Wellness
Marjan Daneshmand
Attorney and Miracle Babies Co-Founder
By: Nichole Naoum
Growing up, Marjan Daneshmand always viewed female attorneys as intelligent, bold and empowered. And like many other young leaders in the making, she idolized the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In fact, Marjan followed in many of the same footsteps as the judicial icon – exceeding her academic goals, earning a law degree, and eventually making the bold move to open up her own practice in 1999.
Marjan currently serves as the managing partner at Bankruptcy Legal Group, where she and her team focus on bankruptcy and debt negotiation. They specialize in standard to complex Chapters 7, 13, and 11 bankruptcy filings representing a wide-ranging client base – from low-income to high-net-worth individuals.
Despite her success, Marjan points out that the fight to be equally respected in the legal field continues. She shared with GB Magazine, “Candidly, there are days when being an attorney does not live up to hype or the glory of what I thought it would be. Clients are not always as appreciative of what you do for them, and you have to be ok with that. However, it is the days when I feel I have made a difference in a client’s life that remind me of why I do what I do.”
In addition to her law career, philanthropy also plays a critical role in Marjan’s life. With the help of many committed volunteers, Marjan and her husband, Dr. Sean Daneshmand, officially founded Miracle Babies in 2009 – an organization that provides financial assistance to more than 8,000 families per year who have premature babies in the NICU.
When asked what inspired the pair to launch their non-profit, she stated, “My husband specializes in high-risk pregnancies, and he would come home telling me stories of how a wonderful patient that he saw could not afford gas to drive to the hospital to see her premature baby who was in the NICU. On another occasion, he told me about a family that was about to get evicted while having a very sick baby in the hospital. After hearing about these stories over and over, we really wanted to start an organization that could help families in the same situation.”
Marjan even chaired Miracle Babies’ first big fundraising event, which was a 5K in Mission Bay that had a turnout of over 600 people. With the $30,000 proceeds they received, Marjan and Sean were able to start accepting applications from social workers who knew of patients in need of financial assistance. 13 years later, their programs have expanded to include transportation services and care packages.
In October, Marjan and Sean plan to host their 12th Annual Miracle Babies Gala where guests will enjoy an evening of gourmet cuisine and cocktails, as well as the opportunity to bid on live auction items. Attendees include the legendary Dr. Edith Eger, bestselling author of “The Choice” and “The Gift” and Holocaust Survivor and board certified pediatric cardiovascular surgeon Dr. John Lamberti.
