Page 18 - First Coast Vol 3 No 6
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AALM: When did you  rst know you wanted to become an attorney? What drew you to this career?
Poindexter: I have wanted to be an attorney as long as I can remember. My mom was going through some of my old things a few months back and gave me a copy of a middle school newspaper in which I publicly dis- closed my intent to go to law school for the  rst time in the “Student Spotlight” section. I grew up around a number of attorneys and always looked up to them for the knowledge they possessed and the respect they earned from their peers through their hard work.
AALM: Who is your current men- tor? What is the best lesson they’ve taught you so far?
Poindexter: I started working for Tad Delegal when I  rst started law school in 2011. Having Tad as a mentor has been instrumental in my success during my  rst three years of practice. Dealing with factual, legal, procedural, and ethical challenges is a part of every attorney’s practice. Facing those issues for the  rst time is daunting, but having a mentor who has experience handling those chal- lenges is essential.
AALM: What drew you to your cur- rent  rm? How would you describe the culture there? How would you de- scribe your role within the  rm?
Poindexter: During college, I worked as a  le clerk in a labor and employment law  rm in Winter Park, Florida. It was that experience that drew me into the practice of em- ployment law and piqued my inter- est in returning to my home town of Jacksonville to practice. Our  rm is a boutique practice that provides legal advice and representation to profes- sionals throughout northeast Florida. I am proud of the great results we are able to achieve for our clients and look forward to expanding our prac- tice throughout southeast Georgia as well.
AALM: Where do you see your career going? Partner track? Going solo? A corporate job?  e bench or a position as a government attorney?
Poindexter: I thoroughly enjoy the diversity of our  rm’s practice and look forward to continuing to mas- ter the representation of employees before these tribunals. In addition to the traditional employment discrimi- nation claims, which are typically liti- gated in federal court, we also repre- sent clients in contract and tort claims in the circuit and county courts. Ad- ditionally, we represent licensed em- ployees in administrative cases before the Florida Division of Administra- tive Hearings, public unions before Public Employee Relations Commis- sion, and local government employ- ees before a number of local tribunals including the City of Jacksonville’s Pension Advisory Committee and Civil Service Board.
AALM: With technology and an ev-
er-global world, how do you see the legal profession evolving over your career? Do you believe this will be positive or negative?
Poindexter: Companies are adopt- ing and utilizing technologies as quickly as they are developed. I re- cently learned of one app that pro- motes itself as a way to discuss sen- sitive negotiations and human re- sources problems without leaving a digital record. Obviously, these types of technologies present discovery is- sues in employment cases. As these technologies advance, we are having to continue to learn about these tech- nologies in order to obtain discovery and prevent spoliation of evidence.
AALM: What do you enjoy doing outside of work? Hobbies? Sports?
Poindexter: Work-life balance is extremely important to me. Outside of work I enjoy traveling and going to the beach with my wife, Katherine, and our dog, Fenway. We also enjoy cooking and exercising together. In my free time, I enjoying playing golf and chess.
AALM: What do you most hope to accomplish in the future?
Poindexter: I have found that there are few attorneys working in the  eld of employee representation, and it does not appear that there are large numbers of young attorneys entering the specialty. I hope that I can con- tinue to grow our  rm’s practice and develop my skills as an advocate for employee rights.
DELEGAL LAW OFFICES P.A
424 East Monroe Street Jacksonville, FL 32202 (904) 633-5000 protectingcareers.com
James Poindexter
RISING STAR
Facing Down All Tribunals
ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · FIRST COAST · VOL. 3 NO. 6 18


































































































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