The Path To Diversity In The Legal Profession

I am the son of Mexican immigrants who, like so many others, came to the United States in the early part of the last century seeking a better life for themselves. I grew up in Los Angeles, a product of its public schools, and was fortunate enough to attend college and law school with substantial financial assistance from those schools.

Unlike a number of my peers, who knew early on that they wanted to be a lawyer, I made that decision after I had graduated from college, thinking it was a good option to develop a career in law or some other profession, even though I had never met a lawyer or even a judge. I have never looked back.

Over the years, first as an attorney and later as a judge, I have been committed to building a pipeline to the legal profession, starting with children in middle school and continuing into their college years. Hispanics are significantly underrepresented in the legal field, and in order to change that, it is crucial that we bring awareness