Fila was born on 29 July 1941 in Bitola, territory of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, then occupied by Bulgaria (modern North Macedonia).

His father was an ethnic Aromanian lawyer Filota Fila and his mother Eli was the daughter of a merchant from Belgrade.

After the Bulgarian occupation authorities expelled them from Bitola, his father's hometown, they had to move to Nazi-occupied Serbia.

[2] Following his graduation, he became the youngest lawyer in Yugoslavia and continued to work in his father's law office.

[4] Throughout his career, he defended Jovanka Broz, Slobodan Milošević, Žarko Laušević, Goran Hadžić and others.