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MEGAN SWOYER

Special to The Jewish News

T

heir mothers always
advised them to start
the day with a good
breakfast.
But Scott Yaldo and David
Domstein probably weren't
thinking about Mom when they
sat down for a quick morning
bite before their first class in law
school at Wayne State University.
With the first-day jitters, the two
students, who didn't know each
other, immediately began to
chat.
They became instant friends
and almost inseparable over the
years as study partners and pals.
The two always remember that
momentous cafeteria-style break-
fast. Today, Yaldo, 28, and
Domstein, 30, operate a lucra-
tive law practice together in
Bingham Farms.
And now they talk about their
mothers — and families — all
the time. "It's amazing how simi-
lar our moms are, says
Domstein, who was raised in
Oak Park and now lives in
Waterford. Although he was
brought up as an Orthodox Jew
and Yaldo lived in Iraq until the
age of 10 and is a devout
Catholic, the law partners never
think twice about their diverse
backgrounds nor their unique
relationship, which they insist is
built on pure trust.
Our business is like a mar-
riage,"says Domstein. "The most
important thing is trust. We are
both honest and fair with each
,,
other.
Their religious beliefs are about
as similar as a doughnut and a
bagel. Yaldo, who lives in a new
home in West Bloomfield, attends
mass at St. Thomas every Sunday.
Domstein, whose stepfather is an
Orthodox rabbi, would never "dis-
avow my heritage." But the rela-
tionship works, both at the office
and after the clock strikes 5.
"We discuss politics and religion

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periodically," says Domstein, who
adds that they double-date or go
out socially together at least once a
week.
"And we never agree about any-
thing,"adds Yaldo, laughing, "but
that's okay."
What they do agree on is how to
run the business. In fact, for them,
variety is the spice that keeps their
practice prosperous. "When I have

“,

Jewish clients, I introduce them to
Dave," says Yaldo, "and vice versa.
If Dave gets an Arab-American, he
often will bring him or her to me.
It makes everyone feel comfort-
able.
Domstein, whose legal back-
ground focuses on real estate and
land development, is involved
mostly with real estate litigation.
Yaldo handles civil litigation and a

7)

lot of landlord/tenant con-
cerns. He also takes on
domestic cases, such as
divorce, and a lot of collec-
tion work.
Yaldo says he became a
lawyer. because "growing up
in a part of the world
where everything is chaotic,
I want to try to find
order.”
One of their bigger cases
in the past year involved
renowned singer Aretha
Franklin. They sued
Franklin on behalf of their
client, the Royal Oak-based
All Star Limousine. "Scott
handled the case because it
was collection work. And
he got every penny the
limo company was entitled
to plus the filing fees," says
Domstein.
Thoroughly impressed
with their eager, go-getter
attitudes is Bob Beutel,
owner of All Star. "I like
that they're young," says
Beutel. "They tend to have
more of a flame or a desire
to succeed and they're not
set in their ways."
Beutel consults with
Yaldo and Domstein on all
of his All Star contract
work and equipment pur-
chases.
Yaldo recently represent-
ed the former fiancee of ex-
.
Channel 7 anchorperson
Frank Turner. "Ultimately,
Turner ended up losing his
job and filing for bank-
ruptcy, in great part
because of our actions,"
says Domstein.
They are an odd couple: "Scott's
No. 1 hobby [a yellow Labrador -
retriever] is my No. 1 peeve," says
Domstein, who has "no desire to
have pets; never will." So how did
they commit to build a business
together?
"Scott started talking about a
practice years ago, yet I had been
independent and reluctant to com.-

4/2
1999

Detroit Jewish News

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