Santa Clara University

Honoring Lawyers Who Lead

THE 2 0 0 7 S P R I N G AWA R D S B A N QU E T

By Susan Vogel

It was one of those April evenings when you want to walk barefoot in the grass and gaze up at the stars and you hate to go inside. But this night, inside was just as dazzling. The Leavey Center, glowing in candlelight, was abuzz with the happy sounds of reunion and celebration. The stars of the evening were three alumni who have made remark able contributions to the legal profession, to the community, and to humanity.

T E D B I AG I N I

Ted Biagini B.S. ’62, J.D. ’64, says he comes from a privileged background. His father had a third grade education and worked in a grocery store in San Jose. The family lived in a tiny house and spoke no English at home. Yet his parents felt that by coming to the U.S., they had "hit the jackpot." "Having parents who really care about you and are willing to sacrifice for your future is better than money," Biagini says.

Biagini and his wife, Nancy, are undoubtedly two of Silicon Valley’s most generous community supporters. Much of what they do is driven by Biagini’s family background and a Jesuit-inspired desire to give back to the community and to Santa Clara University. A love of Italy is also a constant theme.

Iacopo Biagini emerged from fighting in World War I without much hope of a future. Son of a sharecropper near Lucca, Italy, there were 10 boys in the family and not enough land to support everyone. Like many young men of the time, he booked passage to the U.S. Steerage class on an ocean liner would have been luxury compared with his crossing the Atlantic on a rusty fishing boat.

The penniless 31-year-old who spoke only Italian made his way to California.

Ted Biagini B.S. ’62, J.D. ’64, and his wife, Nancy

Biagini’s mother, Giuseppina Stefani, arrived in the U.S. at age 16. Separated from her female chaperone at Ellis Island, she traveled alone by train from New York to San Francisco via New Orleans, not knowing a word of English and not eat ing during the first half of the trip.

Destiny brought the two together. Iacopo became ill and went to the lumber town of McCloud, Calif. to recover. When a beautiful young girl appeared in the rather rough town, many vied for her attention. One Italian immigrant got it. Coincidentally, the two had lived only two miles apart in the Tuscan countryside, and her father had been a passenger on the same rickety fishing boat that brought Iacopo to the U.S.

Biagini was born in McCloud, where his father worked in a lumber mill. When he was nine, the family moved to San Jose, where he attended public schools. At age 14, he began attending Bellarmine College Prep, which at the time was a boarding school. He applied only to nearby Santa Clara University, in part he says, because "I wasn’t about to trade my mother’s Tuscan cooking for cafeteria food."

With the goal of become a business consultant, Biagini studied business and accounting and then enrolled in SCU’s "3/3" program, allowing him to obtain his undergraduate and law degrees in six years. He worked as an accountant dur ing law school, made law review, and upon graduation was presented the Chargin Award, honoring the student with the highest grade point average.

Even with these credentials, he didn’t bother applying to the "white shoe" firms that had no Italian, Greek, or other ethnic names on their letterheads. Instead, he worked for about a year as an accountant before entering a tax practice with diLeonardo, Blake, Kelly, Aguilar and Leal in Sunnyvale, where he became a partner. Later, he became a partner at Berliner, Cohen and Biagini in San Jose. He has also been of counsel to Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro and Hopkins & Carley, both in San Jose.

Biagini’s career has been a patchwork of tax law, real estate development, and insurance. "I love to create and hate to operate," he says, blaming these traits on a short attention span. In 1979, he and law school classmate Phil DiNapoli started their first bank, Plaza Bank of Commerce. They founded another one this year—Focus Business Bank, which raised so much in capital—$27.5 million—it exceeded its cap ital limits and had to return $13 million to investors. And he almost never is at a loss for an educational endeavor. In 2004 he enrolled in an LL.M. program, again at Santa Clara Law, in comparative and international law. His purpose: to study at Oxford, where he had always wanted to "read law." In 1998, he enrolled in a master’s program at Stanford, where he spent five years taking evening seminars in the liberal arts. For his Master of Liberal Arts thesis, he chose Machiavelli and did research in Italy, including extensive reading in Italian.

Biagini has traveled to Italy more than 30 times and has become a goodwill ambassador. He co-founded the Santa Clara County Province of Florence, Italy, Sister County Commission and was the 1995 recipient of its Medici Medal of the Year, awarded to "prominent citizens who typify the intellectual, philanthropic, and cultural diversity exemplified during the Renaissance period."

Biagini and his wife, Nancy, have been generous community supporters, involved in everything from the Montalvo Arts Society to the San Jose Sports Authority. Nancy and two of her daughters are credited with revitalizing the Willow Glen downtown shopping area by opening two successful, stylish boutiques.

At the top of their community service list is education, about which they know a thing or two, having, between them, nine children and now 13 grandchildren, none of whom resides farther away than Boise. ("Holidays are a wild and wonderful affair," says Biagini.) Because of his own background, Biagini says he feels a special affinity toward "decent working class people who come to this country" and sacrifice in order to provide their children with better lives. He is on the board of Downtown College Prep, a charter school that prepares underachieving high school students to be successful at four-year colleges and universities. In addition, he has served on SCU’s Board of Regents and the National Alumni Board, has been a member of the Law School’s Board of Visitors, and has served on the Dean’s Leadership Council and the Center for Global Law and Policy Advisory Board.

Biagini’s latest creation hearkens back to his Italian roots. In 1987, he and Nancy purchased a run-down apple orchard in Aptos, Calif. "There was too much peasant farmer in me to let it go unplanted," he says, so it is now a vineyard. Clos La Chance Winery produces a highly regarded pinot noir from the Biagini Vineyard grapes.

Today, Biagini’s model for life continues to be his father. Biagini recalls him in his later years, puttering around some rental property he owned "as if it were a castle." "He had contentment, meaning really enjoying what you have in life, and not worrying about what you could have or might have tomorrow," says Biagini. "I get a big smile on my face when I think of him."

WILLIAM T. LORIS

Bill Loris B.S. ’68, J.D. ’72, says he learned tenacity from his dad, Tom Loris, a Greek-American who fought prejudice in the 1940s to become a lawyer in Sacramento. Bill recognized early on that he could build on his father’s breakthrough, but he would take a very different course—one which would take him around the world.

Loris first felt the lure of international work in 1966, when he left SCU to spend his junior year in Rome. There he met two people who would change his life: fellow student Lynne Jackson, who would become his wife, and her father, Roy, an engineer and marine biologist from Alaska who was working as deputy director of the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) which works to eliminate poverty and hunger. Roy Jackson became the most influential person in Loris’s professional life. Loris attended a party at his home, attended by people from Africa, China, Russia, and Malaysia. "It was something I’d never experienced before," says Loris. "Afterwards, Roy told me about the FAO and I came to the realization of how fortunate I was simply by having been born in the U.S. during the window of freedom between two wars. Even as a 20-year-old student, I was far better off than most people in the world. I thought if I worked just to make myself richer, what would I actually be working for? What would be my goal?" He began questioning the longstanding family understanding that he would follow his father into law practice.

After graduating with a degree in history in 1968, Loris joined the Peace Corps and studied Arabic in preparation for going to Libya. But when his local draft board did not recognize the Peace Corps as alternative to the then obligatory military service, he left the Peace Corps and joined the California National Guard. His international plans were put on hold.

The banquet drew friends and alumni, including (l to r) Parker Hall, Bob Carlton B.A. ‘68, Bill Loris B.S. ‘68, J.D. ‘72, Paul Kelly, Thomas Bianchi, and Walter Coppenrath B.A. ‘68.

Meanwhile, Roy Jackson encouraged Loris to go to law school, saying "You need to bring something to the table and not just good will. People [in developing countries] need skills and resources." Loris reactivated his plans to study law at Santa Clara Law where he took courses from George Alexander and from Graham Douthwaite, a criminal law professor from apartheid-era South Africa. Loris credits both of them with deepening his commitment to human rights and international law.

In 1970, Loris and Lynne married and in 1972 he assisted his father for a short time in his law practice. He then attended the Free University of Brussels where he obtained a master’s degree in international and comparative law. Next, he entered the U.S. foreign service as a legal officer for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), established to "extend assistance to countries recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms." He was sent to Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where he worked out the legal arrangements for U.S. foreign aid to 25 countries in West and Central Africa. In 1977 the Loris’ son David was born. In 1978, during the Carter administration, the family moved to Egypt where Loris worked for the next five years making legal arrangements for the large assistance program to Egypt that arose out of the Camp David Accords.

Through his work in Africa, Loris saw that many projects "stumbled" when the developing country was required to negotiate even simple contracts. They might need to build a water tower or a hospital, but if the country didn’t have the ability to secure the performance through a contract, they had no control over the outcome. Developing countries were often taken advantage of by unscrupulous or better-prepared contractors.

In response, Loris and colleagues Michael Hager and Gilles Blanchi founded the organization now known as the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) to help lawyers in developing countries better negotiate international deals with investors, contractors and even the international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. It was first established in 1983 as a Dutch non-profit foundation, but later was reestablished through an international convention. The United States, China, Egypt, Italy and a number of developing countries are signatories to the convention which Loris wants to include 50 countries over the next three years. It is funded by voluntary contributions from both the public and private sectors. IDLO may be the only example of an international organization having been created on the basis of an individual initiative. Loris first served as IDLO’s legal advisor and as director of its assistance programs throughout the developing countries.

Loris and his colleagues soon found that something even more fundamental was lacking in some countries, especially those suffering from violent conflict: the rule of law.

"We had to argue like hell that there was a connection between the rule of law and development—that you have to have a good legal system in order to have economic development," he says. It was not until the fall of the Berlin Wall in the 1990s that people saw that a market economy was not possible in a country that did not have a legal system. Loris then shifted to working on the legal aspects of Central and Eastern Europe’s transition. In 2000, he became IDLO’s director general.

Today, IDLO’s mission is to help strengthen countries’ rule of law and governance so that individual rights can be protected, economic activity can reduce poverty, social justice can be achieved, and ultimately, so people can live in peace.

It does so by providing training to lawyers, judges, and government officials in four areas: judicial reform; governance; investment, business, commercial, and finance law; and public international trade and intellectual property.

Fundamental to IDLO’s work is that it is nonpolitical and does not favor any one legal system, says Loris. "Rule of law cannot be imposed on you. It is value-based and the society comes to it."

Some of Loris’s most satisfying moments come when he sees these ideals blossom into legal systems whose participants are committed to protecting human rights. Recently, in Afghanistan, he worked with 30 judges who were not quite sold on Afghanistan’s new criminal procedure code. Many of them could not understand the value of "wasting time" on various procedural processes when, in their minds, the reputation of the defendant in the village was pretty indicative of guilt. After the Muslim teacher of the group made an analogy between due process procedures and the various familiar rituals—the washing of the feet, the positioning of the rug before praying—that they understood.

The beauty of the rule of law, says Loris, is that once it is well established, it almost disappears. "In a successful rich country, there are thousands of contracts at work, expectations of people being met, and fairness everywhere."

The IDLO today is a leader in the post-conflict reconstruction of Kosovo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, East Timor, and Afghanistan. It is helping Indonesia and Sri Lanka structure legal assistance to victims of the 2005 tsunami. In Africa it is helping ensure inheritance rights for women and children affected by the AIDS epidemic.

It was Loris’s father’s drive that influenced him to keep focused on his own dream, but it was his mother’s practicality that took IDLO to the next level. Though suffering her last illness, she was aware enough to suggest to him that he ought to do something with the 17,000 "alumni" of IDLO programs in 175 countries. He took her suggestion back to the board. Now, these alumni are organized and assist locally in the types of training IDLO engages in internationally. Recently, a number of them came together (via videoconferencing) from around the world to discuss ways of giving land to families in the Punjab province of Pakistan who are living in "degrading poverty," says Loris.

Not surprisingly, IDLO has come onto the radar of the largest philanthropic organization in the world—the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. William Gates, Sr., a lawyer, now sits on IDLO’s international advisory council and the Foundation has committed $2 million to IDLO’s endowment and programs. The Omidyar Network has recently provided $1.5 million in funding to help IDLO expand its efforts to develop an improved legal framework for microfinance lending to the poorest of the poor.

On top of the demands of his position, Loris has time for other interests. He and Lynne, who teaches English at a university in Rome, relax at their getaway in Greece, where Loris reads and studies languages (he’s fluent in seven). Their son, David, also lives in Rome. With degrees in economics and finance, he has co-founded a nonprofit organization to support young professionals in their efforts to find careers in development (www.waterberry.org.). While the organization echoes his father’s preoccupations, David is now pursuing a career as a musician.

After twenty-four years with IDLO, Loris displays a joy for his work and a sense of wonder at the adventures that have come to him in life. "I love my work and am 100 percent dedicated to it," he says. "I have had so much fun in the process—this is just an amazing life."

RAYMOND DAVILLA

The Owens Lawyer of the Year award is given to a distinguished member of the law school community who is devoted to the highest ideals of the profession and has made significant contributions to the University, the community, and the law. Established in 1966, the award is named for Edwin J. Owens, a longtime dean of the law school who was later a superior court judge.

This year’s recipient, Raymond J. Davilla Jr. B.S. ’69, J.D. ’72, is also a superior court judge. He has proven himself to be not only a hardworking, effective member of the judiciary, but a major force in reshaping the court system to better and more efficiently meet the needs of families. In the community, he is a tireless supporter of education and programs to give young people the opportunities to achieve their potential.

Davilla’s ties to the Bay Area go back more than a century. His maternal grandmother was in her baby carriage in San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake. His paternal grandfather, Frank, whose family immigrated from Portugal, was the owner of the hottest dance hall in San Jose in the 1940s – the Rainbow Ballroom, on the site of what is now the San Jose Fairmont. Saturday nights, young Ray was allowed to sit in the ticket booth, listening to the mesmerizing sounds of Pérez Prado, the "King of Mambo," and even Desi Arnaz.

The 2007 Owens Lawyer of the Year is superior court judge Raymond J. Davilla Jr. B.S. ’69, J.D. ’72, who attended the banquet with his wife, Jane.

By age 10, Ray had surpassed the educational level of his grandparents. He saw his grandfather read the newspaper by tracing his finger over the words, the way he had taught himself to read after leaving school at age seven to work in the fields in the San Joaquin Valley. Young Ray saw that his grandfather felt that the law was working against him because he didn’t understand it. He learned the value of education.

Davilla attended St. Christopher’s School and was its first graduate. By his second year at Bellarmine College Preparatory he knew he wanted to attend law school in order to help people. He studied political science at Santa Clara, earning his B.S. in 1969, but he didn’t have top grades and was afraid he would not get into law school. Santa Clara, however, saw his potential and gave him an opportunity to prove himself.

Davilla has expressed his gratitude for the education he received and for the faith that SCU placed in him through his extensive service to the University and to Catholic education in general.. "I appreciate the education I received," he says, "but what I really appreciate about Santa Clara is not only the basic education but also the ethical education I received." Davilla has served on the school board of St. Christopher’s Parish, the Board of Trustees of Presentation High School and on SCU’s Board of Regents, Alumni Association, and Board of Fellows. He is on the Santa Clara Law Board of Visitors and its Alumni Association board.

Davilla’s professional career began in 1972, when, upon law school graduation, he joined the Sunnyvale firm of di-Leonardo, Blake, Kelly, Aguilar & Leal. In 1981 he became a certified family law specialist. He was with the firm, which became Kelly, Leal, Davilla & Sears in 1984, for 23 years. During this time he served in many capacities for the bar associations of Sunnyvale and Santa Clara County, including chairing the Professionalism Committee.

Davilla was appointed to the Santa Clara County Superior Court in 1995. Just as he had worked hard to improve the legal profession as an attorney, he dedicated himself to improving the judicial system, especially for families, through his involvement in innovative judicial programs and his service on more than 10 judicial committees. His passion, he says, "is making the system work better for families."

In 1997, Davilla became supervising judge for the Santa Clara County Family Court and was involved in a pilot program to make the family court system more understandable for pro per litigants. At the time, such litigants made up nearly 70 percent of all parties in family court.

In 2001, as supervising judge of Santa Clara County Juvenile Delinquency Court, Davilla co-founded the nation’s first juvenile mental health court. Its goal is to identify juveniles in the court system who have mental health issues and to get them help. "A high percentage of kids coming into juvenile hall had mental health issues," he says. "We determined that the goal was not to place kids in group homes but to give them the services needed for them to be home, functioning with their families." This innovative idea received national attention and has spread. There are now 24 such courts across the country.

Davilla has spent the last year working out the logistics of a Unified Family Court, with one judge presiding over different cases involving the same family. This enables a judge to take into consideration all matters affecting a family, including, for example, domestic violence, custody, divorce, and guardianship. While Santa Clara County’s Unified Family Court is not the first such court in the country, Davilla is determined to make it the best.

Beyond the courthouse, Davilla has served as board president of the Volunteer Center of Silicon Valley and currently serves on the City of San Jose’s Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force and on the advisory board of Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall.

Through his endless energy, determination and creativity, Davilla has improved the legal profession, the judiciary, and the community. His most meaningful rewards come, he says, when former juvenile offenders who have appeared before him in court pay him a visit in his chambers to tell him they have graduated from high school. The night Davilla was presented with the Owens Award, he received another honor: two young men who had appeared before his court as juveniles came to the dinner to thank him for the opportunities he had given them and to shake his hand. One is now a graduate of SCU and the other attends San Jose State University.

Davilla is still an active member of St. Christopher’s Parish. He and his wife, Jane, live in San Jose. They have four children, all of whom live in California, and two of whom are SCU graduates.