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Alum named among top minority attorneys by Texas publication


October 05, 2009

Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law alumnus Jesse E. Guerra Jr. (Class of 2006) is one of the top 25 minority attorneys in Texas, according to Texas Lawyer.

Guerra, a partner in the law firm of Hilliard Munoz Guerra in Corpus Christi, was profiled in the October issue in an article, "Extraordinary Minorities in Texas Law," which celebrates the strength and diversity in that state's legal community.

It wasn't until Guerra, the father of four children, became a personal-injury attorney for plaintiffs involved in lawsuits over injuries and deaths in swimming pools that he began thinking seriously about making pools safer. He launched an online campaign to educate people about pool safety, and has appeared on local television to discuss the topic.Guerra is working on a way to make the Texas Administrative Code standards regarding public pools available in Spanish, since a majority of pool maintenance workers in the lawsuits he's handled were Spanish speakers who could not read the guidelines, he says.

In less than two years, he has settled more than $11 million in cases that he says involve avoidable injuries and deaths in pools, Texas Lawyer reported.

With his success, Guerra has established two scholarship programs, for students at the College of Law, and for college-bound Hispanic high school students, through the League of United Latin American Citizens. He also mentors local Hispanic students considering law school or already studying law.

"This is a great profession," he says. "I truly believe anyone can do it if they put their mind to it, if they're willing to put the sweat in. If you have the ganas - the desire - you can do it."

To read the full article, click here.

Janie Magruder, Jane.Magruder@asu.edu
(480) 727-9052
Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law