Haitian Lawyers Association

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Founded in 1997, the Haitian Lawyers Association's (HLA) is a non-profit legal organization dedicated to protecting and advocating for the legal rights of the Haitian community.

🇭🇹 Haitian Heritage Month Legend Spotlight: Hon. Panayotta “Penny” Augustin-Birch ⚖️✨Today, we honor Hon. Panayotta “Pen...
06/01/2026

🇭🇹 Haitian Heritage Month Legend Spotlight: Hon. Panayotta “Penny” Augustin-Birch ⚖️✨

Today, we honor Hon. Panayotta “Penny” Augustin-Birch, a Haitian-American federal magistrate judge, former federal public defender, and judicial trailblazer whose career reflects fairness, discipline, due process, and service to justice.

Serving as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Florida, Judge Augustin-Birch represents the power of Haitian-American excellence on the federal bench. Her journey reminds us that representation in the courtroom matters — not only for those who practice law, but for every community that deserves to see leaders who reflect dignity, integrity, and lived commitment to justice. 🏛️⚖️

Before taking the bench, she spent years as an Assistant Federal Public Defender, representing individuals charged with federal crimes and working in areas that included trials, hearings, appeals, post-conviction matters, supervised release, probation, and parole-related proceedings. Her background in public defense gives her legacy a powerful foundation rooted in constitutional rights, courtroom fairness, and the belief that justice must be accessible and meaningful.

For the Haitian people, Judge Augustin-Birch represents perseverance, excellence, and the continued rise of Haitian-American leadership in the legal profession. She stands as a reminder that Haitians continue to shape the justice system — as advocates, defenders, scholars, public servants, and judges. 🇭🇹✨

💡 A fact many people may not know: Before becoming a federal magistrate judge, Judge Augustin-Birch spent more than a decade as an Assistant Federal Public Defender, gaining a ground-level view of federal criminal justice before rising to the bench. Her appointment also followed a highly competitive selection process, making her service even more significant.

Today, we celebrate a Haitian-American judicial trailblazer whose service reflects fairness, dignity, and the power of due process. 🖤⚖️🇭🇹

🌺🇭🇹 BONNE FÊTE DES MÈRES to the incredible Haitian mothers who embody strength, sacrifice, faith, and unconditional love...
05/31/2026

🌺🇭🇹 BONNE FÊTE DES MÈRES to the incredible Haitian mothers who embody strength, sacrifice, faith, and unconditional love. 🇭🇹🌺

Today, we honor the women who carried generations on their backs, prayed over their families, preserved our culture, and built legacies through resilience and sacrifice. Haitian mothers are more than caregivers—they are teachers, protectors, nurturers, and the heartbeat of our communities. ❤️

In Haiti, Mother’s Day is celebrated on the last Sunday of May, a cherished tradition that reminds us to pause and give flowers—both literally and figuratively—to the women whose love shaped who we are. 🌹

To every mother, grandmother, godmother, auntie, and mother figure:
Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your sacrifices. Thank you for your love.

Haitian Lawyers Association proudly celebrates the women who carry our culture, our families, and our future. ⚖️💙❤️✨

🇭🇹 Haitian Heritage Month Legend Spotlight: Dr. Henri R. Ford 🩺✨Today, we honor Dr. Henri R. Ford — a Haitian-born pedia...
05/30/2026

🇭🇹 Haitian Heritage Month Legend Spotlight: Dr. Henri R. Ford 🩺✨

Today, we honor Dr. Henri R. Ford — a Haitian-born pediatric surgeon, physician-scientist, humanitarian, educator, and Dean of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Dr. Ford’s journey is one of resilience, discipline, brilliance, and service. After leaving Haiti as a teenager and building a life in the United States, he rose to become one of the most respected pediatric surgeons and medical leaders in the country. His path led him through Princeton University, Harvard Medical School, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine — where his leadership continues to shape the next generation of physicians and surgeons.

Dr. Ford’s work represents the very best of Haitian excellence in medicine. Through pediatric surgery, medical research, academic leadership, and humanitarian service, he has helped save lives, train future doctors, and expand what is possible in global health. His career reminds us that Haiti’s legacy is not only found in revolution, culture, law, and leadership — it is also found in healing hands, scientific innovation, and compassionate service. 🏥🌍

💡 A fact many people may not know: After the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Dr. Ford returned to his homeland to provide emergency surgical care under extremely difficult conditions. In 2015, he helped make medical history by leading the first successful separation of conjoined twins in Haiti — a powerful reflection of his surgical excellence and deep commitment to the Haitian people.

For Haitians everywhere, Dr. Henri R. Ford represents immigrant resilience, academic achievement, humanitarian purpose, and the power of using one’s gifts to heal the world. 🇭🇹🩺✨

05/30/2026

During Haitian Heritage Month, the Haitian Lawyers Association (HLA) was proud to partner with Dade Legal Aid and Eden Church to host our “Get Your House in Order” Estate Planning & Immigration Community Event in Miami-Dade. 🇭🇹⚖️

This event was an opportunity to empower and educate our community with important information and resources related to estate planning, immigration, and protecting our families’ futures. We are grateful to everyone who attended, participated, and contributed to making this event impactful and meaningful.

As we celebrate the richness of Haitian culture and heritage this month, we remain committed to serving, uplifting, and advocating for our community through education, outreach, and legal empowerment.

Together, we continue building stronger and more informed communities. 🤍

Watch the event here using the link in our bio!

🇭🇹 Haitian Heritage Month Legend Spotlight: Marleine Bastien ✨Today, we honor Marleine Bastien — a Haitian-American advo...
05/30/2026

🇭🇹 Haitian Heritage Month Legend Spotlight: Marleine Bastien ✨

Today, we honor Marleine Bastien — a Haitian-American advocate, licensed clinical social worker, founder of FANM, Miami-Dade County Commissioner, and one of South Florida’s most powerful voices for immigrant families, women, children, workers, and marginalized communities.

Born in Haiti and rooted in service, Marleine Bastien transformed compassion into action. Through FANM, originally founded as Haitian Women of Miami, she helped build a movement centered on strengthening families, empowering women, protecting immigrants, and ensuring that vulnerable communities have access to dignity, opportunity, and support.

Her work has touched immigration reform, housing justice, health access, education, gender equity, climate justice, human rights, and civic engagement. From grassroots organizing to public office, she represents the strength of Haitian leadership — leadership that does not simply speak for the people, but stands with them. 🕊️🏛️

For the Haitian people, Marleine Bastien represents courage, advocacy, resilience, and community power. She reminds us that Haitian excellence is not only found in individual achievement, but in the ability to lift families, defend dignity, and build lasting change for generations. 🇭🇹❤️

💡 A fact many people may not know: Marleine Bastien formed the Justice Coalition for the Haitian Children of Guantanamo and appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to speak about the devastating impact prolonged detention had on Haitian children. Her advocacy reached beyond South Florida and became part of a larger national and international fight for human rights and immigrant dignity.

Today, we celebrate a Haitian-American advocate whose courage turned community service into a movement for dignity and justice. ✊🏾🇭🇹✨

05/30/2026

What a wonderful evening at Sant La’s 26th Annual Fundraising Gala! The Haitian Lawyers Association was honored to attend and celebrate such an impactful night dedicated to community trailblazers and architects of lasting change.

It was truly a pleasure to meet the new Executive Director and witness the continued growth and vision of this incredible organization. We were especially proud to see Florida State Representative Dotie Joseph, Esq., a former HLA President, honored for her outstanding leadership, service, and unwavering contributions to our community and the State of Florida.

Representative Joseph continues to inspire through her advocacy, excellence, and commitment to uplifting others. HLA celebrates her accomplishments and the legacy she continues to build.

Thank you, Sant La, for an amazing evening filled with purpose, celebration, and community. ✨🖤🤍





🇭🇹 Haitian Heritage Month Legend Spotlight: Jean Baptiste Point du Sable 🌊✨Today, we honor Jean Baptiste Point du Sable ...
05/29/2026

🇭🇹 Haitian Heritage Month Legend Spotlight: Jean Baptiste Point du Sable 🌊✨

Today, we honor Jean Baptiste Point du Sable — a free Black pioneer of Haitian and French descent, widely recognized as the Founder of Chicago and remembered as the Father of Chicago.

Born in Saint-Marc, Saint-Domingue — present-day Haiti — around 1745, Point du Sable became a skilled trader, entrepreneur, landholder, and builder whose vision helped shape one of America’s greatest cities. In the late 1770s, he established a prosperous trading post and homestead near the mouth of the Chicago River, creating a center of commerce, community, and growth long before Chicago became the city we know today.

For the Haitian people, his legacy is powerful. He represents Haitian brilliance, Black entrepreneurship, resilience, diplomacy, and foundational impact in American history. His story reminds us that Haitians have not only contributed to freedom movements and culture — we have also helped build cities, shape economies, and leave lasting marks on the history of nations. 🇭🇹🏙️

Through his relationships with Indigenous communities, his marriage to Kitihawa/Catherine, a Potawatomi woman, and his success as a frontier businessman, Point du Sable’s life reflects connection, vision, and leadership across cultures. He stands as a reminder that Haitian greatness has been present in American history from the very beginning.

💡 A fact many people may not know: Point du Sable’s settlement was far more than a simple frontier cabin. His estate included a substantial home, barns, a horse mill, a bakehouse, a workshop, a dairy, a poultry house, and a smokehouse — showing that he was not merely surviving on the frontier; he was building a thriving commercial and family life.

Today, we celebrate a Haitian-descended pioneer whose vision helped lay the foundation for the city of Chicago. 🇭🇹✨🌊

🇭🇹 Haitian Heritage Month Legend Spotlight: Father Gérard Jean-Juste ✝️🕊️Today, we honor Father Gérard Jean-Juste — a Ha...
05/27/2026

🇭🇹 Haitian Heritage Month Legend Spotlight: Father Gérard Jean-Juste ✝️🕊️

Today, we honor Father Gérard Jean-Juste — a Haitian Catholic priest, human rights advocate, defender of refugees, and prophetic voice for peace, justice, and human dignity.

Father Jean-Juste was more than a priest; he was a servant of the people. From his work with the Haitian Refugee Center in Miami to his ministry at Saint Claire’s Church for the Poor in Port-au-Prince, he stood beside those too often ignored — Haitian refugees, immigrant families, children, the poor, political prisoners, and communities fighting to be seen and heard.

His ministry was faith in action. He fed the hungry, defended the displaced, challenged injustice, and reminded the world that human dignity is sacred. For the Haitian people, Father Jean-Juste represents courage, compassion, spiritual resistance, and the power of standing with the vulnerable even when it comes at great personal cost. 🇭🇹🙏🏾

He became known as a “people’s priest” because his work was never confined to the altar. His faith lived in the streets, in refugee centers, in prison cells, in food programs, and anywhere Haitian people needed protection, advocacy, and hope.

💡 A fact many people may not know: Before becoming one of Haiti’s most recognized prophetic voices for justice, Father Gérard Jean-Juste studied engineering in the United States and became the first Haitian ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in the United States. His spirit of nonviolence was captured in the powerful phrase: “My rosary is my only weapon.”

Today, we celebrate a Haitian priest whose faith became a fearless voice for justice, peace, and human dignity. ✝️🕊️🇭🇹

🇭🇹 Haitian Heritage Month Legend Spotlight: Nancy Metayer 🌿✨Today, we honor Nancy Metayer — a Haitian-American public se...
05/26/2026

🇭🇹 Haitian Heritage Month Legend Spotlight: Nancy Metayer 🌿✨

Today, we honor Nancy Metayer — a Haitian-American public servant, environmental scientist, Coral Springs Vice Mayor, and civic trailblazer whose leadership reflected compassion, courage, and a deep commitment to community.

Nancy made history as the first Black and Haitian-American woman elected to the Coral Springs City Commission, opening doors for greater Haitian representation in local government and reminding us that leadership begins where people live, work, raise families, and seek to be heard. Her work centered the belief that every voice matters and that public service should be rooted in dignity, access, equity, and care.

As an environmental scientist and advocate, Nancy’s leadership extended beyond titles. She championed environmental justice, water quality, public health, sustainability, climate resilience, community empowerment, and inclusive governance. Her service showed that protecting the environment is also about protecting people — especially communities most impacted by inequity, disaster, and limited access to resources. 🌎💧

For the Haitian people, Nancy Metayer represents the power of purpose-driven leadership. She reflects the excellence of the Haitian diaspora, the strength of women in public service, and the importance of building communities where people are seen, valued, and represented. Her legacy reminds us that Haitian leadership continues to shape South Florida through service, stewardship, and justice.

💡 A fact many people may not know: Before becoming Vice Mayor, Nancy’s work was deeply rooted in science and community care. She worked as an environmental scientist focused on water quality, public health, sanitation, and disaster response, blending technical expertise with a heart for equity-centered leadership.

Today, we celebrate a Haitian-American trailblazer whose leadership made space for every voice at the table. 🇭🇹🌿🏛️

Today, the Haitian Lawyers Association pauses to honor and remember the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrif...
05/25/2026

Today, the Haitian Lawyers Association pauses to honor and remember the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the United States. 🇺🇸🕊️

Memorial Day is more than a day off—it is a day of reflection, gratitude, and remembrance. We recognize those who answered the call to serve, who stood in defense of freedom, and whose courage and sacrifice continue to shape the liberties we enjoy today.

As attorneys, advocates, and members of our community, we understand that justice, opportunity, and democracy are sustained through service and sacrifice. Today, we honor those whose names may not all be known, but whose legacy lives on in every generation that benefits from their courage.

To the fallen heroes and the families who carry their memory—your sacrifice will never be forgotten.

May we remember.
May we honor.
May we continue to serve with purpose. ❤️🤍💙

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16401 NW 37th Ave
Miami, FL
33054

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