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Kawan Lovelace

As a civil rights attorney in NYC, I switched sides because I saw how the system really works.

Before I was a civil rights attorney in NYC, I was a detective. Before I was a detective, I was an Olympic athlete. And long before any of that, I was a Black man in America who understood, deeply and personally, what it means when the system fails the people it’s supposed to protect.

I spent 8 years as an NYPD detective and 2 years as a Bronx prosecutor. For a decade I worked inside the system. I watched the city defend officers who caused real harm to defenseless people. I watched cases disappear. I learned exactly how the city eliminates its problems, quietly, efficiently, and at the expense of Black and brown communities who had nowhere else to turn.

That’s why I left.

I refused to keep defending a system that protects dishonest officers while ordinary people suffer the consequences. So I switched sides. Now I represent victims of false arrest, police brutality, illegal search and seizure, and civil rights violations across New York City, including Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx.

Everything I learned inside, how arrest reports get written, where the evidence gets buried, how the NYC Law Department builds its defense against wrongful arrest and police misconduct claims, I now use against them. Every day.

This is personal for me. I am a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, a husband, and a father. I know what it means to have something worth fighting for. Every client who walks through my door represents someone’s father, mother, son, or daughter.

Your life has value.

What happened to you was wrong. And I will fight like it.

Kelly Castor

Education

Justice Morris Pashman American Inns of Court

Thurgood Marshall School of Law, J.D.

St. Joseph's University

Admitted

Licensed in the State of New Jersey, Federal Court, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and US Supreme Court

Professional Memberships:

Languages

French Creole

Biography

“Everything I do is for my clients. They are real people going through real life situations and they need help.”

As an immigrant to the United States, I went through the legal process of immigration along with my parents at the age of eight – we attended court and I was immediately attracted to the poise and style of the attorneys amidst the chaos of immigration court.

Later, at age 12, I was detained by immigration and separated from my mother in Puerto Rico on a return trip to the United States from Martinique. I was interrogated by immigration officers who threatened to return me to France, my birthplace, without my parents if I did not cooperate.

At such a young age, having experienced the feeling of helplessness without legal guidance, and having recalled my earlier positive impression of attorneys helping others, I devoted myself to pursuing a legal career, so as to represent people who needed a compassionate voice and sound legal guidance through unfamiliar and sometimes life-changing circumstances.

Soon after becoming a lawyer, I sought to join an intimate sized law firm that would provide the opportunity to concentrate on partnering closely with clients. For fourteen years I remained with that firm, gaining valuable legal experience and knowledge that allowed me to flourish in a multidisciplinary legal practice. 

In late August 2022, Castor Law LLC was opened to the public prepared to provide "Excellence in Service, Professionalism, with Proven Results."

My practice areas include: Personal Injury; Motor Vehicle Accidents and Injuries; Workers Compensation; Real Estate; Family Law; Divorce; Child Support and Custody; Wills/Probate; Auto Accidents, Slip and Fall, Dog Bites, Workplace Accidents; Estate Planning

I am passionate about forming strong partnerships with my clients to:

Alia Adkins-Derrick

Alia L. Adkins-Derrick serves as the managing partner of Adkins Lawyers, PLLC. Ms. Adkins-Derrick’s primary focus is helping clients avoid legal ruin by providing them with the legal foresight and representation they need to minimize their legal risks.

Ms. Adkins-Derrick regularly counsels business clients across various professions and industries on the practical implications and impact of employment, business, and contract laws on their respective business practices, policies, and procedures. She has first-hand experience preparing clients for changes in the law and guiding their efforts to bring their company and/or workplace into compliance. Her clients describe her as “on your team . . . looking out for your best interest” and a “great partner for the long-term: trustworthy, knowledgeable, and caring.”

Ms. Adkins-Derrick is no stranger to the courtroom. She helps clients protect their interest by representing them in administrative and court proceedings, if and when, the need arises. As a mediator with advanced training and first-hand experience, Ms. Adkins-Derrick empowers litigants with the tools needed to negotiate and resolve the complex disputes between them. As a legal advocate, Ms. Adkins-Derrick uses this specialized knowledge to give her clients a competitive advantage in alternative dispute resolution proceedings.

When she is not engaged in fierce client advocacy, Ms. Adkins-Derrick educates others on the law. She serves as an Adjunct Law Professor at a local law school and is frequently called upon to speak at various business seminars and conferences. Ms. Adkins-Derrick takes great pride in: (1) equipping the next generation of Texas attorneys with the critical reasoning and practical legal research and writing skills they need to be effective client advocates; and (2) educating business owners and clients on practical steps they can take to avoid legal landmines.

Prior to forming Adkins Lawyers, PLLC, Ms. Adkins-Derrick had the distinct honor of serving as a briefing attorney for former Texas Supreme Court Justice Scott A. Brister where she gained in depth knowledge of court procedure as well as unique and invaluable insight and understanding of court decisions that translates into a competitive advantage for her clients.

Ms. Adkins-Derrick later joined a large law firm where she gained experience as legal advocate for clients.

Ms. Adkins-Derrick obtained her B.A. degree in History and Spanish from Rice University and her J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law. Ms. Adkins-Derrick also holds an advanced mediation certification and serves as a neutral third-party mediator trained to help parties resolve complex disputes.

Kara Goodman

Kara Goodman is a dedicated, experienced, and compassionate lawyer who practices in the area of family law. As a child of parents who divorced before she was 10 years of age, Kara developed a passion for family law at an early age.

She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Asheville, majoring in psychology and minoring in sociology. Kara ultimately settled in Charlotte, North Carolina where she obtained her Juris Doctor and began her legal career.

Kara spent her first two years of practice with a small law firm in Concord, North Carolina, spending the majority of her time in the courtroom representing individuals in civil and criminal matters. Kara vividly recalls her first family law trial, which resulted in her client obtaining primary custody of his children. These experiences led Kara to dedicate her legal practice exclusively to family law matters.

Kara transitioned to one of the largest domestic law firms in the country, where she spent over nine years exclusively practicing family law and advocating for the rights of fathers and husbands. She has also served as a mentor and resource for other family law attorneys and has taught family law and trial skills to hundreds of attorneys throughout the country.

After nearly 12 years of legal practice, Kara founded The Goodman Law Firm, where she continues to practice family law. Although the majority of Kara’s former clients have been fathers and husbands, The Goodman Law Firm does not limit its client base to any specific gender or identity. Kara and her team are proud to represent individuals of all genders, identities, backgrounds, and circumstances.

The firm is committed to helping clients navigate separation, divorce, child custody, financial support, and all other family law-related matters, advocating for them both in and out of the courtroom.

ASSOCIATIONS

Ralph C. Thomas III

Mr. Thomas has substantial business, corporate and federal contracts experience with small and middle market companies across a wide range of industries. He has represented clients before federal district and appellate courts as well as before federal agencies, such as the Small Business Administration, the General Accountability Office, Civilian & Armed Services Boards of Contract Appeals, to name a few. He has also represented Government Contractors before arbitration tribunals. The author of more than 80 articles on business and government contract law matters, he has served as the Associate Administrator for Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization at NASA and the Executive Director of the National Association of Minority Contractors.

In addition, Mr. Thomas has taught Government Contracts Law at the University of Virginia’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies and was an Adjunct Professor of Law/Course Director for five years at Concord School of Law, now a part of Purdue University Global, where he taught a law course on Government Contracting in the school’s LL.M Program. In addition, he was a Clinical Law Instructor at George Washington University Law School. Moreover, he has drafted and negotiated any number of Joint Venture, Subcontract, and Teaming Agreements on behalf of Government Contractors and has conducted numerous workshops and seminars on such topics. He has also served as Chair of the Federal Bar Association’s Government Contracts Section.

The recipient of numerous awards, particularly when he served in the Government, Mr. Thomas was awarded the Presidential Rank of Distinguished Executive (an award limited each year to about one percent of the 6000 Federal Senior Executives – President George W. Bush) and the President Rank of Meritorious Executive (an award limited to 5 percent of all Senior Executives – President Bill Clinton). Mr. Thomas has testified in Congress more than 30 times on small business and Government contracting issues and has been a speaker at small and medium enterprise business conferences across the country, as well as in countries abroad, such as Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and South America. Since 2009, he has been a Solicitor admitted to practice in the Senior Courts of England and Wales. His experience also includes four years in the U.S. Air Force where he achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant.

PRACTICES & INDUSTRIES

EDUCATION

ADMISSIONS