Paying special attention to the Latino community and stressing the importance of consulting an attorney before making any decision.

 

Michael Zwaig  was featured in popular Hispanic media outlet, Latin Opinion Baltimore.   This article is a translation from  https://latinopinionbaltimore.com/entrevista-con-michael-zwaig/

 

Michael Zwaig is an experienced attorney in Baltimore, Maryland, who practices his profession with dedication and efficiency. “I know the Latino community in depth because I have lived in Baltimore for a long time,” he said.

 

He added that due to the lack of legal representation in the Latino community, in 1994, he decided to open his law firm. “Since then, nearly 98% of my clients have been Latino,” he said, after stressing the importance of consulting a lawyer who is fluent in the client’s language, in this case, Spanish.

 

Michael Zwaig started out solving criminal cases. “The Latino community began to come to my office.  I not only worked with their criminal cases, but also with other needs of the clients, such as car accidents and work accidents, in short, the services that the community needed. Most of my clients work in restaurants, construction, agriculture, hospitals, and almost all of them are Latino,” he said.

 

Zwaig pointed out that the reason for this was that clients felt comfortable with an attorney who was also an immigrant and someone who could communicate in their own language: Spanish.  “The experience that the lawyer has is as important as the mastery of the language. If one cannot correctly interpret what the person says, it means a lack of knowledge of the case. Relationships with the lawyer have to be personal and the client has to feel comfortable”, he explained.

 

Regarding the legal needs of the Latino community, he said that among them is access to service. “There are people who abuse the Latino community a lot, especially at work, they don’t pay salaries or overtime. They work in unfavorable conditions, without personal protection. There are also many cases in which they do not receive adequate medical treatment or care due to lack of knowledge of the language,” he said.

 

On the other hand, he commented, “Many people in the Latino community are not documented and are afraid or reluctant to seek solutions to their cases. On many occasions they do not report the crimes of which they are victims due to lack of knowledge of their rights in both criminal and commercial situations.  There is a lot of abuse and it is essential to educate the community on how to act in this country, be it to obtain a license, open a business, or buy a house, for example”, he asserted.

 

Zwaig stressed that the Latino community must take precautions before making an important decision.  “In order to protect their legal rights and avoid conflicts in the future consult a lawyer.  Many times, they come after having done something important and it is already too late.  It is very important to seek legal advice, as well as proper communication between client and lawyer, and there is no better way to do it than with someone who speaks your language for an optimal result,” he concluded.

 

 

 

Biography

 

Attorney Michael Zwaig was born in Argentina and arrived in Baltimore in 1963 at the age of seven with his parents and siblings. He resides in Baltimore County and has 3 children.

 

He speaks Spanish fluently and for this reason he has extended his services to the Latino community in the Baltimore and Washington DC metropolitan area with absolute dedication and effectiveness.

 

His firm began operations in 1994, prior to which he gained experience as an Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Investigations Division of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, prosecuting white collar crimes. He has also served as an Assistant Public Defender, representing low-income clients in cases ranging from misdemeanors to felonies, including death penalty defense. He also clerked in the Baltimore City Circuit Court for the Honorable Edward J. Angeletti.

 

Michael graduated from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1984. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). He is admitted to practice law in the Maryland Court of Appeals and in the United States District Court in Maryland.

 

He is an active member of the Maryland State Bar Association, the Baltimore County Bar Association, the Maryland Hispanic Bar Association, and the Maryland Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. In addition to practicing law, he previously served on the Board of the Baltimore City Environmental Control Board as well as the Baltimore City Judicial Nominating Commission. He also served as Trustee as well as President of the Board of The GreenMount School in Baltimore City.