devastating effects that poverty can have on individual human rights and basic dignity. After working for a large New York municipal bond firm and as a trial preparation associate at the New York County District Attorney’s Office, Mr. Peña discovered that his true calling was not work for these institutions, but rather to work for the people  who had been marginalized by these very same institutions.   These early experiences led Mr. Peña toward a career as a plaintiff’s attorney.

 

In pursuit of his calling, Mr. Peña won the United States President’s award for academic achievement, attended undergraduate school on scholarship at the College of Mount St. Vincent in Riverdale, N.Y., and pursued his law degree from the Cleveland Marshall College of Law, where he was a student Senator and President of the Hispanic Law Student’s Association (HLSA). During law school, he saw the unvarnished, inner workings of the justice system as a clerk to judges and magistrates in the Cleveland Municipal Court and continued his commitment to helping his community by working at the Spanish American Committee of Cleveland.

 

Since his admission to the bar, Mr. Peña has been an advocate for injury victims and continues to serve in many civic capacities. He acts as an advisory committee member for the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District Advisory Committee (NEORSD) and is vice president of the board of directors for the Hispanic Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Outreach Program (Hispanic UMADAOP).  Mr. Peña’s civic engagement has also helped him foster relationships with the non-profit organizations Esperanza and the Hispanic Alliance. 

 

Mr. Peña speaks fluent Spanish giving him the ability to resolve his clients' dilemmas in two languages.  Mr. Peña lives in downtown Cleveland with his fiancé who practices social work.