build something together.”
They met while Sara was working as a middle school teacher and Tomas as an assistant at a school in Los Angeles. They laugh it was an instant friendship. Grateful for all Tomas did to help her as a new teacher, Sara invited him to dinner to say thank you and good luck with his new job. A romance blossomed from there.
The journey from California to Oregon happened when Tomas was hired to be a recruiter for the U.S. Army in the Portland area. He has served with the U.S. Army for 15 years. They had made a plan to move back to California after Tomas had graduated from law school.
A Sgt. First Class with the U.S. Army Reserves, Tomas was called to serve in Afghanistan. While he was in Afghanistan, he said he never worried about his wife and children because he knew he could trust his friends to look after them. “I believe in service to my country,” he said.
Being called to serve “changed where we were going and what we planned to do,” Tomas said. They decided it would be best for their family to stay in Oregon. They have a home on six acres near Turner.
After Tomas returned home from active duty and returned to law school, Sara began interviewing for jobs. She came to the realization that she didn’t want to work for someone where she would have to ask permission to go on a field trip with her daughter or to volunteer in her daughter’s classroom. Seeking a balance in life, she knew she wanted to be able to be home to cook dinner for her family. She decided to open her own firm in 2012 in Aumsville.
“I faced the reality I wanted freedom and flexibility in my career,” she said. “Tomas had been encouraging me to start my own business for awhile and he gave me the confidence to do it.”
Laughing her life has taken a paradigm shift from what she thought she wanted, Sara said she’s happy with how it is.
“I think along the way things change and I changed on how I looked at life and what I wanted and what my values are,” she said. “Starting my own firm was a way to do all the things I wanted to do and be satisfied.”
Tomas and Sara both believe in the importance of family. Their children are Eva, 5, and Chris, 14. Sara earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Pepperdine University and graduated from Willamette University College of Law in 2006. Before starting her own practice, she worked as a deputy district attorney in Lane County and for a small firm in Salem.
Growing up in South Central Los Angeles, Tomas saw a lot of people die or go to jail. Wanting to pursue his goals, he joined the U.S. Army when he was 18.
“I grew up with parents who immigrated from Mexico and only had a third grade education. As the youngest of three children, I was the only one born in the United States,” he said. His parents emphasized the importance of working hard in school and trying to better themselves.
“I was raised to appreciate what we have and to appreciate the value of an education. My parents taught me the importance of giving back and things in life aren’t free,” Tomas said. “There are people who have to work hard to make this country what is so those lessons are important to me.”
Tomas earned his bachelor’s degree in business from Warner Pacific College in 2008 and his law degree from Willamette University College of Law in 2013. While finishing school and studying for the bar, he worked as a law clerk. Tomas is bilingual in English and Spanish. “Immigration is something I want to focus on. I like helping people,” he said.
What makes them a good team, they said, is they care about people. They tell their clients that they don’t charge for a consultation, which they consider the client’s opportunity to his or her story.
Tomas describes Sara as being more academic and a better writer. Sara said Tomas is a “really likeable person who instantly connects with people. Tomas is more assertive in his approach. Mine is to think aobut it and weigh the options.”
Sara appreciates she has Tomas to talk things through and bounce ideas off.
“I think better when I can talk about things,” Sara said. “I may not agree with him and that’s OK. We are a really good team.”
A strong friendship, a deep respect for one another and shared values make them a good team, they said.
“We have a solid relationship and we never have to question our relationship,” Tomas said. “Where we landed, whatever happens, we will always be OK because we are really awesome friends.”
