Meet Justinian

I spent the first portion of my life in the technology industry, working for companies like Microsoft, UBS Swiss Bank, and even as a contract worker for the nuclear testing facility in Nevada run by the Department of Energy. Like many others, my career was a casualty of the “Dotcom” crash in the early 2000s—I lost my job, then my car, and eventually my home. Facing the need to reinvent myself, I enrolled in college with the goal of becoming a personal injury attorney focused on car accident cases.

But fate had other plans. The first law firm that hired me out of law school assigned me to an asbestos case brought by the family of a pipefitter who had died from mesothelioma after working at a petrochemical plant outside of Houston. What I learned during that case changed the arc of my life. I discovered that asbestos was responsible not just for my client’s suffering, but also for the deaths of my father and both of my maternal grandparents. That realization turned my career into a mission—one that is deeply personal.

Roy, My Grandfather

Roy was a WWII veteran and a skilled mechanic who loved working with his hands. Some of my fondest memories are of the weekends we spent fixing up my old Chevrolet Suburban. Though a stroke had affected his speech by then, he still managed to teach me how to do a brake job like a true expert.

What I didn’t know at the time was that Roy had spent decades working with asbestos-laden auto parts—brakes, clutches, and more—and had been exposed daily during his Army service. When I was 19, he was admitted to the hospital with severe pain and diagnosed with asbestos-related cancer. He passed away just three days later, before I could even get home to say goodbye.

Back then, we didn’t know asbestos was to blame. Today, I know exactly which companies were responsible for putting asbestos on the ships he served on and in the auto parts he worked with. Every time I settle a claim for a client exposed to those same products, I think of Roy and wish we could have fought for him.

Terry, My Grandmother

Terry, Roy’s wife, worked in a computer chip factory in Silicon Valley in the 1960s and 1970s, operating ovens insulated with asbestos. She also washed Roy’s work clothes, often covered in asbestos dust, unknowingly exposing herself to dangerous fibers.

When Terry was diagnosed with lung cancer, we assumed her smoking was to blame. It wasn’t until years later that I learned how asbestos exposure multiplies the risk of cancer in smokers. Today, I make it my mission to help clients who were also smokers understand that they still deserve justice for their asbestos-related illnesses.

Jerry, My Father

My father worked in a titanium foundry in the 1950s, surrounded by asbestos-lined equipment. He was diagnosed with cancer while I was in law school and passed away less than a month before I learned I had passed the bar. Like my grandmother, he was a former smoker, and his doctors attributed his cancer to that. It wasn’t until I became an asbestos attorney that I understood how likely it was that asbestos exposure, not smoking, was the real cause. Unfortunately, by the time I knew the truth, it was too late to hold anyone accountable.

Suzanne, My Mother

Growing up, I hated the powdery residue that clung to a little blue throw rug in front of our bathroom sink. My mother used baby powder every day, never knowing that some brands were contaminated with asbestos. She survived her battle with ovarian cancer, but her diagnosis opened my eyes to the dangers of talc exposure. When I help women who’ve faced similar struggles, I think of my mother and how grateful I am that her story had a better outcome.

My Own Battle with Cancer

I’ve also walked the path many of my clients are on. I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and experienced the lethargy, apathy, and hopelessness that so often accompany the disease. Though my cancer was treatable, those dark days gave me a new level of empathy for what my clients endure. I understand the physical, emotional, and mental toll cancer takes, and I use that understanding to be a better advocate for my clients and their families.

For Me, This Is Personal

There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think about the family I’ve lost. I miss them during the holidays, I missed them while I was fighting my own cancer, and I’m reminded of them by so many of my clients. But their stories fuel my work. Every case I take on is an opportunity to seek justice for those who never had the chance to fight back.

For my grandfather, my grandmother, my father, and my mother—for all the families who have suffered the consequences of corporate negligence—I fight to make a difference. This is more than just a career for me. It’s a mission.