Tracey L. Brown, Esq.
Partner
The Cochran Firm
Tracey L. Brown, daughter of the late U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron H. Brown, grew up in Washington, D.C., and credits the countless examples of legal expertise she saw as a child, including her father?s, with inspiring her to pursue a career in law. ?When I was an infant, my dad was in law school and handled all of my night feedings and rocked me to sleep, while he studied. I think he must have been using legal principles as lullabies.?
Brown graduated from St. John?s University Law School, her father?s alma mater, and is licensed to practice in California, New York and the District of Columbia. She served as deputy district attorney for the County of Los Angeles and as senior counsel at the Federal Trade Commission before joining The Cochran Firm as a partner specializing in personal injury, municipal liability and employment discrimination. Of all the challenges she has faced, the most difficult was the unexpected death of her father in a plane crash while on a mission to Eastern Europe. ?I was shaken to my core. Even after things calmed down a bit, I?didn?t think I would ever recover and I had to decide whether to wallow or return to practicing,? she says.
Brown eventually turned her tragedy into triumph by writing the best-selling biography, The Life and Times of Ron Brown. She is now actively involved in The Ron Brown Scholar program at St. Johns, which provides academic scholarships, service opportunities and leadership experience for students of color who are interested in law school. She also serves on the board of the National Child Labor Committee and gives time to the Young Achievers program, a mentoring program of the Metro Manhattan Chapter of The Links Inc. Having the chance to improve someone else?s quality of life makes her career worthwhile, she says.
