From engineering to law; Akbar finds his niche in his hometown

Attorney mutaqee akbar
millennial of the year

By Danyelle Johnson

Outlook writer

Having a successful law firm wasn’t the way that Tallahassee native Mutaqee Akbar envisioned his life.

It wasn’t until his junior year of study at Morehouse College when he realized that law would be more to his liking. Up to that point, his dream was to become a chemical engineer.

“Patent law was a long-term goal I had,” Akbar said. “However, after doing a few internships with NASA, I realized I didn’t like engineering. It wasn’t as people oriented as I would’ve liked it to be.”

Eight years into the business of being an attorney, Akbar has found his niche in criminal law. He hasn’t stopped there, developing a client list that includes traffic tickets to personal injury.

In the process, Akbar, 36, became one of the most popular attorney’s in Tallahassee. His work has been recognized with many awards.

He will get another one for being named the Capital Outlook’s Millennial of the Year.

As busy as attorneys could get, Akbar makes time to give back to the community where he grew up. His civic involvement includes being president of the board for the Boys Choir of Tallahassee, member of the board for Living Stones International and he also serves as the community chairman for the Tallahassee Barristers Association.

“It is rewarding to be in a position to give back to the community and be able to influence positivity,” said Akbar, whose office is in Frenchtown, the community where he grew up.

Mentoring also has become a passion for Akbar, who took 17-year-old Jamesio Brown under his wings. With the help of his mentor, Brown is now a 21-year-old finance student at FSU.

“He always kept it real with me introducing the good, bad and awful.” “I’ve seen my life alternate through him.”

Na’im Akbar watched in amazement to see how his son is shaping the quality of lives as a professional in his community.

“He’s such a charitable and generous person,” the older Akbar said. “I am extremely proud of not only his material success, but his professional success as well. He has reached the highest peak of all my three children.”

“If anybody needs him, he’s there. He does a tremendous amount of pro bono work.” “If we had more young men like him, we would be heading for the sky,” he continued.