In recognition of Black History Month, Vernis & Bowling introduces Ashley Gantt, Esq., from the firm’s Hollywood, FL office.
Ashley is the President-Elect for the T.J. Reddick Bar Association which was founded in 1982. It is Broward County’s first Black Bar Association and is named after TJ Reddick, the first black attorney to open up a practice in Broward County, Florida. He would later become a judge in Broward County, and the first black circuit judge in Florida. Ashley is also a board member of the Gwen S. Cherry Black Women’s Lawyer Association which was founded in 1985. In 2005, the association voted to be renamed in honor of community activist Gwendolyn Sawyer Cherry, who was the first black female attorney to practice in Dade County and the first black female legislator in the State of Florida.
Get to know Ashley
- Favorite Place: The beach is my favorite place. It centers me.
- Favorite Food: Anything my Granny cooked. She had the magic touch that turned every meal into a feast.
- Favorite TV show/Movie: Movie- Eve’s Bayou; Show- A Different World.
- Favorite Sports Team: Florida Gators! Go Gators!
- Favorite Animal: Cats
- Favorite Hobby: Dancing
- Favorite Book: The Bluest Eye, Fledgling, The Broken Earth Trilogy, Sula, The Sun Does Shine
- Favorite Restaurant: I don’t have one favorite place, I just enjoy delicious food.
Best thing about being an attorney:
Helping others gives me incalculable fulfilment. I have dedicated my professional careers, first as an educator and now as an attorney, to helping the disenfranchised members of our society have a voice and feel empowered to change the course of their lives. I also love being in trial. I love engaging in the art of storytelling and painting a clear picture using words. Someone recently told me “Some artists use paint, some use stone, you use words.” That was the most poetic and accurate way to describe me and also why I became an attorney.
Learn more about Diversity and Inclusion at Vernis & Bowling.
Diversity and Inclusion