impacting air, water, or soil, Gonzales was the one providing environmental due diligence expertise, or doing legal research pertaining to underground storage tanks or hazardous waste issues related to these facilities. “I started to like it a lot. For me, there was a closer nexus between public policy and the environmental rules and laws I was interpreting, as compared to corporate law and securities regulations.” Over time, despite his initial indifference, Gonzales gained expertise. Like his path to in-house environ-
mental law, Gonzales’ entry into the profession was not too mapped out but based in practicality. A lot of attorneys can remember wanting to be lawyers at surprisingly tender ages. Some made the decision in middle school while others were as young as five or six. Not Vincent Gonzales. He recalls entertain- ing “all the usual boyhood ambitions—I wanted to be a firefighter, and then an astronaut until poor eyesight killed that plan. But a career in law was never among my early goals.” As a young adult, Gonzales seri-
ously aspired to an academic’s life. After leaving his native Philippines to attend Haverford College, where he graduated with a B.A. in philosophy, Gonzales earned a master’s in philoso- phy from the University of California, San Diego. He planned to pursue a Ph.D. “But during graduate school I noticed that my untenured philosophy professor was going to law school at night,” says Gonzales, explaining why her actions made him reconsider his career path. “I can remember not being thrilled about my job pros- pects as a philosophy professor at the time, so I went the way of law school [University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law] where I really enjoyed the things that initially attracted me to philosophy: reading, writing, thinking, and arguing.” At SoCalGas, Gonzales services
many clients. Despite his significant work responsibility, he remains char- acteristically easy-going. “But when Vince says something with conviction,
MCCA.COM
it’s time to listen,” says a colleague. “He’s never one to overact, so when he concerned about an issue you take it seriously.” Over the years, Gonzales has picked
up on some popular misconceptions about environmental lawyers. “People seem to think I should be a ponytailed, jeans-wearing practitioner representing people against corporations and pro- tecting endangered species. Of course, those kinds of attorneys exist, but most of us who do environmental law wear suits and work in larger firms and corporate law departments, helping our clients to comply with a myriad of laws and regulations.” Another fallacy, adds Gonzales, is
the notion of corporations as mono- lithic enterprises that do everything they can to avoid complying with the law. “It’s just not true. SoCalGas has been around for over a century. It’s a heavily regulated public utility and is very used to government oversight. If we didn’t comply, we’d be gone.” After two years at
O’Melveny, Gonzales asked firm leadership if they were planning to develop an
environmental law
do,” he quips. “But seriously, if you are an in-house lawyer and you want a CLE class that addresses the issues important to you, then you’ve got to get your hands dirty, organize it, and get the speakers that you want to talk about it.” Robin Grossfield, ACC’s
Washington, D.C.-based vice president & chief global membership officer, lauds Gonzales. “Vince has been instrumen- tal in helping to build our Southern California chapter into one of our big- gest and best. He can always be counted on to provide valuable insight on the professional needs of in-house counsel. We’re very fortunate to have him.” Gonzales is also on the board of
the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, and a former president of the Philippine American Bar Association in Los Angeles. “One of the reasons I am happy working for SoCalGas is its deep commitment to diversity,” he says. “Indeed, its CEO is an Asian- American woman: Anne Shen Smith.” Gonzales likens the gas company’s
17
department. When they demurred, he began look- ing at in-house opportuni- ties and soon after joined the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), a Los Angeles-based American oil company, as an environ- mental attorney. In 2000, he left ARCO for Sempra
People seem to think I should be a ponytailed, jeans- wearing practitioner.
Energy. It was an easy move. His new office was located just one block away in LA, and the new job suited his skill set. In 2010, Sempra’s legal depart- ment reorganized. Attorneys were directly assigned to Sempra’s subsid- iaries. Gonzales went to SoCalGas. Currently, Gonzales serves on the
board of several legal associations including the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC)—the bar association for in-house counsel. “I don’t mind being a leader. I enjoy telling people what to
relationship to the Southern California community and government to a marriage. He says, “As a utility, we’re in California for good. We won’t be packing up and getting a ‘divorce’ anytime soon, so it’s imperative that we get along with everyone else— communities, government agencies, and other groups.” D&B
Patrick Folliard is a freelance writer based in Silver Spring, Md.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 DIVERSITY & THE BAR®
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