Santa Clara Law Alumni Serve as Leaders of National Minority Bar Associations
Santa Clara Law alumni recently headed two key national minority bar associations: From October 2007 to September 2008, Victor Marquez ’90, shown in the photo at right, served as president of the Hispanic National Bar Association, an organization of more than 48,000 Latino judges, law students, and attorneys. Rodney Gregory Moore ’85 is president of the National Bar Association, an organization of more than 22,000 African-Americans in the legal profession.
"Santa Clara Law is one of the nation’s most diverse law schools and has a longstanding commitment to diversity as a value that is shared by all," says Santa Clara Law Dean Donald Polden. "This means that all faculty and staff of the law school—not just those involved in minority-targeted programs—are involved in efforts to ensure that minority students succeed in law school and enter the profession prepared for its challenges," he says.
"This commitment has created a ripple effect in the legal community," says Polden. "As Santa Clara Law graduates increasing numbers of minority students, those alumni are mentoring and acting as role models for many other students and lawyers who will help move the profession towards greater diversity. Rodney and Victor are two examples of our many minority alumni leaders."
Victor Marquez ’90 came to the U.S. from Guanajuato, Mexico, as a child speaking no English. After earning a degree from U.C. Santa Barbara, he enrolled in Santa Clara Law, where he was active in the La Raza Law Students Association. He practiced at Gordon & Rees as a real property lawyer before becoming executive director of San Francisco’s La Raza Centro Legal. Marquez later established his own firm, The Marquez Group, in San Francisco. In late 2007, Marquez became president of the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA), an organization of more than 48,000 Latino judges, law students, and attorneys. Marquez says the HNBA is the most diverse bar association in the country, and that he is its first openly gay president. (Marquez and his partner of 17 years married in San Francisco in September.)
Marquez attributes his success in law school to the message he got while at Santa Clara Law. "Santa Clara Law has been great at diversity," says Marquez. "Their attitude is ‘we want to keep everyone in the school and succeeding.’ I always felt a sense of community, of nourishment, that everyone cared. My professors knew I was a person of color and they were committed to my success," he says. "There was sensitivity to wanting to make sure I succeeded."
For more on Marquez, see www.hnba.com/leadership-detail.aspx?ldId=28.
Rodney Gregory Moore ’85 grew up in East San Jose. He first came to Santa Clara University after eighth grade to participate in a summer program that prepared students to take rigorous high school classes. This experience, he says, gave him the confidence to pursue leadership roles in high school, including as President of the Black Student Union.
Moore earned a degree in Political Science from the University of Washington, and, because of his experience as a child, chose Santa Clara Law for his J.D. He continued developing his leadership skills through his service as treasurer of the Student Bar Association, and president of the Black Law Student Association (BLSA). Moore established his own practice in San Jose before becoming General Counsel for the East Side Union High School District in San Jose and later for the Atlanta Public Schools. He is now of counsel at Greenberg Traurig, LLP in Atlanta, Georgia, and President of the National Bar Association, an organization of more than 22,000 African-Americans in the legal profession. Moore says Santa Clara Law not only provided him a quality education, but instilled in him the ethics and values to take on the challenges he has faced.
For more on Moore, see www.gtlaw.com/People/RodneyGregoryMoore.
ABOUT SANTA CLARA LAW
Santa Clara University School of Law, founded in 1912 on the site of California ’s oldest operating higher-education institution, is dedicated to educating lawyers who lead with a commitment to excellence, ethics, and social justice. One of the nation’s most diverse law schools, Santa Clara Law offers its 975 students an academically rigorous program, including graduate degrees in international law and intellectual property law; combined J.D./MBA degree; and certificates in intellectual property law, international law, and public interest and social justice law. Santa Clara Law is located in the world-class business center of Silicon Valley, and is distinguished nationally for our top-ranked program in intellectual property. For more information, see law.scu.edu.
