Gonzalo C. Martinez, Jr.

SACRAMENTO & SAN FRANCISCO - Gonzalo C. Martinez, Jr. is Gov. Gavin Newsom's deputy judicial appointments secretary, a former deputy solicitor general and a former partner at Squire Patton Boggs. He took up the appointments post in 2019; he also works in the governor's legal affairs division.

Among the efforts to diversify the state judiciary is a judicial mentorship program, announced in July 2021. "We encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply," Martinez said. "Those who do are paired with a judicial mentor to help demystify the process and broaden the applicant pool."

That and other efforts have shown results. By the end of 2021, female judicial officers had increased by 11 percentage points since 2006 to constitute 38.6 of judicial officers at all court levels. The percentage of Asian, Black and Hispanic judicial officers has nearly doubled over the same period, according to judicial branch statistics.

As a legal affairs attorney, Martinez is involved in high-level public policy cases, executive orders, appeals and large settlements.

Martinez clerked for U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney of San Francisco and for U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii of Fresno (both are now senior judges). "It was an opportunity to work in two vastly different parts of California," he said. "I learned how hard judges work to get it right."

He worked at Morrison & Foerster LLP as a securities litigation associate and at Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP as a litigation associate. At Squire Patton Boggs, where he spent a decade, he was on the plaintiff team in Plata v. Brown, 4:01-cv-01351 (N.D. Cal., filed April 5, 2001), the long-running prison litigation over the treatment of inmates with mental illness.

"This is one of the best jobs I've ever had," Martinez said. "It's been humbling to meet dedicated people eager to work with our court system."