Emilia Bechrakis has been married to Million Dollar Listing New York star Ryan Serhant since 2016. The Bravo reality show puts Serhant’s real estate career front and center. But Bechrakis, who makes frequent appearances on the show, also has a successful career of her own.
Bechrakis is a licensed attorney and a published author. But she’s not currently working as a lawyer, at least in a full-time capacity. She now works for a title insurance company as the vice president of business development.
Bechrakis and Serhant, along with their young daughter Zena, are currently starring in a four-part spin-off show called Million Dollar Listing: Ryan’s Renovation. The first episode premieres on June 3 at 10:15 PM ET/PT on Bravo.
Here’s what you need to know:
Emilia Bechrakis Is Still Licensed to Practice Law in New York State But She Actually Works in Title Insurance
Bechrakis has been licensed to practice law in New York since September 2016, according to her profile on the New York State Unified Court System website. Her current license will need to be renewed in July 2022.
Bechrakis told Bravo she still volunteers her legal services. She does pro bono work for the Innocence Project, she told Bravo. The group advocates for reforms in the criminal justice system and works to exonerate people who may have been wrongly convicted.
But Bechrakis no longer practices law in her daily job. She followed Serhant into real estate, but in a different capacity than him. She now works in the title insurance industry.
Bechrakis joined the Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company in 2015 as a senior sales representative. Then in February 2020, Bechrakis accepted a Vice President of Business Development position at Kensington Vanguard National Land Services.
In a press release about her hiring, Bechrakis was quoted, “I made the move to KV at this point in my career because I was looking for an exciting new opportunity where I’d be able to expand my business and provide my clients with the best possible customer experience.”
Bechrakis has joked that not everyone understands the title insurance industry or what her work entails on a daily basis. She told Bravo, “I stopped practicing maritime law a few years ago, and I got into the title insurance business, which not a lot of people know about. One day, I feel like I need to do a little video to explain what title insurance is, but it’s real estate-related.”
Bechrakis Has 3 Law Degrees & Had a Successful Career in International Shipping Law
Bechrakis was born in New York and has lived all over the world. She told Greek City Times her childhood included time spent in New York, Pennsylvania, and Athens, Greece. But most of her family is from a small village in southern Greece called called Mani, according to Bravo. When she was 18, she moved to London to continue her education.
Bechrakis went on to earn three law degrees while living in the United Kingdom, as noted by her profile on the New York State Unified Court System website. According to her LinkedIn account, Bechrakis has a “Bachelor of Laws” degree from the University of Kent. In 2008, she graduated from the University College London with a “Master of Laws” degree in Maritime Law. Then in 2010, Bechrakis completed a legal practice program at the BPP University Law School.
Bechrakis started her legal career in maritime law. She worked for the Norton Rose & Fulbright law firm as an attorney. The firm’s headquarters are in London but they have offices all over the world, including in New York City. Bechrakis’ next move was to the Mediterranean Shipping Company. She served as the company’s General Counsel and Director of Legal Affairs, according to a press release about her most recent job switch.
Bechrakis was working for the Mediterranean Shipping Company when she was offered a job in Geneva, Switzerland, where the company is headquartered. But she turned it down to stay in New York City and pursue a future with her now-husband.
Bechrakis Wrote a Children’s Book About Her Struggle With Fertility
As if juggling a busy career, raising a young child and renovating a massive Brooklyn townhouse was not enough, Bechrakis also found the time to become a published author. Her first children’s book, “To the Moon and Back for You,” in March 2020. According to the summary on Amazon, the picture book “poignantly explores her own difficulty conceiving and her life-changing experiences with IVF.”
The book was illustrated by EG Keller. He is known for illustrating books including “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents: A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo.” He also illustrated “His Royal Dogness, Guy the Beagle: The Rebarkable True Story of Meghan Markle’s Rescue Dog.”
Before “To the Moon and Back for You” came out, Bechrakis opened up to People about the inspiration behind it. “This book is for families in the IVF community and any woman who feels like a mother even before holding her child for the first time. It’s for the mothers who have longed for a baby, who have suffered loss or who have struggled in one way or another to have a child of their own,” Bechrakis said. “I want families to enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it and to never feel alone in telling their unique story.”
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What Does Ryan Serhant’s Wife, Emilia Bechrakis, Do for Work?