Her journey into the legal profession did not begin in a courtroom but in a laboratory. For seven years, she worked as a practicing chemist, first as an industrial microbiologist and later as a power plant chemist. Her plan was rooted in science, and even the decision to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) was merely intended as preparation for the Medical College Admission Test. Yet, what began as a practical step soon revealed an unexpected passion that would alter the course of her life.
Studying for the LSAT opened her mind to a new world, one defined by intellectual challenge, moral depth, and human complexity. Law, she realized, was not just a profession; it was a calling. She applied to the University Of Texas School Of Law in Austin and was admitted. Still, even after graduation, she had little sense of what the real practice of law looked like day to day.
Her scientific background became her entry point. A prominent Los Angeles law firm hired her into its litigation department, impressed by her analytical foundation and disciplined reasoning. The learning curve was steep, but it awakened in her a deep affinity for federal litigation and the intricate demands of federal civil procedure and jurisdiction.
Her early years exposed her to an array of cases: medical malpractice, construction disputes, and labour and employment matters. A subsequent move to another major firm expanded her practice into intellectual property and franchise litigation. She represented a foreign automobile manufacturer before the California New Motor Vehicle Board complex, high-stakes work that sharpened her advocacy skills. Yet, intertwined with these experiences were cases shadowed by fraud, concealment, and ethical unease.
A defining moment arrived during the savings and loan scandal. Representing a vice president of a failed savings and loan association, she was tasked with locating records of a dissolved law firm allegedly involved in fraudulent transactions. Armed with a single password disclosed during discovery, she found herself in a Beverly Hills garage where she uncovered the missing records. It was a moment of triumph, yet it intensified a growing realization: her work no longer aligned with her moral compass.
Conflicted and searching for clarity, she sought guidance from her parish priest. She confessed that her work felt increasingly out of harmony with her deeper values. Encouraged to find meaning through service, she began taking on pro bono matters environmental cases, immigration matters, tribal land disputes. For the first time, she felt her legal skills serving a purpose that resonated with her spirit.
This shift profoundly reshaped her path. Over the years, she immersed herself in immigration and tribal litigation, moving between the two fields. In 2000, she established her own immigration practice in Dallas, Texas a decision that soon led to one of the most defining cases of her career.
That same year, she took on the representation of a Jordanian-Palestinian man caught in a “secret evidence” case a terrorism-related matter in a highly charged political environment. Through steadfast negotiation and advocacy, she succeeded in moving the case back to a regular docket and secured an immigration judge’s promise that no proceedings would occur in secrecy. But after 9/11, the case exploded into national and international news. Although she could not stop the deportation, she kept her client out of custody until September 20, 2001, and prevented his rendition to Jordan. The case, though unpublished, was documented extensively, including in The Nation magazine’s December 24, 2001 article, “Deported… Disappeared.”
Throughout her career, her scientific training remained a quiet yet powerful asset. Engineering and science professionals seeking immigration representation often found her reasoning uniquely clear a reflection of the precision and analytical discipline she had carried with her from the lab.
Today, she resides amid the natural splendour of Northern California, near the Six Rivers National Forest region of the Klamath a place rich in Indigenous history and home to tribal communities whose treaties remain unratified. Living alongside these Native communities reinforces her commitment to advocating for their recognition, funding, and rights.
Her personal life is woven with simplicity and nature. She tends to more than twenty-five fruit trees, over sixty grapevines, and a beloved group of animals, three cats and one dog, all while sharing a quiet, joyful life with her husband. Nature, humour, and the mountain air have become her grounding forces.
Reflecting on decades in the legal field, she distils her philosophy into a single, resonant truth:
“Fighting for people’s lives may not be as lucrative as fighting over their money, but it is infinitely more meaningful.”
If she could offer one message to the lawyers who will follow after her, it would be this:
Never lose your humanity in the pursuit of success.
Law, she believes, is a sacred profession a vehicle for healing, protection, and justice. Public interest work is not simply an option; it is a noble contribution to society.
Her legacy shines not through accolades but through the lives she has touched, the families rebuilt, the communities defended, and the young lawyers inspired by her example. Her journey stands as a testament to a powerful truth: when the practice of law is guided by integrity, compassion, and courage, it holds the profound capacity to transform not only the lives of clients but the life of the lawyer as well.
