Toussaint M. Cummings, Esquire
I was born and raised in Philadelphia, P.A., eventually making my way to South Florida in order to satisfy my passion for jury trials. After graduating from the Pratt Institute in New York, where I obtained both academic and athletic successes, I obtained a Master’s of Science in Elementary Education at Merch College in New York.
I then taught fifth grade students in the New York public education system for nearly eight (8) years. My work as a teacher required that I be organized, that I maintain the attention of my students, and that I be able to discuss their positive and negative attributes with their parents, all while educating them.
Following my passion, I next set my sights on the law and attended the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City. I received several honors while attending law school as a result of my hard work and dedication, including serving as the Note Editor of the Cardozo Public Law, Policy and Ethics Journal. My passion, however, was jury trial work.
One of the most valuable pieces of information that I received in law school was the recommendation to become a member of the Offices of the Public Defender for Miami-Dade County in order to gain extensive trial experience. I took this advice and decided to take a chance by leaving family and friends by moving to Miami in 2014 to fight for people’s rights through the legal system. Working as a Public Defender allowed me to manage a caseload of over 100 felony clients. In this capacity, I was responsible for preparing my clients’ cases for either a pre-trial resolution or trial. In taking 16 of my clients’ cases to trial, I successfully obtained “not guilty” verdicts for 13 of them. My extensive trial experience allows me to analyze cases from the beginning to the end, and to go the distance in court when it is appropriate.
After practicing civil litigation for several year at different litigation firms in South Florida, the social justice aspect of employment law became a significant draw for me. I now devote the majority of my practice to helping those who were taken advantage of by their employers – whether by not receiving the wages they earned or being discriminated/retaliated against – to level the playing field. I also devote a significant portion of my practice to helping employers either avoid potential problems and to defending employers in workplace and administrative matters.
I believe in the integrity of the legal system, and take my role in that system seriously. I am compassionate with my clients and their unique situations, I vigorously advocate for my clients in all legal proceedings – both in written and oral argument settings, and I have the trial experience that gives me the confidence to know when trial is or is not the best option.
I became a member of The Florida Bar in 2014, which allows me to practice in all of the trial and appellate courts in the State of Florida. I also earned admission to practice in the federal court for the Southern District of Florida.
I now live in the bustling Brickell area of Downtown Miami, and as a true “city” guy at heart, take the train to work almost every day (even here in Miami).
I hope that after your case, your positive experience will let you feel confident in referring others who were not paid or treated properly at work to FairLaw Firm for help.