Candidate for
Superior Court Judge; San Francisco County; Seat 6

My family immigrated to San Francisco from the Philippines when I was 9 years old because my parents believed that America held greater educational opportunities for their children. I attended Hillcrest Elementary and Corpus Christi grammar school. I graduated from St. Ignatius High School in 1966.

I had the privilege of attending Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, graduating in 1970 with a B.A. in Greek and Political Science. Upon graduation, I volunteered for the Peace Corps and served as Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal. I was an Agricultural Extension Worker, teaching farmers how to plant, irrigate and grow hybrid varieties of wheat, corn and rice as part of the Green Revolution to make the Third World self-sufficient in food crops. My Peace Corps service was a quintessential life experience.

After the Peace Corps, I served for seven years in the U.S. Army, achieving the rank of Captain. I was trained in a number of specialties, including Special Forces, search and rescue helicopter pilot and jump master. I commanded a search and rescue helicopter platoon and later served as a company commander of a medical service company. My military experience taught me about the personal sacrifice and abiding human decency of the men and women who protect our country. This was another quintessential life experience. I left the Army to go to law school.

I graduated from Boalt Hall, UC Berkeley School of Law in 1982. I was a member of the California Law Review.

Upon graduation I joined Farella Braun & Martel. In 1984, I joined Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, was promoted to partner in 1990 and remained at Brobeck until 2003. I joined Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in 2003 when Brobeck ceased operations, a casualty of the dotcom bubble. I am currently a partner in the Trial Practice Group of Jones Day, where I have been since 2004.

In my legal career spanning over 28 years, I have been a practicing trial lawyer who has represented plaintiffs and defendants in a wide range of cases. I have tried a number of cases to verdict. Throughout my career, I have also explored ways to resolve cases more efficiently and cheaply than resorting to trial or the judicial system. As a result, I have had vast experience with the alternative dispute resolution mechanisms which are now required and overseen by California Courts including: settlement conferences and negotiations, Early Neutral Evaluations, mediation and arbitration. Due to my early involvement and expertise, I have also acted as an arbitrator in international and domestic arbitration matters.

While pursuing my legal career, I have been actively involved in numerous community activities. In the 1980's I served on the Mayor's Community Development Committee. During that time I was also President of the Filipino Bar Association of Northern California, the President of the Minority Bar Coalition and served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Bar Association of San Francisco.

My mother, Julita T. McLeod, was an educator and the first Filipina Principal of the San Francisco Unified School District. From her, I developed my interest in and appreciation for education. I have served on the San Francisco Board of Education. I later served on the Board of Trustees of Urban High School, where I assisted the Aim High program develop a "public-private" partnership with the San Francisco public schools. Aim High is a tutorial program for high-achieving, low-performing elementary public school students. The "public-private" partnership consisted of placing the Aim High program in certain public school sites and having the program also involve public school teachers.

I am a former President and Chairman of the Asian Business League. I remain a board member of the USF Center for the Pacific Rim, where I previously served as Chairman of the Board. I was elected by my fellow attorneys in San Francisco to the Board of Governors of the State Bar of California, the governing body of the California lawyers. I have been a Commissioner on the Bay Conservation Development Commission (BCDC) whose mission is to protect our Bay resources. I am a founding Board Member of the Asian Pacific Islander Scholarship Fund, the nation's first national college scholarship fund for the Asian and Pacific Islander community.

I have always been a resident of San Francisco and raised my three children to adulthood here. I love this city and believe it to be the best city in America to live, raise a family and work.

I would be honored to serve the citizens of San Francisco and to use my experience, judgment and objectivity to ensure they are treated fairly, justly and compassionately.