St. Thomas Law alumni Jose de la Cruz, Esq. (’19) and Gabrielle McCabe, Esq. (’19) along with colleague Theodore O’Brien, Esq. from Weinberg, Wheeler, Hudgins, Gunn & Dial, LLC, collaborated in a pro bono case to represent an individual who had been representing himself pro se in a federal civil rights lawsuit. The client proceeded pro se for years while imprisoned and despite having no legal training and facing countless procedural and legal hurdles, he was able to survive a motion for summary judgment and reach the courtroom. Alumnus Jose De La Cruz, Esq. prepared exhaustively and delivered a powerful closing argument. After reaching its decision, the jury in the Northern District of Florida ruled in favor of the client and awarded $200,000 in compensatory damages.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better co-counsel to try this case with,” shared alumna Gabrielle McCabe, Esq., who worked tirelessly to collect evidence within a short period of time, prepared the witnesses, and obtained excellent testimony at the trial.
Jose De La Cruz, Esq. is an associate attorney at Weinberg, Wheeler, Hudgins, Gunn & Dial, LLC and his practice focuses on complex civil litigation with an emphasis on construction litigation, consumer litigation, real estate & financial transactions and disputes, premises liability, and negligent security. Gabrielle McCabe, Esq. is an attorney at law at The Law Firm of Gabrielle F. McCabe and handles criminal matters including criminal traffic cases, misdemeanors, felonies, juvenile delinquency matters, and violation of probation cases.
