Today we’d like to introduce you to Mekka Crawford-Franklin.
Mekka, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Although my story begins years before I became an attorney, I will start with Chapter-Law School: Are You There God?! My passion for law did not just start once I became a licensed attorney. In fact, it started years before I even went to law school. I’ve dreamed of being an attorney since I was 10 years old. My passion for law grew over the years as I met countless people who either personally experienced injustices within the criminal justice system or their loved one’s experienced injustice. So, for the last 26 years I have dedicated myself to advocating for affordable legal representation for the indigent and underserved communities.
For over 16 years, I was a single mom of two beautiful daughters. Throughout most of those years I worked two jobs while also in school full-time. No matter how much I dreamed of being an attorney, my first obligation was to my daughters. So, it took me over 15 years to obtain my bachelor’s degree. I graduated Cum Laude with my bachelor’s degree in 2009. I was so excited because I was finally getting ready to live out my dream of attending law school and becoming a licensed attorney!
Unfortunately, it did not happen as quickly as I wanted it to. But I did not give up. Through my tears and disappointment, I kept grinding and investing in my education until I was finally accepted into law school in 2012. Yayyy! It was finally happening!! After all the obstacles, defeats, and losses I knew that once I made it to law school the rest would be smooth sailing!! Boy was I wrong! Within 8 months of being in law school, I found myself homeless in a state 8 hours away from all my family and friends. My daughters and I were homeless. I was in my wilderness with just my teenage daughters. What was I going to do? Quitting was not an option because I had come too far, sacrificed too much to quit now. I prayed and cried…cried and prayed. How could God let this happen? I have always been a giver to those in need. Allowing those without homes to live with me rent free over the years. Not to mention, I was a tither; so surely God was not supposed to let this happen to me. Because after all, the Bible does say God will rebuke the devour for us if we pay our tithes! But He did….God let this happen!…now I was angry…I was mad at God. I said within myself, “I’m not praying for anything else”! I reasoned in my mind that prayer was useless because obviously God would do just what He wanted to do in my life, despite my prayers.
I only had a couple of friends in the state I was in; so, I resigned myself to sleeping in my car until I was able to transfer to a law school back home in Atlanta. But my daughters had already suffered through too many hardships with me; so, there was no way I was going to let them sleep in a car with me! I arranged with my brother for my daughters to temporarily live with him since he was only a few hours away from me. For over two months I worked three jobs, yes, three. Most days I was only getting a few hours of sleep. But I knew I had to do what was necessary to get back on my feet so I could finish this journey. So, I kept grinding.
Unfortunately, I was unable to save enough money to afford a new place to live. But I needed my daughters back with me and they needed me just as much. So, I got off my high horse with God, repented for my lil’ tantrum. I asked God to give me strength and wisdom to finish this journey. I found the Hope House, a long-term shelter for women and children. The Hope House would become our new “home” for the next 10 months. I was so overwhelmed. I felt I had let my daughters down. Law school was supposed to be the start of our great life. But it was worse for us than it had ever been before. I felt defeated…. but knowing my girls were depending on me, I knew I could not and would not give up! I kept grinding and I kept praying.
After a year of being homeless, I was finally able to move back to Atlanta. The guy I was dating before law school came back into my life and wanted to make it “official”. We eventually sealed the deal and got married. My life was finally starting to look up! God heard my prayers! Not only did He bless us to get a new home, He also blessed me with a good partner to do this thing called life with. It could only go up from here, right? Wrong! I got pregnant right away, but I knew I would be okay. I had a good man this time who would never abandon me and my girls, like my first husband. However, my new husband was not the issue time.
The pregnancy experience was horrible. The doctors warned me that I could not continue commuting from Atlanta to Charlotte. It was too dangerous for me and the baby. But I could not quit! I had come too far, lost too much, and sacrificed too much to give up now. So, I went back to my faith and believed God to keep me. God had brought me this far, so I knew He would keep me and my baby. And He did! I had our son, 1 month before my law school graduation. I traveled to Charlotte, 2 weeks post C-section to take my final exams. The pain was excruciating…. but I had made it to the end of this journey and wasn’t going to let a little pain stop me now! I crossed the finish line! Because I did not give up, I graduated on time without failing any classes! I made it through this test. Praise break!!!! I knew God was getting ready to do His big one and I would pass my bar exam on the first try!!………. Butttt!!
God was not quite ready for this Chapter of trials to end. I failed the bar exam! I was devastated! God, are you there?!! Are you even listening? Why are giving me so many hard trials? I cried and I prayed…I prayed and I cried…and I took the exam again because this time God got me! This was the last trial I had to complete so I could finally walk into my destiny! Praise break!….But I failed again! I took the Georgia bar exam multiple times before I finally passed! Each failure was a hard blow…it was embarrassing…and I felt like I was still letting my family down. But as much as it hurt…as disappointed as I was after each “Unfortunately, you did not receive a passing score” I never gave up. In between each test, I went back to school to obtain my PhD. I also went back to my alma mater and took a position as an Associate Professor in the Legal department. Through perseverance, determination, and drive I finally passed the bar exam!! I am now a licensed attorney! I opened my own law firm, M. Crawford-Franklin Law in June 2023!….and I hired one of my daughters to work with me!
Though I dare not say the road was easy, it was worth it. I can see why God had me in a holding pattern! I understand why my wilderness experience was necessary….It’s because my time is now!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has never been a smooth road!! My ex-husband abandoned our family when I was six (6) months pregnant with our second daughter. My oldest was ten months old at the time. He has been absent from their lives since 1997. Needless to say, I had to take care of our children by myself. There were times I did not have food to feed my children, utilities were disconnected, did not have health insurance for my girls at times because I did not qualify for government assistance (I made just enough to be over the limit but not enough to sustain us); unable to purchase new clothing for my girls, and we were homeless for almost a years. During the time of being homeless, things were so bad financially that my daughters were tying knots in their bras and wearing flip-flops during the winter because I did not have the resources to buy new clothes and shoes. Most of the time, my girls were unable to participate in extra-curricular activities because I could not afford to pay for both. I battled homelessness, sickness, depression, and so many losses I can’t even count; I even lost friends along the way. There have been a lot of bumps, holes in the road, and darkness throughout the journey, but through the Grace of God, I’m still standing because I refused to give up!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
At M. Crawford-Franklin Law, I specialize in Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Family Law. I provide effective and affordable legal representation for indigent and underserved communities. While I cannot speak to the mindset of other attorneys, I can say that one of the reasons why I opted to work for myself instead of an established law firm was not only so that I could forge my own path but so that I could also offer my services at at significantly reduced fee than most firms. For most cases, I offer my clients affordable monthly payment plans. Though risky because there is always a chance that clients won’t keep up the monthly payments, leaving the retainer fee unpaid after I have provided the legal services, I believe God will always send other paying clients to balance it out. I am proud of my commitment to providing the best representation for my clients, even if I don’t make a dime. Many attorneys will withdraw from a client’s case if the client is unable to pay (which I totally get!), but as of right now, I do not plan to withdraw from a client’s case based solely on their inability to pay. I believe God anointed me for this work. I believe that so many men and women in our community (African American) are incarcerated due to ineffective representation because of their inability to afford a “good” attorney.
However, I am a firm believer that simply because an attorney bills at a higher hourly rate than others does not mean he/she will provide better representation. Good representation comes from integrity, passion, and commitment to do this work, not the hourly rate! Because I know God designed my destiny to be a great attorney when He formed me in my mother’s womb, I pray over each case, asking God to guide me and my team to give the best representation possible. Now, unfortunately, despite giving my best, I know I won’t be able to get favorable results for all my clients simply because the evidence is the evidence! In every case, the trier of fact (a jury in most cases) weighs the evidence against the facts of the case presented at trial, which may result in a different outcome than we planned. However, no client with M. Crawford-Franklin Law will ever lose a case because I did not provide GREAT representation. My brand is Fierce Advocacy = Powerful results! I stand by this for every case rather paid, appointed or pro bono!
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I believe to be successful in any career, rather law or another field, we need others to help us be successful! I teach law classes at Kennesaw University and Herzing University, and one of the things I tell all my students is to network as much as possible. Join different organizations in your field. Show up to events, volunteer to serve, anything that gets you in front of the people you want to do business with. I’ve been in this field for over 24 years, and the road has not been easy. In fact, I believe if I would have had a stronger network, the path to my career would not have been so rough. Unfortunately, it was difficult for me to find mentors. I went to events, joined the organization, and offered to buy lunch or coffee just to sit and talk with others in my field, but in most instances, I did not get the resources I needed. Because my path was so challenging, I am committed to helping others avoid some of the pitfalls I made. I have several mentors now, and I offer all my students, as well as anyone I meet interested in this field of study, an opportunity to be my mentee. In the near future, I plan to offer my mentee scholarships to help lighten the financial load. My scholarships will allow future attorneys an opportunity to be fully vested in their education without stressing about their living expenses!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mcrawfordfranklinlaw.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/m_crawford_franklin_law?igsh=MTZ2anlpcnJjZnF5dg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thesassylawyer?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
