If you ask Alexa D’Amato Barrera what she does, the first thing she brings up is not going to be her successful career as a personal injury lawyer. Nor will it be about the burgeoning business at D’Amato Law in Egg Harbor Township or the many awards and honors she has received for her legal work.
Instead, the first thing she’s going to say is that she’s in the business of helping people. Because, for her, that’s the most important aspect of her career.
“I do this because it’s the right thing to do. I do it because it’s who I am. I do it because it’s how I was raised,” D’Amato Barrera says.
Growth and success
Law has always been a part of D’Amato Barrera’s life. When she was a 14-year-old at Mainland Regional High School she would work at D’Amato Law, her father Paul Richard D’Amato’s law practice, after school. After graduation, she decided to follow in her father’s footsteps, first attending Stockton University and then going on to Rutgers Law School.
Upon receiving her law degree, D’Amato Barrera was hired as a defense attorney for Atlantic County. At the time, her father was running his firm while also serving as an assemblyman for New Jersey’s 2nd legislative district.
“My dad got incredibly busy about a year into me being a defense attorney. He asked if I wanted to come back and work at the office,” D’Amato Barrera explains. “I said yes. I came back to what felt like home to me.”
Now with nearly 25 years of experience as an attorney, D’Amato Barrera couldn’t be happier about the decision she made to switch gears from the defense side to personal injury law.
“The thing that I love about our team here is that our main goal is to help people. Recovering money for them for the horrific things they are going through is absolutely the forefront of our business,” she says.
D’Amato Barrera is one-third of the legal team at D’Amato Law. In addition to her father, there is also Stephen M. Van Natten, who joined the firm a decade ago, bringing with him more than 20 years of experience as a prosecutor.
The firm is equipped to handle all types of personal injury claims, from small to large. They tackle local cases and help clients across the country, aided by D’Amato Barrera’s connections through the American Association of Justice.
“I know the best attorneys across the country,” she says. “We’ll have people who are injured in New Jersey but live in California, and we’re here to help those people. We’ll have people who live here and are injured in Alabama, and we’re here to help those people, too.”
D’Amato Barrera also wants the community to know that the firm doesn’t solely focus on larger cases. They take smaller cases, too, because the significance of any personal injury claim is not lost on them. Car accidents, dog bites, construction accidents, falls—any time someone is injured, the D’Amato Law team is at the ready to help.
A family feel
The firm prides itself not just on winning cases, but also on the relationships they build with their clients.
“We want people to feel like family,” D’Amato Barrera says. “We want our clients to know how much we care about them as people. They are not just a dollar sign to us.”
At D’Amato Law, the attorneys meet with their clients once every three months, either in person or via Zoom. This helps build a relationship and is why D’Amato Barrera believes the firm is able to get a better recovery for clients at the end of their case.
“On medical records, which is what the insurance company sees, you’re just a gender, age, injury and treatment,” she says. “But to us, we get to know them as people. We’re able to help the insurance company see how the injuries they sustained have really impacted them personally.”
Above and beyond
D’Amato Barrera did not get into this line of work for the recognition, and she jokes that when she receives an award or honor, it’s the only time in her life she’s left speechless.
“It’s very rare for me to have nothing to say,” she laughs. “But when I’m recognized, I almost feel like asking, ‘Are you sure? Me?’”
Of course, with the mindset and attitude D’Amato Barrera brings to work every day, it’s not surprising that she has been and continues to be recognized by the community and beyond.
Her alma mater, Mainland Regional High School, inducted D’Amato Barrera into its hall of fame to represent the classes of the 1990s. She was recognized by the psychology department at Stockton University. The New Jersey Association for Justice Women Trial Lawyers Caucus bestowed an award upon D’Amato Barrera for fighting for people’s rights and also supporting other female attorneys. And on Nov. 2, the local chapter of the NAACP honored D’Amato Barrera for her legal advocacy of the Black community.
“To do something you love and to be recognized for it? It’s just the best feeling,” she says.
D’Amato Law
Egg Harbor Township
(609) 926-3300
DamatoLawFirm.com
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Published and copyrighted in South Jersey Magazine, Volume 21, Issue 7 (October 2024)
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