Newly Elected California Bar President Honored

Rodriguez is the first Latino to hold the office

-By Gilien Silsby

As the newly elected president of the State Bar of California, Luis J. Rodriguez was honored by USC Gould School of Law at a private reception Wednesday.

Rodriguez, the first public defender and first Latino to hold the office, will be sworn in as the 89th president of the 243,000-member organization at the State Bar’s Annual Meeting later this month in San Jose.

Luis Rodriguez

The USC Gould reception was sponsored by the Los Angeles law firms, Gibson Dunn; O’Melveny & Myers; Phillips Law Partners; Latham & Watkins, Sidley Austin and Manatt Phelps. The partnership will provide USC Gould's Immigration Clinic with $50,000 in the name of Rodriguez. 

The reception featured remarks by Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey ‘82, USC Gould Dean Robert K. Rasmussen and Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer. Rodriguez, a Los Angeles County public defender,  also spoke at the event.

With USC Gould’s history of diversity – including 31 Latino students in the current first-year class, Dean Rasmussen said it is an honor to commemorate Rodriguez’s election to president of the Bar.

“We are thrilled to celebrate Luis Rodriguez’s historical achievement,” Rasmussen said. “He is deeply committed to promoting justice and work on behalf of lawyers practicing in California.”

Kenneth M. Doran, chairman and managing partner of Gibson Dunn, which was a platinum sponsor of the effort, added: "Gibson Dunn is honored to celebrate the achievements of Luis Rodriguez who is an inspiration to legal professionals in California and across the nation. As the president of the California Bar, I am confident he will be an innovative and exemplary leader for all of us."

The first in his family to attend college, Rodriguez graduated with honors from Santa Clara University. He received his law degree from Santa Clara University School of Law. He has been an attorney with the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office since 1994.The son of Mexican immigrant parents, Rodriguez was born in Los Angeles and moved with his family to Ciudad Juarez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua when he was 3 years old. A decade later, his family moved back to Los Angeles, where Rodriguez attended public schools.

“Because of the obstacles that I faced and the support that I received from many, I have committed myself to being the voice for those who have no voice,” Rodriquez said.  

Luis Rodriguez & Dean Robert Rasmussen

Olga Pena, a second-year USC Gould student and president of the Latino Law Students Association, said Rodriguez is an inspiration to aspiring legal professionals. "It is because of people like Mr. Rodriguez that students like those of us in the Latino Law Student Association have footsteps in which to follow and have more opportunities to branch out in our career paths," she said. "It is my hope that my generation and those of future law students continue to do the legacy of our forerunners justice. That aim is a driving force behind what we do as part of the Latino Law Student Association and the great programs we take part in and want to leave for those who will join our group in the future."

Rodriguez said that as president he will work to ensure that California courts are adequately funded and to protect the public against immigration fraud by attorneys.

Jackie Lacey- Los Angeles District Attorney

Rodriguez’s previous leadership roles include president of the Mexican American Bar Association of Los Angeles County, president of the California La Raza Lawyers Association, president of the Latino Public Defenders Association, member of the California State Board of Education and chairman of the State Bar of California’s Council on Access and Fairness.