Tell us about your community growing up. Looking back, how did they shape who you are now?

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. My family moved there from El Salvador when I was about five years old. My family attended a Hispanic church regularly. Our church had members from many different Latin American countries, mostly recent immigrants. So, my first main community was a diverse group of Spanish-speaking immigrants with strong family values and work ethic. My parents instilled pride in our rich Latino culture and expected us to speak Spanish at home, while also encouraging us to excel academically and get involved in school activities. This experience enriched my life in so many ways because it taught me to navigate diverse environments, to appreciate different languages, and find common ground across different groups of people. All of these qualities have served me well in my career as an international disputes and appellate lawyer.

Describe your journey to law school. What motivated you to apply?

My journey to law school was a bit winding. After college, I went to graduate school for public administration at the University of Southern California, and I worked in the healthcare space for a few years. But I always wanted to do international work. I was especially interested in international human rights law and humanitarian work, because I was deeply troubled by how much suffering existed around the world. I was also looking for an opportunity to return home to the Bay Area after being away for several years. I was ecstatic when I was admitted to Berkeley Law, because it was close to home and has an exceptional international law program.

What was your law school experience like?

I had an amazing time at Berkeley Law. I was challenged to think outside the box everyday both in the classroom and in my interactions with others. I met people who were doing interesting things—bringing people together and pushing boundaries. I was definitely drawn to international and multicultural activities. I had an amazing international law professor who introduced me to international litigation and arbitration as a career option. Thanks in large part to him I’m now a partner at Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle, where I get to represent clients in international matters, sometimes even advising clients on international human rights law, among other issues.

Did you know about appellate work in law school? If not, when and how did it first get on your radar and why were you drawn to it?

I knew about appellate work in the abstract from classes like constitutional law, which I enjoyed very much, but I didn’t know there was a specific career track for “appellate lawyers.” It was not until my first case as a junior associate that I discovered appellate work in practice. I was doing research on an esoteric procedural issue involving an international treaty and its implementing legislation. That novel issue became the central focus of one of our cases, which we eventually won in the Second Circuit.

After that experience, I wanted to do more appellate work because I enjoyed the idea of persuading judges and setting precedent. That’s when I started to understand that “appellate lawyers” often had specific credentials such as an appellate clerkship. So, I applied for clerkships and was fortunate enough to get a district court clerkship and an appellate clerkship. These experiences confirmed for me that I wanted to focus on appellate litigation as much as possible.

Tell us about one of your appellate cases that you found particularly meaningful.

My most meaningful appellate case so far was the Vaello-Madero case, which involved an equal protection challenge to the disparate treatment of Puerto Rico residents under certain federal benefits programs. One of the partners at my firm had been following this issue closely, and we had the opportunity to take on a case that presented this issue for a pro bono client. I had never studied the particular constitutional dilemma that Puerto Rico finds itself in as a U.S. territory with limited political power. Nor had I heard of the so-called “Insular Cases,” which endorsed this discriminatory treatment and disenfranchisement on explicitly racist terms.

We worked very hard to win in the district court and in the First Circuit. Unfortunately, at the request of the U.S. government, the Supreme Court took the case and overruled the unanimous decision of the First Circuit. Although a majority of the Court did not see it our way, it was satisfying to see that Justice Sotomayor adopted our arguments in her dissent and that Justice Gorsuch wrote separately to condemn the Insular Cases. I hope someday soon, we will have a Supreme Court that is willing to redress the terrible injustice and constitutional error that U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico have been subjected to for more than a century.

How often do you encounter Hispanic/Latinx people in the appellate field? Why do you think that representation is important?

I rarely meet other Hispanic or Latino lawyers or even lawyers from other diverse backgrounds in my appellate work. That’s unfortunate because I think the appellate bar would benefit from having more lawyers from diverse backgrounds. When people with different life experiences are involved in solving a common problem, they are more likely to come up with better solutions because they will avoid risks such as group-think or echo chambers. I think it also gives people from different communities greater confidence in the system if they feel that their unique concerns are being fully considered and understood.

What advice would you give to a law student of color who aspires to be where you are now?

I would give the same advice to any law student: aim high, work smart, and stay focused. Don’t self-select out of opportunities. If there’s something you’d like to do, give it a shot, and if it doesn’t work out, try again or try something else. There’s a saying that I like very much, “Shoot for the moon, and even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Don’t be scared to ask for help. No one succeeds on their own. We all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, and we all can benefit from great mentors. Also, don’t be discouraged by what may feel like big or small injustices. It’s too easy sometimes to focus on all the barriers to success, and whether they are fair or not. The reality is that we all start from different points, and we all face different challenges along the way. Don’t measure your success by how far others have gotten, but rather by how far you get in light of where you started.

What’s one thing law schools and/or the appellate bar can do to ensure our highest courts are representative of all our communities?

I don’t know for sure why the appellate bar lacks diversity, but I suspect it has something to do with the historically narrow and exclusive path into this field. Most people who gain recognition as “appellate lawyers” have clerked at least on a federal circuit court, if not on the Supreme Court. Many of them also worked in the Solicitor General’s Office. People who get those opportunities often have certain characteristics in common, such as coming from the same small pool of law schools and being hand-picked by faculty or judges with personal connections. If you’re not already in that world or its orbit, you’re probably at a disadvantage. I’m not sure how to change this other than to encourage judges and faculty to look beyond traditional proxies and focus on other markers of talent and success, such as overcoming adversity, beating the odds, and making unconventional choices. We also need to encourage and support students from diverse backgrounds to enter the profession through initiatives like The Appellate Project.