Ms. Kira Brereton-Paul currently serves as Associate General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at S&P (Standard & Poors) Global Ratings. In her capacity as Associate General Counsel, she provides transactional legal counseling (i) in respect of ratings on traditional and esoteric structured finance transactions in the U.S. and (ii) with respect to all types of credit ratings issued in Latin America and the Caribbean.   Prior to joining S&P Global Ratings, Ms. Brereton-Paul practiced structured finance law for over ten years at the AM law 100 international law firm of Dechert LLP.

Welcome to another great bonus episode from the Journey to Esquire: Oral History Project.

In this episode, we pass the mic to Arthenia L. Joyner. Former State Senator Arthenia Joyner is a pioneer and has been a political trailblazer throughout her impressive career. Born in 1943 in Lakeland, Florida (later moving to Tampa), she was taught by her father, Henry Joyner -- the owner of Tampa’s premier African-American night club, the Cotton Club -- about the importance of sharing personal success with those less fortunate. Her mother, Jean Joyner, taught her to follow her conscience and her convictions, and never be afraid to speak up on issues that mattered.

In 1960, while an 11th-grade student at Tampa’s Middleton High, she participated in her first civil rights demonstration, an event that would shape her entire life. As a college student at Florida A & M University, she was arrested twice in 1963 for civil disobedience and spent 14 days in jail. In 1964, she graduated with a B.S. in Political Science from Florida A & M University, and, in 1968, earned her J.D. from Florida A & M University, College of Law. After graduation, she worked as a legal assistant to State Representative Joe Lang Kershaw, the first African-American to serve in Tallahassee since Reconstruction. Later, when no law firm would hire her, she took out a $1,000 bank loan and opened her solo practice of law. In 1991, she was a founder of the law firm of Stewart Joyner Jordan-Holmes Holmes. She became the first black woman to practice law in Hillsborough County and the first black to practice law in Polk County.

She served three terms as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 59th District (2000-2006). Subsequently elected to the Florida Senate, Senator Joyner served the people of the 18th District from 2006-2012. After political districts were redrawn, she won the race for the 19th District, serving from 2012-2016. Over her legislative career, Senator Joyner has held many significant posts, including being elected the first black woman Senate Minority Leader (2014-2016).

In 2012, Senator Joyner received the National Black Caucus of State Legislators’ (NBCSL) Lifetime Achievement Award and the President’s Award from Florida A & M University. She was inducted into the Hillsborough County Women’s Hall of Fame in 2014, and in 2015 the Democratic Caucus in the Florida Senate named their annual political dinner for women, The Annual Arthenia L. Joyner Women in Politics Dinner.

Welcome to another bonus episode featuring Journey to Esquire: An Oral History.

In this episode, we pass the mic to Donald R. Odom.  Bornin 1950, in Saint Petersburg, Florida, Donald R. Odom always knew he would be a lawyer.  He spent his formative years in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, during which he became an admirer of Judge Thurgood Marshall.  He recalls reading about Judge Marshall’s accomplishments during the 1950s and 60s, including his nomination to the United States Supreme Court in 1967.   Interestingly, Mr. Odom did not meet a lawyer until he attended Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he met African American pioneers I. W. Williams, Fred Minnis and James Sanderlin.

Following graduation from Gibbs High School, Mr. Odom enrolled at the University of South Florida in 1968.  He majored in political science, was active in campus politics, and served as President of the Black Student Union.  Mr. Odom graduated in 1972 with a B.A. degree in Political Science.  Thereafter, he was admitted to the University of Florida Law School in 1974, when the school operated on the quarter system, which allowed him to complete his studies in two years and one quarter.  The Honorable Stephen Mickle was one of Mr. Odom’s Professors at Florida and Mr. Odom also clerked part-time at Judge Mickle’s law firm.  Mr. Odom graduated from law school in June 1976 and was admitted to practice law on November 18, 1977.

From 1985 to his retirement,  Mr. Odom has worked at the Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office in Tampa, Florida, first as an Assistant County Attorney, then as a Chief Assistant County Attorney, and since 2005 as the Deputy County Attorney.  His areas of practice have primarily been utilities law and local government law.  Prior to his tenure with the County Attorney’s Office, Mr. Odom worked in the firm of Williams and Milton in St. Petersburg and the firm of Tindall, Trybus & Odom in Tampa.  Mr. Odom served as the first African American Assistant City Attorney with the Saint Petersburg’s City Attorney’s Office, and the first African American Assistant District Counsel with the District V office of the Florida Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services.  Mr. Odom has participated in numerous proceedings that have had a significant public impact, including his successful defense of the City of St. Petersburg’s Human Rights Ordinance.

Welcome to the first full interview of the Journey to Esquire: Oral History Project.  In this episode, we pass the mic to Delano Stewart who had a stellar career as a criminal and civil trial lawyer. He served as the first president of the George Edgecomb Bar Association from 1982 to 1983. Stewart was elected as the first African American on the Hillsborough County Bar Association Board of Directors.  He continued his community and political activism by running for the Florida House of Representatives in 1966 and Tampa City Council in 1970. Undeterred by these unsuccessful races, he continued to spend his Saturdays registering African American voters. Stewart is a Founder of the Tampa Organization of Black Affairs (1980), and the first African American member of the Rough Riders civic organization, of which he is a life member. He is also a member of the National Bar Association’s Hall of Fame. Lawyer Delano Stewart was born on November 9, 1935, in Tampa, Florida to Beatrice Hill Stewart and Garland V. Stewart. He went on to earn his B.A degree in political science at his father’s alma mater, Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. From there, he attended Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C., during which time he attended the March on Washington in 1963. He also served in the U.S. Air Force. Upon graduating in 1964, Stewart returned to Tampa, Florida, where he became the first African American board member for the Hillsborough County Young Democrats. After graduating from Howard’s Law School, Stewart returned to Tampa to enter private practice with Francisco Rodriguez and S.J. Kenneth Rogers. Stewart also became the first African American Assistant Public Defender for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County. Stewart expanded his law practice to add fellow Howard Law graduate George Edgecomb and Arthenia Joyner, the first African American female to practice law in Hillsborough County. Edgecomb became Tampa’s first African American assistant state attorney and county court judge. The local George Edgecomb Bar Association bears his name and awards the Delano Stewart Diversity Award annually. In 1970, Stewart became the first attorney to head an integrated law firm in Florida.

In honor of Black History Month, Journey to Esquire: The Podcast would like to share a glimpse into the beginnings of an oral history of African-American Pioneering lawyers in Tampa Bay. Featured speakers are Delano Stewart, Arthenia Joyner, and Donald Odom. 

Special thanks to Ricky Roberts and Ricky Roberts Photography www.rickyroberts.com, and Dr. Peter-Christian Aigner Director of the Gotham Center, www.gothamcenter.com for their assistance and support in this project. 

For the full video visit our YouTube Page and the website www.journeytoesquire.com/oralhistory.

Board Certified in Appellate Practice, Sarah Lahlou-Amine practices in all areas of state and federal appellate litigation. In addition to handling all types of appeals and original proceedings, Sarah is frequently retained for the strategic focus she brings to trial court litigation, helping clients and trial lawyers create records suited to both protect favorable rulings and document grounds for reversal in the event of an adverse outcome.

Contact: [email protected] @SLahlou_Amine (Twitter) @sarahlahlouamine (LinkedIn)

Fun fact: In her spare time, Sarah enjoys writing and is an avid Florida farm enthusiast and agritourist.

Joann Grages Burnett serves as the Associate Director of Career and Professional Development at Stetson University College of Law.  Burnett specializes in employer engagement, professional development, and readiness for students and alumni. Burnett co-chairs Stetson Law’s award-winning Campus to Career Professional Development Conference. Burnett previously served as an assistant public defender for the 6th Judicial Circuit. Burnett received her Juris Doctor from Stetson University College of Law after graduating with honors from the University of Florida.

Burnett serves as the Lactation Room Task Force Chair of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers.  She previously served as the Member Resources Director for the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division where she led the division's professional development and wellness initiatives. She is active with the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, the Pinellas Chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers, and a member of the Stetson Lawyers Advisory Council. Burnett lives in Gulfport with her husband Andy and their daughters Charlotte and Eleanor.

Links: https://www.stetson.edu/portal/law/  https://www.stetson.edu/law/career/ https://www.fawl.org/

Fun Fact: Once fan-girled out meeting David Gergen!

As WMU - Cooley Law School Tampa Bay's campus director, Daniela Mendez is responsible for term course schedules and provides campus supervision and support.

Daniela is a magna cum laude graduate of WMU-Cooley Law School and before serving as a public defender worked as a legal intern with the WMU-Cooley Innocence Project. She was a paralegal with Catania & Catania, PA and served as a legal assistant with Stolbert & Townsend, PA, both in Tampa, Florida.

Daniela has been involved as a volunteer with several Tampa area organizations including, Palabra De Vida Church Ministry, Everyday Blessings, Trinity Café-Dining with Dignity, and A Kid’s Place.  In addition to her law degree from WMU-Cooley, Mendez earned a bachelor’s degree in criminology from the University of South Florida and a master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Central Florida.

For more information on the programs mentioned in this episode check out: http://www.thesunnycenter.com  https://www.cooley.edu/academics/experiential-learning/innocence-project  http://crossroadsfloridakids.org/

Fun Fact: I have a twin brother, who is 6'2 and looks nothing like me. I am married to my high school sweetheart and love to spend time in escape rooms and having fun with friends.

Judge Daryl M. Manning is a County Court Judge in Hillsborough County and currently assigned to the county civil division.  He was a practicing attorney in Tampa with the Office of the Florida Attorney General for sixteen years prior to his appointment by Governor Scott in 2015.

Judge Manning obtained his LL.M. from the Army Judge Advocate Legal Center and School at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA, his J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law in Queens, N.Y. and his B.A. from the University of South Carolina, in Columbia, S.C.

Judge Manning was a Judge Advocate (JAG) Officer in the United States Army and served several tours in support of the Global War on Terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2015.  On the local level, Judge Manning was a member of the Florida Board of Bar Examiners and served as chair from 2013 – 2015. He served on a Florida Bar Grievance Committee in Hillsborough and is a certified Guardian ad Litem.

Contact: [email protected]

Fun Fact: 10+ years ago, he appeared on Comedy Central!

Vanessa Ferguson is a Florida native and was born near Orlando, Florida. She is currently an attorney and the managing director of Ferguson Legal, PLLC. Ferguson Legal, PLLC is a law firm that focuses on general Business law, Data Privacy, and Intellectual Property. Ms. Ferguson also serves as the secretary of the George Edgecomb Bar Association and is a Certified Information Privacy Technologist.

Ms. Ferguson obtained her Associate’s degree and her Bachelor’s degree in Criminology, with a minor in Legal Studies, from the University of South Florida St Petersburg. Ms. Ferguson attended the University of Dayton School of Law and graduated in two and a half years with a certification for her Intellectual Property concentration.

Links: [email protected] and www.linkedin.com/in/vnessaferguson

Fun fact: I am one of 5 girls and I have 7 nieces and nephews.