Candidate for Director:
Mika Domingo
My name is Mika Domingo. I’m a trusts and estates litigator, former Deputy Attorney General, entrepreneur, and community leader. Before I knew that the study and practice of the law would be the career path I would ultimately choose, I knew that whatever I did, advocating for the underserved and underrepresented, would be the forefront in my life purpose. As a school-aged immigrant from the Philippines, I witnessed firsthand the struggles and hard-fought victories of my parents to become resilient and productive citizens, and to build a sustainable, comfortable life for us in an unfamiliar environment. My mother was especially influential, having first worked as a Certified Public Account for a non-profit in San Francisco, and eventually establishing her own international accounting firm that would employ over eighty accountants at its height. Through immersed work, she was equally committed to serving the community, making sure I understood the importance of helping others to learn skills that would allow them to advance and thrive. I spent many days and hours after school volunteering alongside my mother at places like the San Francisco Career Resource Development Center, language and learning institutes in the city, and various charities. But the greatest gift my mother gave me was to show me how to be an effective coach and mentor, enabling people to unfold the possibilities and realize their potential. Eventually, I started my own tutorial program, and offered sessions in English, Tagalog, French, Japanese, math and science. Those experiences and lessons of my youth still inform the way I consider cases and treat clients in my own practice and in the community. True to my mother’s legacy, I’ve continued to actively volunteer for many organizations and have developed and sharpened my business and leadership acumen. Prior to embarking on my legal journey, earlier in my career, I served as a finance auditor and launched my own publishing firm and in those roles, as well as today, as a legal professional, I have planned and implemented professional learning opportunities for various stakeholders.
I am humbled and honored to declare my intention to run for the FBANC Professional Development Director Position. In this role, I will focus on meeting the needs of our members by designing professional programs, including required continuing legal education, best practices in a variety of areas, and seminars on business growth. Specifically, I would like to launch an FBANC Mastermind Program, designed for our member-entrepreneurs, where they can come together and share strategies applicable to growing their practice. I would also like to work on “Boot Camp” seminars to help our members with core skills training such as “Basic Litigation Skills”, and “Effective Negotiations,” to name a few.
In line with our FBANC 42 theme “FBANC For All,” as Director of Professional Development, I will coordinate with other bar and professional organizations, and determine what current topics and issues in today’s practice are most relevant to our members. Exchanging ideas with other leaders will not only help us build skills, but also expand our outreach and deepen our relationship with others.
The world is a very different place than it was two years ago. Today, we face a pandemic and economic recession that require us to examine every facet of our operations, and to work more efficiently and collaboratively. Having worked in both non-profit and private sectors as an attorney, and having served on numerous leadership roles for the past twenty-five years, and more recently, as a Committee of Bar Examiner for the State of California, Past President of the Contra Costa County Bar Association (CCCBA) Women’s Section, CCCBA ExComm, Past Chair of CCCBA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, and as current President-Elect and Chair of the Judicial Nominations Committee for California Women Lawyers, I bring experience, passion, sound judgment, ability to listen, think strategically, and implement tactically to this Board and ask for you to allow me to serve.