Spanish-speaking attorney opens office in Lexington
Miguel A. Cuadra (left) recently cut the ribbon to his new law office on Cotton Grove Road in Lexington flanked by his father, Miguel A. Cuadra Sr. The Lexington Area Chamber of Commerce hosted the event to welcome the bilingual attorney to the community. {Contributed photo}
A bilingual Hispanic American lawyer from Winston-Salem has opened a law office in Lexington to better serve his Davidson County clients.
The Lexington Area Chamber of Commerce recently held a ribbon-cutting and open house at the offices of Miguel A. Cuadra at 110 Cotton Grove Road, Suite B, to welcome him to the community.
Cuadra, who has had a law office at 902 Peters Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem for several years, is one of only a few attorneys in the Triad who speak Spanish fluently. He said 60 to 65 percent of his clients only speak Spanish or are simply more comfortable speaking in their native language.
Nearly a third of his clients were having to drive to Winston-Salem from Davidson County to speak with him directly without an interpreter.
“So, it just made sense to open an office in Lexington.” Cuadra lamented that some clients had trouble getting to meetings during office hours due to their work schedules or because they had transportation issues.
Cuadra’s main focus of practice is personal injury — including automobile accidents, worker’s compensation and product liability — as well as criminal defense.
The attorney said his roots as the son of Mexican immigrants who met in California informed his sense of justice and wanting to be able to help people. Neither of his parents had much education so they encouraged their children to take advantage of the educational opportunities in the United States they never had.
Cuadra was the first in his family to finish high school and go on to college. A guidance counselor at Carver High School in Winston-Salem, where he graduated in 2005, helped him apply for college and also helped him obtain a full-ride scholarship to N.C. A&T University in Greensboro, where he graduated in 2009 with a major in criminal justice and a minor in political science. Cuadra graduated from the Charlotte School of Law in 2015.
He decided to pursue a law degree to be able to help people in his community. He explained a Hispanic attorney who was a friend of his father mentored him as he pursued his education.
“She told me, ‘I get paid to help people with their problems,’” he said, admitting he has found that fulfillment in helping people himself in his own practice.
“I sometimes see my parents in my clients.” He added that language barriers and lack of knowledge about U.S. law can be intimidating to immigrants. “When someone is hurt at work or in an automobile accident, they don’t know what to do.”
Cuadra noted undocumented workers often don’t realize they are eligible for worker’s compensation when they are hurt on the job. Additionally, they may not know they are entitled to minimum wage, overtime pay, breaks and tips.
“Sometimes I do feel like I’m a voice for the voiceless,” he shared.
