Choice by circumstance, love by conviction.

- What made you say "yes" to law? Not just choose it, but stay and work in this profession?

- To be honest, I chose the legal profession by circumstance. It wasn't a childhood dream, and during my school years, I didn't really have a clear idea of what law entailed.

I loved history because I adored my history teacher (laughs)․ That love eventually led me to the Faculty of Law.

I grew up in a family with working parents, and in my environment, I never saw an approach where after graduating from university, you simply didn't work. For me, it was natural- study, graduate, and work.

But during my studies, the profession truly became close to my heart. I especially loved civil law, procedure, and related subjects. Those were the classes where I was most engaged- I took my studies very seriously and with great passion.

For me, I think that was the most important turning point. Law was no longer just a chosen profession. It became a field where I saw myself and wanted to continue my journey.

From the courtroom to advocacy

- Your first work experience was in court. How did you end up at Concern Dialog?

- I was studying at the School of Advocates, where I had one of the most important encounters of my life - with Mr. Asatryan and Mr. Orbelyan. And that's how my journey at Concern Dialog began.

Of course, the transition from court to legal practice was quite difficult for me. For a long time, I would receive messages from my colleagues at Dialog saying that my drafted documents looked like court rulings (laughs).

But that difference was actually a very interesting experience for me. In court, you work with existing material, and your task is to form as complete a picture as possible based on that material, evaluate the facts, and get to the truth.

In legal practice, your task is not to seek universal justice, but to advocate for the interests of a specific party as effectively as possible. Along the way, of course, there are internal dilemmas - you want to be fully convinced of the position you're presenting. In my case, the written word is the "audit" of that conviction. I don't allow my arguments to be committed to paper until I've run them through my own internal logic. But my court experience helps enormously in that regard - it allows me to often anticipate what the other side might say, what arguments they might present, and where their strengths or weaknesses might lie.

That's why I always say - courtroom experience is a tremendous asset in becoming a good attorney.

What is the legal profession, in the end?

- In your opinion, what is law?

- Law is not about papers.

Law is, first and foremost, about restoring justice. And for me, justice is balance.

Law is one of the most creative professions. It may seem like you're dealing with laws, documents, and established rules, but in reality, the same set of circumstances can give rise to different approaches, different legal solutions.

That's exactly what fascinates me -finding the solution that is, on the one hand, legally sound, and on the other, as close as possible to the idea of justice and balance.

And perhaps that is precisely why law never becomes merely mechanical work. Every case demands new thinking.

If you were to meet Ella as a student today...

- If you met your student self today, what advice would you give?

- I'd say: study even harder.

Back then, people often told me I was always studying, that I wasn't living a "student life." But I've never regretted it, because the effort I put in during those years paid off later.

No one can take knowledge away from you. Especially in law, when you face new situations every day - if you don't have a solid foundation, it's very difficult to move forward.

At the same time, if I were giving advice to myself today, I'd probably also say: take things a little more lightly (laughs). Not everything has to be perfect, and you don't have to know everything all at once.

The path of an attorney is a long one. You will constantly be learning -from cases, from colleagues, from mistakes, and sometimes even from the most difficult situations.

Legal work is stressful. You work with people, and people usually turn to an attorney when there's a problem in their lives. Especially in litigation, people can be very emotional, and if you're also emotional by nature, all of that can affect you deeply.

But on the other hand, there is great value in this work - you can make a real difference for someone.

- What excites you most about your profession?

- Victories.

But by victory, I don't just mean the outcome of a court case. For me, victory means that the effort you invested paid off - that your analysis, your work, your time, and your energy led to a result.

What excites me is precisely that moment when you see that everything you worked so hard on has produced a real outcome.

How would you describe your job to a 5-year-old?

- If you had to explain what you do to a five-year-old, what would you say?

- Once, Sose (her daughter) was singing the song "Loving Yerevan is an Unwritten Law." I asked her, "Sose, do you know what a law is?" She didn't.

I tried to explain, but she got sad and said, "Mom, don't talk to me like that with those words!" (smyles)

Now I think I'd say it more simply: laws are about what you can do and what you can't do.

And if it were for a slightly older child, I'd add: laws are also about how people should live and build relationships so that everyone's rights and interests are protected.

- What has your nine years of legal experience taught you about people?

- Both my work interactions and my dealings with clients have taught me that people, their problems, and their priorities are all different. In every case, it's necessary and important to understand the person in order to provide effective solutions to all issues, to find the real essence of the problems, and to identify the most appropriate ways to resolve them.

Concern Dialog: A professional environment

- Which of Concern Dialog's values would you single out, and why?

- I would single out high professionalism and ethics- in relations with clients, with courts, and with colleagues. At Concern Dialog, we approach every case with great responsibility and special attention, ensuring accountability and transparency toward clients, and doing everything possible to secure the best outcome in every case. What particularly draws me is Concern Dialog's boldness and ability to find unconventional solutions to problems and succeed through them.

- Why does Dialog become a place where people come, work, and stay?

- Because the people here are good. There is so much to learn here, the cases are interesting, and the opportunities for growth are immense.

I don't think there is another law firm in Armenia - whether for a beginner or an established professional - that can offer broader opportunities for professional development than Concern Dialog.

Here, you have the chance not only to work but to constantly grow. You can see various types of cases, work with different people, learn from more experienced colleagues, and understand what kind of professional you want to become.

That's very important to me, because an attorney's professional journey is never complete. There is always the next case, the next problem, the next complex situation from which you learn something.

- What do you think your presence brings to the team?

- That's a difficult question to answer (laughs), but I hope that in the team, I'm accepted as someone with whom personal interactions are filled with positive energy, and with whom it's always interesting to have discussions and exchange opinions on professional matters.

- Concern Dialog is not Concern Dialog without...

- Without the colleagues. Without all of us (laughs).

After all, any organization is made up of people. Cases, projects, even the most complex professional problems are not created or solved alone. You are part of the environment you work in, and that environment is shaped by people.

- Are there people at Dialog whose influence on your professional path you particularly value?

- Mr. Hovhannisyan is my ambulance (smyles). In so many situations where I thought "the world is about to collapse," he always managed to find a reasonable solution.

One of his key qualities is his ability to convey extraordinary calm. When you're in a situation that seems enormous and complicated, sometimes you need someone on the side who can look at it more calmly and soberly. Mr. Hovhannisyan is exactly that kind of person.

Mr. Orbelyan has that same extraordinary calm.

I've learned a great deal from Narine - both from a professional standpoint and in terms of work organization and work culture.

I believe that to become a good professional, knowing the law well is not enough. It's also very important to learn how to work, how to build relationships, how to take responsibility, and how to maintain composure in difficult situations.

For me, all of that is part of the journey of learning at Dialog.

Ella isn't Ella without...

- And Ella is not Ella without...

- Her cases (laughs).

It's very hard for me to imagine myself without work, because I feel a deep attachment to the cases I work on.

Right now, I'm going through a somewhat challenging period- I'm preparing to become a mother for the second time, and honestly, I sometimes feel sad at the thought that I have to leave behind, for a while, the cases into which I've poured so much heart and soul.

But of course, this is also an important phase of life, and you have to accept that sometimes you pause for a moment, only to return with renewed strength.

Instead of an Epilogue

- If one day a book were written about Concern Dialog, what title would it have, and what would you want to be written about Ella Mkrtchyan in that book?

- The book would be titled "Complex Legal Problems and the Practical Skills to Solve Them: Advice from Concern Dialog."

The line about me would describe a professional who approaches work with high responsibility, solves challenges effectively, and approaches every case with deep care.