We had the good fortune of connecting with Attorney Shakeena Melbourne and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Attorney Shakeena, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
When I started my law firm, Upton Law PLLC, the thought process was simple, how can I help veterans with affordable legal services especially the individuals that were recently coming home from active duty work. My inspiration stemmed from my older brother. 1 year before starting the law firm, my brother came home with PTSD from being in war in Afghanistan. When he came home he suffered from many mental traumas but more importantly when I was assisting him with his legal affairs such as updating his will and other legal documents I was concerned because most of the language inside of the documents included “while in active duty status.” However, he was no longer in “active duty status” and what that meant was that the JAG attorneys could no longer assist him. We went to the VA and several other veteran service providers and was unable to find a sources that would help with legal services. For this reason, my passion began to assist veterans with legal matters such as landlord-tenant work, updating wills and estate planning, assisting with bankruptcy advice and so on. And through that passion, I also helped others in my community that may be deemed as low-income, business start ups, and small business companies making under $5 million with my skillsets and expertise.

What should our readers know about your business?
Upton Law PLLC was started with a hope and a dream that it will work and it will survive. The law firm was started in hopes that one day I can employ young, black females like myself because after law school it can be difficult to find and land a position as a young black female when going into a predominantly male field. Many of my peers were not as receptive to me or my knowledge, skillset or all of my degrees. I hold one of the highest degrees in America which is a Masters of Law in Corporate and Finance. A Master’s of Law is a degree higher than a Juris Doctorate (the degree after graduating law school). So I wanted to create a space, atmosphere and environment where female attorneys, female legal staff and female paralegals could come and feel like they can learn, grow and excel.

Yet, despite my dreams and aspirations to help others to story for the law firm was not as beautiful as I described. Instead, there were individuals that came through the law firm that did not have the same mission or understanding of the mission that I had. Instead, there was rough patches, disputes, jealousy and confusion along the way. But for each individual’s experience, I learned a lot and grew a lot in understanding that my mission is not our mission. Instead, my mission is mine and I needed to find others that would align with the mission of my own and the law firm for it to strive. And after 6 years, I can say I have been able to do so. I currently have a fantastic team, we are moving more efficiently and effectively than ever before. And we as a team are seeing progress.

The brand story is to never give up because someone is always out there looking to either be a part of your team or looking for you to help them with your expertise. And I am here to do both!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend came into town to Detroit, Michigan our first stop would be to visit Riverside Marina. Riverside Marina is one of three black owned marinas in the United States. Riverside Marina has one of the most beautiful scenes for a sun rise and a sun set nearest the waterway between Detroit and Canada.

After visiting Riverside Marina, we would head to a restaurant such as Ivy’s Kitchen for an awesome time filled with great food, drinks and wonderful customer service.

After that we would go to one of the few black owned speakeasy’s in Detroit, called Willow’s for drinks and beautiful ambience and great history.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My shoutout will be to my family located in Kingston, Jamaica and Los Angeles, California. As the only child born in America, my family is the trues backbone of my success. Words of encouragement is simply an understatement of what my family has shown me. As the first person in my entire family on both sides (mom and dad) no one had a background in law or law enforcement background when I was growing up as a child. And despite my interest of being a member of the State Bar since I was 3 years old, my family (mother, father, and 2 brothers) as well as aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents, never discouraged my interest. Instead, they allowed me to become the best version of myself. They said prayers over my life, celebrated all of the big wins with big parties and gatherings, they laughed with me, cried with me, and told me to never stop. My godmother would always say to me that in her whole life she heard people say when a child has a dream if you allow it to flourish you will get to see them grow into it. But she also said it was very rare for her to see it come to life and she was able to see it in me before she passed away in 2023. So I give my shoutout to all of my family members for allowing me to never stop, never give up and to keep believing in myself no matter what.

   

Website: www.uptonlawpllc.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uptonlaw_pllc/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/company/upton-law-pllc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Uptonlawpllc/

Image Credits
Shakeena Melbourne

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