Jonathan Paz

Lecturer in Law
Last Updated: September 25, 2023

Jonathan Paz is currently practicing criminal and immigration law in private practice. Previously, he spent almost five years at the Orange County Public Defender's Office, trying cases for indigent clients on the full spectrum of criminal charges. His client-centered and hard-charging approach earned him the respect of clients, colleagues and judges. There was hardly a day that Paz was not involved in a jury trial, bench trial or motion hearing to protect his client's rights. While representing juveniles, he won numerous bench verdicts on cases where his clients were charged with felonies and strikes, both of which would have ended their futures before they began. He was later assigned to handle felony preliminary hearings where he scrutinized every element from the prosecution's witnesses in uphill battles to prove a lack of probable cause.

Paz earned his BA in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, and his JD from the USC Gould School of Law.