Since 2019, I have volunteered as a Day of Court mediator for the Alameda County Small Claims Court. In 2022 and 2023, I primarily served in Department 105. After mediating cases, I often remained in her courtroom to observe how she handled small claims matters.

Having practiced law for nearly twenty years in state and federal courts in California and across the country, I was initially struck by the Judges’ approaches to gathering information. Their questions often sounded less like traditional fact-gathering and more like lessons—designed to educate litigants about the law and how it applied to their lives. Over time, I came to understand that the judges were using their position not only to resolve disputes but to help people leave the courtroom with a clearer understanding of their rights and responsibilities. In one landlord-tenant case, for example, the Judge projected California Civil Code section 1950.5 and walked the defendant landlord through the specific ways he may have violated the law. The goal was not humiliation, but clarity and accountability.

Those experiences reinforced my respect for the law and its profound role in people’s lives. Too often, ordinary people do not recognize the law’s impact until they find themselves in a courtroom. A judge can make that moment confusing and intimidating—or fair, understandable, and dignified.

I am seeking to serve as a judge because I believe my experience and temperament would enable me to better serve the community as a neutral decision-maker, focused on achieving the correct legal outcome rather than advocating for one client’s interests over another’s. After twenty years as a trial lawyer, I have spent much of my career engaged in conflict. That conflict is often necessary and in pursuit of justice, but it is conflict nonetheless. I want to devote the next chapter of my career to resolving disputes, not perpetuating them.

Judges cannot eliminate conflict entirely, but how cases are managed matters. The process itself can either escalate tensions or help parties move forward with confidence in the outcome.

As a judge, my first priority would be the fair and efficient resolution of every matter before the court. I would actively encourage mediation and work to create meaningful opportunities for litigants to resolve disputes short of trial whenever appropriate.

My experience trying cases in state and federal courts across multiple jurisdictions has shaped my view of what makes an effective judge. As a trial lawyer, my focus has always been on presenting admissible evidence and ensuring the integrity of the process. As a judge, I would draw on that experience to ensure that all parties have a fair opportunity to present their cases. I would strive to be fair but firm, to manage proceedings efficiently, and to ensure that every litigant feels heard—without ever signaling personal views about the outcome.

My goal is simple: that every person who appears before me leaves knowing they were treated with Compassion, Equity, and Empathy, and in accordance with the law.