Rod McLeod, FBANC President (1984-1985)

Rod McLeod is the 4th FBANC President.

During his presidency, Rod was a third-year litigation associate at Brobeck Phleger and Harrison (Brobeck), one of the 5 major large firms in San Francisco at the time.  During FBANC's formative years, there were few Fil-Am attorneys in the entire Bay Area. 

Some accomplishments Rod is most proud of during his FBANC tenure include establishing a one-year term for FBANC presidents and establishing the first Pro Bono Legal Clinic spearheaded by Cyrian Tabuena (5th FBANC President) with monthly clinics held in a Senior Center in Daly City.

The FBANC installation gala during Rod's year was held at His Lordship’s Restaurant in Berkeley. Rod kept the ticket price at $25, which was important for the Fil-Am legal community at the time.  The gala had about 300 attendees, the largest number in FBANC’s young history. Rod invited Willie Brown, then Speaker of the Assembly and later Mayor of San Francisco, as the keynote speaker. Rod wanted FBANC to play on a larger stage, to tell the world that there was a community of talented Fil-Am lawyers available and willing to be part of the larger legal community at higher levels of responsibility.

Rod's speech was entitled “The Filipino Agenda”, and exhorted the gathered Fil-Am Community to get deeper, higher and more involved in the available organizations for the overall betterment of the community: more judges, more involvement in local politics, serving on government boards and commissions, and more lobbying for Fil-Am causes. Rod's vision was for the Fil-Am community to start making a difference and having an impact on our own future. 

In addition to his service to FBANC, Rod served on the Board of the Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) and advocated for BASF to increase outreach to minority attorneys, and for BASF to retain a seat on the BASF Board for future FBANC Presidents.

Rod has served on numerous boards and commissions and was elected Bar Governor for the Board of Governors of the California State Bar for the San Francisco district.  Rod became Litigation Partner at Brobeck in 1990, perhaps only the second Fil-Am attorney to become partner at a major San Francisco law firm at that time.  Rod even ran for an open judicial seat in San Francisco.  Rod concluded his legal career as a Partner at Jones Day in San Francisco.

What FBANC means to Rod:

"Service to the Fil-Am lawyer community and the larger Filipino community in the Bay Area; a connection to my Filipino roots; an organization where deep friendships blossomed."

Rod retired from legal practice in 2010 and permanently resides in Israel.