TAMPA, Fla. — Spectrum News is celebrating women who are breaking boundaries in their industries as part of Women’s History Month.

What You Need To Know

  • According to the American Bar Association, Hispanics make up only 5.8% of lawyers nationwide
  • One of those lawyers, Danielle Hernandez, started her own legal firm, DVH Law group, to help clients with immigration cases
  • Hernandez says her personal experience made her realize how much she could connect with her clients and how important it was to help in their language

According to the American Bar Association, Hispanics make up only 5.8% of lawyers nationwide. Hispanic women in law make up an even smaller percentage.

It’s one of the reasons practicing law is so important to Danielle Hernandez.

The Kurzban is a law book that she remembers fondly.

“The Kurzban was like the beginning of my immigration career basically, when I didn’t know where to look,” she said.

Hernandez has been an attorney for 10 years, working on deportation defense and family immigration cases — cases that hit close to home for her.

“I come from a family that came in, some of them, illegally," she said. "Everyone (in her family) has a legal status now, but I know what it’s like to live in a community of undocumented immigrants.”

It’s one of the reasons Hernandez loves what she does.

She says being a Latina in law has given her the chance to meet people involved in the debate over immigration.

“I got to meet President Joe Biden, and I had the opportunity to speak to him about immigration policy, which was very gratifying,” said Hernandez.

Wanting to help people navigate the often complicated immigration system, Hernandez decided to start her own law firm.

“Being an immigration attorney has been the most rewarding experience," she said. "it’s most challenging because I’d lie if I told you we always win, but to be able to connect and explain to somebody who’s coming to a foreign country, ‘Hey, these are your options.’”

Hernandez said it’s not just the language she has in common with her clients — she says she’s able to understand their culture as well. She said running her own law firm has broadened her way of thinking.

“I think I still would like to be a judge at some point, but I’m very focused on my purpose right now and being integrated in the Tampa Bay community,” she said.

Hernandez hopes she can inspire other women, especially Latinas, to consider a career in law, and she takes pride in being an advocate for that to happen.