Alumni Profile: Markenzy Lapointe ('99)
Partner at Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP

His resume includes bachelor’s and law degrees from Florida State University, service in the United States Marine Corps – including a tour in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm and earning the National Defense Service Medal – a clerkship at the Florida Supreme Court and service as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. Markenzy Lapointe also was recently named partner at Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP in Miami, where he specializes in commercial and federal criminal litigation and high-risk product liability. On paper, Lapointe sounds like many other hard-working law partners at firms around the nation, but his background is probably very different.

Coming to America from Haiti at age 16 and not speaking English when he arrived, achieving such a high level of success is remarkable. Through hard work and determination, Lapointe’s is a story of overcoming obstacles and living the American Dream.

“My story is no different from many others,” said a modest Lapointe, whose family settled in Liberty City, a major inner-city area in Miami, upon arriving in the United States. “My mother had a second grade education and my father wasn’t around. I guess going to law school was an extension of the belief instilled in me as a very young boy that education was the only good card for people like me from very humble circumstances. You weren’t guaranteed to succeed with an education, but you likely would not succeed without one. So, while going to law school came out of my appreciation for the law and its rich history in this country, it was also motivated by my desire to change the socioeconomic dynamics from which I came.”

One of Lapointe’s most cherished academic accomplishments is an article he published in a Rutgers law journal during his 3L year. While that article was the impetus for his clerkship with Florida Supreme Court Justice Harry Lee Anstead, it also meant a great deal to Lapointe because not many years earlier, he had been teaching himself English by reading the Miami Herald and using homemade flashcards taped to his refrigerator.

“It was a big deal for me to have that sort of validation from editors who had no idea who I was, given that not long ago I could barely speak English,” said the 1999 College of Law graduate. “But it turned out an even bigger deal for the faculty and Dean Weidner, who told me he knew a judge who could use someone with good research and writing skills and would forward my resume and article to him. The rest is history, as I ended up with the experience and training of a lifetime working for Justice Anstead.”

When his clerkship ended, Lapointe worked for a year in private practice before becoming an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. The work was especially gratifying because it allowed him to help the community his family had settled in when it came to America.

“Working for the Department of Justice is the greatest job one can have. It was a special job for me, because I lived in Liberty City for many years and watched how the drug trade kept a community in total decay,” said Lapointe. “I watched people I grew up with, and was very close to, get entangled in its tentacles. I also remember the guns and the violence that came with that. Yet, lots of good people in the neighborhood just wanted to have a decent place for their children. So being part of the solution both in prosecuting the bad elements and reaching out was personally meaningful to me.”

Lapointe also was recently able to help a family from his homeland. Even though his workload at Boies, Schiller & Flexner is demanding, Lapointe took a pro bono case representing a baby girl from Haiti after the country’s January 2010 earthquake. The child – “Baby Jenny” – was discovered among the ruins in Port-au-Prince and transported to Miami for emergency care.

“What had the potential to be a nagging, international custody dispute with claims from parents in Haiti and officials stateside ended up with the reunification of baby and parents in Miami, after hundreds of hours of dealing with state, federal and international authorities,” said the South Floridian. “It was very satisfying.”

Family is very important to Lapointe. He is the oldest of five siblings and watched his mother work extremely hard to provide a better life for her children.

“I’ve watched her make lemonade out of lemons literally and figuratively for years,” said Lapointe of his single mother. “She always remained positive and could come up with a joke in the hardest of times.”

Now that he has a family of his own, Lapointe strives to be the father he never had to his three kids. He and his wife, Andrise, married while Lapointe was in law school and had their first child, 11-year-old Eric, shortly after Lapointe graduated. Together with 8-year-old Alan and 4-year-old Nia, they live in Miramar.

In an effort to keep family ties strong, the Lapointes spend weekends visiting extended family whenever possible. Lapointe also coaches little league soccer every other season.

“My kids play and I get more excited than they do,” said Lapointe. “I played in Haiti. It’s a poor man’s sport – all you need is a ball and rocks for your goal posts. Nia is showing more enthusiasm, though.”

Lapointe also aspires to make a difference in the lives of other people’s children. One of his many community service activities is volunteering at the Miami-Dade Juvenile Detention Center through Legal Up! – an organization that provides civic and life skills education to underprivileged juveniles and young adults in Miami-Dade County. Lapointe talks to the young people about moving their lives in the right direction and about dealing with law enforcement.

“I want to be a resource for the community,” said Lapointe. “It’s hard to be a practicing, productive lawyer and also be engaged with the community because each time you engage in something non-business, there is a cost. My goal is to get to a point where I’m able to do that in a seamless way.”

*As reported in the fall 2011 issue of Florida State Law. Click here to download a PDF copy of the magazine.