Maurice Powe: 35

Attorney, the Law Offices of Brooks and Powe

When Maurice Powe was a young boy, his grandmother made it her mission to feed seniors in their neighborhood. She sent him to deliver the meals she cooked and told him to sit down and talk with the recipients in their homes.
“I learned to meet people where they were and try to build a common ground of understanding,” he said. “My mother and father also made sure I understood the importance of giving back. It was always important in our home to help the less fortunate. We called it ‘doing the right thing.’”
Powe feels blessed because many people helped him to go to law school and become an attorney. Today, he gives back through his profession and his volunteerism. He is on the Board of Directors for the NAACP of Springfield, the Urban League of Springfield, and theaBrethren.
This father of three keeps photos on his office wall of several football teams he coached for the Springfield Academics Athletics Arts Achievement Assoc. He has also coached youth football and basketball teams in Longmeadow, and was a recipient of the 2010 Massachusetts Bar Assoc. Community Service Award.
When he works with young athletes, he strives to teach them teamwork, commitment, and an important life lesson: “although they may get beat up and knocked down in life, they have to get back up. I tell them they show a lot about who they are if they do that.”
Powe says everyone has a story and a past, which they bring to every situation. “It goes a long way in trying to understand them,” he said. “I just try to treat people with respect and dignity and work hard for them whether they are having good times or bad. I listen to them and hear them, which is the start of a good relationship between any attorney and client.” He is also a zealous advocate for civil rights in lawsuits that involve discrimination.
His accomplishments all stem from his core beliefs. He is definitely doing the right thing — for all the right reasons.
— Kathleen Mitchell