Champion of Justice Award: Sandra Ribera Speed
Tenaciousness is a personality trait that has served Sandra Ribera Speed well throughout her legal career. It started at the beginning, right after taking the Bar examination in 2005 and flipping through a Rolling Stone magazine, Sandra read an article about the Notorious B.I.G. wrongful death case stemming from the rapper’s murder that occurred in Los Angeles in 1997.
The article featured a story about the lead attorney, Perry Sanders of Colorado Springs, and a mistrial that had been declared because the LAPD had hidden some documents. LAPD was ordered to pay more than a million dollars in sanctions. Sandra was riveted and a light went off in her head. “This is why I went to law school and I am perfect for this case,” she thought because of her longtime love of hip hop music. She called Perry Sanders and somehow got through to him. “You really need me on this case,” she told him. “I know everything about hip hop and Notorious B.I.G. and the whole east coast – west coast rivalry.” Sanders talked to her politely about the case, thanked her for her call and enthusiasm, and hung up the phone thinking he would never hear from the young lawyer again. He was never more wrong.