Today we’d like to introduce you to Josiah Graham.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Josiah. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was raised by two loving Jamaican parents who did all that they could for their children. Despite living in a rough Fort Lauderdale neighbor, my parents did an outstanding job in raising my brothers and me. I kept my parents proud by being a good kid and an honor roll student. My childhood was happy, and I wanted for nothing; until one day, everything changed.
On August 26, 1996, my eldest brother, who was 12 at the time, was supposed to start his first day at Parkway Middle School. Unlike our usual first day back to school, the house wasn’t filled with that same nervous excitement for the day ahead. Instead, the house felt cold. Instead, tragedy struck. That morning, instead of choosing to go to school where he was relentlessly bullied for his weight, my eldest brother chose to end his life by hanging himself in our backyard.
It was that day that I learned what tragedy looked like. What it felt like – and how it shifted lives.
The passing of my brother shook my family to the core, causing me to rebel and set into motion a series of events that would change the trajectory of my life. It began the usual way, hanging with friends who I knew my parents wouldn’t approve of. These friends of mine, however, were committing crimes and it wasn’t long before I began joining them in their crime sprees. We would often fight other guys from rival neighborhoods, burglarize establishments or commit other petty crimes; not out of necessity, but rather out of sheer boredom. I thought I was living the life – fast and reckless.
But, things caught up with me when I was arrested for burglary at 12 years old. Tragedy struck – and life shifted. Again. I remember how heavy the sweat felt trickling down my spine when reality struck that I was being handcuffed. I will never forget the chilling rage I felt when the arresting officer told me, “I wish you ran so that I could have let my dogs tear you up.” But never will I forget the look of disappointment on my father’s face when he saw me handcuffed in the back of a police car. I knew that boy in the back of the police car couldn’t be his son.
Shortly after my arrest, I was given a second chance and the court granted me the opportunity to enter into a diversion program at the Broward County State Attorney’s Office, where, if I met with judges, completed community service hours and stayed out of trouble, I would have my charges dismissed. I was elated to have this second chance at life. It was during my program, however, that I met a judge that changed my life. He sat me down, looked at my report card and told me that I did not belong in the “system.” He told me that I was ruining my life by being a follower, instead of a leader. He said I could be anything in the world that I wanted to be, even a lawyer! He told me that this wasn’t going to be my future. It was those few words that resuscitated me. He was right.
That day, I made a vow to become a lawyer and work in the criminal justice system. I dramatically improved my grades, dropped due to my recent trouble and started seeking courses that would prepare me on my newfound journey of becoming an attorney. From that point forward, I tried my best to stay out of trouble and I excelled in grade school and college. I then attended the Florida State University College of Law where I graduated in 2014.
After law school, I began working for the Broward County State Attorney’s Office in their Juvenile division and life shifted again. This is the office that gave me that much-needed second chance over a decade earlier. I was back where it all started – the genesis of my journey to become a lawyer.
I loved my job as a prosecutor. I truly did. I had the power of gifting people the same second chance that I had received years before. However, while I knew my passion was to help people, I always felt that something was missing. I wanted to help people in other ways. I wanted to feel like I was really making a difference.
Throughout my years in the legal community, I kept hearing about a firm called Kelley/Uustal. They were known as the preeminent Plaintiff’s law firm in South Florida and were noted for their work in forever changing people’s lives. I remember reading about one of their cases where a giant corporation tried to put them out of business and bankrupt their law firm. However, the firm would not cave, took this seemingly impossible case to trial, and recovered a record verdict for a grieving family. No firm had ever gotten a verdict this large against this international company.
That was it – that was what I wanted. I wanted to change someone’s life that way because I knew what tragedy felt like. I started sending my resume to Bob Kelley, followed by several lunches with him. Honestly, I went as far as recording myself during one of my criminal trials and sent him a copy of the audio just so he could see the quality of my work. Although, I seriously doubt he ever listened to it to this day, I’m sure he got the message. I wanted to work for him and would not take no for answer.
About a year later, he gave me a shot.
I have now been with Kelley Uustal for two years and have helped change the lives of so many. For the clients that lost parents in horrible car crashes, I am honored to say that we got justice for those families. I have been privileged to force companies to pay parents after their son was killed due to the negligence of an employee. I have been fortunate to be a part of trial teams that represented families that suffered from companies’ intentional conduct. I know what tragedy feels like and I love being a part of those families’ fight for justice.
In all, I have been blessed to represent those people that need me the most. The type of work that we do at Kelley/Uustal is not really work, but a service to others when they have seemingly lost hope after tragedy strikes. Something I will never forget is what tragedy looked like, what it felt like – and how it shifted lives. So, I get up every day honored to work on cases that are seemingly impossible to win, for clients who cannot afford to lose.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Because I was arrested for a felony as a child, I had a difficult time being admitted into the Florida Bar. I sat out for six months as I watched my friends get sworn in and start their careers. I had to hire an attorney to represent me before the Florida Board of Bar Examiners as I pled my case to become a member of the Bar. After six months, they finally let me in.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I work on the most high-stakes catastrophic injury cases in the country. Every single case in our office includes a case that involves either a death, disfiguring burn, traumatic brain injury, amputation, paralysis, blindness or broken bones. I am proud to represent the most resilient clients in the world and help them seek justice against some of the biggest companies on the planet.
My firm is unique in that we do not advertise. Over 90% of the cases in our office are referred to us by other lawyers and judges across the state who recognize our unapparelled track record of winning the most complex cases. Unlike most firms, we have an attorney who is also a medical doctor. He reviews every medical malpractice case in our office and is able to quickly articulate the best case strategy to utilize.
I am most proud of the reputation we have with our adversaries because whenever they see us involved in a particular matter, I’ve been told that this increases the value of our client’s case.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
There is a shift amongst certain political branches to limit a victim’s access to the courts. Many insurance company lobbyists have convinced the public that making it more difficult for an injured victim to sue a negligent defendant, somehow benefits them. This is wrong on so many levels.
There has been a nationwide shift to do anything possible to stop an injured plaintiff from bringing a meritorious claim: from limiting the amount of money a plaintiff can sue for, to limit the amount of money a lawyer can charge per case.
I am not sure what will happen to lawyers like me in the next 10 years. Maybe the legislature will make it impossible for an injured victim to have a trial by jury. But while I am still able to fight for my clients, I will do my very best to get them justice.
Contact Info:
- Address: Kelley Uustal
500 N. Federal Hwy.
Ste. 200
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 - Website: https://www.justiceforall.com/attorney-profiles/josiah-graham/
- Phone: 9545925904
- Email: jdg@kulaw.com
- Instagram: josiahdgraham@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JosiahDanielGraham
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