The Fall River legal professional immigrated to the United States as a child. Now she's the "Supreme Lady of the Law."

The Fall River legal professional immigrated to the United States as a child. Now she's the "Supreme Lady of the Law."

Fall River - A nearby attorney has spent many years advocating for youth and other at-risk groups. Now, she is being recognized for her efforts.

“I am a community advocate,” said Julianne Velez. If we do not achieve equality for all, the machine fails. I certainly consider in that."

Honored in November as one of the Best Women in Law for 2022 through Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Phillies is one of 60 humans to get hold of the awareness this year. She used to be chosen through a panel of judges and other woman attorneys who "have made huge contributions to the criminal profession while additionally serving as function fashions for younger women coming into the law."

Feliz, who has lived in Westport for 25 years and before lived in Fall River, came to the United States from the Azores as a child. She still remembers how overwhelmed she felt being thrown into a study room barring speaking English, and the prejudice she confronted even from some of the adults around her. This influenced her preference to build a career in search of justice for those who have been marginalized.

She said, "This has in no way left me."

She commenced her profession as a prison secretary, working in the probation division of the Fall River County Courthouse.

Velez hasn't forgotten its Azorean roots

"I looked round at the attorneys and idea I should do this," she said. "I swore to never neglect where I got here from and to assist my community."

Feliz, who has an workplace in Fall River, said she's particularly unusual about other attorneys because she does not center of attention narrowly on any type of law. She works on cases, some pro bono, that encompass criminal defense, probate and household law, and kingdom intervention instances the place the Ministry of Children and Families has removed teens from their homes.

Claims against Purdue Pharma

She additionally labored around the opioid epidemic, working alongside former mayor and neighborhood legal professional Sam Sutter to file almost a hundred claims as section of a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma.

She stated "If you have a problem, I would like to hear it and would like to come up with a solution".

Promote justice for all

Much of her work has to do with juvenile cases, and she often defends accused teenagers as adults. She additionally works with Bristol County Bar Advocates as an advisor to new attorneys at Fall River Juvenile Court.

Velez stated she needs to assist make the felony system a region the place human beings of all backgrounds can discover justice. In her almost 30 years as an attorney, she has seen some advantageous changes. She said judges are greater willing to take matters like information about the racial make-up of people stopped through police into account during trials, and court team of workers appear more eager to help people who appear burdened as they navigate the courtroom.

"I think the courts have come a lengthy way," she said, "and they've end up greater people-friendly." “But, I suppose we nonetheless have more to go.”