Congratulations to Past President Mari Bandoma Callado, Honored as Cal-APABA Bar Leader of the Year
September 26, 2022
On September 24, 2022, the California Asian Pacific American Bar Association (Cal-APABA) recognized FBANC Past President Mari Bandoma Callado as this year’s Cal-APABA Bar Leader of the Year. This award celebrates Mari’s tireless and fierce leadership and service to the community throughout the course of her legal career. The Cal-APABA Conference titled “Empowering Asian Pacific American Women” which was held in San Diego, also featured a keynote speech from United States Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Director Jenny R. Yang and United States District Court for the Southern District of California Judge Jinsook Ohta. Additionally, Asian Pacific American Women Lawyer’s Alliance President Aimee Conteras-Camua accepted Cal-APABA’s Bar Association of the Year award on behalf of APAWLA.
Cal-APABA represents the interests of APA bar organizations and the over 14,000 APA attorneys statewide to promote justice and equality, advance legal and policy matters that impact the APA community, and enhance the professional development of its members.
The FBANC community came out in full force to support Mari’s well deserved achievement. FBANC was honored to be joined by Judge Lucy Koh, FBANC 2011-2012 President Mark Punzalan, FBANC 2012-2013 President David Mesa, FBANC 2016-2017 President Christine Start, FBANC 2017-2018 President Lorna Garcia de Guzman, FBANC 2021-2022 President Jennifer Sta.Ana, Filipino-Lawyers of San Diego 2015-2017 President Jonah Toleno, and Cal-APABA Executive Director and FBANC lifetime member Charles Jung.
Mari would like to share the following words with the FBANC community:
"I am honored by CAL-APABA’s recognition as Bar Leader of the Year. Serving on the FBANC Board for eight years and as FBANC President during the pandemic has made me a better lawyer, leader, and community advocate. Thank you FBANC for trusting me to lead during an unprecedented year and for the many years of support, encouragement, and guidance."
Congratulations, Mari!
Mari is an experienced trial and litigation attorney and bar association leader committed to racial justice and diversifying the legal profession. A deep commitment to the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) and under-represented communities guides Mari’s advocacy in the courtroom and service in local, state, and national forums.
This October, Mari will be joining the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office as a Deputy City Attorney, defending the City and County of San Francisco in federal and state court matters involving labor and employment litigation. Prior to Mari joining the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, Mari was a Senior Associate Attorney at the Dolan Law Firm and exclusively represented plaintiffs. Mari has helped her clients recover over $20 million in verdicts and settlements in employment, personal injury, and civil rights matters. At the Dolan Law Firm, Mari managed and oversaw anywhere between thirty to fifty complex and often heartbreaking matters, such as representing children sexually abused at schools or camps, plaintiffs with traumatic brain injuries, families of victims of elder abuse and neglect, survivors of human trafficking and hate crimes, and workers who have been discriminated against and/or harassed. Since 2017, Mari has been selected as a "Rising Star" every year in the Northern California edition of Super Lawyers.
Mari attributes the highlight of her legal career to a couple of cases in which she represented a survivor of (1) human trafficking and (2) a hate crime. In the first case, her client, a Muslim man from Bangladesh, suffered from verbal and physical abuse at the hands of his employer for years. In 2018, she second-chaired the trial just twelve weeks after giving birth to her son. Mari not only resolved the matter but also facilitated connecting her client to the Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, who helped Mari’s client with obtaining a T-Visa and subsequent green card for him and his family. In the second case, Mari represented a Sikh-identifying man who was attacked by two men who removed his turban and cut off his hair. Mari’s advocacy resulted in a $4.1 million judgment in 2021.
Over the past decade, Mari has volunteered for and served on boards of bar associations and organizations developing pro bono initiatives for underserved communities and DE&I programs. In 2020, Mari found the Dolan Law Firm’s DE&I Committee and served as its Director. She was an active member of the California Employment Lawyers Association as a member of its Elimination of Bias in the Judiciary, Education, and Women’s Committees. Mari previously served as the Legislative Chair of the Consumer Attorneys of California’s (CAOC) Diversity Committee, working on legislation that protects consumer legal rights, and as Education and Outreach Chair to help diversify the plaintiffs’ bar. She recently finished her term serving as as the first vice chair and political chair of the CAOC Diversity Committee and as a new Board Member of the organization’s Political Action Committee. In 2019 and 2021, the CAOC Diversity Committee recognized Mari’s contributions by bestowing her with a service award. Mari’s service and reputation to better her profession has yielded her an appointment to the Executive Committee of the California Lawyers Association’s Labor and Employment Section. She began her term in September 2021.
Mari has fiercely advocated for AAPI civic and community affairs, as demonstrated by her multiple bar association leadership roles, mentorship of aspiring lawyers of color, and volunteer work. Mari tirelessly serves on the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association as its Alternate Regional Governor - Northern California, the National Filipino American Lawyers Association as Regional Governor - Northern California, and Founder/co-chair of its Plaintiff's Network, the California Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Anti-Asian Hate Task Force, the Asian American Bar Association as its Civil Rights Committee Co-Chair, and is a co-founder of the Pinay Powerhouse Collective.
During the pandemic, Mari combatted the rise in Anti-Asian hate in a myriad of ways. Using her legal expertise, she spoke on panels and prepared training materials for lawyers and legal resources for community advocates on pursuing civil remedies for hate-based discrimination and violence. In 2021, she successfully resolved a case representing a young woman who was denied entry to a store simply because she “looked Asian” and therefore “had the Coronavirus.” Outside the confines of her office, Mari extends her dedication to serving the most marginalized by volunteering at various legal clinics in the San Francisco Bay Area, such as Legal Aid at Work’s Workers’ Rights Clinic and the Alameda County Bar Association’s Lawyers in the Library Program as well as by speaking on various Know Your Rights webinars and programs, particularly on employment topics such as pregnancy discrimination and parental leave.
In June 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Mari was installed as the 40th President of the Filipino Bar Association of Northern California (FBANC) and the FBANC Foundation. Mari’s innovative leadership throughout her eight years of serving on the FBANC Board has elevated the organization and/or projects with her at the helm. During her term as President, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association bestowed its prestigious Affiliate of the Year Award to FBANC, due, in no small part, to Mari’s efforts in elevating FBANC’s visibility to highlight the tireless work of the organization. Before her term as President ended, Mari spearheaded the nomination of FBANC for the American Bar Association Young Lawyer Division Awards, which resulted in FBANC being nationally recognized for its incredible efforts in public service and diversifying the bar during the pandemic. In 2021, the Minority Bar Coalition honored Mari with its Unity Award for her efforts in advancing diversity in the legal profession.
Mari received her J.D. from UC Hastings, College of the Law, and her B.A. in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley. She is a first-generation immigrant and the first person in her family to go to law school.
Contact FBANC President Raymond R. Rollan raymondrollan@fbanc.org for more information.
