Roosevelt Jean, Esq. Spotlighted by American Bar Association (ABA) Magazine: From Big Law to Plaintiffs’ Trial Attorney
“Good morning, Your Honor. Roosevelt Jean, Esq., for the plaintiff—trial ready!”
In August 2019, I shouted these words in front of a packed Essex County, New Jersey, courtroom after my co-counsel and I had conducted months of trial preparation. Appearing for trial was routine. I had tried dozens of jury trials as lead defense counsel.
But this trial was different. For the first time, I was going to try a case as the managing partner of “The Law Offices of Roosevelt Jean, LLC,” which carried a new set of business and professional responsibility implications. Additionally, my client was the plaintiff—a victim of excessive force who suffered injuries leading to serious neck surgery. It was now my firm's mission to seek justice for a grieving family. Being a plaintiff's advocate was something I long dreamed of doing. As a result, I was experiencing the same nervous yet exciting stomach sensation felt during my first law school mock trial competition. This felt great!
Why create a firm after many successful years practicing at law firms? For more than 16 years, I was a highly experienced and trusted trial counsel to defendants in high-stakes employment, and personal injury matters. I had even ascended to a civil litigation partner at the New York and New Jersey offices of a national defense firm.
So, what was missing? I wanted more. I wanted more control over the type of cases I litigated, and I wanted more time to devote to equally rewarding life interests—being a husband, father, mentor, and public servant, regularly partnering with youth education organizations as a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
So, I decided to chart my own course and bet on myself. By creating my own practice, my legal skills and business relationships would only become better.
How did I prepare to meet this new professional challenge? One word: relationships. Before taking the leap, I was grounded by the assurance that my personal and professional relationships would be a great source for continued business. This network included family, former adversaries in the plaintiffs' bar, nonprofits with whom I had partnered for years, and “My Brother’s Keeper”—a phenomenal group of New York male attorneys of color committed to mentoring and providing each other strategies for career management. With that assurance, I was on my way.
Since then, I have not looked back. My Essex County case resulted in a $600,000 settlement, followed by numerous subsequent six-figure settlements for other clients. In the end, my clients have been happy. I am happy. And, most importantly, my family—who encouraged me to follow a dream—was happy.
Today, practicing law is more enjoyable because I’m able to balance career, family, and rewarding public service initiatives—including recently coaching my local high school mock trial to the semi-finals. I am also blessed to leverage the strength of my entire life experience to seek 100 percent justice for personal injury, labor and employment, and civil rights victims.
The Law Offices of Roosevelt Jean, LLC, continues to be trial-ready!
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN GPSOLO, VOLUME 37, NUMBER 5, SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 © 2020 BY THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION. REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS INFORMATION OR ANY PORTION THEREOF MAY NOT BE COPIED OR DISSEMINATED IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS OR STORED IN AN ELECTRONIC DATABASE OR RETRIEVAL SYSTEM WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION.
*ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
