A childhood in Mexico has enabled Mary Ann Walker to go from court interpreter to legal facilitator for California’s Spanish-speaking community
by Yvonne Liu
Mary Ann Walker may call herself one of the slowest swimmers in her Pacific Ocean swimming group, but her devotion to the half-mile journey from RAT Beach to Torrance Beach never wavers. Two mornings a week in the summer, she slips into the cold ocean and swims.
“I’m just being happy,” said the Palos Verdes Estates resident. “I like the sound of my arm when it leaves the water and when it comes in for that splash.”
For Walker, the ocean offers more than exercise. It is a place of surrender and a reminder that uncertainty is something to work through rather than resist. “One thing that’s so great about life is that nothing is certain, and in the ocean, I feel uncertain. Getting comfortable with uncertainty can be comforting during changing times.”
This embrace of the unknown has defined Walker’s journey from a young court interpreter to a pioneering businessperson who founded one of the nation’s most successful legal advertising networks, linking millions of Spanish-speaking people to attorneys over four decades.
Walker’s roots run deep in the South Bay. Her grandfather, Charles Perry Walker, served as mayor of Manhattan Beach in the 1950s. But she spent her most defining years far from California. When she was eight, her executive father and former Mexican ballerina mother moved the family to Mexico, determined that their three children would grow up bilingual and connected to their Latino heritage.
As the only American family in the city of Ciudad Obregón, in the state of Sonora, Walker experienced profound culture shock. “It was insanely difficult. I didn’t know what was going on in school, much less how to do my homework,” she said. Young Mary Ann began stuttering. The challenging period forged the adaptability that would become Walker’s superpower.
With the help of tutors, Walker and her brothers learned Spanish. After a year, they had achieved fluency and spoke English rarely. For Walker, the experience was transformative. “Mexico just expanded me 100 percent, in language, poetry, reading, music, dancing.”
Her years in Mexico also taught her what it meant to be an outsider. “Living in Mexico, I understood what it was like to be an immigrant. You want to be like everybody else and see your own differences.” Walker explained she had to learn countless cultural and social cues, with her friends constantly correcting her.
The family returned to the South Bay before Mary Ann started college, forcing her to adapt again. Her Spanish was flawless, but her English lagged. “Coming back was really hard,” Walker said. “I had to catch up in reading and writing, even learn how to drive on the highway.”
Social norms were different, too. In Mexico, she had greeted everyone—even strangers—with hugs and kisses. In California, this approach resulted in some awkward moments. These early lessons in moving between cultures gave Walker a deep understanding of how isolating it feels when social codes are uncertain.
“I had to learn to navigate between two worlds.”
After college, Walker found herself at a career crossroads. Her lack of typing skills disqualified her for most entry-level jobs, but scanning newspaper classifieds, she noticed that about 20 percent of listings required bilingual skills. She studied to become a court interpreter, passed the exam, and at 21 became the youngest interpreter in California’s history.
Walker loved the work because she was fascinated by the legal system, but her courtroom experience opened her eyes to troubling systemic failures. Non-English-speaking clients would grip her arm and whisper urgent questions about their cases. Many felt overwhelmed by the legal proceedings, often learning for the first time during their hearing what charges they faced or what decisions they needed to make. Walker realized the legal system left an entire community without the support they needed. She set out to close that gap.
Her timing was perfect. In 1983, the American Bar Association adopted new Model Rules of Professional Conduct that allowed attorney advertising under brand names. Walker had watched early pioneers like Jacoby & Meyers and the Law Offices of Larry Parker use television, radio and print ads to build their brand. “I thought, I can build a brand,” she said. Thus, Los Defensores, the Defenders, was born to serve the Spanish-speaking community.
At just twenty-two, she pitched Univision on a bold idea: a Spanish-language legal advertising network where attorneys would advertise together under one brand. Walker would manage the call center, and distribute cases to member lawyers equipped to handle divorce, family law, personal injury, and other practice areas. Univision agreed to let her produce commercials in its studios for free for one year, saving thousands in production costs.
“When Latinos needed a lawyer, I fulfilled that need. I was first to market,” Walker said.
What began with a $12,500 advertising budget has evolved into a network of about 1,000 lawyers, with an annual media budget of approximately $100 million. Walker takes pride in knowing that Los Defensores has helped over three million individuals find legal help they might not have received otherwise.
The Trial Lawyer Advertising Hall of Fame inducted Walker last year for her groundbreaking approach to making legal services accessible to Spanish-speaking communities.
Like her paternal grandfather, Walker believes in serving her community. She sits on the boards of Loyola Marymount University and Providence Little Company of Mary Foundation, chairing the latter. Melissa B. Coleman, president of PLCMF, said of Walker, “She’s been instrumental in recruiting new trustees that represent diverse business expertise in the South Bay. Mary Ann is a great listener. She’s thoughtful and open-minded and a natural collaborator. She loves the hospital and finds ways to talk about her commitment and tout the quality of care and overall experience with her network and anyone who will listen.”
Throughout her career, Walker has remained committed to advancing workers’ rights and the United States’ role in shaping global economies and policies, particularly across Latin America. This dedication has led her to positions with prominent Latin American-focused organizations, including vice president of the Pacific Council’s Mexico Initiative and board member of the Wilson Center’s Latin American Program and the Advisory Board of the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C.
“Mary Ann has brought a unique background to the Atlantic Council team—a result of many life experiences, including her many years working closely with immigrant groups across the United States, said Jason Marczak, vice president and senior director of the Atlantic Council. She has unique insight into the vital contributions Latinos make to the U.S. economy through job creation, new businesses, and expanded opportunities. In addition to being a highly diligent and committed professional who brings purpose and value to her work, Mary Ann possesses an extensive network of contacts in media and public relations. This network has been instrumental in giving our initiatives broad visibility, not only in the United States but also across Latin America and the Caribbean.”
One of the council’s initiatives is the Summit of the Americas. She is the senior advisor for the next summit in December, which will be held in the Dominican Republic. The Summit represents former President Clinton’s vision of uniting the Americas into a powerful coalition. “I am the biggest believer that we need to unite our hemisphere and work together,” Walker said. “We have everything here: money, education, labor, land, minerals, water.”
Just as her parents gave her a bilingual, bicultural upbringing, Walker ensured her three children had the same experience by having the family spend summers in Mexico and Spain. “I wanted to give them this gift that my parents gave me.” All three are bilingual. Her son, T. C. Walker Dupler, is the Managing Partner for his law firm, The Walker Firm. Mary Ann serves as his chief strategy officer. Daughter Alice is attending law school, and son Perry, is a CPA. She’s also “very jealous” of her girlfriends’ grandchildren and eagerly awaits that next chapter. As Walker looks toward the future, she maintains the same adaptability that has guided her throughout her life. She continues her ocean swims, knowing that each stroke moves her forward and that she can embrace whatever lies ahead. PEN
