How My Family Taught Me to Practice Law
When people ask me how I became a lawyer, I often talk about the degrees, the firms, and the cases. But the real answer starts much earlier—with my family. Long before I ever stepped into a courtroom or sat across from a client in a boardroom, I was learning about responsibility, service, and integrity by watching my father build his medical practice and care for people.
Growing up in a household where business and family were deeply connected gave me a perspective that has stayed with me throughout my legal career. My father was an orthopedic surgeon, and while I didn’t follow in his footsteps medically, I absorbed something far more important: how to serve with purpose. Watching him treat his patients with compassion while running a business taught me that real success is about more than titles or profits. It’s about values.
The Family Business Mentality
My father didn’t just heal bones—he built trust. He treated each patient like family, and that approach extended to how he ran his office. His staff stayed for decades, and many of his patients did too. As a kid, I didn’t realize it, but I was witnessing what it meant to lead with consistency, care, and character.
That same mindset—the family business mentality—is something I carry into my own legal practice today. I may not be in medicine, but I still believe that every client, whether an individual or a corporation, deserves personal attention, respect, and honest advice. In a world where business can often feel transactional, I’ve made it my goal to keep relationships at the center of what I do.
Whether I’m structuring a complex merger or helping a family with estate planning, I try to remember that behind every legal need is a human story. That idea didn’t come from law school—it came from the dinner table, listening to my father talk about the people he served.
Trust Is Earned, Not Assumed
One of the greatest lessons I learned from my family is that trust takes time to build and moments to lose. In my own practice, especially in areas like corporate structuring or real estate deals, trust is everything. Clients need to know that you’re not just technically capable, but that you genuinely care about doing what’s right for them.
Over the years, I’ve worked with clients through major transitions—selling businesses they built from scratch, acquiring companies in unfamiliar markets, or planning for how their legacy will live on after they’re gone. These aren’t just financial decisions; they’re deeply personal ones. Being a good lawyer means understanding that, respecting that, and guiding people with both skill and empathy.
My parents didn’t come to this country with much, but they brought strong values with them: honesty, humility, and perseverance. Those values shaped how I was raised, how I studied, and ultimately, how I practice law.
Why Values Matter in Law
Law isn’t just about statutes and contracts. It’s about judgment, perspective, and principles. Clients come to us not only for answers, but for guidance. They want someone they can trust to help them navigate uncertainty and make sound decisions. That kind of confidence comes when your work is grounded in values.
I’ve always believed that doing right by the client doesn’t just mean getting them the result they want—it means making sure they get there in the right way. That means being honest even when the truth is hard to hear. It means saying “no” when it would be easier to say “yes.” It means putting long-term trust above short-term wins.
These aren’t just professional standards. For me, they’re personal values I saw practiced every day growing up. And they’re the foundation of every client relationship I’ve built over the years.
Bringing That Spirit to the Firm
As a partner at SMGQ Law, I’m proud that we’ve built a firm with those same values at its core. We’re a minority-owned, full-service law firm, and we’ve always believed in building relationships—not just managing cases. That means listening closely, investing in our community, and treating our clients like partners.
Working with businesses, especially those led by immigrant families or first-generation entrepreneurs, often feels like coming full circle. I know what it means to take a risk, to build something from the ground up, and to fight for a better future. It’s a privilege to serve clients who are doing that every day.
Full Circle
Looking back, I realize that my legal education didn’t begin in law school. It began in my father’s medical office, in the values my family carried from Cuba to Africa to Miami, and in the lessons that were passed down without fanfare or lectures—just by example.
Today, when I sit across from a client, I try to carry that legacy forward. I remind myself that behind every legal challenge is a person, a family, a business with a dream. And I do my best to offer not just legal advice, but honest counsel, grounded in the values that shaped me.
Because at the end of the day, it’s not just about the deal you close or the case you win—it’s about how you treat people along the way. That’s the kind of law I believe in. And that’s the kind of law I try to practice, every single day.