By Jaury Mendela Jean-Enard
OJ this and OJ that. Channel 7, it’s OJ. Channel 10, it’s OJ. Morning news is OJ. Evening news is OJ. Did OJ do it or not? Guilty or innocent? High speed chase down the highway, testimonies are coming in, witnesses are lining up, and lawyers are arguing their cases. It was OJ 24/7 and America was glued to the TV. It was like one of the first reality TV shows.
After hearing OJ dominate the media for months on end a young man developed a curiosity for the law – specifically criminal law. While he originally planned to become a French teacher, it was the story of OJ that intrigued and ultimately led him to law school. Kertch Conze, a 19-year practicing attorney, began his legal journey during the OJ case.
“Everything in the OJ Simpson case was so raw that it captivated everyone’s attention,” said Mr. Conze. “It was the case of the century. And I think that’s where reality TV got its start.”
The case was so interesting that Mr. Conze started taking legal courses to better understand it. He began with classes in criminology and quickly declared a minor in Criminal Justice. Initially his major was in French Literature, but complexities of law appealed to him more.
“A legal education makes you think critically and makes you to see things from different angles,” explained Mr. Conze. “In criminology class you learn the different stages something must go through for it to be considered a crime,” he added.
In 1994, Mr. Conze completed his love of French literature and fascination with Criminal Justice by earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Florida Atlantic University. For the next three years he would work for the Florida Department of Children and Family (DCF) while simultaneously studying for the LSAT exam. In 1997, he was admitted to NOVA Southeastern University and completed his degree in two and a half years.
After graduation, Mr. Conze worked his way up the legal ladder. For the first four years, he worked as a prosecutor trying various misdemeanor and felony cases for the Miami Dade State Attorney’s Office. After trying hundreds of cases in county court as a C-prosecutor, B-prosecutor and A-prosecutor, he went on to a specialized unit for sexual battery. For another four years, Mr. Conze would work at the Office of the General Counsel as In-House Counsel and also handled insurance defense work in Coral Gables.
One of his most remarkable cases took place in 2008 when he and a group of lawyers represented 17 teens from Miami Edison High School who were arrested for protesting unfair and ill treatment. Mr. Conze successfully argued their case and had all charges against them dropped.
“It’s just unfortunate that they were arrested and spent a night in jail,” he argued.
Shortly after this, Mr. Conze took a leap of faith and started his own law firm, The Law Offices of Kertch Conze P.A. Today he has two offices: one in Miami and another in Miramar. His wife, Daphne Gonzalez -who’s also a lawyer- manages the Miami office while he manages the Miramar office.
His law firm handles litigation, personal injury, and contractual disputes.
In 2013, he incorporated the Haitian band Klass, one of the few Haitian bands to have a legal structure. As a Haitian native himself, Mr. Conze is a passionate mélomane of Haitan music. After work he is known to sink in his tunes and thoughts for hours on end. Accompanied by a drink in hand, equipped with a smart TV and surrounded by a sound system, Mr. Conze travels through all 10 departments of Haiti listening to his favorite songs from the country.
In 2014 he also represented the Haitian Lawyers Association and Haitian Women of Miami at the United States District Court – Southern District of New York in a case involving the cholera outbreak in Haiti introduced by the UN.
Today, Mr. Conze is widely known for “Chronique Juridique,” a daily legal segment on Radio Mega he has held for 15 years. During the segment he offers free legal advice or discourse to the Haitian community. He is also a frequent guest at the Black Caucus, having advocated for better living conditions for Haitians in the Dominican Republic in 2015 and for TPS in 2017. Most recently he was asked to lead a panel on Island TV to educate viewers about what’s at stake for the mid-term elections.
“A lot of the results [during the midterm elections] were razor thin,” said Mr. Conze as he explained the power of the Haitian vote. “Our community is a lot more impactful today than before.”
Mr. Conze and Daphne Gonzalez-Conze, a powerful husband and wife team have four children together, all girls; two of whom are twins.
You can catch Attorney Conze weekdays at 7:55 am on Radio Mega 1700 AM.
