Officers & Board

Richard (“Rich”) Azada is an associate of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton’s Los Angeles office and Labor and Employment Practice Group. He is a first-generation immigrant from the Philippines. Rich focuses his practice on representing and advising employers in workplace law matters. While attending law school, Rich served on the board of Southwestern Law School’s APALSA and also as a student editor for the Journal of International Media & Entertainment Law. Richard previously worked for the Labor Relations Division of the Los Angeles City Attorney and a major music record label, and has represented clients in professional liability, legal malpractice, and personal injury suits and entertainment contract transactions. Rich also externed for the Honorable Kirk H. Nakamura, Superior Court of California, County of Orange.

Marlon B. Baldomero obtained his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law and his undergraduate Bachelor's degree from the Ateneo de Manila University. Upon migrating to the United States, he took up and earned a Master of Laws degree from Whittier Law School with a focus on the U.S. legal system for foreign-trained lawyers. Because of his background, Mr. Baldomero is very sensitive to the needs of southern California's immigrant communities, particularly in the area of Immigration law. He has helped countless of immigrants obtain legal permanent resident status and US citizenship. He has appeared before Immigration judges in behalf of clients in removal proceedings and has successfully argued to terminate their deportation cases. He currently practices as a solo attorney with offices in Glendale and Torrance, California.

Josephine Ann Brosas is a Partner at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP. She is a registered patent attorney and focuses her practice in the areas of intellectual property and technology matters, and in establishing, protecting, and defending intellectual property rights. She represents clients in a range of industries including food, nutritional supplements, apparel, medical devices and pharmaceuticals. She earned her B.S. in Biochemistry from UCLA, magna cum laude, and her J.D. from Southwestern Law School, magna cum laude. She is fluent in Tagalog.

Cherisse H. Cleofe is a senior associate at Kiesel Law LLP. She proudly represents plaintiffs in mass tort litigation, consumer class actions, catastrophic personal injury, and other complex litigation in federal and state courts. Her practice focuses on product liability mass tort litigation against pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Ms. Cleofe received a B.S. in Management Science from the University of California, San Diego and earned her J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law.

Ms. Cleofe was a member of a trial team that won a record $417 million jury verdict for a woman who contracted ovarian cancer due to talcum powder use. She was also a member of a trial team that won a unanimous $11 million federal jury verdict in the first bellwether trial in multidistrict litigation involving Wright “metal-on-metal” hip replacement devices.

Ms. Cleofe is a proud PABA Lifetime Member and continues to sit on the PABA Board of Governors. She was PABA President in 2020. In addition, Ms. Cleofe serves as Secretary for the Executive Committee of the LACBA Litigation Section and is a member of the APABA Public Appointments & Judicial Endorsements Committee. She also previously served as a member of the USF School of Law Board of Governors.

John R. De La Merced is a Partner at Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP, handling a broad range of complex business litigation matters on behalf of high-profile clients in commercial, intellectual property, and real estate disputes. John’s active practice services clients through all stages of the pre-litigation and litigation process, in matters in federal and state court, as well as in arbitration proceedings before JAMS and the American Arbitration Association.

John earned his J.D. from UCLA School of Law and his B.A., cum laude, from UC Riverside. An active member of the community, John is a former President of the UCLA Law Alumni Association Board of Directors and continues to serve on the Board. John is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Philippine American Bar Association after having served as its President in 2019. Previously, John has served on the boards of the National Filipino American Lawyers Association and the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles County. John also mentors current and future law students, as well as junior attorneys in Southern California.

Outside of the law, John enjoys spending time with his wife, Nancy, and their dog, Rupert, cooking, exploring restaurants, and cheering on their UCLA Bruins and Los Angeles Rams.

Jessica Obrador Gillette serves as Associate Counsel, Senior Director for L.A. Care Health Plan. She provides advice on a wide range of subject matters including employment, public agency, tax and licensing, and other legal matters. Jessica manages and oversees investigations, pre-litigation matters, administrative proceedings, and lawsuits. Prior to becoming in-house counsel for L.A. Care, Jessica served as a litigation attorney for a defense firm representing public entities and corporations.

Jessica is a PABA Lifetime Member and a member of the PABA Board of Directors. She is also on the Board of Directors of the Association of Corporate Counsel Southern California Chapter, serving as Chair of the Pro Bono Committee. She is a member of the Filipino American National Historical Society and spearheaded the relocation of the Landing of the First Filipinos monument in the City of Morro Bay. Jessica is also active in the City of Long Beach, where she serves as Equity and Human Relations Commissioner. She was instrumental in organizing the Inaugural City of Long Beach Filipino American History Month Celebration in 2022. She was also selected to be a member of the 2023 City of Long Beach Inauguration Honorary Host Committee.

Jessica was born and raised in the Philippines. She is fluent in Tagalog. She received her B.A. from the University of California, Davis, where she double majored in Sociology (Law & Society) and Rhetoric & Communication. She earned her J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law and was a Public Interest Law Scholar.

Ben Hofileña is Assistant Chief Counsel at Hulu where he leads the legal team for Hulu Originals. Prior to joining Hulu, Ben was a Business and Legal Affairs executive in Netflix's live action film group. Prior to Netflix, he was a production attorney in feature films at Twentieth Century Fox. For twelve years prior to joining Fox, Ben worked at the global law firms of McDermott, Will & Emery LLP and Orrick, Herrington, & Sutcliffe LLP where his practice focused on intellectual property matters. Ben served as President of the Philippine American Bar Association in 2007-2008 and is a former President of the PABA Foundation. In 2018, Ben was recognized with the PABA Distinguished Leadership Award. Throughout his career, Ben has been committed to his pro bono work on behalf of children and domestic violence victims primarily working with Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), The Alliance for Children's Rights, and Public Counsel. Ben earned his B.S. in Physiological Science at UCLA and his J.D. from Loyola Law School. While in law school, Ben won the national championship for the Giles Sutherland Rich IP Moot Court Competition sponsored by the AIPLA and was a judicial extern to the Honorable Stephen R. Reinhardt of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Ben loves all things UCLA, underwater photography and is a PADI Scuba Diving Instructor.

Ria King (nee Pascual) serves as counsel in Goodwin Procter LLP’s Technology group, where she advises emerging growth companies and venture capital firms in a wide range of corporate and transactional matters, including entity formations, equity financings, mergers and acquisitions, and structuring and executing secondary sales for private companies and their investors. Ria’s representation of start-up and late-stage companies spans the entire corporate life-cycle, including pre-incorporation planning, general corporate representation and counseling, venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, corporate governance, and public company representation.

Ria received her J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, and her B.A. from University of California, San Diego.

Prior to rejoining Goodwin in 2023, Ria served as Associate General Counsel of Venture Capital and Growth Equity for StepStone Group, a global private markets firm with $143 billion in AUM.

Cristina Legaspi is a Judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court. She is currently assigned to the Juvenile Division.

Prior to her appointment, Judge Legaspi was a Principal Deputy County Counsel for the Office of the County Counsel, County of Los Angeles for 25 years where she represented various county departments and the Board of Supervisors. Her specialty is in child welfare, in dependency matters involving child abuse and neglect. Judge Legaspi has expertise in the Indian Child Welfare Act. She served as legal advisor to the Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury, and the Los Angeles County Assessment Appeals Board.

Judge Legaspi is active in the community, serving on the Board of Directors of the Philippine American Bar Association, and the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles Foundation. She serves on the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Access to Justice committee and the President’s Advisory Committee on Women in the Legal Profession. Judge Legaspi also serves as a mentor to undergraduate and law students, serving on the UCLA Pilipino Pipeline Project. As a first-generation immigrant, Judge Legaspi is the first in her family to become an attorney, then judge.

Nicholas “Nick” Marfori is an associate in the Los Angeles office of Ogletree Deakins. His practice is focused on defending clients against individual and class action lawsuits brought under the Unruh Civil Rights Act and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Nick regularly advises and defends retail stores, restaurants, hotels, theme parks, and other places of public accommodation in matters involving architectural access barriers and digital accessibility (e.g., website accessibility, mobile apps, streaming media). Nick also represents clients in employment litigation matters involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination claims. He has also represented residential developers, homeowners’ associations, and property management companies in fair housing matters and construction-related issues. Nick received his B.A. at the University of California, Irvine, and his J.D. at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. During law school, he externed for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and served as Developments Editor for the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review.

Sharlynne M. Mate is an associate in the Los Angeles, California, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. Her practice focuses on representing employers in workplace law matters, including preventive advice and counseling. Sharlynne previously defended individuals and entities, including governments, non-profit organizations and private sector companies, in various tort and commercial litigation actions.

Sharlynne obtained her J.D. by completing the SCALE Two-Year Program at Southwestern Law School and her B.S. in Finance from California State University - Northridge. While in law school, she externed at the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, where she conducted preliminary hearings and assisted in white collar crime matters.

Philip is a shareholder at Buchalter where he practices intellectual property. His practice focuses on counseling clients in the fashion, retail, and consumer products spaces in developing, protecting, growing, licensing, and enforcing their valuable brands and ideas. He is the firmwide co-chair of Buchalter's diversity committee. He is also an adjunct professor at his alma mater, Loyola Law School, where he teaches Fashion Law.

Ernie is a Partner in the Entertainment & Media Industry Group of Reed Smith LLP. He advises clients in connection with business launches, joint ventures, M&A, and venture finance, and provides general corporate counsel with respect to client operations. Ernie is the Partner Chair for Reed Smith's AAPI affinity group.

Kimberly Paggabao is an associate at Dummit, Buchholz, & Trapp’s Los Angeles office. Her primary areas of practice involve defending hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare members in professional negligence, elder abuse, and general liability matters.

Kimberly graduated from Southwestern Law School, where she was the Co-Chair for the Asian Pacific American Law School Association and the Public Relations Chair for the Public Interest Law Committee. While in law school, Kimberly was also the student representative for the Philippine American Bar Association and interned at the Office of the Attorney General of California.

Jenny Pelaez focuses her practice on complex commercial and class action litigation at the trial and appellate levels. She has extensive experience representing a diverse group of clients in high-stakes matters involving claims under antitrust, securities and consumer protection laws, as well as a variety of contract and tort claims. She also regularly represents public companies and individuals in a wide range of industries in securities class action and derivative litigation. Her clients include companies in the financial services, accounting, technology, and entertainment industries.

Jenny also maintains a robust pro bono practice, including in the areas of reproductive rights, immigration law, public benefits, criminal procedure and prisoner’s rights.

Prior to joining the firm, Jenny clerked with the Honorable Pamela K. Chen of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. She worked for two years as a fellow at the National Center for Law and Economic Justice, where she litigated class actions seeking to reform policies and practices affecting low-income populations, including claims under the federal Due Process Clause, Food Stamp Act, Medicaid Act and Americans with Disabilities Act. Previously, she was a law clerk for the Honorable Frank Maas of the US District for the Southern District of New York.

Alex is a felony trial attorney for the Los Angeles County Alternate Public Defender's Office. His current practice includes serious felonies and homicides at the Pomona Courthouse. He also practiced public criminal defense in Riverside County and business litigation in downtown Los Angeles. He received his B.A. from the University of California, San Diego, and his J.D. from Loyola Law School.

Abigail Tapang Zelenski is the founding attorney at Zelenski Law, PC (www.zelenskilaw.com), a boutique employment-law firm. For twenty years, Abigail has focused extensively on employment issues, successfully representing businesses and individuals in wage-and-hour, discrimination, harassment, and wrongful-termination matters. She also provides management-side advice and counsel on workplace policies, procedures, and risk mitigation. Throughout her career, she has worked to settle over forty class actions and mass actions, recovering millions on behalf of employees and consumers in a wide range of industries. From 2013 to 2024, Abigail has been honored as a Super Lawyer Rising Star and Super Lawyer.

Abigail currently sits as Chair of the Los Angeles Civil Rights Commission, and has been a Commissioner since 2019. The Commission is tasked with investigating complaints of discrimination in Los Angeles to hold businesses and individuals accountable for discriminatory practices that deny equal treatment to individuals. Abigail also serves on the Board of the non-profit community service group Search to Involve Pilipino Americans, in Historic Filipinotown, as well as the Board of the UCLA Law School Alumni Association. She previously served on the Board of the Filipino American Library. Abigail earned her J.D. at the UCLA School of Law and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Southern California, magna cum laude.

Sandra is a 1L at Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law. She earned her B.A. in Political Science from University of California, Irvine where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. At Chapman, she is a member of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, Chapman Women Lawyers Association, and International Law Society. She considers herself a Civil Procedure and Contracts geek who has an unencumbered passion for legal theories. Prior to law school, Sandra worked for a consumer protection firm where she managed and settled debt litigation matters. She also interned for the United States House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. and participated in three research projects as an undergraduate at UC Irvine.

Born and raised in the Philippines, Sandra aims to provide a unique perspective in the legal field.

Andrea Lazo Cadaing is a third year student at LMU Loyola Law School. Andrea is a Research Editor for Loyola’s International and Comparative Law Review and she serves as the Vice President of the Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Start-Up Club. Andrea is interested in intellectual property law and is currently working with Professor Motomura on her research regarding inventorship in patent law.

Before law school, Andrea attended the University of California, Berkeley where she majored in Legal Studies. At Berkeley, Andrea was President of the Berkeley Legal Studies Association and an editor of the California Legal Studies Journal. She served as a JusticeCorps member at the self-help centers of several Alameda County Superior Courts. There, Andrea assisted self-representing litigants with cases ranging from family law to small claims cases. In addition, Andrea translated for Filipino clients who did not read, write, or speak English.

Gervi is a 2L at the University of San Diego School of Law. She serves as the Secretary of the Client Advocacy Team and also competed for the negotiation competition. Last summer, Ms. Cadimas worked for Paul, Plevin, Sullivan and Connaughton, a labor and employment law firm in downtown San Diego. She also worked as a legal intern at the University of San Diego’s Legal Clinic under their Civil Litigation department where she was able to successfully dismiss a cross-complaint filed against one of her clients. Ms. Cadimas received her undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the California State University, Sacramento where she graduated with magna cum laude honors. This summer, she will be working at an insurance litigation firm in Temecula, California. In the fall, she will be externing for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of California. She is fluent in Tagalog and Bisaya.

Jolena is a 2L at Loyola Law School. She graduated cum laude from the University of California San Diego, where she double majored in Ethnic Studies and Sociology. Having started her own small business post-grad, Jolena is interested in making intellectual property rights more accessible to Filipino entrepreneurs, creatives, and artists. She is particularly invested in the debate around IP law's shortcomings in effectively preventing the misuse and appropriation of cultural expression. She finished her first year of law school in the top 10% of her class with a 3.8 GPA. Currently, she is the Activities Co-Chair of the Women in Entertainment Law Society and a staffer on the Entertainment Law Review. In her free time, she organizes informal networking events for women of color at Loyola and loves supporting local business owners. She also enjoys cooking, watching hockey (GO KINGS GO!), hiking, and singing at open mics such as Palms Up Academy.

Mark is a 1L at Western State College of Law. Mark graduated with a Bachelor's of Arts in Film and Electronic Arts with an emphasis in Production Management at California State University, Long Beach. Following a year of working he decided to go to Cerritos College where he completed the paralegal certificate and eventually furthered his legal career when he started attending Western State. Mark currently serves as the secretary for his school’s Asian Pacific Law Student Association. Mark was born in the Philippines but grew up around the Middle East and believes that this upbringing can bring a different ideology into the legal field. He is fluent in Tagalog and speaks conversational French and Arabic.

Sydney is a 1L at the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law. She earned her B.A. in English and Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley, where she graduated with honors. Prior to law school, Sydney worked as a paralegal at a big law firm and as a legal assistant at Capcom USA. As a 1L, Sydney was a representative for the Venture Capital and Technology Law Association and the Fashion and Beauty Law Society. This summer, Sydney will be a 1L Diversity Fellow at Ropes & Gray. In her free time, she enjoys going to farmers markets, thrift shopping, and eating pastries.

Marc is a 1L at the USC Gould School of Law. He earned his B.S. in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, where he graduated with highest honors. Before law school, Marc worked at Verizon Media (now Yahoo!) as a financial analyst. At Verizon Media, he supported Yahoo Mail, AOL Mail, and Yahoo Finance. This summer, Marc will be a 1L Diversity Scholar at Latham & Watkins. In his free time, he enjoys working out and watching basketball.

Eanna Mejia is a 2L at University San Francisco. Eanna graduated from University of California, Riverside with a B.A. in Psychology. She was born and raised in Corona, California. Eanna currently serves on the board of USF School of Law’s Asian Pacific American Law Student Association as Vice President. During law school, Eanna gained legal experience as an extern at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. This summer, she has accepted a position as a Law Clerk at Hoover Krepelka. In her free time, Eanna loves to travel and bake.

Andrew is a 3L at Southwestern Law School. He earned his B.A. in Political Science (concentrating in American politics) and a minor in Film, Television, and Media Studies from UCLA in 2017. Andrew is an aspiring entertainment attorney hoping to provide production legal services to creators making diverse and meaningful projects. Currently, Andrew is a lead articles editor for the Southwestern Journal of International Law, co-president of Southwestern’s Asian Pacific American Law Student Association, and business and legal affairs intern for the animation production company, Titmouse, Inc. Previously, he was a summer law clerk at Donaldson, Callif, & Perez and prior to law school Andrew worked as a legal department coordinator at Guess?, Inc.

Danielle Ocampo is a 3L student at Loyola Law School. During law school, Danielle developed her interest in privacy and cybersecurity law in tech and medtech through legal internships at worldwide job search platform Indeed.com and Intuitive Surgical, Inc., a global medical device company. Danielle also committed herself to serving as Program Director for the National Federation of Filipino-American Associations’ (NaFFAA) Empowering Pilipino Youth through Collaboration (EPYC). EPYC is NaFFAA’s national youth leadership development and strongest initiative. Prior to law school, Danielle was a Business and Administrative Professional at Bayer’s agricultural tech arm The Climate Corporation. Before venturing into the Technology sector, Danielle was a Business Development Coordinator at the multinational law firm Paul Hastings LLP in the Bay Area where she advanced the business initiatives of the Employment Law practice. Danielle was also a full-time graduate student at the University of Southern California School of Public Policy where she earned her Master of Public Administration degree in 2018. Danielle graduated from the University of California Davis in 2016 with a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations and a minor in Managerial Economics.

Danielle is passionate about building the pipeline of Fil-Am talent, especially within the legal profession. Through her continued service to the Fil-Am community, Danielle works to increase visibility of Fil-Ams in professional and community spaces.

Bernadette is currently a 2L at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law in Malibu. She earned a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Business Management from the University of California, Irvine. Last summer, Bernadette worked as a Judicial Extern for Judge Jeannie Joseph at the Orange County Superior Court and is currently working for the Los Angeles District Attorney. She is interested in criminal law and aspires to be a Prosecutor. As a 1L Bernadette served as a Student Representative for Pepperdine’s Asian Pacific American Law Student Association for which she now serves as the Vice President and Social Director. She is also a Junior Staffer for Pepperdine’s Dispute Resolution Law Journal and serves as a Competition Chair for the school's Moot Court Board.

Chelsea is 1L at Loyola Law School. She was chosen as one of the Public Interest Scholars for the 2021 entering class for her volunteer work with Fresh Lifelines for Youth, a Bay Area non-profit that empowers youth in the juvenile justice system. Before law school, Chelsea was a UCLA alumna and was the Founder & President of the Pilipinx Pre-Law Pipeline (3P), currently the only pre-law organization for Asian American Students at UCLA. She has a strong interest in representing clients of underserved communities and hopes to work for a government agency in the future.