The most important legacy I can leave for my children and community is making access to an attorney a reality for the average citizen. I want to educate others about their rights and to seek justice—not to surrender—in the face of seemingly-insurmountable circumstances. Growing up, this idea was foreign to my family and community. Attorneys were something most people could not afford and quite frankly did not trust. I was raised in West Miami in a working-class family by a single mother, and I understand the hardships and realities facing hardworking families each day. I identify with the very clients I assist daily, because many times I have been where they are.
I was blessed to spend most of my childhood with my grandfather, who was a self-taught lover of the law, justice, poetry, and country. With just a grade school education, he taught me much more than I ever learned in a classroom. I attribute my love of the law and pursuit for justice to him. I understood at a very early age that the law and an education were ways of leveling the playing field for those who generally had no opportunity to win. Despite facing many obstacles, my tenacity and passion led me to seek a college education and become not only the first college graduate in my family, but the first to seek a higher education in the law. To this day, the smile on my grandfather’s face the day I was sworn in as a member of the Florida bar is engraved in my mind.
That feeling of victory, success and justice is what I want to share with my community. Through my legal profession I have chosen to work with underprivileged and underserved communities—seeking to learn areas of the law less attractive to many attorneys, such as:consumer protection, student loan law, unfair trade practices, fraud, and foreclosure defense. I chose consumer law because I can make a living while fighting injustice and serving my community. I see people that are broken by debt, predatory lending practices, unfair competition, and fraud; I give them a voice and an avenue to seek retribution so they can take control of their lives.
At heart I am an advocate for the voiceless: that is what drives me to love the law and the fundamental reason I pursued this career. Through this firm I will continue to serve consumers who have been victimized, and I will advocate for legislative change when needed. I am specifically dedicated to changing the laws surrounding student loans. It is imperative to reduce the cost of education and lessen the burden of student loan debt that so many struggle with in our nation. Education continues to be the ultimate neutralizer for a society; we need to not only protect that right but guarantee it to those that seek an education.
Before opening the firm in 2015, I practiced commercial and complex litigation—handling hundreds of cases in the areas of consumer law, real estate, mortgage fraud, foreclosure defense, construction litigation, and criminal defense from inception of the case and through and including trial (inclusive of jury trials.)
Education:
– Juris Doctorate, St. Thomas University School of Law, Miami FL, (2006)
– Bachelor of Arts, in Political Science, Florida International University (2003)
– Miami-Dade Community College, (2001)
Bar Admissions:
– Florida Bar, 2006
– US. District Court, S.D. Florida
Past and Current Professional Associations:
– Florida Association of women Lawyers
– Dade County Bar Association
– National Association of Consumer Advocates
– Miami-Dade Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board, Vice Chair
– Women’s Chamber of Commerce
– League of Women Voters
– BNI: Business Network International, Educational Chair
Languages:
– English
– Spanish
