Fernando F. Chavez

The Cochran Firm, with 26 locations nationwide

The eldest son of celebrated civil rights leader and labor activist, Cesar E. Chavez, Fernando Chavez is Chairman of The Cochran Firm Latino Section. With over 25 years of experience practicing law before state and federal courts, Fernando is one of the country’s most successful trial attorneys. He has served as lead counsel in numerous individual and class action cases, resulting in multi-million dollar awards. Fernando also serves as a consulting attorney to both the Mexican Consulate and the Guatemalan Consulate in Miami, Florida.

Fernando obtained his Juris Doctor from the University of Santa Clara School of Law in 1978. He received his Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from San Jose State University in San Jose in 1975 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio in 1973. Fernando’s legal practice has focused on areas of catastrophic injury, civil rights, product liability, labor discrimination, criminal defense, class action, and commercial litigation.

A second-generation American, Fernando’s father, Cesar Chavez (1927-1993), was a labor leader and civil rights activist who became co-founder of what would become the United Farm Worker’s Union. As a young boy, Fernando would watch his father as he accompanied him to marches, boycotts, and during fasts. Over the years, Fernando saw firsthand how the work of his father and the UFW greatly improved and changed the life of migrant farm workers. Through his legal practice and his constant efforts with the UFW, Fernando has been committed to bringing positive social change for many Latinos across the country.

The Cochran Firm is one of the first national plaintiffs’ law firms to have bilingual attorneys who can offer legal services in all practice areas to the Latino community at a national level. Fernando brings the courage, compassion, and dedication of his father’s legacy to The Cochran Firm as he and all of The Firm’s attorneys work to bring about favorable changes in all communities.