Xavier T. de Janon

Associate Attorney

Admitted: State Bar of North Carolina, Western District of North Carolina.

Personal: Xavier was born and raised in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and has lived across the United States since college.

Education: He received his bachelor’s degree in Cultural Studies from Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, in 2016. He then attended Golden Gate University School of Law, where he graduated in 2021.

Growing up in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Xavier was exposed to systemic injustice and violence at a young age. After graduating Valedictorian from his high school, he obtained the highest scholarship from his college, where he studied critical race theory, social movements, and political science. While studying abroad in Tunis, Tunisia, he conducted multilingual research on social movements after the Arab Spring and published a journal article on the topic. In college, he supported the case of Ayyub Abdul-Alim, a Muslim Puerto Rican man who the FBI entrapped after he refused to be an informant against his mosque and community. During law school, Xavier was deeply involved in his school’s Litigation Program, earning accolades at graduation for his litigation skills.

Professional and Training: Xavier has worked in several capacities across the country, including a crimmigration law firm, an interfaith justice organization, a public education nonprofit, and public defender offices during law school. He has volunteered for many groups working towards prison abolition and immigrant justice. He remains committed to community organizing for liberation in our lifetime and has training in social justice interpreting. Prior to joining Johnson & Nicholson, PLLC, he was an Assistant Public Defender at the Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office.

Memberships: Xavier is member of the National Lawyers Guild, Law for Black Lives, North Carolina State Bar, North Carolina Bar Association, and the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association.

Awards: Xavier was selected as Commencement Speaker in Hampshire College and graduated Valedictorian from Golden Gate University School of Law. During his law school graduation, he was given the Academic Excellence in Criminal Law Award.

Languages: Native Spanish, Advanced French, Basic Arabic

Family: Xavier enjoys traveling, live music, DIY arts, and political activism. He believes no one is truly free until all of us are free.