We were lucky to catch up with Josephine Pesaresi Hallam recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Josephine Pesaresi thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?
My personal legacy in criminal law is a small contribution to a profound family legacy laid in part by my maternal grandfather, Justice Hugo L. Black. My grandfather’s Supreme Court opinions, personal ethos, and personal bonds set in motion a living legacy with lasting and multi-generational effects. Extending positive values, beliefs, and a work ethic to help solidify a family of strength, public service, and cultivate personal commitment in their children, grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren, Josephine and Hugo Black are a piece of history, yet their life lessons, as their granddaughter, seem timeless to me. I am the only female grandchild of Justice Hugo Black to go to law school and be an active trial attorney throughout my career. My grandfather wrote the Gideon v. Wainwright opinion, which laid the basis for opening Public Defender offices throughout the United States, providing criminal defense attorneys to indigent felony criminal defendants.
I spent my undergraduate years at Brown University, graduating with a degree in American Civilization, primarily focused on Black Women Writers and Black Women in American History. During Law School, in the South, at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I volunteered to help the Orange County Public Defender in the defense of a fellow law student, who was gravely mentally ill, charged with murder for a shooting spree in Downtown Chapel Hill. During my 3L year, the student was found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity. He will be in a mental facility for most of his days left on this earth, getting treatment to battle the ravaging relentlessness of mental illness.
Upon graduating from law school, I was honored to begin my career at the Maricopa County Public Defender’s Office in Phoenix, Arizona. The joy and privilege it is to stand beside a client in court and announce, “Josephine Hallam on behalf of . . .”, knowing my law degree, grit and nonjudgmental kindness, is the only thing standing between my client and the State’s powerful prosecution prowess, to me, is the epitome of Justice.
By now, I am 26 years into my career, and I am more stalwart than ever about the beauty of the law. Dreamed up by Alexander Hamilton, centuries ago, based on the genius of Ancient Greek Philosophers, our Constitution is a living, breathing testament to America. Watching the evolution of laws, interpretations of laws, and the fundamental truths which are never abandoned, is breathtaking.
As a major felony criminal defense attorney, I only represent the men and women facing the highest level, most complex cases. Murders. Sex Offenses. Multiple child sex conduct and exploitation cases. I average three trials per year, and my place in this world is in the well of a courtroom, cross-examining witnesses, and arguing to a jury. The youngest child I have cross examined was 4 years-old, and the most children I have cross examined as alleged victims in one trial is 13 children, back to back on the stand. Gang members. Renowned experts. High profile Federal and State cases. I have done it all. My Law Group gives yearly college scholarship money to Children of Incarcerated parents. Education. Pay it forward. Stop cycles of abuse and ignorance.
But, I will not defend in capital (death penalty) cases. The process is so un-American and barbaric to me, it is shameful. And watching a client being put to death, by nameless humans in hoods, would break me. Of that I have no doubt.
My great Aunt Virginia Durr (Josephine’s sister) and her husband, Clifford Durr, bailed Rosa Parks out of jail when she refused to go to “the back” of the bus. My grandmother, aunt Virginia and Eleanor Roosevelt were on the forefront of the women suffragist movement. Legacy after Legacy to learn from and embolden me.
I teach those attorneys I can. I try to leave those I touch better off for having known me. I have grace of heart for myself and my criminal clients and the families involved. I do not judge. My duty is squarely with the United State’s Constitution – I defend humans. With patience, kindness, knowledge and experience. I hope that is my legacy. I love the law.
My grandfather, Justice Hugo Black, was a self-educated Southern boy, who married a Southern belle he was madly in love with. He joined the Ku Klux Clan, when running to be anAlabaman Senator, and kept reading, educating himself. His favorite book was by Edith Hamilton, The Greek Way. He made every law clerk read and discuss the book with him. Humans evolve, change, learn – both minds and souls. My grandfather is proof. He went on to be on the forefront of ending segregation, making the 14th Amendment protections applicable to the States and was a pioneer for the First Amendment, freedom of press and speech.
My grandfather overcame the smallness of his early mentality and lack of exposure to a world outside Alabama, and realized that real men do not subjugate others to feel powerful or feed their weak and broken egos. The authentic ability to treat all humans with grace, kindness, equality and a lack of judgement is the pinnacle of humanity.
This is my legacy. Education gives you power and a responsibility to effect positive change. Educate yourself. Leave those you touch better for having known you. Have grace for others, for we are all flawed. Defend and advocate for the vulnerable, no matter their transgressions.
I hope our Country comes to a point where we will consistently have a President who we can point to as an example of the epitome of the best of humanity, and venom spewing, power grabbers are no longer voices our citizenry wants to hear from in the public forum. Our President should be the best of the best America has to offer – not someone I have to tell my children not to emulate. Luckily, we can all change, learn and grow.
I practice LAW everyday. The Constitution is beautiful and a true world wonder. Humans are phenomenally complex, malleable creatures. Be happy, kind, and use your mind for good. Trust your journey. Each failure or scar on your skin is a badge of pride. Proof you are trying, engaging and not being complacent.
Time will tell what my personal legacy will be. And I have a million war stories from my decades in the trenches of criminal defense. I hope I have served the Black family well. And I haven’t even explained how I learned from and try to carry on the legacy of my paternal grandparents -uneducated Italians who came through the showers at Ellis Island. For we are all unique amalgamations of those who birthed us, cared for us, taught us, walked through the dark with us, laughed with us, persevered or failed with us, but most importantly, sat with us, without judgement, as we found our way.
Humans, humanity, values, human nature, human frailty, mercy, vengeance, pain, rebirth- the United States Constitution has room for it all. It just depends how the people in power twist and bend each word that will create our nation’s legacy. Aren’t we all profoundly lucky to be here, in this moment? I am a criminal defense attorney – body and soul.
Josephine Pesaresi, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
As a life-long Public Defender, I went from being a law clerk, to a a trial line attorney, to a trial group leader, and finally a. supervisor of an entire trial group of 10-12 attorneys, 2 paralegals, 5 secretaries, and 2 investigators. I sat with my new attorneys for their first two trials, first sex crime trial and first murder trial. Part of my duties were teaching legal classes on various topics and proposing policy change. As a woman, I tried to exemplify female power through knowledge and authenticity, because female attorneys often have a hard time finding their voice to embody their criminal, defense attorney persona. As a female representing predominantly male defendants, in a male dominated profession, being strong, knowledgeable and confident is the key.. Female attorneys who present as loud, shrill, or hard, are all to common, but not the best way to present, in my opinion.
At the age of 50, I started my own boutique, white glove, criminal felony defense law group. With $75,000 from my retirement to get me through my first year, I sat with a phone and computer, in a rented office space and waited. Just me. And my knowledge and experience. And unique style. No longer under the roof of a beauracracy, I was excited to practice law my way, on my terms. It took a couple days until I received my first referral, a minor,, charged with a serious sex crime, who had been bounced around foster cares his whole life. The boy’s church paid for his defense. One of the most touching acts of grace, support and healing a church could gift a boy in a hopeless, dark ditch of self-hatred.
I worked the case, adored the client, and felt honored the church choose me to protect such a young, injured, confused and vulnerable soul. When he was released from custody, I took him to get his medications, his prescription eye-glasses, meet his probation officer and got him settled in his monthly hotel room. I also paid him to write blog posts about jail life, just so he would have some money until his first job came through.
In five years, my law group has grown while staying true to my mission of offering the best trial lawyers, no judgement, kindness to families and clients, and legal advocacy to the best of my ability, every time, Recently, I read my reviews for the first time. Some were about trials I won, but the vast majority were comments that I was authentic, patient, truly cared, put people at ease, and was a beacon of light in their darkest moments.
To get those comments, while doing a job I love to my core, is proof that an attorney can be a fierce advocate in the legal arena, and still celebrate the humanity of loving, unapologetically, society’s outcasts. Flaws, addictions, mental illness. Our prisons warehouse the mentally ill. Our jails and prisons offer no rehabilitation for treatable addictions and perversions. There is not one client I haven’t found some joy in knowing. As the defendant’s sole confidant, I carry the truth of many souls, locked securely in my heart. Telling the truth, finally, even if it just to me, frees them. Our broken places are where light can enter.
A client called me an angel once, and I said, “Why would god send an agnostic to be your angel?” No matter the religion, the gang or hate group my clients cling to, we are all human. Flawed, struggling humans. I am no better than any person on this earth. I have not walked their walk. I have not fought their demons. I have not endured their childhoods, mental health challenges, or addictions. Who am I to judge?
One thing remains true: my clients will get to the other side. And something good will emerge from the darkness and tragedy. I wish we had reconciliation courts. Where my clients can hear their victims (after a plea or trial) and offer forgiveness, whether accepted or not. Hatred rots our souls. Humans can forgive without condoning.
Business-wise, I have hit, in 5 years, a million dollar gross income. Crazy. I am just a kind, hard-working, experienced major crime criminal defense trial attorney. Just me, my copy of the Constitution, rules of evidence, and my similarly devoted team. Trying to practice law with a heart, while winning and keeping things fair in the courtroom. I may not have the capacity to represent many more criminal defendants in my career, but I will carry the lessons each one taught me, along with their soul-bearing secrets, until my days are done. The truest honor is knowing them, my clients. And loving them.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Resilience and pivoting seem to be closely, aligned in my mind. Behind every criminal defense attorney is a story of someone they could not save. Losing the fight to save someone personally, fuels our desire to protect and save persecuted clients, often mentally ill, or addicts, or victims of their own horrific childhood nightmares. If I can just save this one person, it will fill up my emptiness and regret for not doing enough to save my own loved on from (fill-in- blank). Although the public perceives me as being born with a silver spoon in my mouth, being Ivy League educated and having it all, my desire to save people, and be a compassionate public defender and,now, private defense attorney, is all born of trajedy.
My father committed suicide by shooting himself in the head while he was alone with me at the age of ten. I should have stopped him, saved him. I now have a lifetime commitment to helping those with Mental Illness. My childhood home was filled with severe alcoholic abuse. I have, as a result, never tasted alcohol or any drugs. But addiction (to drugs, alcohol, toxic people or even child pornography) is something I am strong enough to help people begin to battle.
My sister died of breast cancer at the age of forty a year after she gave birth to her only child. Rippled my mother in two. Unfathomable grief. My brother is Seriously Mentally Ill, and a homeless opioid addict, who has sworn to kill me in his delusional, psychotic breaks. I cannot seem to save him, but clients with mental illness are a large part of my practice.
My mother, who was with me all my life -brought her to North Carolina for my law school, and then with me to Arizona to start my young married life – had a series of strokes, and then one final collapse. I literally had to be interrupted in court to rush to the hospital. My old brethren from the Public Defender’s office silently covered my four other court appearances that day, and my cases for two weeks while I brought her back to Alexandria, Virginia to be laid to rest. . The criminal defense community is small and sturdy and loyal. They stood behind me to. Give me strength.
Pivots. Resilience. Strength. Weakness. Fear. Compassion. Grace of heart. A new niche of criminal defense practice, that is me, and brings together the echos of times I have been broken, and helps others with pain and strength gained through my darkest moments. As long a you are breathing, you can help give solace to others. Volunteer. Work hard. Take each day as it comes, and make the best decisions you can.
You cannot know me, what truly defines me, without walking the journey from the point I watched my father kill himself at age ten. I trust my journey. It brought me to this moment and how could I bond authentically with my clients (all races, all ages, all backgrounds, all crimes) if I hadn’t absorbed and integrated my heartbreaks, failures and mistakes into my essence. The darkest times gave me the gift that is my secret weapon: compassion. Simple, authentic, heartfelt human to human compassion. Being chose to walk a criminal client’s darkest walk with them is the honor of my life.
Any advice for managing a team?
Managing the business and employee aspect of my private law practice has been my biggest challenge. I have attorneys, paralegals and support staff to supervise. Every person, including me, comes with their baggage. Our criminal defendant clients and their loved ones can be toxic to deal with, so my staff has to maintain a healthy, patient mindspace. I, funnily enough, do not like confrontation, and people can mistake my kindness for weakness. Since I have a small business, we all work closely together. Drama implodes things. We have enough client based drama, my law group doesn’t do well with moody, gossipy personalities.
Unfortunately, my original instinct was to give young attorneys, who were facing hurdles, or employees with disruptive and unstable home lives, chances. My practice can be hijacked from my control if I don’t cut employee toxicity off at the first sign. The right team dynamic is the difference between success and failure.
Now I can unapologetically say that if you don’t mirror my approach, it will never work. I am the boss, so my moods, pressures, needs or priorities are important, or the whole structure falls apart. And, my time and energy needs to be protected, because my law practice is intensely personal, draining, challenging intellectually, and compassion burnout is a thing.
The younger generation seems to have different mores and work ethics than us old-timers. I will always work the hardest, make my practice financially successful, stay up all night if necessary during trial. I must feel respected and no longer tolerate power struggles. And if you are with me, have my back, I will be generous with what my law group earns.
Lead by example. Take time to teach. So your staff can be knowledgeable and feel empowered to help others. I have learned and grown as a business owner and boss by my mistakes and failures. Choosing your team is the most important component for success. Having a loyal team with a unique, authentic product – in my case being a major felony criminal defense trial attorney who cares – those are the secret ingredients to a successful small business.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.hallamlawgroup.com
Image Credits
Josephine Hallam