Watching juries on TV, Robert thought it would be challenging to convince 12 diverse people to agree on a criminal case. As a part of his law studies he had the privilege to clerk for Judge Hollis Best. The Fresno District Attorney was not hiring when Robert graduated however he finally secured a full-time position in August of 1995. Robert has worked through the gamut of specialty team assignments at the D.A.’s Office. He became Chief Deputy D.A. for the Homicide team in July of 2008, took a break from the administrative side of the practice for a while, then returned to head up the same team in January of 2018. He presently supervises a team of seven attorneys handling murder cases. As to law school, Robert recalls many memorable times, the nature of which cannot be put in print. One specific routine was where he would write comments on the class sign in/roll sheets next to the typed names of class students. Class highpoints included watching Justice Ardaiz giggle to himself while reviewing the sheet commentaries.
Alumni Success
Explore the diversity of our Alumni careers, to learn what a Juris Doctor degree can provide. One Degree. A World of Option.
Robert Romanacce - Class of 1994 - Fresno County Chief Deputy District Attorney, Homicide Division
Extensive and Diverse Alumni Network
Our success can be seen in the extraordinary achievements of our graduates in bar passage rates and dynamic careers. San Joaquin College of Law graduates serve as District Attorneys, Superior Court judges, court commissioners, administrative law judges, general counsel of large corporations, in-house counsel to agricultural enterprises, and much more. Alumni have benefitted from launching their careers in a region where the population is growing and the prospect of getting into a prominent position quickly is proven higher. If a graduate desires to leave the Valley, he or she is in a strategic position to make a lateral move to a city of their choice or obtain a leadership position nationally or internationally.
More than 30% of the practicing lawyers in the Fresno-Clovis area are SJCL graduates. Of the women lawyers in the area, nearly 44% are SJCL graduates. More than 37% of the minority lawyers are graduates.
Careers of SJCL Alumni in the Area Include
- Administrative Law Judge
- Baker, Manock & Jensen
- Bankruptcy Judge, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
- California State Assistant Attorney General
- Centex Homes In-House Counsel
- Children’s Hospital of Central California Counsel
- City Attorney
- County Counsel
- District Attorney
- Dowling Aaron
- Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters
- McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth
- Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
- Member, Fresno County Board of Supervisors
- Pappas Telecasting, Special Counsel & Vice President
- Private Practitioners in every area of practice
- Public Defender
- Saint Agnes Medical Center Counsel
- Superior Court Commissioner
- Superior Court Judge
- Research Attorney, Fifth District Court of Appeal
- Research Attorney, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
- Trinity Fruit In-House Counsel
Careers of SJCL Alumni Outside the Area Include
- California Environmental Protection Agency, Deputy Director
- California Secretary of Health & Human Services
- California State Water Resources Control Board, Member & Chair
- Chevron Human Resource Manager, Asia south Business Unit, Thailand
- Chief of Staff for California State Assemblyman
- Contra Costa County Court Commissioner
- Delta Dental, In-House Counsel, San Francisco
- Glenn County Superior Court Judge
- Honeywell Corporation, Phoenix, Arizona
- Monterey County Superior Court Judge
- Nevada Care Counsel & CEO
- Point Loma Nazarene University, Fermanian Business Center Director
- San Francisco Assistant City Attorney
- San Luis Obispo County Court Commissioner
- Santa Barbara County Counsel
- TelePacific Communications Corp, Assistant General Counsel, Nevada
- U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Washington, D.C.
- Wells Fargo Bank, Trust Counsel, North Carolina