Do not tell Elizabeth Baez she can’t do something – unless you want to be proven wrong!
Liz is the fifth of six children born to Dominica and Florencio Baez. The couple settled in Lawrence in 1980, having to leave their four children behind with their grandparents in the Dominican Republic in order to establish residency. Liz’s dad took a job as a presser in a local dry cleaner before both parents found work as assemblers at Lucent Technologies.
“My mom would tell me stories of what a hard time it was for her, she had left her kids behind, she didn’t know anyone, didn’t know the language,” Liz said. She was the first of the Baez children to be born in this country and when she was 3 she was finally reunited with her older siblings and became a big sister to the youngest Baez daughter.
“We lived in the Bradfords – by Hampshire Street and then we bought a house on Cross Street when I was 5 or 6. I went to the General Donovan and then the Arlington. Even as a child I challenged everything – my family would call me “la abogado” – the lawyer,” she laughed. “My sister said that I had the ‘art of convincing’.”
After finishing at the Arlington school, Liz decided to apply to Greater Lawrence Tech. “When I went to GLTS, I was kind of lost, my parents were going through a divorce, my mother was in Florida and I was living with my older sister and I didn’t know what I was doing. That was where my friends were going so that’s why I went to GLTS.”
“I really didn’t have any parental guidance at the time. I was living with my older sister and that was a lot of responsibility for her – she had a lot on her plate. My older brother, younger sister and I were with her and she was in her early twenties taking care of 12 and 15 year olds. It was a tough time for all of us.”
Liz went through the exploratory program and chose Data Management as her shop. “It was great it was like being in an office and it helped me so much. I had Frances Campone – she was very strict – but I was glad she was. It was a great experience.”
“I had a really close, tight circle of friends at GLTS who were really supportive, Glenda Cintron, Dorislyn Martinez, Ana Molina and Jamie Lawrence. We’ve all had very different paths in life but we’re still very close and they’re the same group of friends I hang around with now.” She would soon need that support system.
Liz became pregnant her junior year and her daughter, Keeana, was born the July before senior year. “I was in denial for a really long time and didn’t tell anyone until I was five months pregnant. Keeana’s dad went to GLTS too. He was a nice guy, he came from a good family, and it felt comfortable. He and his family were supportive and they became my support system as well through all the chaos.”
By that time Liz’s mom had remarried and returned from Florida and bought a house. But after being on her own for so long their relationship was different. “She came into my room while I was doing my accounting homework and she said “so, you’re going to have to get married and you’re going to have to move out.” Liz laughs, “I just said no – I don’t want to get married, I told them I’d be ok. But I knew at that point I had to grow up and figure things out.”
Senior year saw a determined Elizabeth Baez. “I had a teacher that I absolutely adored, my English teacher, Liza Crowley. She was very educated, had gone to Phillips Academy and a prestigious university and she was amazing to me. She was so tough and pushed everyone. She’d tell me ‘It’s ok, you’re going to do great – you’re amazing.’ She helped me so much, she really challenged me, always telling me that I could do better. That was the class I got the most out of.”
It wasn’t easy for Liz. She was a teen mom, worked a co-op job at Silverio Insurance and worked part time there during her academic week, and worked nights at Footlocker. But she knew that her decision to not marry was the right one. “I felt like I would be shutting the door on my future,” she said.
Greater Lawrence Tech had a parenting program that Liz joined. It was run by Patricia Mazzone. “She was very supportive and helped connect me to some valuable resources. The school really helped me gain my independence.”
Baby Keeana was in attendance at Liz’s graduation from GLTS. Liz enrolled at Middlesex Community College and majored in business with her sights set on Northeastern University. “I got in touch with an admissions counselor at Northeastern and she helped me choose the right courses at Middlesex that would help me transfer to NU. As a single mother I realized I had to take advantage of the resources that were out there – and there were a lot.”
Liz was accepted into Northeastern, majoring in Business with a concentration in International Business, she had Keeana in a good daycare facility in North Andover and partnered with a community program that helped her find housing. “That was one of the biggest challenges of my life. I couldn’t dorm because I had a child so I had to commute. I was living by myself with Keeana and I’d drive her to daycare and then commute to Boston. My mom and my stepdad were a big help to me at that point.”
“When I was pregnant I had so many people tell me that once you become a teen mom you’re just going to keep having babies and you’re going to be a failure. I remember watching TV one day and there was a show on about teen moms and the statistics that showed that if you have a baby when you’re a teen you’re chance of going to college, never mind graduating from college, were really low. That stayed with me. I was determined to beat those statistics.”
In her senior year at Northeastern she took a Business Law course and the professor asked to speak with her after class one day. Liz went to his office and he said “you have it in you to be an attorney. You ask questions, you challenge everyone.” He might as well have told Liz to consider being a doctor or an astronaut.
“I’d never thought about that. I never thought being a lawyer was feasible for me – it was never an option. I had no idea what it would take to go to law school. So I started looking into what the steps were to become an attorney but I realized that I had to work, being a single mom and having school loans coming due,” she explained. The idea was put on hold but not forgotten.
After a brief stint at East Point Mortgage, Liz was offered a job as a loan officer at Wells Fargo working on commission. “It was great, I was my own boss and the harder I worked, the more money I made. I was in my twenties and I was making more money that I ever had before. I was self-sufficient, I was independent! I had my own home, my daughter was in school, I paid my bills and I got to travel. I really enjoyed my twenties!”
Law school seemed like it just couldn’t be possible. “I had to support my child, it was just the two of us – I had to support us. But when I used to go to my closings most of my clients were Hispanic and there were no Spanish speaking attorneys. And I would think, my God, there is such a need for Hispanic attorneys and at some point I am going to do it!”
Soon the economy soured and with it the mortgage industry. “It was harder to get business. It was very stressful and scary – I saw people starting to get into trouble.” Liz left the mortgage business and took an analyst position at a VOIP company. She found success and a new love – her now husband Joe Roberts. Joe was very supportive of her dream and encouraged her to follow it.
Liz enrolled at the Mass School of Law in Andover. “The first year was brutal. At orientation they said ‘see all these people around you? Only 10% of you will make it.’ I said to myself ‘I’m going to be in that 10%’,” she laughed.
A second daughter, Nia, arrived during Liz’s final year in law school. “We were a family and everyone helped me get through that final year.” Then it was time to study for the bar. “It was tough. I’d start studying when I woke up in the morning and would study straight through to midnight. Joe worked from home so he’d take breaks and feed me,” she laughed.
She was working as a paralegal at Bright Horizons corporate headquarters in Watertown when she found out that she passed the bar. They immediately hired her as legal counsel. “I was there for a year and the commute was killing me, I had a young child, Joe and I had bought a new house, we were starting a family. It was so draining and I told my boss I couldn’t do it anymore and he was very understanding.
Liz pondered her next move when Joe said “this is your time to follow your dreams 100% – go on your own – you can do this!”
“It was scary, but I did it! I’ve had some great mentors – Tim Connors and Bill Keating… Wendy Estrella was one of the first female, Hispanic real estate attorneys and she said ‘Liz, you can do it!’ Johan Lopez is a realtor and great friend and he really motivated me to focus on real estate.”
Attorney Arthur Broadhurst’s law firm soon reached out to Liz. He was interested in having the Baez Law Group join them. “I have office space here but I’m independent. Arthur Broadhurst is great, he’s been doing this for so long it’s great to have his support. Business is really growing.”
Baez Law Group, with Liz at the helm, is indeed growing. She has hired another lawyer and is looking to take on a paralegal as well. Her daughter, Keeana, recently graduated from the Mass College of Pharmacy and last spring Liz and Joe were married with her longtime friends from Greater Lawrence Technical School, Dorislyn, Glenda, Ana and Jamie, all in attendance and serving as bridesmaids.
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