Michael Goldberg couldn’t have known the day a 17-year-old decided to walk into his neighborhood convenience store and pull a gun on the cashier.
The Providence-based attorney also couldn’t have done anything about the security cameras that caught his client on videotape committing the crime.
Or the clients friends’ who ratted him out to the cops after he refused to share the stolen money from the register.
But what Michael Goldberg did know was how to give his client a future.
He was able to reason with the judge to get his client charged on first degree, rather than the more serious second-degree charges.
“I couldn’t stop what happened to him, but I was able to stop his future from being ruined,” he said.
Meet the 2019 Southern New England Heart Walk’s Lawyers Have Heart Chair.
This driven attorney with his own practice, M. Goldberg Law LLC, is working in a field he is passionate about. “Giving someone peace of mind so they can live their life despite their legal situation is what gives me the most satisfaction.”
As the Lawyers Have Heart Chair, Michael will be networking with his fellow lawyers to sign up teams to take part in the June 2, 2019 Southern New England Heart Walk in Providence. He is also involved with the Rhode Island Leadership Committee and provides free legal work for Hope & Main in Warren.
“Everyone’s job is stressful these days,” he said. “Working as a lawyer, it’s a hamster wheel and people suffer from that mentality that the clock is always running.”
Heart health is something that hits close to home for Michael, professionally and personally.
“There is not an attorney out there that doesn’t know someone with a heart issue,” Michael said. “Lawyers have a huge problem with stress and heart health isn’t always on the front burner, often it’s on the back burner, as you try to juggle clients and court dates.”
He also has a family history of stroke. His maternal grandmother passed away at 39. “She was far too young, I wasn’t even born when she died, I never had a chance to meet her.” And Michael’s father, and his paternal grandfather, both died at the age of 63 from heart attacks. It was a devastating loss for him.
But Michael tries to carve out a healthy work-life balance. It’s a tough task, he and his wife, Alaina, a talent consultant, are busy building their careers and their family.
The Goldberg’s have a two-month old baby girl named Estela. She also has two sisters, five-year-old Emilia and two-and-a-half-year-old Evelaina.
“Many people think that lawyers don’t have hearts, I want to prove them wrong, that we are all not heartless!” said Michael. He plans to walk in the Southern New England Heart Walk in Providence on June 2nd and involve all of his family and relatives as well.
“We will definitely be bringing a stroller to the walk,” he said with a laugh.
To find out how you can take part in the 2019 Southern New England Heart Walks please go to sneheartwalk.org