BABE #377: FALLON ZIRPOLI - Assistant Public Defender
As an Assistant Public Defender, Fallon manages a caseload ranging from 80 to 100 clients at any given time. Despite her heavy workload, she approaches each task with a non-biased approach, and ensures each client knows they’re not just a file in a stack of many. She’s dedicated, thorough and genuine in her practice, and most importantly: she cares about each and every client she serves. We’re impressed by Fallon’s candor and vulnerability, and lucky to have someone like her fighting for the people in our home state of Florida and beyond.
The Basics:
Hometown: Coral Springs, FL
Current city: Miami, FL
Alma mater: Florida State University; Nova Southeastern University School of Law
Degree: B.A., Political Science; B.A, English Literature; Juris Doctorate
Very first job: Camp Counselor
Hustle: Assistant Public Defender
The Interests:
Babe you admire and why?
Easy—Ruth Bader Ginsberg. She epitomizes bravery, courage, and perseverance. During her career as a Supreme Court Justice, she has refused to concern herself with what is popular, but only with what is right, evident from her strongly worded dissenting opinions. Many people don’t know this, but despite her graduating from an Ivy League law school, she struggled to find employment based solely on the fact that she was a woman. When she finally did find employment as a professor, she was required to accept a lower paying salary on the sole basis of her gender. In true RBG fashion, she then dedicated most of her career trailblazing the fight for gender equality and equal pay. All female attorneys—including myself—have her to thank for that.
What IG account(s) have you been binge-scrolling lately?
@SheShouldRun, a nonpartisan nonprofit that works to encourage and increase the amount of women running for public office.
Are you a collector of anything?
Sneakers. Most girls love high heels, and don’t get me wrong, I like those too. But I don’t play around when it comes to shoes. I enter raffles, wait outside in line for new releases, and wear them mostly everywhere. My brother is jealous of my Adidas Yeezy collection.
What’s something you want to learn or master?
Languages. Living in Miami, we are such a melting pot of cultures and I do feel that attorneys who speak Spanish, French, or other languages are definitely at an advantage. Plus, I love traveling and I would love to be able to speak the native languages of other countries and immerse myself in their culture. After I conquer at least four, onto the piano!
If you could have coffee with anyone in the world, who would it be?
Chance the Rapper. Not only do I love his music, I appreciate that he uses his fame in a positive way, even founding a non-profit charity for at risk youth, SocialWorks, Chi. Plus, I named my dog after him!
The Hustle:
Tell us about your hustle.
Above all, my hustle as an assistant public defender consists of putting my clients first, reminding them that I work for them and ensuring they don’t fall through the cracks of an imperfect justice system. I manage a caseload ranging from 80 to 100 clients at any given time. My role begins when the government files formal criminal charges against an individual who cannot afford to hire a lawyer. From then on, I’m tasked with interviewing my clients immediately, investigating the case, negotiating any plea offers, picking the case apart piece by piece, and ultimately resolving the case in a fair way that my client is satisfied with. This can either be through means of a trial or plea. It’s adversarial and you’re often the only lifeline that the client may have, especially if the case is assigned to a prosecutor who treats your client as a number on a file.
What does your typical workday look like?
My typical day ranges depending on the week. I thrive in a chaotic fast-paced environment, whether it’s visiting a client in jail, or my more favorite type of day: being in trial! My most important hat is zealously fighting for my client and making sure they know that. Public Defenders often get a bad reputation, but from my personal experience amongst my colleagues, our clients drive us to work and fight harder. Aside from being a defense attorney, I switch hats all the time, including but not limited to: social worker, therapist, liaison to the family members, and most things that my client asks of me so they know that I do indeed care. Without trust, the least likely a client is to listen to your counsel. advice, and most importantly of all, sit next to them alone at a table in front of a jury who decides his or her fate.
When and why did you decide to pursue a career in law, specifically as a public defender?
After law school, I thought, “Hey I went to law school to make money,” so I went to a high-paying corporate firm—and quickly realized how mundane and meaningless the work was. While I was working there though, I found myself getting more and more involved in philanthropic work and anything that gave me a sense of purpose. I knew my then-career wasn’t making a difference. Within six months, I had applied to every public defender’s office from Miami to Orlando. I ultimately landed in Miami because of their training program, and never looked back.
Due to the nature of being a public defender and not having the luxury of being able to pick and choose your cases, how do you set aside personal bias to defend each client objectively?
I think that if you can’t set aside personal biases and you choose a career in criminal defense—specifically indigent defense—you’ve probably landed yourself down the wrong career path. It’s the fact that I don’t consider personal biases, that has afforded me the ability to be as effective as possible as an assistant public defender, while remaining compassionate and preserving each client’s dignity. There’s a quote by a very inspirational civil rights author and attorney Bryan Stevenson that I often preach when explaining to others why I’ve chosen this career path: “Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.”
How do you build trust with your clients while maintaining necessary boundaries?
Patience. My clients want to be heard. They want to know that they aren’t a file in a stack of many. This includes communicating with them as much as I can, within reason. It means involving their family in discussions if they ask me to. It means walking them through my thought process of defending their case so they don’t feel like they’re playing a supportive role. They’re the star, and they are my boss. If they don’t trust me, they are more likely to fall victim to an unreasonable plea, and almost never let me take their case to trial. The law is complex, and if you exclude them from the process, they’ll isolate themselves and exclude you, too.
How do you practice staying composed in emotionally-charged professional situations? Is this something you’ve learned through professional and/or academic training?
I honestly struggle with this and am not ashamed to say this is my biggest weakness as an assistant public defender. I am an emotional person, so of course my passion for what I do is a reflection of the way that I personally practice law. Everyone practices differently. Academic training cannot even begin to prepare you for what happens in the courtroom, so it’s really something I’m constantly striving to improve on. I wear my heart on my sleeve, so if I’m speaking, you typically know how I’m feeling. It is both a blessing and a curse, but I am most definitely self-aware of it and am lucky enough to have supervisors with the wisdom to understand and guide me to constantly keep growing.
In your experience, do you feel that the justice system protects everyone equally despite differences in class, race, gender, etc.? If the answer is no, what can we do to help?
Unfortunately, no. Day in and day out, I witness how our criminal justice system negatively impacts people of color and those with little to no financial means. This is especially prominent because we have a cash bail system, which means if you have the resources, you can afford to bond out of jail while the others without those resources sit in jail awaiting trial—even if charged with the same exact crime. It directly refutes our country’s justice system that preaches innocent until proven guilty. National statistics support the fact that low-income neighborhoods are more heavily policed, leading to more arrests, and then upon entrance of the justice system, are sentenced more harshly. This includes all minorities, but in Miami, specifically black or Hispanic individuals. Take action! Pay attention to your local elections, specifically the individuals who run these courtrooms: JUDGES. Research them, learn about them, and vote. Too often only people in the legal profession pay attention to judicial elections, but imagine if everyone did the research and actually exercised their right to vote! The criminal justice system should be fair. Electing certain judges can have a serious impact on the lives of every person who walks through that courtroom door, so pay attention to who’s running that courtroom.
What would you say is your biggest career milestone to date and why?
It’s hard to name a specific milestone. This job consists of very high highs, and very low lows. I’d have to say that at this point in my career, I’m lucky enough to have tried over 30 cases to verdict. Many other circuits—Florida and nationwide—are simply just not as trial-active. This is important because it isn’t always about winning or losing (although trust me, winning feels great,) but it symbolizes the fact that we are defending the constitution, protecting our clients from being coerced into pleas, and fighting for them as hard as we can no matter what the outcome.
How has being a woman impacted your professional experience? What can we do to create more equal, uplifting (and well-paying!) spaces for women in your industry?
Luckily, to date, there are more licensed female attorneys than males, so that is a major win! However, the people in the courtroom from previous generations may have not perhaps recognized that. There is a large portion of older male attorneys who are certainly not used to having female colleagues, or seeing female judges ruling on the bench. I’ve personally dealt with situations where I’ve been interrupted by male colleagues, or have been criticized for my assertiveness that men get away with every single day. When a man is assertive or confident, he is labeled powerful—but women are often typecast much differently for the same behavior. We should always encourage and give women the confidence to always remember their worth. Don’t be afraid to walk in and ask to be paid what your male equivalent is making. And if that doesn’t work, don’t be afraid to speak out about the salary disparity. Like my mom always says: the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
What’s the gender ratio like in your industry? Do you see it evolving? Why or why not?
I’m so proud of our gender ratio in Miami-Dade. I see female judges, I see female prosecutors, but mostly I see the powerful and strong role models in my own office and I’m proud to work at a place that empowers women. Our office is broken down into units and divisions, including Juvenile, County Court, Domestic Representation Unit, Capital Litigation Unit, and our Appellate Unit. Every single Chief of these respective units are women—even our Executive Chief! We also have female training attorneys and senior supervising attorneys, so it’s safe to say our office is a prime example of “girl power.” I hope that other circuits within the state of Florida start voting for more female judges or female elected officials, and that will trickle down and lead to a more proportionate ratio.
What is one of the biggest obstacles you’ve faced in your work?
My work often consumes me, so the biggest obstacle I’ve faced was learning how to create a work-life balance. There is always more work that can be done, you’re always thinking about a client, or what’s coming up for trial that month. It made it very difficult for me to be present amongst my closest friends and family because I felt like they couldn’t relate to me. I would feel guilty taking a vacation because I wouldn’t want to miss a court date for a certain client. While I do always come home with work on the brain, I do try to create healthier boundaries from when I am away from my office. If I’m drained, dealing with compassion fatigue, or just all around burnt out, I’m not the same lawyer my clients deserve—so taking time to truly be “out of office” has helped me immensely.
Are you involved with any other careers, side projects or organizations?
I am a member of Florida’s Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and a member of the Florida Association of Woman Lawyers. I also serve as a mentor at Empowered Youth, a juvenile justice program for Miami’s at risk-youth. My favorite volunteer work is with Young Lawyers Society: Lawyers for Literacy in Broward county, where we travel to different elementary schools and read children’s books to the students. I always loved reading while I was growing up and cherish the times my mom would take me to the public library, so I always find these volunteer opportunities personally fulfilling.
Who are some women in your field that you look to for inspiration?
My female colleagues, who are always there when I need advice or words of encouragement. They are my role models and I aspire to be as good as them someday. Right now, without getting into the political aspect because she isn’t technically in my field, I do deeply admire Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. At the time she was elected, she was the same exact age as me, and I couldn’t help but be in awe of her. She isn’t afraid to go against the grain, and I can certainly relate to that.
What does your approach to work/life balance look like?
One of my training attorneys in the Juvenile division at some point visibly observed how stressed I was. She sat me down and told me that without self-care, I’d ultimately be setting myself up for failure. I now set limits to not spend every weekend at the office, to try and leave the office at more reasonable hours if possible, and just stepping away from work. To unplug, I started a book club with my female colleagues, and we look forward to it each month. Not only is it fun, but it also forces all of us to unplug, get off our phones and read! I also recently got a dog, Chance, halfway into my career as a public defender, and I bring him everywhere! We love the dog park, brunch, and even just snuggling in bed. Having the responsibility of caring for him has given me another purpose and he has brought so much joy to my life. I now believe it when they say people with dogs live longer!
Career and/or life advice for other babes?
This sounds so cliché, but it is exactly how I ended up here: You have to love what you do. We spend a major portion of our lifetime working, so make sure it’s something you enjoy. I am grateful and very fortunate that I am never staring at a clock waiting until it’s time for me to go home. I took a major chance jumping from corporate law to criminal law and I had no experience, but I trusted myself—and I made the right decision. I asked myself, is this what I want to leave behind? Is this what I want to be remembered for? It wasn’t, so take risks and trust yourself. No one knows you as well as you do.
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