THE Innovators
Innovators introduce new ideas or concepts to something that has already been established. These attorneys have used their creativity to think outside of the box while forging their paths in the legal profession.
Index
Nouvelle Gonzalo: Mixing Creativity with Corporate Law
Nouvelle Gonzalo
Mixing Creativity with Corporate Law
Nouevelle Gonzalo grew up knowing about the legal profession from her father, the late Judge Harold K. Stubbs. However, it wasn't until Nouvelle went to New York University for her undergraduate studies when she realized how she could thrive as an attorney while marrying her passion and creativity in the legal profession. Attorney Gonzalo is the Founder and Managing Partner of Gonzalo Law: a domestic and international corporate law firm.
When she was young, Attorney Gonzalo participated in the Congressional Page Program, which allows high school students to work in Washington D.C. with their member(s) of Congress. In this clip, Mrs. Gonzalo explains her experience with the program.
Attorney Gonzalo had a myriad of interests going into her undergraduate studies at New York University, and her creativity flowed throughout her career. Because of her educational experiences, she was able to understand how to make her creativity work for her in the legal profession. In this clip, Attorney Gonzalo explains how she developed her law firm: Gonzalo Law.
Jonathan Barry-Blocker
Empowering the Community
Jonathan Barry-Blocker is a descendant of survivors of the Rosewood Massacre that occurred in January 1923: a fact he did not learn until he was in his college years. Attorney Barry-Blocker graduated from Morehouse College and decided to pursue a law degree because of his intellectual curiosity and because of advice he received from his grandmother when he was young. Like his journey to get into law school, Attorney Barry-Blocker's career path has taken some twists and turns. After a few positions, both public and private, he ended up working for the Legal Services of Alabama. In that position, he represented low-income clients on a myriad of issues, typically dealing with landlord-tenant issues. However, in this position, Attorney Barry-Blocker expanded into the community to help returning citizens restore their voting rights. After leaving Alabama, Attorney Barry-Blocker worked for a time as a visiting professor at his alma mater: the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
Editor's Note: This recording contains a few curse words. Listener discretion is advised.
As an attorney with the Legal Services, Mr. Barry-Blocker served clients who had low incomes. This meant his clients did not pay for his legal services because the government would subsidize the Legal Services office. Something Mr. Barry-Blocker emphasized in his interview was how he wanted to help his clients advocate for themselves so that they could take part in their own healing process. In this clip, he explains what he means about his clients' self-advocacy.
While Mr. Barry-Blocker worked for Legal Services, he helped develop a program for Alabamians to restore their voting rights. In this clip, he explains the program and his goals.
Greg Francis
Fighting for Farmers
Gregorio (Greg) Francis was born in the Panama Canal Zone in Central America. Being a first-generation law student, he learned to navigate the legal profession by seeking mentors and problem-solving. The lessons that helped him through law school also helped in his career. As lead counsel, Mr. Francis fought on behalf of Black farmers to compensate them for generational injustices they faced. Through the litigation, 20,000 farmers or their descendants recovered $1.25 billion.
When Mr. Francis was young, his stepfather went to school to earn his AA degree. Through watching his mother and stepfather work together, Mr. Francis learned about the value of an education. In this clip, Mr. Francis describes his upbringing and the lessons he learned.
Mr. Francis served as lead counsel in a class-action lawsuit seeking justice for Black farmers who alleged injustices that spanned generations. In this clip, Mr. Francis explains some of the injustices he learned about through the course of litigation.