Tenant Spotlight: Jamel Oeser-Sweat - Attorney, Entrepreneur

We LOVE having you here at Broadway Suites, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Who are you and what do you do?

Jamel Oeser-Sweat. Attorney, Entrepreneur.

Why do you do what you do?

Because by helping people, I help myself.

How do you work? (Artist Question)

I like to switch my environment. Sometimes o need random people around and other times I like to sit in a conference room.

What’s your background?

Microbiologist turned attorney. I was one of the architects of the current co-working structure in New York. While running my own innocence project I helped make Sunshine Suites one of the largest co-working spaces in the City. While there I developed a program to help transitioning attorneys learn to run their own law practices and supported startups, including the incubator itself. Now I practice law full-time and I am the President of SCAN-Harbor, one of the largest family service organizations in Upper Manhattan.

What’s integral to the work of an artist / eyelash artist / dance troupe / accountants / immigration attorney?

From the perspective of an office space, the ability to have a place to meet clients and receive mail or deliveries in a timely fashion is essential. Having a place to work and internet access is also important.

The space must support the brand you are building.

How has your practice changed over time?

Court was 24 hours when I started practicing law. People would get arrested and you would have to go to court 24 hours a day. It was insane. I'd be in court all night and have to take a nap but my corporate clients were in at 8am and looking for support and deliverables. When they stopped arraignments after 1am, my life got better. The adoption of electronic meetings, VOIP phones  and widespread email and collaborative software meant I wasn't tethered to my desk and could do more in the field.

What art do you most identify with? (Artist Question)

Cartoons. Storyboarding is a powerful method of communication. Cartoons lower people's guard and makes them more receptive to information or messages.

Outside of work, what do you most enjoying doing?

Cooking, learning new things, helping the community.

Describe a real-life situation that inspired you?

As a child I was homeless and lived in a welfare hotel across the street from the office. As a kid New York Magazine published me describing my thoughts about having a job. Now I am a lawyer across the street.

What jobs have you done other than being an – artist / accountant / esthetician?

I was a newspaper boy, camp counselor, worked at a sneaker store, packed bags in a supermarket, a microbiologist and while studying for the bar exam, I sold washer/dryers on the internet because my firm made me take time off and I was bored.

Why art / accountancy / dance troupe / immigration?

I was a premed on a full scholarship at NYU.  My mother was sexually assaulted while I was in my junior year. The hospital botched the rape kit in front of me. I worked in a lab and I knew basic protocols were not being followed. They didn't treat us particularly well. I vowed never to have that happen again. Within 8 years I became a lawyer and wrote the first book on DNA evidence. A novel prize winner who discovered the DNA is a double helix wrote the foreword.

What food, drink, song inspires you?

Chai Lattes inspire me. While at my former office, a tenant got arrested for allegedly being part of a conspiracy to bring ecstacy pills into the United States. They taped the pills to their bodies and covered them with mustard packs to throw the dogs off.  The case was in Federal Court in Burlington Vermont. The US attorney was giving me information about mustard in discovery, including pictures. One day I was tired, but never really drank coffee. Someone suggested a chai latte. I tried it and it was wonderful. I slumped into my seat, which was near a mirror and I saw myself. It wasn't the little kid with live that I used to see, it was an attorney drinking a crafted beverage. I thought it was ridiculous, but I thought it was cool and now if I need inspiration, I get a chai latte.

What do you dislike about your work?

Sometimes strangers aggressively seek me out. They call a lot. They show up places, including my home, office or places they think I may go. It is usually because they desperately need help and think I am the help they need. It can be overwhelming and quite frankly scares the crap out of the people around me. It is unusual and it is something I have never gotten used to.

What do you like about your work?

I get paid to help people. It's one thing to do social work but I never thought as a child you could help people and make a real living doing that. It is cool.

What superpower would you have and why?

I can amplify the talents of people to help them accomplish their goals. I used to think I was like Batman but most of the people that work with me consistently tell me I am the incredible hulk. Bruce banner was an amazing scientist. When he gets mad, be glad he's on your side.

Name something you love, and why.

I love having the ability to change the world and write my own ticket.

Name something you don’t love, and why.

I don't love wasted time. I sell it for a living and if I am not selling it, I am buying it. You don't get much of it. When you figure out how much an hour costs you and you look at some of the things you do in a day and see what you are paying to do those things, all of a sudden you might now want to do those things.

What is your dream project? (Artist / creative question)

I wrote a book about the birds and the bees. I hope to get it animated at some point soon.

Professionally, what’s your goal?

I have written the first book on DNA and litigation, freed people wrongfully accused of crimes, discovered a new route of transmission for a disease, helped create contracts and infrastructure that led others to create a multibillion dollar co-working marketplace and saved Boys and Girls Harbor, a neighborhood institution by using my presidency at the Supportive Children's Advocacy Network to ensure our agencies merged. The first half of my career was about sacrificing to help others. In the second half, I hope to build the financial stability I did not have as a child while continuing to help people. How I do that is the exciting journey that lies ahead.

What wouldn’t you do without?

The freedom to write my own ticket. With that, I can figure the rest out.