DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR FELLOW LAWYER HAS BEEN DOING ?

 

There is a distinct hero walking among us. Everybody knows of him, but you may not know about him since he pretty much keeps his altruism on the hush-hush. At the Miami criminal courthouse, he is out and about and everywhere yet, in certain regards, he keeps a low profile. This attorney applies his unique experience as a military veteran and criminal lawyer, along with his distinguishable Bronx upbringing, to bring a unique solace to certain people that very much need it. I am referring to Mr. Gregory A. Gonzalez, everybody’s buddy, but do you know how much of an angel, a mensch, and a savior he can be?

Greg is  dedicated to the welfare of military veterans that come through the Miami criminal justice system.  I am not just talking about representing their legal interests for Greg goes well beyond that. You see, Greg befriends, guides, comforts, feeds, transports, and acts as a guardian angel to many of these veterans, even if he doesn’t represent them. Greg doesn’t do this to stack his resume, he does it because of extreme empathy, he knows he can help, actually understands how to help and follows through with these veterans in order to try to insure their welfare. Many of Greg’s virtues are in the open; he is affable, the high quality of his lawyering is obvious, and it is common to see him in the cafeteria buying veterans meals …and compassionately listening.

But it wasn’t until I had a recent foray in Veterans court that I saw the incredible commitment that Greg has. My client, a combat veteran, absconded from his Miami-Dade residential program. As a consequence, he was picked up in Collier county and held without bond.  The honorable Marissa Tinkler-Mendez, the presiding judge for veteran’s court (who also deserves accolades for her notable work with veterans),  was going to allow my client to be released however, he first needed to be transported back to Miami. During these COVID times, transportation from one jail to another is easier said than done…many are simply not moving the inmates around…like in this situation.  So, it became quite clear that if I did not take responsibility for the transportation, then the client would never be moved.  I arranged for my client to be released to me so that I could drive him across the State with the expectation that the client had to be admitted back into his Miami program on the same date.  Since Greg is involved in every Veteran’s Court calendar call, when he heard about what was going on, he volunteered to pick up the client and transport him. But Greg wanted to do so much more; he drove out there before the sun rose, picked up my client, fed him, and spent time really listening to him. Greg took my client back to his program, went inside, talked with the staff and observed exactly what the client was going through. Most importantly, Greg created a lasting bond as an essential mentor to my client.

If you have never served in the military, and particularly during combat times, it is impossible to relate or even understand what a veteran may be going through… but Greg sure does. Since being transported back here, my client has had some hiccups of apprehension and instability, but he wisely reaches out to Greg for existential advice.  When my client reaches out for help, Greg often responds in person to help this man through his difficulties.  Greg is a guardian angel to my client yet, my commonsense surmises that this degree of altruism is probably not just limited to my client.

Since Greg is quite selfless in his dedication, he doesn’t want this post to just focus on him.  There are other dedicated mentors, and this is what they do.  There is always a need for more mentors to get involved. 

Many of us try to give back to the community through pro bono work, volunteering, charity involvement, etc. Greg’s actions are, unequivocally, helping others yet he also may be saving some lives. Don’t just judge some of these lawyers by verdicts, how ornate their office is or other material reflections for there is more to life.   With Greg making himself continuously available to rescue these veterans where they don’t know where else to turn, his actions qualify for him to be in the pantheons of the South Florida criminal justice system.