Discovery with Deborah S. Gonzalez

I can’t go a day without … chocolate.

If you were in my office, you’d … enjoy my colorful flowery chairs and my décor of objects from various countries that clients have bought for me over the years.

The lawyer I most admire is … my husband, Roberto Gonzalez. Best immigration lawyer! 

The quality I most like in a lawyer is … reasonableness.

My pre-trial routine is … to pray and to study the case. 

When I started, I wish I knew … that opposing counsel didn’t know more than me.  

My career high point (so far) has been … reuniting a mother and her 6-month-old baby.

I almost quit the law because … it took me three months to reunite the mother and the baby. 

If I weren’t a lawyer, I’d be … a baker.

When I win a case, I celebrate by … telling everyone I won a case. It never gets old.   

The SCOTUS justice I’d like to meet is … The Notorious RBG. 

A different practice area that intrigues me is … estate planning. I know it’s boring, but what can I say. 

My fictional hero is … Batman.

My real-life heroes are … my parents. They sacrificed [their lives in] their home country to come to the U.S. to ensure that my siblings and I had a good life. It was no small task for them, and I admire them for it.

On weekends I … love to bake!  

The talent I wish I had is … to keep my mouth shut. 

I get angry when … people don’t know how to drive.   

The three people I’d invite to dinner are … Michelle Obama, Jennifer Lopez and RBG. I think they are all strong women who have done a great deal for the women’s movement.   

I wish I had invented … a time machine to give me more time to do all I need to do in a day. 

The last TV show I binge-watched was … Downton Abbey—yes, I’m a bit behind!

Nothing cheers me up like … my dog, Nala.

My guilty pleasure is … watching the Kardashians.

My favorite word is … I don’t think we can publish it.   

If I won the lottery I’d … open up a nonprofit law firm where I would hire only first-year law associates for two- or three-year positions, and represent indigent immigrants who were children, and battered women, for free.