Meet KF&B Marcus Fernandez
Marcus Fernandez is a Tampa personal injury attorney who obtained his bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida in Orlando and a doctorate’s degree from South Texas College of Law in Houston. After a decade of practicing law, he has established himself as an involved member of the community who splits his time between working on court cases and giving back to the local society. Mr. Fernandez is further characterized by great versatility as he also holds the titles of a car accident attorney in Tampa and even slip and fall attorney in Tampa.
What are your favorite books?
When I was in law school, we had a long list of mandatory-read books deemed essential to the development of a law-oriented mind. The ones that resonated with me the most were “How to Argue and Win Every Time” by Gerry Spencer and “The Art of Cross-Examination” by Francis Wellman. In all honesty, however, these books are fully armed with a plethora of legalese and dictionary terms that might be hard to comprehend at first. Thus, I do not suggest them to anyone who is not looking to become an attorney. For people outside of the world of lawyers, I recommend reading autobiographies written by people like Bryan Stevenson, Andrew Cuomo, Karenna Gore, and Shirin Ebadi. All of these individuals come from different backgrounds and have found their way to the field of law uniquely. Getting familiar with their stories might help regular people understand everything that attorneys must endure.
What’s your favorite film?
“A Time to Kill” from 1996. If there has ever been any media that can be called a landmark of the movement towards racial equality, it would undoubtedly be this film. In retrospect, the first time that I watched it was long before I even considered the possibility of becoming a lawyer. Having gone through law school, however, definitely makes me appreciate the movie even more. All of the scenes that took place in the courtroom were portrayed in a way that enabled the legal representation to demonstrate precisely how calling on witnesses works, why specific evidence must be presented, the way in which it should be displayed, the art of cross-examination, and much more.
Describe your typical day.
I start my day by making my breakfast. Although I have to wake up a little earlier to be able to accomplish this, I think it is worth the effort since the first meal of the day sets the pace and mood for the rest of that day. I noticed that those weeks where I skip breakfast tend to involve a noticeably increased amount of stress. Thus, I make it a rule to eat well every morning and be consistent with the nutrients that I put in my body. Then, I head to the office and spend the next 8 to 10 hours completing a ton of different tasks that are outlined in my cloud-based agenda. In the evenings, I either go out and eat with friends, or I go back home to get ready for a quick workout.
What is your favorite thing about working in your industry?
The fact that I meet so many people who need my help. Being an attorney who does personal injury and car accidents enables me to meet a new individual almost every week. This is because these unfortunate incidents continue to happen very often and people realize that legal representation is usually mandatory to fully recover fees. Insurance companies often sidestep the agreed-upon payment by citing miscellaneous laws which are rarely applicable. My goal is to hold these entities accountable on behalf of individuals who paid for their policies. Luckily, that enables me to help parties like an injured father who might be out of work due to his trauma, per se, or an underage teen who must delay going to college until he recovers from his problems caused by an accident.
What’s one piece of advice you can share with others?
Remain true to yourself, or you will experience the burnout effect faster than you can imagine. In my case, I enjoy working with people and learning specific laws that most of the public do not even know about. There are, however, many individuals who resent having to socialize and prefer working by themselves. This is entirely fine as long as you are aware of the situation and understand that you should not look for a career that is not aligned with these tendencies. Meaning, if you hate crunching numbers, you are highly unlikely to do well as a full-time mathematician. Thus, find something that you enjoy and fearlessly go after it!
