Paolo Raffaelli, ’69

Part-time Criminal Defense Lawyer for Santa Clara County

An immigrant to the United States, Raffaelli says that his law school class made his adopted country feel like home. "I never felt alone. It was like a big family," he says of his law school experience.

Now semi-retired after decades of heading an immigration law private practice, Raffaelli says his days are easy, the fruits of a successful career unfathomable in his youth. Growing up in Collodi, Italy, Raffaelli figured he’d be a lifelong foundry worker, like the majority of men in his small town. A visit to the United States at age 26, however, changed his mind. The three-month tour, sponsored by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, was supposed to educate Raffaelli and other Italian union activists about American industry, but it instead alerted Raffaelli to a wealth of educational and vocational opportunities that he lacked. "By the time I went back to Italy, Italy was no longer what I wanted," says Raffaelli.

The sponsorship of relatives in Santa Clara allowed him to return to the United States as a student. Academia, however, was as foreign to Raffaelli as his new California home. "I was past 26 and I was a high school dropout," he says.

For two years, Raffaelli took English language classes and remedial courses at San Jose City College. Upon completing studies there, he enrolled at San Jose State University.

While a student at San Jose State, Raffaelli waited tables at an Italian restaurant near the Santa Clara University campus. The eatery was a favorite among SCU students and faculty, says Raffaelli, including then-dean of the School of Law, Dr. Leo Huard.

Dr. Huard and the restaurant’s owner, Raffaelli believes, conspired to enroll him in law school: "One day I was finishing my shift, and my boss asked me to sit down with two Jesuit fathers. Lo and behold, they said, ‘How would you like to go to law school?’"

Raffaelli graduated from college in 1966 with a bachelor of arts in industrial relations and personnel management; he enrolled at the School of Law the same year. "I was about 10 years older than everybody else and had a heavy accent," says Raffaelli, "and in those days, being Italian wasn’t as popular as today."

To Raffaelli’s surprise, his law school classmates didn’t harbor the prejudices of mainstream society. "They embraced me. They took me under their wings," he says.

The coaching of a fellow law student and roommate, Frank Iwama, says Raffaelli, enabled him to pass the California bar exam. "I was under so much pressure," says Raffaelli of the months leading up to the test. "By that time, I was being deported because I’d overstayed my visa…I needed to succeed on my first try." Thanks to Iwama, Raffaelli says, he did.

The California Committee of Bar Examiners, however, refused to allow Raffaelli to practice law. "They said, ‘No way. The requirements are you need to be an American citizen,’" says Raffaelli. Undeterred, he prepared and filed his own brief, then argued his case before the California Supreme Court. The court’s unanimous 7–0 ruling gave Raffaelli the right to practice law and changed California law. (American citizenship and residency requirements were struck down as unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973 and 1985, respectively.)

Raffaelli married his wife, Diane, in 1971, and as the spouse of an American citizen, he was eligible for citizenship in 1974, which he received.

Today, Raffaelli and his wife have two adult daughters and live in San Jose. Iwama, Raffaelli says, visits and corresponds regularly. A part-time criminal defense lawyer for Santa Clara County, Raffaelli no longer practices immigration law, but still considers himself an advocate for immigration rights, "I’m not the type of guy who says, ‘Now that I’m here, let’s close the gate.’"