Yvette Walker
With KVCR News, I'm Yvette Walker. This is IE Latino Voices, where we invite representatives from Latino led and Latino serving organizations to share their stories and their impact in our region. Joining me today is local attorney Albert Maldonado, a partner at Best Best & Krieger LLP. Thank you so much for being with us here today, Albert.
Albert Maldonado
Good morning, Yvette. Thank you so much for having me.
Yvette Walker
What inspired you to become an attorney?
Albert Maldonado
Well, it's really a conversation that I had with my father. I went to undergraduate school at Pitzer College, one of the Claremont Colleges, and I was very much a campus activist at that time, so I would attend the protests and the picket lines and those kind of things. And my dad told me, he says, you know, you need that for social change. You need people to hold up the picket sign. You need people to holler on the megaphone, but at some point, the movement is going to need a lawyer, either because they're charged with a crime, or because they want to sue the school to ask for some change. But guess what? You can go to law school, become an attorney, so when the time comes that they cannot speak for themselves, you can speak for them. And it was that precise conversation that I decided, okay, that sounds good to me. I'm going to go to law school.
Yvette Walker
As your career evolved, you now work with municipalities on behalf of Best Best & Krieger. Tell us about your work.
Albert Maldonado
Today, I advise my clients what power they have and of the power they have, how do they wield that power? So if there's some new state legislation that just came online, I will advise them, there's this new state bill, it allows you to do X, are you interested? And if they say yes, then I'm the attorney that drafts that law. I write the ordinance, I write the resolution, whatever it is, so that they can actually institute that new law.
Yvette Walker
Not too long ago, you were celebrated as a new partner at Best Best & Krieger, what did it take to make that happen, and what does that mean for you at this stage of your career?
Albert Maldonado
Thank you. It's a vote of confidence in me, in my abilities, not only to advise our clients, but to represent our law firm in the most positive light. And what it means on the ground is I can sign and bind the firm now, before when I was an associate, if a new matter came in, I would have to go to a partner. Now I have a little bit more autonomy that could bring in work, and I can be the supervisor on that work.
Yvette Walker
So after all you have done, you've had the opportunity to circle back with your father about the conversation that set your trajectory in motion. What was that like?
Albert Maldonado
When I graduated from law school, I went to Northwestern, we had a celebratory dinner, and I thanked my dad, and I told people the story of how I actually decided to go to law school. And the kicker is that right around the time that I was in law school, my father attended law school, and he is now a law school graduate, and he is studying for the California Bar Exam.
Yvette Walker
Oh, my goodness. Well, congratulations to him. Two lawyers in the family. What is the current makeup of Latino attorneys in the Inland Empire and across the country?
Albert Maldonado
So nationally, you know, Latinos, we comprise, give or take, 20% of the population, could be a little bit more, and we're less than 5% of attorneys. Latinas comprise less than 2% of all attorneys. And in California, you would think, because we're such a big and diverse state, that we're in a better position, we're actually worse. And that is why, in 2018, I and a group of about 10 to 12 other local attorneys decided to form the Hispanic Bar Association of the Inland Empire, primarily to build the pipeline of Latinos and Latinas into the legal profession, and secondly, to establish a strong cross referral network so that we can support each other, support our own businesses and grow the Latino wealth in the Inland Empire. And if you are a student at any level, you can join our organization for free.
Yvette Walker
So any additional advice to the next generation of lawyers to encourage their commitment to pursuing the necessary education and resources, such as the one that you mentioned?
Albert Maldonado
Surround yourself with positive attitude, affirmational people, because imposter syndrome is very real. I did my master's degree at Harvard. Every single Latino that I met there, we all, at one time believed we had no business applying to Harvard. But it is through that constant positive reaffirmation, a lot of support from mentors, professors, family and friends, that all of us got to the point that when we applied, we thought, no, they need to accept us, because we provide a unique perspective and we add value to them. You have to surround yourself with positive, affirmational people.
Yvette Walker
Thank you for your perspective. Thank you for your time and thank you for your continued advocacy throughout our municipalities.
Albert Maldonado
Thank you, Yvette.
Yvette Walker
Albert Maldonado is a partner at Best Best & Krieger LLP. Join us again next week for IE Latino Voices. You can find this story and others on our website at kvcrnews.org/IELatinoVoices. IE Latino Voices is produced by KVCR Public Media and is funded by generous support from the CIELO Fund at IECF, uplifting and investing in the IE's Latino community. For KVCR News, I'm Yvette Walker.
