Alejandro “Alex” Trevino, like countless others who hold a Juris Doctor, formed a desire to become a lawyer as a young child. Trevino’s journey to a J.D. was not a straight and narrow path, but one of character-building, riddled with twists and turns. Trevino said while at times his fire to become a lawyer was dimly lit, it continued to burn inside him and would burn its brightest decades after its ignition.
Trevino spent the first nine years of his life living in Mexico City. He later moved to the United States and settled in the Burnsville/Eagan area, where he continued to spend his summers in Mexico until he graduated from high school. His ties to his Mexican roots would be an intrinsic part of his journey to a J.D. and his current practice of law. “Our community has a growing need for Spanish-speaking attorneys in diverse areas of law.”
After graduating from high school, Trevino enrolled at the University of Minnesota in 1990, with a plan to study international relations. He took his first detour from his path to a J.D. after three semesters in college. Shortly after that, he decided to focus on his new wife and growing family. In 1997, Trevino returned to college part time.
He drove to St. Cloud every week to attend class while working a fulltime job. By 1999, he was still working on his undergraduate degree when he received a promotion that required him to make the tough decision to stop attending his undergraduate classes.
Notwithstanding these detours, Trevino’s dream of becoming an attorney never faded. In 2009, Trevino made a “vision board” as the new year approached and found law school at the center of his creation. After reflecting on his vision, Trevino decided to return to school for a third time. Trevino developed a mantra for himself in pursuing his career endeavors; he called it “his prize.” He entered school keeping his eye on the prize, and he was determined to complete what he had set his sights on: a J.D. and a career as an attorney. This third time around, Trevino had a new appreciation for education and was committed to his goal. He completed his undergraduate degree and enrolled at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul.
“Law school was one of the hardest things I had to ever do in life.” Balancing a fulltime career, family life, and getting back into the routine of attending school after a long hiatus from academia was no easy plight. Through perseverance, determination, and never letting that fire that he lit as a young child burn out, Trevino graduated from William Mitchell.
Trevino spent over 20 years working in the auto industry before he pursued his J.D. While working in car sales, he naturally found himself connected to Spanish speaking and Latino customers, and quickly found success focusing his sales on the Latino demographic. Trevino became a top salesperson and advanced to managerial positions at his dealerships. His accomplishments include competing at and placing fourth at Chevrolet’s National Walk-Around competition.
Two aspects of his auto industry career appear in his current practice—serving the Latino community and customer service. As a bilingual attorney and someone who grew up with strong Mexican influences, Trevino has found success in his solo practice representing members of the Latino community in workers’ compensation claims. He attributes his early found success to his background in customer service. “I have yet to advertise and I depend on word of mouth to keep my plate full, this is a blessing and has a lot to do with what I learned from customer loyalty in the auto industry.” Trevino continued, “I approach my practice with a work-hard play-hard mentality.”
Trevino enjoys the flexibility of having his own practice. Despite being his own boss, Alex works tirelessly for his clients. His nonstop work schedule is centered around the needs of his clients. When asked what advice he has to those wanting to build a strong network, Trevino said, “You need to be a nice person and always be prepared.”
Preparedness is something he learned from his mentors at his first post-law-school position as an associate at Fitch, Johnson, Larson & Held. “I had two mentors that took me under their wings and pressed upon me the value of preparedness in the practice of law. When I walk into a courtroom, deposition, mediation, I may not be the smartest person in the room but I will be damned if I am not the most prepared.”
Trevino said it is not just customer service and preparedness that he attributes to the success of his practice. “I would not be where I am without the work comp bar.” Trevino has found the members of the bar extremely generous in providing information and being available for questions no matter how rudimentary they may be. As a new lawyer this resource is extremely valuable.
Living truly by the work-hard play-hard motto, Trevino can be found on a Tuesday afternoon enjoying a day of boating on the lake. He loves to cook and is currently mastering plating food for presentation. Trevino was excited for the return of the NFL and describes himself as bleeding purple. This diehard Vikings fan is also an avid tennis player; you may find Trevino working on his tennis game and preparing for national league tennis tournaments at local parks and clubs across the Twin Cities.
by Jada N. Lewis
jada.lewis@stinson.com
Jada Lewis focuses her practice in business torts, product liability, commercial landlord tenant disputes in the business and commercial litigation context. Before joining the firm, she gained invaluable trial experience as an assistant Ramsey County attorney. She prosecuted 18 felony jury trials and worked in the county’s civil division, defending the county against employment discrimination, personal injury and excessive force claims.