Home » About » Newsletters » October 2000
"Meet Florida ACLU's
new staff members"
By Alessandra Soler
Editor and Public Education Coordinator
Among the top-notch law school grads, there are those who strive to "make it big" representing corporate giants and real estate moguls. And then there are those like University of Colorado School of Law graduate Randall C. Marshall, who choose a different path.
For most of his 18 years practicing law, Marshall has spoken in court for the often-ignored havenots. He was a senior attorney for Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, an Ohio non-profit legal service provider that addresses issues of civil rights and employment discrimination. And for five years, he worked for Texas Rural Legal Aid, representing migrant farm workers in class action lawsuits against shippers and growers, challenging violations of federal labor laws.
"The fact that migrant farm workers were bringing lawsuits against the powers-that-be really ruffled a lot of feathers," said Marshall, 48, who was a Florida Assistant Attorney General from June 1999 until August, when he was appointed ACLU of Florida Legal Director.
Prior to joining the Attorney General's office, Marshall was Pittsburgh's Assistant City Attorney where, ironically, he represented the municipality in numerous cases brought by the ACLU. "The experience I gained over the last threeandahalf years in which I represented government agencies will prove to be very valuable in being able to develop strategies to address a range of constitutional rights issues," he added.
Marshall grew up in Center, Colorado, a small town in the San Luis Valley, 200 miles southwest of Denver. He received his bachelor's degree in mathematics and sociology from the University of Northern Colorado, where he met Margaret, his wife of 25 years. In 1975, after receiving his master's degree in mathematics, Marshall decided to follow in his older brother's footsteps and become a Peace Corps volunteer. In 1976, he and his wife, a middle school language arts teacher, were assigned to teach mathematics and English, respectively, at a girls' boarding school in Ng'iya, Kenya.
His experiences in Kenya combined with his interest in social change, prompted him to apply to law school. In 1978, prior to completing his twoyear commitment with the Peace Corps, he took the LSAT in Nairobi and was accepted to the Law School of the University of Colorado.
"My interest was to be involved in social change, and law was one way to go about doing that," said Marshall. "I see it as the reason I went to law school to work for civil rights, equality and social justice."
A civil libertarian at heart, Marshall joined the ACLU in 1979 during his first year of law school, where he did volunteer research work on several prisonrelated cases sponsored by the ACLU. His first job after graduating from law school in 1982 was with the Farm Worker Division of the Texas Rural Legal Aid in Hereford, Texas, a small agricultural community of 17,000 residents. Working out of a remote satellite office, Marshall was one of five civil rights attorneys who filed highimpact lawsuits on behalf of farm workers, many of whom lived in poor living conditions and were paid as little as 17 cents an hour. The lawsuits generated considerable national publicity. "For lawyers from outside suing powerful growers and shippers, it was really a slap in the face for the establishment," added Marshall.
Marshall welcomes the chance to take on the challenging and often highprofile duties of legal director for the ACLU of Florida the national organization's fifth largest affiliate. "When you look at things like school vouchers and the governor's attempt to dismantle affirmative action, it's incumbent upon us as an organization to involve ourselves in both the passing of legislation and, to the extent that we have to, challenging the constitutionality of legislation," he said.
Randall and Margaret Marshall, an Associate Professor of English and Director of Composition at the University of Miami, have a son, Caleb, 21, a student at the University of South Florida in Tampa and a daughter, Kileen, 16, who attends Palmetto High School in Miami.
OTHER NEW FACES
Busy right from the start, Legal Assistant Mammie Collins joined the ACLU of Florida in July, one month prior to Marshall's arrival. She previously worked as a legal assistant for the Advocacy Center in Ft. Lauderdale. Her duties include assisting in the preparation of legal documents, maintaining litigation files and updating legal dockets. A South Carolina native, Mammie is currently working toward earning a bachelor's degree in Legal Studies from Nova Southeastern University.
Four months into her new job, Intake Coordinator Sophie Brion has already tackled a backlog of complaints, researching egregious civil liberties violations and answering requests for assistance with custom response letters. A University of Miami graduate, she was hired in May after receiving her B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science. Born in London, Brion also coordinates the ACLU of Florida's internship program.
Alessandra Soler joined the ACLU of Florida in March. She was recently named Public Education Coordinator, replacing Jessica Connor who now coordinates the Developmental Writing Program at Nova Southeastern University. Soler coordinates community outreach programs, maintains the web site and produces/edits The Torch.
