Local law firm has long-lasting legacy

It all started a half century ago with a young lawyer. He was born in Danbury and grew up among the

Ventura Ribeiro & Smith Attorneys: (Front row) Agustin Sevillano, Patricia M. Cruz, Agostinho J. Ribeiro, Americo S. Ventura, and Valerie B. Calistro. (Back row) Peter Baez, Rute Mendes, Nate Nasser, James K. Smith, Christopher C. Setaro, and Christopher J. Flood growing Portuguese community. His father and mother were both immigrants from the Northeastern part of Portugal. As a young kid working at his father’s Portuguese food market, Americo Ventura dreamed of more. And nothing could stop him from being one of the first in the local Portuguese immigrant community to become a college graduate. After finishing his studies at Georgetown University and serving in the U.S. Army, Ventura went on to Boston University, seeking a law degree.

When he graduated, Ventura did not entertain the possibility of success away from home. It was here, in Danbury, that he wanted to be a lawyer. He went from being an assistant state’s attorney in the Danbury courthouse to chief prosecutor of the Circuit Court of the State of Connecticut.

Later, Ventura became a founding member of Ventura, Ribeiro & Smith (VRS), a law firm specializing in personal injury, criminal, probate, and real estate cases.

Today, the firm has a dozen lawyers and 30 staff members, and it has become the largest personal injury firm in Danbury, with additional offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, and in New York City.

In 2007, Ventura was honored by the Connecticut Bar Association for 50 years of service in the legal field.

“Passionate for what we do”

Behind Ventura’s story of personal triumph and the firm’s business success, lies the true legacy of VRS – generation by generation they have fostered opportunities for young, talented lawyers with similar life stories to grow, achieve their full potential, and understand the importance of serving the community that helped raise them.

Attorney Agostinho J. Ribeiro is a part of that legacy. Born in New York City to Portuguese immigrants, he moved to New Milford, Conn., at the age of 12.

Ribeiro joined the law firm of Americo S. Ventura in 1989, after completing his law degree at New York Law School. He was admitted to the Connecticut and New York state bars in 1990 and a year later he formed a partnership with Ventura, establishing what is today VRS Attorneys at Law. He is currently the managing partner of the firm and concentrates on personal injury law. Ribeiro has successfully represented and settled more than 5,000 civil cases, many with values in excess of $1 million.

In 1992, Ribeiro opened a branch office in the World Trade Center in New York City, where he concentrated on Federal Court litigation. After Sept. 11, 2001, Ribeiro and the law firm represented victims of the World Trade Center disaster pro bono. The law firm was nationally honored for its volunteer efforts.

But like Ventura, Ribeiro has a passion for the city of Danbury and his cultural roots. He was the founder and first President of the Portuguese Cultural Center in Danbury as well as serving as a commissioner on the downtown CityCenter Council.

“As a law firm, we understand the importance of giving back to the communities we serve, whether by volunteering our time or by defending the rights of our clients with diligence and honesty, achieving the best results possible to alleviate their struggles,” Ribeiro said. “All of our attorneys are passionate about what we do.”

The same passion for the law that Ventura saw in Ribeiro in 1989, Ribeiro again saw in other attorneys as they joined VRS, and most recently in Patricia Cruz.

A voice for those who

cannot speak

Patricia Cruz’s story of determination, achievement and humanitarianism originates from a few different settings. Cruz was born in Portugal and raised in Danbury. She both taught and studied in her native country, and eventually attended law school in Michigan. She now works as a civil litigator in the VRS law offices, specializing in personal injury. She also volunteers at Danbury’s Portuguese Cultural Center.

“Injured victims often have no one to go to,” Cruz said in a phone interview. “Their insurance isn’t helping them, and nowadays they’re also fighting against the economy.” Cruz works especially with victims in the immigrant community who are dou- bly in need of assistance: “Not only are they injured, but often they don’t speak the language,” she said.

Cruz is fluent in English, French and Portuguese. After attending public school in Danbury, she received her undergraduate degree in 2004 in French and English language and literature from the Catholic University of Portugal. She came back to Danbury on her summer breaks to continue working at VRS, where she had secured a secretarial position as a high school student.

After graduating from college, Cruz taught French and English at a junior high school in Portugal for a year, then returned to Danbury in 2005. She was promoted to legal clerk at VRS and taught Portuguese at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church on Deer Hill Avenue.

Cruz attended the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Michigan, opting for an accelerated program that allowed her to earn a law degree in two years.

She graduated cum laude and as part of her research worked with the Abigail Alliance, aa group devoted to providing terminally ill patients with better drug and treatment options.

Cruz wrote an article that supported the group’s efforts to give terminally ill patients access to drugs that had not been fully approved by the FDA but had passed phases one and two, deeming the drugs safe but not necessarily effective.

“FDA approval is a slow process,” explained Cruz. “With the terminally ill, there’s no time to wait or to waste. Their lives could be extended a day, a week or a month with these drugs. It comes down to a right to live, to civil rights.”

Terminally ill patients can get access to experimental drugs via clinics, but the process is time consuming and far from private. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court did not approve Abigail Alliance’s bid for drug access, but Cruz continues to do her part in working for those in poor health or without the resources they need to advocate for themselves.

Cruz passed the bar this past February after graduating from Cooley in September of 2008 and was sworn in as a lawyer this past June. Cruz knew she wanted to be a lawyer from a young age, and though she didn’t take the direct route to practicing law, she says that sometimes life can take unexpected turns.

She attributes her successes to hard work, determination and acknowledging her humble roots.

“There is great opportunity in this country,” Cruz said. “In the end, everything pays off; sooner or later your dreams will come true.”