HBA Directors & Officers

José Gonzalez is a partner with the Santa Ana firm of Berman More Gonzalez specializing in workers’ compensation and personal injury cases. The son of Mexican immigrants, José with hard work and dedication put himself through law school while working full time at his present firm. He began working for his firm 19 years ago as a part time file clerk literally going from the mailroom to the boardroom. Together with his partner, Keith More, they continue over 20 years of excellence in representing injured consumers and workers in Orange County.

José is also serving as Co-Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Orange County Bar Association and was appointed to the Board of Directors of Orange County Bar Association in 2009.  José was elected to the Executive Board of the HBA in 2009 as Vice President and also co-chaired the Dinner Committee in 2010 along with incoming President Genoveva Meza Talbott and outgoing President Carlos Colorado.  He is proud to be a member of the Executive Board of the HBA and is eager to contribute his efforts to making a difference for the Latino community.

Mayte Santacruz was born in Mexico and raised in Santa Ana. After attending Santa Ana College for two years, she transferred to UCI, where she majored in Political Science. Mayte graduated from the University of California, Berkeley (Boalt Hall) School of Law in 2008. While attending law school, Mayte served as the Senior Executive Editor of the California Law Review. She became a published author in December 2008 when her note entitled “Learning from the Recent Interpretation of INA Section 245(a): Factors to Consider When Interpreting Immigration Law” was published in the California Law Review.

Mayte has been a member of the OC Hispanic Bar Association since 2005, while still in law school. She was a recipient of the HBA’s Wally Davis Scholarship in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Upon graduating from law school, she joined the HBA as a Board of Director, where she has been the co-chair of the Scholarship Committee and a member of the Judiciary Committee. Mayte is very grateful for the mentorship and financial support she received from the HBA. She would be honored to serve as President Elect of this wonderful organization that supported her financially during law school and provided her with amazing mentors and a welcoming legal family. 

Having been the recipient of many scholarships, like the HBA’s Wally Davis Scholarship, Mayte is a strong believer of giving back to the community and helping Hispanic students achieve their academic goals. To that end, she recently created the “Mayte Santacruz Pre-Law Scholarship Fund” through the Hispanic Education Endowment Fund. Beginning 2012, the Fund will award at least one scholarship to a Hispanic high school senior/college student from Orange County interested in pursuing a career in law. Preference will be given to DREAMers from the Santa Ana Unified School District, Santa Ana College and UCI.  

Mayte is an associate in the Orange County office of Latham & Watkins. Her practice focuses on complex business litigation, with an emphasis in securities claims. Mayte is a member of the Orange County Bar Association and the Orange County Association of Business Trial Lawyers.

Karin is an associate at Jafari Law Group in Aliso Viejo where her practice areas include patent and trademark prosecution and civil litigation.  Karin is licensed to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and graduated law school from Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, where she also earned a Certificate in Intellectual Property Law.  Before attending law school, Karin worked in the oligonucleotide laboratory of a biotech company in Northern California.  Karin has been a HBA Board member since 2009, serving as a director from 2009-2010 and as the Secretary during 2011.  During her terms on the board, Karin has been a member of both the dinner and program committees, including Chair/Co-Chair of the program committee in 2010 and 2011.

Jasmine Velazquez is an associate in Crowell & Moring's Orange County office.  Her practice areas include labor and employment litigation and counseling and general commercial litigation.

Jasmine joined the Hispanic Bar Association of Orange County as soon as she started practicing and immediately sought out ways to be more actively involved in the organization.  Jasmine is currently a Board Member, Chair of the Membership Committee, and is a member of the Social Programs and Dinner Planning Committees.  She looks forward to greater involvement in the HBA’s committees and the organization as a whole in the future and thus is excited at the prospect of becoming Secretary in 2012.

Jasmine’s involvement in diversity-related activities reaching back many years.  During law school, Jasmine was a member of La Raza and the Women's Law Association.  As part of her involvement with those organizations, she participated in Career Days at elementary schools in South Central Los Angeles where she spoke with sixth graders about careers in the legal profession.  Jasmine also helped organize trips for over 40 law students to provide pro bono legal assistance in Mexico and New Orleans.

Jasmine graduated from Chapman University with a B.A. in Political Science and Peace Studies. She received her J.D. from the University of Southern California where she served as Executive Articles Editor for the Southern California Law Review and interned for Justice Laurie D. Zelon of the Second District of the California Court of Appeal.

Rafael Nendel-Flores is a partner in the Irvine office of Fisher & Phillips LLP. Rafael has practiced in Orange County since 2002 and he has been a long-standing member of the OCHBA. He currently serves on the OCHBA’s Board of Directors. Rafael also served on last year’s dinner committee and he is currently serving on this year’s dinner and scholarship committees. Additionally, he is serving as a mentor for the OCHBA’s pilot mentor program. Rafael looks forward to the opportunity to continue to serve the OCHBA as its CFO.

Rafael obtained his JD from The George Washington University Law School in 2002 and his undergraduate degree from Stanford University in 1998 where he graduated in three years. While in law school, Rafael was Articles Editor of the George Washington Law Review and a Dean's Fellow. Rafael’s practice focuses on defending employers in complex litigation matters including tax controversies, wage-hour class actions and appellate litigation.

Genoveva Meza Talbott has served on the Board of Directors of the Hispanic Bar Association since 2006. Since that time, she has served as Vice President, Secretary, and has been involved in various HBA Committees, including the Dinner Committee, Scholarship Committee and Program Committee.

Genoveva is one of the founders of Talbott + Kim LLP, a firm specializing in the practice of family law. Genoveva’s focus is on diligently and expertly serving the needs of individuals and families at every stage of the legal process. She has represented high-end clients, in complex and high profile dissolutions. Her clients have included television and film stars, as well as professional athletes and entrepreneurs. That being said, she has handled many smaller, less complex matters and prides herself in giving the same exceptional attention and counsel to all cases no matter the scale. Genoveva’s breadth of experience in family law is extensive, covering all matters relating to dissolution, alimony & spousal support, child support, custody & visitation, domestic violence & neglect, paternity, as well as prenuptial and postnuptial agreements.

Genoveva graduated from the University of Southern California Law School, attending on a U.S.C. Full-Tuition Merit Scholarship. She completed her undergraduate work at the University of California at Los Angeles, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and French. She lives in Tustin with her husband Rolondo and daughter Anais.

Aaron Flores is an Associate at Jeffery & Grosfeld, LLP where he specializes in representing subcontractors across California in complex construction defect litigation.  Aaron graduated from Trinity Law School in Santa Ana, where he served as the 2008-2009 Associated Student Body President and was the recipient of the 2009 Dean’s Award.  He was admitted to the State Bar of California in December of 2009.

Since becoming a member of the Hispanic Bar Association of Orange County (“HBA”), Aaron has served on the HBA Annual Installation Dinner & Scholarship Fundraiser Committee, as well as the HBA Programs Committee. Aaron moderated the 2010 Mendez v. Westminster discussion panel hosted by Chapman University and in cooperation with the 2010 Santa Ana Bicentennial Film Festival.

Aaron is a Fellow member of the Orange County Bar Foundation and a member of the Board of Directors for Three Little Words, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding speech therapy for underprivileged, speech-impaired children.

Alexandra M. Armstrong has served the Hispanic community by providing necessary legal services through her active volunteer work with Public Law Center since 2006 and her work in the area of bankruptcy law following her admittance to the State Bar, in December 2009.
Alexandra graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2005, with a double major in Law & Society and Political Science (with an International Relations emphasis). While in college, Alexandra was actively involved with La Escuelita de El Congreso, a student-led organization which provided positive role models and tutoring for children in the low income areas of Isla Vista, California. Alexandra graduated from Chapman University School of Law in 2009. While attending law school, Alexandra was involved in several student organizations, most notably the Minority Law Student Association (MLSA), serving as its President in her third year. Alexandra was also active within the Dispute Resolution Competition Team, wining several competitions in the areas of Negotiation, Mediation, and Client Counseling.

Since graduating, Alexandra has helped co-found Haiti Scholarships, a non-profit dedicated to providing scholarships to young students in Haiti, who lack the financial resources to attend school without such economic help. Alexandra has also started her own firm, where she caters her family and immigration services to low-income clients.

Alexandra was a Wally Davis Memorial Scholarship recipient in 2008, and is eager to continue her involvement with the HBA. She is active in the Planning Committee, and is looking forward to serving the HBA and its members for years to come.

Diana López is a founding partner of Douglas, Lopez & Rumm, LLP where she practices primarily in the areas of Labor & Employment and Personal Injury. Diana has served on the OCHBA Board since February of 2010 where she has served on the Dinner Committee and Co-Chaired the Program Committee.

Diana was a recipient of the 2008 Wally Davis Scholarship and graduated from Chapman University School of Law in 2009.  She began her first year of practice with Sayre & Levitt, LLP. The OC HBA community has been a great source of their mentorship and support and Diana is proud to serve on the OCHBA Board and grateful for the opportunity to give back. 

Eric Domínguez is an immigration associate at Garg & Associates in Aliso Viejo. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in History from Chapman University, where he was the recipient of the Provost List Award for academic excellence. Additionally, he was accepted into the Albert Schweitzer Leadership Program and was a member of the Model United Nations team.

While attending Chapman University School of Law, Mr. Domínguez served as a law clerk at national headquarters of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) as well as the Orange County office of the ACLU of Southern California.  He also served as a Spanish-language volunteer for NALEO’s Voter Rights hotline during the 2008 presidential election. Since graduating from Chapman University School of Law in 2009, Mr. Domínguez has gained considerable experience in business and family immigration law.

Mr. Domínguez is licensed to practice before all courts in the State of California, as well as in the United States District Court, Central District of California.   He is a member of the American Bar Association, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Orange County Hispanic Bar Association, Mexican American Bar Association, and one of the founding members of the National Lawyers Guild’s Orange County chapter.

Erica M. Diaz is an associate at AlvaradoSmith in Santa Ana.  She is a member of the firm's transactional department where she practices corporate, real estate and intellectual property law. 

Erica earned her undergraduate degree from California State University, Long Beach in 2003.  She received her Juris Doctorate, emphasis in Advocacy and Dispute Resolution, from Chapman University School of Law in 2008.  At Chapman, Erica was active in law school competition, student law groups and community outreach.

Erica is a member of the Orange County Bar Association and the OCBA Business & Corporate Law Section.

Erica first joined the Hispanic Bar Association of Orange County in law school and was a 2006 Wally Davis Memorial Scholarship recipient.  Erica currently serves on the Board of Directors of the HBA.  If reelected, Erica will devote her time and efforts towards the continued success of the organization. 

Fermin Valencia is the owner of Valencia & Associates APC in Santa Ana, CA. Mr. Valencia specializes in Immigration and Bankruptcy Law. Fermin has lived all his life in Orange County attending Santa Ana College, the University of California of Irvine and Whittier Law School. He opened his law firm in 2008, shortly after being admitted to the bar.

Apart from offering excellent legal services to his clients, he spends a significant amount of time providing pro-bono services to the local community. He was named attorney of the year for 2011 by the Public Law Center. Also in 2011, he was awarded the 2011 President’s Pro Bono Service Award by the State Bar of California in the recently admitted category.

Fermin is licensed to practice before all court in the State of California as well as the United States District Court, Central District of California. He is a member of the Los Angeles and Orange County Bar Associations as well as the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.

Ivan Cisneros earned his Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies from Chapman University with a minor in Comparative Literature.  At Chapman University, Mr. Cisneros was a member of the cross-country team, he received the Provost’s Award multiple semesters for academic excellence, and he graduated with Honors from the Political Science Department. Following his graduation from Chapman University, Mr. Cisneros attended Whittier Law School where he excelled academically.

While in law school, Mr. Cisneros served as Associate Editor of the Whittier Law Journal of Family Law and Child Advocacy and he completed an internship with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. Since graduating from Whittier Law School in 2008, Mr. Cisneros has gained considerable experience in complex civil litigation.

Mr. Cisneros is licensed to practice before all courts in the State of California, as well as in the United States District Court, Central District of California.  Mr. Cisneros is a member of the American, Los Angeles and Orange County Bar Associations, Long Beach Inn of Court, Orange County Trial Lawyers Associations, Orange County Hispanic Bar Association, and Mexican American Bar Association.

Javier Rivera-Carbone has served as OCHBA Director since 2007, and as Chair of the Membership Committee for 2008-2009.  Javier has been a member of the Diversity Committee of the OCBA since 2007; and member of the Puerto Rico Bar Association since 1996.  If elected, he will advance the OCHBA’s work in providing Hispanics in law schools with financial assistance.  Javier will also work to have the Association serve as a local voice for the concerns and opinions of Latinos in the civic and legal communities.

Javier is an experienced fully bilingual attorney who has concentrated his practice on representing management in labor and employment law matters.  Prior to establishing his own civil litigation practice, Javier was income partner at one of the largest Hispanic owned law firms in the world and Of Counsel at one of the oldest and largest labor and employment law firms in the United States.  Javier is a native of Puerto Rico who currently lives in San Clemente with his spouse and their two children.

John Migliarini was born in rural Argentina but grew up in Orange County after his family immigrated to the United States.  He is fluent in Spanish and he looks forward to giving back to our community by serving on the Board of Directors of the OCHBA: "I feel it’s important to increase the number of Latinos and Spanish-speakers in the Orange County legal industry, and I believe the OCHBA is the perfect vehicle for doing so."

John is an associate at Jones Day’s Irvine office and his practice involves all aspects of employment litigation, including wage and hour, discrimination, and trade secrets cases.  He represents clients from a variety of industries in state and federal court and administrative proceedings.

John attended college at Cal State Fullerton and graduated with a BA in Accounting.  During college, he was very active in student government and received a scholarship for representing the Latino community.  After undergrad, he worked as an auditor for Deloitte, obtained his CPA license, and left sunny Southern California to attend Penn Law School.  The most rewarding part of his experience in Philadelphia was representing indigent clients at a pro-bono clinic for the homeless.  He also enjoyed mentoring undergraduate students through the University’s La Casa Latina program.

John lives with my lovely wife, Laily, in Laguna Niguel.  Laily and he enjoy travel, food, spending time with friends, and the outdoors.

Linda Luna is currently a Managing Principal at Luna Law Corporation, where she focuses her practice in employment law and protecting employee’s rights. She has successfully represented employees, from executive management to staff, who work in a wide variety of industries. She has assisted these employees by negotiating severance packages, resolving cases pre-litigation or pursuing litigation for a wide variety claims, including illegal discrimination, harassment, defamation and wrongful termination.

Linda’s legal background includes experience in civil litigation. She has worked as a litigation Associate for a respected litigation law firms in Orange County, where she focused her practice on business litigation, employment law, class actions and litigated matters by taking cases to trial. Prior to that, she served as Corporate Counsel for the Legal and Corporate Affairs department of an international airline for the United States and Canada, where she oversaw outside counsel and matters ranging from class action litigation to trademark infringement, in addition to contract drafting and review for business units in North America and Europe. This experience allows Ms. Luna to anticipate a defense perspective in litigating her claims.

Linda received her Juris Doctor from Chapman University, School of Law in 2005 and was the recipient of the Provost Academic Law Scholarship and served on Nexus Law Journal. Ms. Luna served as President of Chapman Law School’s 2010/2011 Alumni Advisory Board. She is currently a member of the Orange County Bar Association, where she sits on the Community Outreach Committee and is a member of the OCBA’s Labor and Employment Section. She is also a member of the Banyard Inns of Court and California Employment Lawyer Association.

Ms. Luna proudly serves as a pro-bono attorney for Kids in Need of Defense (KIND). Further, she enjoys volunteering her time at the Orangewood Children’s Center and Second Harvest Food Bank.

Attorney Lyo Figueroa is a native of Orange County, having been born and raised in Santa Ana, California. He graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a double major in Political Science and Criminology Law & Society and he received his Juris Doctorate from Whittier Law School with a Concentration in Business Law.

Mr. Figueroa opened Figueroa Law Firm on February 2010.  Figueroa Law Firm concentrates in representing small business owners and start-up companies with their business and employment needs.  He has assisted a myriad of business clients to form different types of Corporate and LLC entities.  He has represented small business owners through various types of lawsuit related to both employment and business matters in state and federal court, and before the Labor Commissioner.

Mr. Figueroa has remained active with the Orange County Hispanic Bar Association.  He became involved with the HBA’s Program Committee where he volunteers to co-organize the End of Summer Joint Mixer.  Mr. Figueroa organized a successful event where he was able to bring Lexis Nexis onboard as a key co-sponsor, negotiated a low price for the event, and coordinated the entire event with other bar organizations.  Additionally, Mr. Figueroa has attended the majority of HBA’s other events throughout the year.

Mr. Figueroa is a strong believer of giving back to his community.  He is involved with the Community Outreach Committee with the OCBA, where he volunteers several days a year to do various activities such as food packaging, visiting with Orangewood and feeding the indigent at Someone Cares Soup kitchen.  Mr. Figueroa is very active in being a pro-bono volunteer attorney for the Public Law Center.  Through the PLC, he has had the opportunity to volunteer his services at Homeless Shelters to give free advice to the indigent and he has represented pro-bono clients this year in subjects ranging from Unlawful Detainer to lease re-negotiations.  To date this year, Mr. Figueroa has dedicated approximately one-hundred (100) hours to volunteer his services and representing indigent clients for the PLC.

Ms. Crosthwaite is a Deputy City Attorney with the City of Santa Ana.  She serves as a Code Enforcement prosecutor, advises city departments on legal issues, and sits as a member of various city task forces.  In addition, Ms. Crosthwaite works on Public Records requests and Pitchess motions, as well as other litigation and advisory matters.

Prior to joining the City of Santa Ana, Ms. Crosthwaite was an associate at Richards, Watson & Gershon where she served as Assistant City Attorney for the cities of South El Monte, San Fernando and Artesia. She also provided advice to a number of other cities in a wide variety of areas, including land use, ethics, elections, redevelopment, public works and the Brown Act.  She was a frequent presenter for her clients as well as such organizations as the City Clerk’s Association and the California Latino Caucus Institute.  Ms. Crosthwaite began her career at Lozano Smith, where she advised and represented school districts throughout California with respect to special education, charter schools, the No Child Left Behind Act, and labor and employment matters.

Ms. Crosthwaite received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations from UCLA in 1996, graduating summa cum laude and with College Honors.  She received her law degree from the UCLA School of Law in 2003. While in law school, she was a member of the La Raza Law Student’s Association and served as Associate Editor of the Chicano-Latino Law Review. She also interned with the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review at the Krome Detention Center in Miami, Florida.

Ms. Crosthwaite is a recent transplant to Orange County.  She grew up in the Los Angeles area—living in Lennox and Hawthorne.  She is of Cuban and Panamanian-descent. She has participated in several HBA events and is looking forward to becoming more involved in the organization.

I am native to Orange County (born and raised).  I received a BS and BA from UC Santa Barbara in Biopsychology and Philosophy in 2003.  I concurrently attended the WP Carey School of Business and the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University where I obtained a JD and MBA.  During my time at ASU I was a class representative for both my business and law school classes.  As a representative of my class at each institution, I acted as a voice for my classmates to the school’s respective administrations, and organized social activities and volunteer activities.

I currently work in the areas of mortgage banking financial services and litigation with the law firm of Wolfe & Wyman LLP in Irvine.  In the past, I have worked in areas of IP and corporate law. 

I enjoy being outdoors at the beach and in the mountains, and traveling internationally; especially to Latin America, where I have lived for short periods of time in Costa Rica and Colombia.  Additionally, for the past 10 years I have consistently volunteered with the organization Corazón, which sponsors groups to build homes in Tijuana, Mexico, for those living in inhabitable conditions.

I am very enthusiastic about being involved with OCHBA as a director in order to use my leadership skills to benefit this organization’s philanthropic, social, and community involvement.

Monique M. Fuentes is a partner with Troutman Sanders, LLP in Irvine.  Monique is a commercial litigator with experience representing corporations and some of the nation’s largest insurance companies in disputes involving commercial contracts, insurance coverage issues and business torts.  Monique graduated from USC Law School in 1999. 

Monique is a member of Troutman Sanders’ Womens’ Forum Committee and Recruitment Committee and she serves as a coach for those seeking alternative work schedule arrangements.  Additionally, Monique has handled pro bono matters with the ACLU and the Orange County Public Law Center. 

In 2011, Monique served as a panelist on the Orange County Diversity Task Force Rising Stars Panel.    

Monique is currently an OCHBA board member.  While on the board, she has served on the Dinner Committee and arranged a cocktail party for HBA members honoring Gladis Molina (Kids In Need of Defense), the 2010 Guardian de Justicia Award recipient.  Monique would be honored to serve on the board again for a second term and would welcome the opportunity to actively participate on the Dinner Committee again. 

Shannon Thomas was born in Riverside, California and is the youngest four children.
Ms. Thomas graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology in 1997.  After graduating from UC Irvine, Ms. Thomas attended Pepperdine University School of Law where she obtained her J.D. in 2001. In May of 2002, Ms. Thomas obtained a Master’s Degree in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) from the Straus Institute of Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law. The Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution is ranked the number one dispute resolution program by U.S. News and World Report.

Ms. Thomas began practicing family law in February 2002 for the Ontario Law Firm of Covington & Crowe who, at the time, had recently represented the Appellant in a landmark family law “move-away” case, Montenegro vs. Diaz (2001) 26 Cal. 4th 249.

In September of 2008, Ms. Thomas was certified as a specialist in family law by the State Bar of California Board Legal of Specialization.

Ms. Thomas has also lectured in the area of family law. In May 2011, Ms. Thomas travelled to Belize with the Orange County Hispanic Bar Association to teach “family law 101,” a continuing legal education seminar, along with esteemed co-panelist Hon. Justice Carlos Moreno (retired) of the California Supreme Court. 

Ms. Thomas currently works with various law firms in Orange and San Bernardino Counties.