April 2015 Alumni Highlight
In 2012, Marcia G. Guevara-Trejo graduated with her Masters of Laws (LL.M.) in Comparative Legal Studies from Pace Law School. Fast-forward to 2014 and she is the founder and principal of Guevara Law Group P.C. While Marcia was born in Miami, she was raised in Caracas, Venezuela. She earned her Bachelor of Law (LL.B) in 2005 at Catholic University Law School in Venezuela. What drove Marcia to come to Pace Law School was a variety of factors – location, value, reputation, and ability to get her where she wanted to be upon graduating – educating and helping immigrants.
While pursuing her LL.M., Marcia interned at the Permanent Mission of Comoros to the United Nations where she worked as a legal advisor during the 65th General Assembly of the United Nations. Working at the United Nations gave Marcia the opportunity to develop a passion for multicultural issues and diverse environments. In addition to her hands-on experience at the United Nations, Marcia also interned at Zinbarg, Emanuel and Associates, a boutique law firm in Queens, New York, where she learned the fundamental principles of real state law, workers’ compensation law, and immigration law.
Marcia speaks fluent Spanish and conversational French and concentrates her practice in real estate, bankruptcy and immigration law. Her firm is located in White Plains and represents clients from every borough in New York City, as well as Westchester and Putnam County. She is very active in the legal community and is a member of the Westchester County Women’s Bar Association, the Hispanic National Bar Association, and the Long Island Hispanic Bar Association.
Significantly, community work is integral to Marcia’s practice and what she believes the responsibilities of an attorney entail. Her firm held a “Know Your Rights” workshop back in November 2014 where Marcia shared information about immigration law and allowed attendees to ask questions and gain insight on complicated issues. This is just one of many workshops that Marcia and her firm have organized and intend to organize moving forward. Read more about these workshops by clicking here.
Of her time at Pace, Marcia says that there were “unlimited resources available” to her to ensure she was met with success upon graduating from the Program. Marcia notes that “the Academic Success Program at the Law School was vital” to helping her pass the New York Bar Exam and she could not have done it without their support and guidance.
After her experience at Pace Law School, Marcia wants to be a model to LLM students who may experience difficulties studying for the bar exam. She believes that LLM students can achieve all their goals in terms of the bar exam and opening a practice if they learn how to approach the exam and are properly educated on the business of law and within their field of expertise. Marcia has also been tutoring LLM students for the bar exam. She has been working with them as a coach and as a tutor, helping them to understand how to approach the NY Bar Exam and how to overcome the anxiety caused by the exam.
Currently, Marcia is working with the Hon. Walter Rivera, Judge of the Greenburg Town Court and Peter Garcia, a 2L Pace Law Student as a mentor for the “Law School-Si Se Puede” Program. This is a national mentorship program recently launched by the Hispanic National Bar Association [“HNBA”]. The program is geared towards high school seniors (referred to as “Fellows”) who are considering the law profession and come from under-represented communities, diverse backgrounds, economically disadvantaged families, and/or represent the first generation in their families to go to college.
Marcia remains extremely supportive of Pace Law School and the opportunities it provided to her and others. Three fellow LL.M. graduates are Of Counsel at her firm – Ekaterina Mouratova (LL.M. ’10), Radina R. Valova (Pace Law JD ’12, LL.M. ’13), and Jorge Vasquez (Pace Law JD ’13).
If Marcia could offer advice to current students, she would tell them don’t let anything stop you from believing that practicing law is the most rewarding profession.
Marcia currently resides in White Plains. In her spare time, she enjoys yoga, art, and traveling.