Domingo Soto

Before I became a lawyer, I was a different kind of tale spinner. I had been a rebel, a radical and a rabble rouser in college, editor of our college newspaper, underground journalist, a reporter for the local daily and then I did another seven years as the founder and publisher of a weekly.

Luckily, those were good credentials for the legal services office that was opening in Mobile. I sold my newspaper and worked four and a half years as a public benefits paralegal. I followed that with my three years at the University of Alabama School of Law. It was now 1986. I was forty years old and beginning a second career.

Again, though, I got lucky. It had never been my intention to practice criminal law. I had envisioned being a different sort of champion, doing civil rights, discrimination or labor law. But I managed to partner with my legal services mentor and friend. Since he did criminal law, I did too. His remarkable ability and esteemed reputation, coupled with my ability to speak Spanish, moved our firm to the head of the line and I soon found myself involved in some of the most high-profile cases in our area. Now, I write about those experiences.