Marcelo Montesinos Focuses On ‘Fighting For The Underdog’

Attorney Marcelo Montesinos was raised in Palm Beach County. Growing up and going to school in the urban parts of West Palm Beach, he discovered a sense of responsibility to represent people who needed help.

Originally a public defender, Montesinos transitioned to build his own personal injury law practice.

The Law Office of Marcelo Montesinos is devoted to personal injury, wrongful death and car accidents, which involves trucking and motorcycles as well.

“It’s making sure that when [clients] are injured, they receive the highest, best-possible compensation for those injuries,” Montesinos said, explaining that insurance companies will often fight even the most justified of claims.

His office handles other areas of personal injury law, but trucking and automobile accidents always stay at the forefront of his focus.

“If people have slip and falls, we’ll help them because we know how to do it. If there is a medical malpractice, we can take it, but our focus is auto and trucking cases, motorcycle cases, cases that deal with [a person being] a victim of someone else’s negligence,” Montesinos said.

Montesinos received his law degree from the Seton Hall University School of Law in New Jersey. His connection to family and the area brought him back to Palm Beach County.

“I returned, even though I probably could have stayed in the Northeast, but just because of family ties — my mother, my father and my sister — I returned. And, I worked in downtown West Palm Beach as a public defender,” Montesinos said.

Montesinos spent time while growing up in Wellington, but, at the time, the village didn’t have its own public high school, so he attended Twin Lakes and Palm Beach Lakes high schools in West Palm Beach.

“I live here now. I’ll probably continue living here. My friends are council members now. It’s unbelievable to see people you know, either as friends or colleagues, who now have a seat at the table, if you will,” Montesinos said.

Going to school with people closer to urban communities in Palm Beach County, Montesinos noted that many youngsters don’t have the same luxuries and guidance from parents and community leaders the way they do in places such as Wellington.

“When I became a lawyer, unfortunately, some of these people sometimes got in trouble,” Montesinos said. “Someone said, you can either be a prosecutor or a public defender, and I chose to be a public defender. I think that was the right choice.”

He did that for close to three years. In 2001, Montesinos decided to establish his own practice, which he eventually would focus on personal injury law.

“Instead of fighting against the government, you’re fighting against huge insurance companies,” Montesinos explained. “It’s my job to prove to them that you’re hurt, through the help of doctors, other professionals, chiropractors, your family and your friends.”

Montesinos said he has felt very successful in his field and area of law. He found it was a great transition from criminal defense to personal injury — often sticking up for the little guy in both cases.

“It was important for me when I moved on from criminal [defense] to personal injury to take that same kind of focus and say, ‘I will continue fighting for the underdog,’” Montesinos said. “The underdog is the individual, fighting against a huge insurance company.”

With his success, Montesinos is able to give back to his community. His law practice donates more than $5,000 worth of backpacks and school supplies at the start of every school year.

“For two or three weeks, we put radio ads on five or six stations, and honest to God, we get so many kids who come, and we’re cleared out. And that’s one of the benefits, if you love what you’re doing and you become successful,” Montesinos said. “Success is sometimes measured by accolades, by money; but whatever it is, nothing is greater than giving back to your community.”

Montesinos is the sole attorney at his law firm, although he does have lawyers who assist him part-time.

“The decision-making process becomes a little more diluted when there are more people,” he said. “However, over time, I’m probably going to have to bring on board, full-time, a couple of associates.”

Montesinos continues to practice law and serve people in the communities he was raised in.

“For me, I’ve always felt like the underdog, and I’m fighting for the underdog,” Montesinos said.

To contact the Law Office of Marcelo Montesinos, call (561) 721-1600 or visit www.montesinoslaw.com.