Still Legal, LLC is owned and operated by Yokairy Tavarez, a Paralegal and Mediator with 25+ years of professional experience within corporate settings, large law firms and sole-practitioners.
Connect with Yokairy on LinkedIn.
While working as a Paralegal to a sole-practitioner in Florida, Yokairy was fortunate enough to witness his involvement in the case of a battered mother of three children who desperately sought a divorce and an Injunction for Protection from her abusive husband.
Yokairy assisted the attorney with obtaining an Injunction for the client and her children, exclusive use and access to the marital home and rehabilitative maintenance to help her start over.
The attorney’s pro bono representation, and more importantly, the manner in which he assisted the mother and her three children throughout the painful process, inspired Yokairy to dive deeper into Family & Matrimonial Law and specifically, Mediation.
Yokairy began her legal career in New York with a general practice attorney in the Bronx while pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree in Legal Studies from CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She started as an Assistant- answering phone calls, taking messages and filing documents- and eventually began to independently handle the Real Estate and Probate / Administrative cases for the office. After four years, she became well-versed with the real estate closing process and Surrogate’s Court in New York City.
After completing her degree, Yokairy moved to Miami and began working with a music corporation as Paralegal to the Executive VP. She learned about contractual obligations and material usage in Entertainment Law before moving on to a Criminal Defense practice. Drawing from her education at John Jay, Yokairy became adept at operating within Federal, Circuit and County Courts, and liaising with LEO, prosecutorial and judicial parties.
She eventually returned to her solo-practice roots and began working with a general practitioner in Homestead. During that time, she honed her Family Law expertise by preparing Trial Notebooks and Pre-Trial Catalogues, and conducting pre-sentence investigations, background searches and evidence gathering for pending litigation. She also developed a competency in Estate Planning, assisting with the drafting of Wills and Agent documents for clientele.
Upon her return to New York and inspired by the work she did in Florida, Yokairy furthered her professional portfolio by undergoing the training to become a double-certified Family Mediator and since then, has spent the last decade enmeshed in Family & Matrimonial Law. She has conducted Mediations for parties divorcing and separating, drafted divorce and legal separation agreements and provided pro se support to complete uncontested divorce packets, as well as scheduled and attended Final Judgment Hearings with Plaintiffs.
Last year, Yokairy made a lateral move from a Matrimonial firm in White Plains to a Rockland County firm that specializes in Matrimonial and Immigration Law. There, she is learning to represent individuals before the USCIS, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and in Immigration Courts and the federal circuit courts on issues dealing with immigration, emigration, T-Visas, U-Visas, green cards, adjustment of status, political asylum and SJIS applications. Additionally, she is studying legal advocacy for trafficking survivors to better understand patterns of abuse common to both domestic violence and human trafficking.
Currently, Yokairy is pursuing her Juris Doctor degree with NWCU School of Law. Through Still Legal, LLC, she also works with several attorneys throughout Bronx and Westchester County and Connecticut, helping with overflow in the areas of Matrimonial Law, Real Estate, Trust & Probate and Immigration. Combining her future Juris Doctor with her two-decades of experience, Yokairy continues to serve New York’s legal community with transparent and affordable assistance for legal professionals and pro se individuals alike.
Like most people, Yokairy has worked hard to balance her professional and academic career with her personal life, and believes that the ability to separate work and family is only possible when there is no crisis in the family. When a crisis occurs- such as the loss of a loved one or a separation or divorce- a worker’s ability to function is compromised; and she recognizes that in order to assist a client through this process with the least impact on their family and work, the needs of the client must be addressed, providing resources and possible solutions, while keeping in mind the cost of the process, both financial and emotional.
Yokairy plans to infuse that philosophy into an inclusive project in the future that would provide Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking survivors - both male and female - with confidential and collaborative resources, including trauma-informed legal services, supportive advocacy, and all the necessary tools to start over safely.
Based on a two-decade career in the legal field and proficiency in a broad range of legal areas, Yokairy is confident that the education, experience and expertise encompassed by Still Legal, LLC gives her the necessary skill set to meet all your legal needs.
Disclaimer:
*Still Legal, LLC is NOT a law firm.
This website is for general information about the products and services offered by Still Legal, LLC to individuals in New York, and attorneys and law firms within the United States. If you have come to this website with a specific legal issue or problem, you should consider seeking the advice of a licensed attorney of your own choosing.