NLD Member Spotlight: Gilberto Vera

Gilberto Vera is this year’s recipient of the Jack Berman Award of Achievement, which the California Young Lawyers Association awards annually to a new lawyer for their distinguished service to the community and the legal profession. Vera, who is a Senior Attorney with the Legal Aid Society of San Diego, Inc., has dedicated his career to assisting financially vulnerable populations.

His dedication and aptitude to advocate for vulnerable low-income households began with the story of his childhood. Navigating the U.S. education system was difficult for Vera because his parents never had the opportunity to receive a formal education and were monolingual Spanish speakers. As a first-generation Mexican American, Vera trail-blazed a future for his family by being the first to complete elementary school, and later by pursuing a career as an attorney.

Vera attributes his motivation for advocating for others to the responsibility and trust he received to be the English translator for his Spanish-speaking family. As the eldest child he learned to advocate for his family, translating for them and navigating through business and housing matters.

“I constantly played the role of the interpreter for my family,” he said. “Those challenging experiences advocating for my family help me connect with my multi-lingual clients today.”

Vera attended Southwest High School (the most southwest high school in the continental United States) and studied at UC Berkley. He then worked as a paralegal at an asbestos plaintiff’s firm who represented blue collar workers and veterans before pursuing his long-held dream of graduating from law school. While attending Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, Vera interned with the gang rehabilitation organization HomeBoy Industries and the popular Spanish television network Mundofox. But it was at his internship with Public Counsel aiding undocumented victims of crime that ultimately changed his course from corporate law to a career helping people in poverty-stricken communities, giving them a “second chance at life.”

During a post-bar position with Waters & Kraus, LLP, Vera aided military members who were exposed to asbestos on U.S. naval ships during their time in service. Asbestos exposure often leads to debilitating or fatal conditions such as mesothelioma and other forms of cancer. Working with impacted blue collar workers, veterans, widows, and minors instilled in Vera a passion for empowering victims of injury and abuse.

Once he was licensed as an attorney, Vera represented indigent and immigrant tenants for two years while working for Los Angeles’ Inner City Law Center before joining the Legal Aid Society of San Diego (LASSD) in 2017. LASSD is one of the county’s largest poverty law firms, with over 70 attorneys pursuing justice for clients in practice areas ranging from income and maintenance to fair housing, immigration, family law, and more. For the last four years, Vera has focused his advocacy and practice on clients with challenging landlord-tenant relationships in San Diego County.

As the Senior Attorney on the Legal Aid Society’s Housing team, Vera is acutely aware of the local and statewide housing challenges faced daily by his clients. He also coordinates with other legal organizations to help promote policy at the legislative level that can improve overall housing security for low-income individuals subjected to market-shifting events outside of their control — a recent example being the COVID-19 pandemic.

As Vera explained, “When the economy suffers a sudden downturn, existing laws do not adequately protect tenants from evictions when they are already facing housing instability.” He believes prospective policy proposals should focus on preventing immediate life-altering changes in living conditions for rent-burdened households, i.e., households where the total expense for rent equals more than 30% of a household’s income. What seems shocking is that in San Diego County, most low-income households pay more than half of their monthly income on rent. This explains why crises such as the current pandemic dramatically increase the likelihood that already-burdened families will face eviction and homelessness.

Vera advises new lawyers and law students to “never close a window to a new opportunity.” He especially encourages students to seek experiences that expose them to new practice areas and clients, such as internships with nonprofits and volunteer opportunities with local legal clinics. He also advises new lawyers to listen to clients’ problems outside of their strictly legal context.

When Vera talks about his work, he emits a passion for connecting with people on a deeper level. He recounts that his parents never experienced the kind of care and compassion from an attorney that he offers his clients. When multi-lingual clients ask him questions in Spanish, it reminds him of the times his parents didn’t know how to ask for help in English.

“Speaking the language helps you build rapport with clients, and so clients come to you with more questions,” he said. “You can always ask questions, but you’ve also got to let them speak.”