Downey attorneys to participate in panel discussion Wednesday night

Attorney Ricardo Perez, Councilman Fernando Vasquez, and attorney Matias Flores. Perez, Flores and attorney Miguel Duarte will participate in a panel discussion on legal careers tonight at Rio Hondo College. 

WHITTIER -- Mexican American Bar Association President Elect Maria Ramirez will lead a panel of four attorneys discussing legal careers for a Rio Hondo College Pathway to Law School Panel at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28.

The panel is one in a series held by the program, launched at Rio Hondo College and 23 other community college campuses in fall 2014 to provide a continuum of support for students who aim to attend one of six top California law schools.

Rio Hondo College is the only community college in the San Gabriel Valley to offer the unique program.

Ramirez is a head deputy district attorney for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, where she has worked for 24 years. She graduated from Loyola Marymount University and received her Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School in 1990.

“We are honored to welcome to Rio Hondo College an attorney known for her passionate pursuit of the law on behalf of all of Los Angeles County, as well as a remarkable leader among her peers,” said Rio Hondo College Superintendent/President Teresa Dreyfuss. “The guidance she and her fellow panelists will provide our students is invaluable.”

Joining Flores on the panel will be immigration attorney Michael M. Felix, a Cal State Fullerton graduate who earned his J.D. at the New England School of Law in Boston; family law attorney Matias Flores, a graduate of UC Santa Barbara who has his degree from Loyola Law School; and criminal defense attorney Miguel Duarte, who graduated from UCLA, where he also earned his law degree.

“Our Pathway to Law School program is part of an array of services and academic options that sets Rio Hondo College apart,” said Board of Trustees President Madeline Shapiro. “We offer our students an incredible depth and breadth of programs and opportunities.”

The panel discussion will be moderated by attorney Ricardo Perez and is expected to run one hour in the Administration Building Board Room at Rio Hondo College, 3600 Workman Mill Road in Whittier.