As part of the celebration of Latino Heritage Month, the Chargers organization is highlighting the impact of game changers across the Southern California community. Marisol Ramirez, the President of the Latina Lawyer Bar Association who does defense work on litigation side, is up next.
Marisol Ramirez set out on a personal goal after a bad experience as a renter growing up — to not let that happen again and allow her family to live more comfortably.
And it led her to a pair of firsts as she became the first in her family to graduate from college and the first and only lawyer in the family.
"It was a choice that I made to go on this path to give my immediate family a more comfortable life given my upbringing and all the sacrifices my parents have made for me," Ramirez said. "My goal was to get them a house as soon as possible.
"It was full circle," she added. "I don't want them to be renters ever again and have that fear of getting kicked out."
Today, Ramirez is an associate at the law firm of DTO Law and does defense work on the litigation side. She handles all types of litigation, having represented clients in consumer class actions, contract, fraud and other matters since becoming a lawyer in 2015.
After graduating from Harvard University with a B.A., cum laude, in Government in 2010, she received her J.D. from Columbia Law School in 2015.
But even after becoming a lawyer and joining her first firm, she couldn't help but notice something glaring.
"I was one of two Latinas. It's a relatively small firm but there's 20 attorneys. It's a California firm and we only have two Latinas, it seems kind of crazy," Ramirez said. "Then at my first firm, worldwide we had about 2,000 attorneys, but in the LA office I was the only Latino or Latina lawyer for my first couple of years."
Ramirez was soon introduced to the Latina Lawyers Bar Association, a community whose goal is to empower and support Latina lawyers through advocacy, mentorship and community.
And Ramirez wanted more than just being involved.
"I just felt like I needed a support system," Ramirez said. "Being a lawyer is hard, like any profession, so I needed an additional form of support, but I also wanted to pay it forward as well.
"I didn't just want to be a member," Ramirez added. "I wanted to be involved in the board of the organization."
Ramirez joined the board of directors in the organization from 2016 until the present day, where she is currently the President for the 2024 term.
The organization provides support for Latina lawyers throughout their legal careers. They award scholarships to law students and bar stipends to people who are about to take the California Bar to become lawyers, among many other helpful resources.
Ramirez has seen the organization grow a ton since joining, from the number of board members to the amount of fundraising they have been able and even the outreach from members in other states.
The goal now is to continue growing and become national organization, beginning by having chapters and branching out to other parts of California, and then eventually, the rest of the United States.
"Costs have gone up the last couple of years but something I'm really proud of that we've done is we've really diversified our fundraising sources so we're able to give out more money, more scholarships and put on more programing for our members," Ramirez said. "That's something I really have seen a huge change from when I started to where we are now."
She added: "We hope to keep going and keep growing."
Outside of her job and her impactful work with the organization, Ramirez can be found cheering on the Chargers at SoFi Stadium.
Ramirez grew up watching football but didn't have a team as she played and came from soccer family in the Los Angeles area.
And when she met her now-husband, Pomona Council member Victor Preciado — who grew up a Chargers fan — the Bolts became a staple for her.
It also led her and her husband to grab some season tickets when the team moved to SoFi Stadium — and they've wasted no chance to be able to cheer on the Bolts.
"We haven't really missed a home game since then," Ramirez said. "The first year we only had two tickets, then the following year we got two more so now we got four seats.
"It's been a lot of fun," she added.
On game days, they head out early and join fellow members of the Bolt Fam pregame before heading into their season ticket seats near one of the end zones — a good view for when the Chargers score touchdowns.
She is a Chargers fan through and through in every way.
"I get really into it [at the games]," Ramirez said. "I also play fantasy football and have several Chargers players on my team."
As the Chargers celebrate Latino Heritage Month, they are proud to honor Ramirez and her impactful work as she continues to live out a journey that is not uncommon for Latinos — and also hopes to inspire and make an impact on others.
"It's a very common story," Ramirez said. "We do what we can to do better for the next generation."
