Sandra Sif is an attorney practicing in the State of Florida. She practices before the courts, has written many articles about the law, and is a contributor to many legal publications. Ms. Sif graduated from the University of Florida, in Gainesville, Florida, and then studied law at the University of Alabama. There she gained a Master of Science in Law. Sandra Sif also did some work as a Counseling Analyst in the Florida Office of Public Defense, but left that position to pursue a career in writing. In her new book, “Public Defender: Sandra Sif, Florida’s National Domestic Violence Lawyer,” (Wickham and Delavan, 2021), she discusses the differences between being a Public Defender and an Attorney, and the difference between the role of a prosecutor and a judge in a case.
The question of Sandra Sif’s nationality was brought up when I was doing research for an article I was writing at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (“NCDL). At the time, I had been interviewing several lawyers from various regions of the country. I asked some of the women if they were American by nationality and if so, if they were of Hispanic or Latino origin. Almost all of them assured that they were indeed of Hispanic or Latino origin, and almost half of the women said they were born in the United States.
I then did an internet search to find out more about Sandra Sif and discovered that she was an African American woman who was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. According to public records information, Sandra Sif is a member of the Black Women’s Health Association and the Afro-American Legal Defense Association. While neither the LHA nor the ALDA are government agencies, they do operate professional colorbar associations that provide a certificate program in ethical continuing education for lawyers. Sandra Sif is a participant in this program. It would appear to me that Sandra Sif would fit into the profession of lawyer with a fair amount of credibility, based on the information I have found about her, both in her professional life and her community volunteer work.