About Us
Welcome to your P.E.E.R. Group
P.E.E.R. Group is a neighborhood nonprofit law firm that addresses issues at the intersection of climate, environmental, economic, and social justice. Through a community lawyering approach, we advocate for and seek to effectuate change alongside marginalized and vulnerable communities, nonprofit entities, and educational institutions vested in furthering economic and environmental sustainability. We seek to shift power and to build resilient communities through systemic change using policy resources, education, interdisciplinary research, impact litigation, and direct legal services.
Theresa Pinto, Esq., M.S.
Senior Staff Attorney and Policy Analyst
My journey to lawyering and advocacy has not followed a “traditional” path. I studied Religion and Biology as an undergraduate and first-generation college student at Florida International University where I worked as a research associate. As a Ph.D. Candidate in the Environmental Science, Policy and Management program at the University of California, Berkeley, I continued my research into fungal genetics, but left to translate scientific research into action, knowing that the solutions to environmental problems were about more than ecology and science, but also about people and planet . Conferred with a Master of Science degree in Environmental Science, Policy and Management, I worked in regulatory compliance for the U.S. Department of Agriculture while also working as a science educator and volunteer community organizer. During this time, I began raising a family in the Miami area and felt the growing awareness of the interconnection between environmental and social justice. Feeling yet again there was a better way to advocate for the environment and its most vulnerable populations, I entered law school at the University of Miami School of Law, where I honed my legal skills and expanded my view of environmental law and justice. I joined La Gringa Aplatanada as an Associate in 2020, then led the transition to P.E.E.R. Group in 2021. I remain an educator as full-time faculty and Director of Civic Engagement in the Ecosystem Science and Policy program at the University of Miami.
Abigail Fleming, Esq.
Senior Staff Attorney
As a community lawyer, I seek to address municipal
policies and practices that adversely and disproportionately affect the well-being of vulnerable communities. My
work sits at the intersection of civil rights, environmental, poverty, and public health law, tackling issues in South
Florida including climate change, contamination, environmental health, and municipal equity. I received a
B.A. in Political Science from Georgia College and State University and my J.D. from the University of Miami
School of Law. Prior to joining P.E.E.R. Group, I served
with various nonprofits in Asia and North America to
combat the effects of poverty. My experiences cemented
my desire to become a lawyer to advocate for and
empower disenfranchised communities. In addition
to my advocacy with P.E.E.R. Group, I am also the Associate Director of the Environmental Justice Clinic at the University of Miami
School of Law.