John de León

John de Leon
Born February 14, 1962
Miami, FL
Nationality American
Alma mater University of Miami (A.B.)
Georgetown University Law Center (J.D.)
Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (M.I.A.)
Occupation Civil-rights attorney

John de Leon (born February 14, 1962, Miami, Florida) is a Cuban-American attorney known for his work on immigration and civil rights issues. His cases have been the subject of reports in The New York Times[1] and ABC News[2] and he is a frequent guest on Spanish-language news and opinion programs[3][4] and local media [5] discussing immigration and other human-rights topics. He has also appeared as a legal commentator on CNN.[6]

De Leon is managing partner of the Miami law offices of Chavez & de Leon, P.A, which he co-founded with Fernando Chavez, son of the labor rights activist Cesar Chavez, in 2003. De Leon is cited as a top 100 trial lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers (NTL) organization[7] and is a consulting attorney working on behalf of Mexican nationals for the Consulate General of Mexico.

Called a “Civic-Minded Lawyer [Who] Fights for the Rights of Immigrants”[8] by Hispanic Executive magazine, de Leon was once named “Best Promoter of Social Diversity”[9] by Miami New Times and one of “Forty to Watch in the New Century” by The Miami Herald.[10] He often lectures [11] on the subject of immigration, and has authored several op-ed pieces on the theme of civil liberties.[12][13]

He is also a past recipient of the Stanley Milledge Award for lifetime achievements from the Greater Miami chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), of which he was twice president.[14] Of de Leon's first tenure as head of that organization, writer Jacob Bernstein noted in a 2001 article in The Miami New Times that, "His tireless advocacy raised both the profile of his organization, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the importance of the Bill of Rights to heretofore unknown levels of recognition in South Florida."[15] In an article that appeared around the same time in The Miami Herald, Meg Laughlin wrote, "What de Leon is credited with doing in Miami is bringing a very divided community together under the umbrella of individual rights for everyone - whether to the political right or left."[16]

The youngest child of exiled Cuban parents who came to the U.S. in 1959, de Leon began his law career with the Miami-Dade Public Defender's Office, where he tried cases as an assistant public defender from 1987-2001. Prior to forming Chavez & de Leon, he worked in Bogotá, Colombia as an administration-of-justice specialist on a USAID-funded project that assisted the Colombian government on issues relating to criminal defense and trial concerns.

He attended Archbishop Curley, now Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School, in Miami, and received a cum laude A.B. degree from the University of Miami in 1983, his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1986, as well as a Master's in International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in 1992.

De Leon is a board member of the ACLU of Greater Miami and Americans for Immigrant Justice (formerly the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center). He also serves on the executive committee of the National Latino Trial Lawyers Association (NLTLA) and the Community Advisory Board for Florida International University College of Law.

References

  1. ↑ “After Losing Freedom, Some Immigrants Face Loss of Custody of Their Children,” The New York Times - April 22, 2009
  2. ↑ ABC World News, February 1, 2012
  3. ↑ Telemundo, February 2012
  4. ↑ Univision, March 2011
  5. ↑ Facing South Florida, CBS4, March 10, 2014
  6. ↑ CNN, March 2004
  7. ↑ National Trial Lawyers.org
  8. ↑ Hispanic Executive July/Aug/Sept 2013 Issue
  9. ↑ Miami New Times, May 11, 2000
  10. ↑ “40 To Watch,” The Miami Herald (FL) - December 12, 1999
  11. ↑ National Immigration Project, January 2013
  12. ↑ “On Government Surveillance, Americans Complicit,” The Miami Herald (FL) - June 16, 2013
  13. ↑ “My Vote Didn't Count,” The Miami Herald (FL) - November 8, 2012
  14. ↑ “ACLU Fetes Those Who 'Protect People's Rights,” The Miami Herald (FL) - December 8, 2001
  15. ↑ “It Takes a Cuban,” Miami New Times - June 14, 2001
  16. ↑ “ACLU President Leaving Miami,” The Miami Herald (FL) - May 9, 2001

External links

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