Antonio will never forget the most memorable anecdote of his first year wearing the toga. He was practically out of his shell when his other passion, pelota, got him a sports license for several weeks to participate in the provincial championship. He says that the National Office of Collective Law Firms (ONBC, by its Spanish acronym) recruited him because he had always had a great swing at bat and was a great hitter of balls and strikes, even though he had already graduated as a lawyer.

He recalls that he left happy to defy the sun. He was an energetic lad and immediately proclaimed the laws of the land as a priority. The scare came later. Many of his clients came looking for him at the law firm and when they found out that he was on sports leave, the alarm bells rang: ‘What do you mean, a baseball player? My lawyer? That can't be right.

On his return to work, he discovered that the “field” there was hot. He was notified that 16 cases had been returned to him because his clients had changed “teams” and he learned that it was not advisable to stay too long on the “bench” or he would be “struck out,” for life.
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Between laughter and reminiscences, Antonio Fernández Bermejo, still at the Collective Law Firms, has carved out a prestige as a shield based on commitment and respect for the law, justice, and the profession that took him out of the ball field to anchor him to the routines of courts, appeals and looking people in need in the eye.

“I always had a strong sense of justice, since I was a child. Even in the games I played as a child, I wanted to assert the criteria of what was right. And sometimes I got my way,” he jokes. My parents told me you're going to be a lawyer, boy. And they weren't wrong.

Camagüey was the land where he was born, where he grew up, where he retraced his steps, where he threw stones, and where he decided to become a lawyer. He recalls that in those days it was more complex to achieve university goals and ‘you had to lose your eyelashes studying’. In his year there were only four courses and he was victorious.

“I graduated from the University of Camagüey in 1987. It seems like it was in another life because the reality was very different and the motivations of the young people were also different. I came to the collective law firm to make a difference, of doing my best, of living up to it.”

“Since then, I have been a criminal lawyer. I always knew that my preferences were linked to dealing with crimes and looking at them head-on, investigating, and studying. I remember the most difficult cases that marked my life and put my feet even more firmly on the ground. It's a daily job to get to know the men, how they think, and what makes them tick.”

HAND IN HAND WITH YOUTH

In 2022, Toñín, as his friends call him, became team leader number two of the collective law firm, a team of public defenders made up of very experienced colleagues, criminal lawyers, and also all the most recent generations of graduates.

“I confess that working with young people has a different impact on the life of a veteran. You get infected with new energy, and new ideas and you also learn. My task as team leader is not only to distribute the work equally but also to educate and train the new pupils, in this case, all women.”

“The challenge has been immense and has required a lot of preparation; I have had to study as a university student again. The new Criminal Procedure Act came into force in 2022 and brought important legislative changes that had to be mastered immediately.”

“There were many readjustments, more in tune with our society. It brought the possibility of nullity of proceedings, early execution of sanctions, and above all, a wider scope towards what is known in the world as habeas corpus.”

“My main mission is to convey the law correctly to these graduates and to guide their work, to put into everyday life the motivation I received from my tutors. Law is a profession that is exercised based on humanism, sensitivity, and justice. Without values, there can be no defense, no process.

“I try to teach by example. I explain them the importance of a detainee's statement, which can be in the first 48 hours. We are always active. In cases where people want a court-appointed lawyer, they contact us from Preliminary Investigation and we have three teams on duty throughout the week, including Saturdays and Sundays.”

“It is an arduous task that these young women lawyers carry out. The preparation at university is rather theoretical. Here, they have to train for real; and they do it with an astonishing responsibility. We can be proud of the new generation because they have surprising conditions.”

A PROFESSION, A PATH

Antonio has the marks of prestige as a mark of his life. Two years ago, he received the Toga de Honor, awarded to people who have been in the National Organization of Collective Law Firms for more than 30 years without interruption and whose work is socially recognized.

“It is a source of great pride. In any part of the world, a lawyer is always socially recognized, which obliges us, not only to maintain our level as professionals but also requires us, from a social point of view, to behave appropriately. We are undoubtedly a reference point for the family, neighbors, and the entire population.”

“In our house, there are always unexpected visitors. People who know us arrive at any time, the hours you expect the least, to ask for a lawyer and want to clarify a doubt, a criterion, or a personal dilemma. The law makes you a public servant, an operator who defends, above all, the rights of any human being.”