Perseverance Personified

Joseph Anderson’s Journey from Jail Bars to Passing the Bar

By Gabriella Martinez & Kaylin Ledford

If you looked up perseverance in the dictionary, you'd see a picture of Joseph Anderson's smiling face.

People who get pulled into the justice system at a young age never really get out. Once it grabs you, it tries to hold you there. But Joseph Anderson refused to make that his reality.

He was only nineteen when he got hit with a twenty-year sentence for robbery. His first offense, no grace no real chance to grow up before the system decided who he was. He served ten of those years, and instead of letting it destroy him, he learned from it. He studied himself. He paid attention. He paid the price and then decided that price wasn’t going to define his future.

“Most people don’t get the chance to climb back out once they’re inside. I did, and I wasn’t going to waste it,” Joseph proclaimed.

Supported by people who didn't let Joseph's circumstances stand a chance, he fully recognizes it takes people in your corner to rally behind you. One of his biggest cheerleaders was his grandmother. She pushed him, prayed for him, and kept him grounded when everything around him felt impossible. She never let him forget that he was more than a number — more than a sentence, more than a mistake someone else wanted to bury him under.

And then there were the people who came into his life later: mentors and friends he picked up along the way, and eventually the team at Goldstein & Orr, who saw the work he put forth to succeed and endeavored to cultivate that growth. That leap of faith turned to certain footing. Gerry Goldstein — along with others who saw his potential — gave him the training, confidence, and voice he needed to rebuild his life. Joseph breathes gratitude, “I’m here today because of the people who believed in me before I ever believed in myself.”

His indomitable spirit and impressiveness landed him a clerkship with the San Antonio Spurs legal team during law school. In his principled efforts to give back, he also volunteered at Haven for Hope. He graduated with his Juris Doctor in May 2025 as the recipient of the Francisco Leos Award, honoring the legacy of a man who invested in educational opportunity. Joseph continues to practice law at Goldsten & Orr, one of the foremost criminal defense firms in the state – paying forward the very generosity of spirit and investment he was shown.

He didn’t walk out of prison into a new life overnight. In addition to a having solid emotional system and growing professional connections, rebuilding from bottom takes patience and determination. He worked, learned, and shut out the noise until he passed the bar. Now he’s a defense attorney fighting for people who feel scared, unheard, or misunderstood — the same way he once felt.

When Joseph talks about the justice system, he isn’t bitter; he’s honest. He said, “The system reacts to fear, not understanding. Once you’re inside, you’re not treated like a person who can change. You’re treated like someone who already lost.”

But he refused to lose.

Becoming the kind of advocate he needed when he was nineteen brought his story full circle. Joseph sees the human first as someone who values providing guidance — not cruelty — in the face of mistakes. Clients trust him because he’s lived the struggles they’re living. He knows the feeling of sitting across from someone who has power over your future — except now, he leverages his own power in the courtroom to attain justice and get results for his clients.

Joseph also shared, “A mistake doesn’t have to define the rest of your life. Not if someone helps you find your way.” That belief is what fuels the way he practices law today.

His story isn’t about perfection. It’s about grit and the grand lesson is: never equating one bad moment to the a measure of a man. Redemption and responsibility can rewrite the lowest lows. Joseph did just that.

When someone has the right fighters behind them, hope blooms and the seeds of opportunity are sown. Joseph Anderson isn’t just practicing law — he’s giving people something they don’t always get in the system: a real chance. ■