What Does It Mean To Be A Black Lawyer In Phoenix Arizona
Garrick McFadden was the first African American person in his University to be elected to be the student body President (Buena Vista, University). For two years he was the only black student there. He left there and started oh his course to becoming a black personal injury lawyer. Right, before he left BVU his mom secured tickets to meet Jonnie Cochran. Garrick would have the honor to meet him one more time, after he had become a black attorney.
Garrick had prepared and worked hard to obtain an admission and a scholarship to attend a top 20 law school: the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. At USC he had the rare opportunity to study with one of the blackest cohorts in all of the top 20 law schools. Even today he talks to his fellow black lawyers weekly and they share ideas about how to better serve the Community. Garrick did not start out being a Phoenix black lawyer, instead he was a “Dot Com” tax attorney in Silicon Valley. Garrick took and successfully passed the California Bar exam. Garrick’s California law license is currently inactive, since he has been in Arizona for the past 17 years. However, if needed he will reactivate it. Passing the California Bar exam, is considered one of the toughest bars to become a member of. He would start his practice of being a black lawyer in Los Angeles, before he moved to Arizona in 2004. After Garrick had graduated from law school, his parents moved back to the state they know and loved: Arizona. His parents met at Arizona State University. They returned back to the Valley of the Sun so they could be closer to their family.
Garrick would successfully take and pass the Arizona Bar examination and become a licensed Arizona attorney. If you asked Garrick he would not enjoy having to take another bar exam now in his mid-forties. However, becoming a licensed attorney in Arizona was the best choice for him and his family. In Arizona he started off being a defense attorney, However, again, he did not feel this was the reason he went to law school. He also saw too many black clients being represented by car accident lawyers who did not seem to care or value their cases. The community needed a Phoenix African-American personal injury attorney with excellent experience and a top legal education to make a difference.
The Founding Of GAMESQ, PLC
For too long Garrick has stayed in the shadows. Many of his peers know of him, from his time as being a construction defect attorney. Other’s know of him from having one of the first legal rulings that protected the rights of same-sex couples in Arizona. He was one of the few black lawyers and his training and preparation left a mark on his peers. Garrick approached it case with a level of preparedness and strategy that few knew was possible. A lawsuit is won or loss before it is filed. Garrick has built his career on that premise. However, he thought it was time to bring that to the community. To create a black owned law firm in Arizona is not for the faint of heart. However, Garrick knew that less than 20 of the Phoenix personal injury lawyers attended a top-20 law firm like Garrick. Garrick also knows that while those car accident law firms get really big verdicts, it is just because the case walks into the door. For example, if someone is involved in an Avondale trucking accident and as a result of that crash they can no longer use their arms or legs, that case is worth at least $2 million dollars. That value does not depend on the Phoenix truck accident lawyer or law firm, that is the value when the case enters the door. Now some lawyers can maximize that value. We have people who come into the community to get our dollars and return no value to our community. Not this Phoenix black lawyer. GAMESQ, PLC uses African-American vendors who have black staff. Garrick believes that we must be not only political power but economic power if we are going to thrive here in America. We must do business with those who support our struggle and not enrich those who wish to do us harm. At least that is how Garrick views the world.
What Does It Mean To Be A Phoenix Black Lawyer?
No longer are we saying we have to work twice as hard to get the same as others, because that is plunder. Garrick has the legal experience that many lawyers in Arizona do not have. Garrick has the legal education that only a handful who are Phoenix motorcycle lawyers can match. Garrick is the real deal and it is the honor of his life to be a black lawyer and he is going to do his best to be the best black lawyer in Phoenix and the best lawyer in Arizona. Contact us at 623-233-4416.