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The Filipino Bar Association of Northern California (FBANC) is hosting its Evening with Fil-Am Judges event on Tuesday 4/11/23, from 6:00 to 8:45pm PT. They will celebrate the judges and judicial officers in our community. Ruthe Catolico Ashley, Esq. will lead a discussion with the Hon. Ron Quidachay, the Hon. Christine Gonong, and David Mesa, Esq.  (0.75 CLE credit approval pending, more details below.)  This in-person event is free for FBANC members, and will be held at Abacá, a modern Fil-Am restaurant in SF (near Fisherman’s Wharf).  Dinner is included and hosted by FBANC, and should be delicious.  

To learn more and register, please visit at https://fbanc.org/prof-dev.  Registration is required to attend.  Registration deadline 3/31/23 at 10pm.  Space is limited – first come, first serve.  

Questions?  Please contact FBANC Professional Development Committee Co-Chairs Mika Domingo (mikadomingo@fbanc.org) and Antonio Raimundo (antonioraimundo@fbanc.org). 

Details on the CLE discussion panelists:

• Hon. Ronald Quidachay
  • The Hon. Ron Quidachay was the first judge of Filipino descent to be appointed in Northern California.  He has served our community for more than 40 years, as a Superior Court Judge, Municipal Court Judge, Traffic Court Commissioner, including terms as the Presiding Judge of the Superior and Municipal Courts.  Today, he serves as a Visiting Superior Court Judge following his retirement in 2018.
• Hon. Christine Gonong
  • The Hon. Christine Gonong was elected to the LA Superior Court as a Commissioner in 2022.  Her FBANC roots are strong: she was the first recipient of the Raymond L. Ocampo Scholarship and obtained her J.D. at UC Hastings.  She has served the public throughout her career, holding leadership positions in several Fil Am and Asian Am orgs, as well as a member of the State Bar of California’s Board of Trustees.
• David Mesa, Esq.

• David Mesa is a partner at FisherBroyles, LLP, where he litigates complex civil disputes for clients in the pharmaceutical, medical device, automobile, and consumer product industries. David has served as FBANC President, NFALA President and as Chair of their respective Judiciary Committees. He has also served on the Board for the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.  He currently serves on the Board for the California Asian Pacific American Bar Association and as Co-Chair of its Judiciary Committee.
• Ruthe Ashley, Esq. will lead the discussion
• Ruthe Catolico Ashley is Chair of California LAW Pathways, whose mission is to diversify California’s legal profession through the educational pipeline.  Ashley is considered the Diversity Pipeline Guru for the legal profession in California.  She has served the community for decades, including as a member of the State Bar of California’s Board of Governors.  She was the first President/CEO of California ALL, and the first Executive Director of California LAW, two non-profit organizations.

Details on the dinner:

Abacá features Fil-Am cuisine.  The New York Times says Abacá “make[s] every dinner feel like a party, complete with pancit and lumpia, habit-forming barbecue sticks of beef tongue and homemade longanisa, and a series of platitos that change in step with Northern California’s seasonal seafood and produce.”