by Dr. Mary
The Jamaican Bar Association’s (JABA) Southeast Chapter will host its annual gala/awards ceremony on November 18 at Westin Hotel in Fort Lauderdale.
The event will honor dignitaries of the Bench, Bar, and Jamaican-American community.
Don D. G. James, president of the JABA’s Southeast Chapter, spoke about the reasons for starting the non-profit organization 10 years ago.
Purpose of JABA
“The purpose of the JABA is to advance the professional interests of ‘Jamerican’ attorneys. Our mission is to coordinate the development of educational, mentoring and career assistance for our members, nobly serve the Jamerican community and assist however we can, our beloved homeland, Jamaica,” said James.
Over 1,000 members
The JABA has just over 1,000 members who contribute to the Jamaican community in South Florida, as well as in Jamaica.
James, who is from Spanish Town in St. Catherine parish, addressed his dual nationality.
“I really, really, very much identify as a Jamaican-American. It’s important to me not to be identified as anything other,” he explained. “I see everything as that perspective. It’s a choice I consciously made to be an American but I would always be attuned to Jamaica mentally.”
James said he wanted to be a lawyer since he was 12 years-old after watching the classic movie, To Kill a Mockingbird, which starred Gregory Peck as lawyer Atticus Finch. “That movie gave me a perspective of what real power should be.”
Professionally, James was not always a lawyer. After graduating from high school, he taught history, English, and economics, then went into the banking sector in Jamaica.
Fulfilled ambition to be attorney
He migrated to the United States in his early 20s and got a banking job in Tampa, but still wanted to fulfill his dream of becoming a lawyer. James worked 15 years as a banker before being able to raise enough money to get into law school. He graduated from the University of Miami Law School in 1998 and now works as a general attorney, covering banking, personal injury, divorce and separation and criminal defense cases.
James said what brings him the greatest satisfaction is the “freedom to do what I want” which includes a lot of charity work “I support poor Jamaicans, however, I choose to when I see the need.”
