Milwaukee Bar Association's youngest president fighting for justice
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee attorney said the American dream has become his reality. The 31-year-old Nigerian immigrant is the youngest president of the Milwaukee Bar Association.
He is using his life's journey to help fight for others.
"This is the only place where a kid with a hard-to-pronounce last name can come at 16 and carve out a piece of the American dream," said Emil Ovbiagele.
Ovbiagele doesn't have a common last name, and his life story isn't run-of-the-mill either. FOX6 News asked Ovbiagele when he realized that being a lawyer was his calling.
"The moment I decided I wasn't going to med school," said Ovbiagele.
Ovbiagele has humor, charm and life-long love of advocating for other people.
"In elementary school and in high school, I was just one of those people who couldn't see something be wrong and not do something about it," said Ovbiagele.
He was born in Nigeria, but his life took a turn at 13 when his dad died.
"Being raised by a younger, widowed mother in a third-world country comes with a special set of difficulties," Ovbiagele said.
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"I got to see the ugliness of the world," said Ovbiagele. "I got to see what it was like to not have. I got to dance around with poverty. I also got to see the beauty of humanity."
A love for learning led to Marquette University when he was just 16. He graduated from law school in 2014.
Emil Ovbiagele
"I fight for those who may not have a voice and who have never had people fight for them before," Ovbiagele said.
Ovbiagele is not only a husband and father but is also a founding partner of OVB Law & Consulting.
He recently made history as the youngest president of the Milwaukee Bar Association.
"Over time, it has evolved from just an organization that champions the causes of local lawyers to one that tries to improve access to justice and other issues within the community," said Ovbiagele.
FOX6 was at the Milwaukee Bar Association office when Ovbiagele and Kristen Hardy recorded the Bottom Up podcast. The podcast captures conversations with attorneys on their personal lives and changing legal landscape.
"It deals with the intersection of law and life," said Ovbiagele.
The 31-year-old uses the law to fight for the future of others, but it's his past that drives him.
"I think of the pains that I've gone through, my difficulties, as a privilege," said Ovbiagele. "I think of the fact that I'm an immigrant as a privilege. I have the privilege of perspective."
Milwaukee Bar Association is the fifth-oldest bar association in the country. Ovbiagele said he's also focused on increasing member diversity.