IPBLA Raji Mendoza: More Than A Lawyer

Having assumed varied roles with multinational companies for six years after college—trying out stints in sales, marketing, human resource management, and information systems—IPBLA Raji Mendoza never thought he would end up a lawyer. More interestingly, he took the law school entrance examinations at the San Beda College of Law after facing several charges of crimes resulting from a personal fight.

IPBLA Raji’s journey is an inspiring story. He learned to fend for himself when he moved to Manila to study. He finished his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree at the De La Salle University as an athletic scholar. Passionate about a career in law, he and his partners established Mendoza, Calnea, Mangundayao & Associates in 2007. He’s been a Managing Partner with over 14 years of active legal practice. He has also been the Chief Legal Counsel for Global ComRCI since 2017.

Get to know more about IPBLA Raji as he shares a glimpse of his youth to his rough college years and early working days, and his journey from arguing with elders to courtroom battles. On a lighter note, IPBLA Raji reveals his favorite weekend activity.

Rhea Vitto Tabora (RVT): Was it your dream to become a lawyer?

Raji Mendoza (RM): At a very young age, I always argued with elders, at a time when such response was considered unthinkable within the average Filipino patriarchal family, as my cousins and I were constantly reminded. I was always the representative of our little gang of cousins, facing the elders and arguing for and on behalf of our group, I would frequently be branded a “pilosopo”, or philosopher, in the vernacular by family and friends. I thought to myself it was endearing, and this encouraged me to informally delve my interest into logic, deduction, spatial skills and the arts in general. Being inquisitive became a main characteristic in the boy Raji, as he would not stop until all queries and variants thereof remained unresolved, thus earning another moniker in Tagalog as “makulit”, or importunate.

In hindsight, I did not immediately identify myself as a future lawyer. During my high school days, my late father and other relatives would always comment that I should become a “lawyer” or at least some professional like an accountant or engineer, something every teenager from the province would be encouraged to undertake and consequently, become the pride of the family. I did not really resent this career shoving and pressure, but I wanted to rebel against the idea that my future was being dictated. Thus, before my late mother was struck with a lifelong illness, I was fortunate to have confided my predicament with her. Naturally, my mom took my side in a more bohemian approach. She told me that I could be anything I wanted to be as long as it would make me happy. My mom’s perspective was a stark contrast from the rigid upbringing of the “you should be this…” or “be like that…” outdated and egotistic motivation.

When I was 14 years of age and halfway into freshman year of high school, I pleaded with my family to allow me to stay in Manila alone and finish the remaining semester. My mother just survived death, miraculously waking from a 3-month comatose state in the intensive care unit of St. Luke’s hospital. My father was physically and financially exhausted from the ordeal and was facing the charge of taking care of mom who never recovered her speech and was left partially incapacitated, and my then baby brother of 2 years of age. My reasoning prevailed and was told to tighten my belt, fend for myself and not to expect too much support from them. We had a covenant and I started to live on my own. The semester passed and years went by as I found myself applying for an athletic scholarship in De La Salle University. I literally fought my way into the DLSU Taekwondo varsity program, allowing me to afford a subsidized but excellent college education.

RVT: What motivated you to go into law practice?

RM: College life became rough; it was nothing new to me as I grew up with friends from the streets and considered myself as such. I always justified a good fight as having to defend either the honor or dignity of friends who were bullied or abused. Unfortunately, this became more common as circumstances escalated where the fights became more frequent and violent. Unwittingly, this problem spilled over beyond college life. Even when I was already working, before deciding to go to law school, the cycle of violence was always lurking around and would pop up every so often.

Six years past college, several jobs with multinational companies trying out stints with sales, marketing, human resource management, and information systems, I was not happy. Always tempting the fates, I found myself cursed with several charges of crimes resulting from a personal fight that ended extremely in my favor. My adversary was a grand nephew of a senator and found myself being hunted down by law enforcers and his kin who sought vengeance. It was one of the darkest points in my life. I knew what was wrong and I wanted to make things right by getting out of that cycle.

With the help of friends and family, I took on the services of one of the shrewdest criminal law practitioners Manila had to offer. He was also our lawyer in our college skirmishes with the law. My lawyer calmingly gave me his card and told me to look for a way to reach out to the family of the aggrieved person and arrange for a sit down with the decision maker. I was reluctant because agents from the National Bureau of Investigation had recently swooped down on our ancestral house in Quezon City, my friend’s house in Pampanga and our farmhouse in Mindanao looking for me. My lawyer advised me not to entertain these agents. I was dumbfounded. He said, “make sure you are always in a public place and once accosted, give them my calling card.” I was emboldened and reassured by this gesture. I wanted to know more, understand why I was charged with this and that crime. Why couldn’t I be arrested and could refuse an invitation by law enforcers.

Subsequently, like divine intervention, a good friend asked me to try a fresh perspective and join him in taking the law school entrance examinations at the San Beda College of Law, now a University. Without hesitation, we took the test first chance we could and became batchmates. This was my life changing decision; I felt elated at this new prospect.

I was not in the clear yet as there were pending cases before the city Prosecutor of Pasig. I was able to manage a sit down, just like how the mafia does it in the movies, with the family of my accuser with his father representing them, huge in stature and a low but commanding voice before me. I sincerely apologized and sought forgiveness. I asked what I could do to settle the matter and he told me I should pay for the actual damages of the vehicle because it was his car. He only gave me 24 hours. I reverted, “What about your son? His hospital bills and other expenses incurred due to the incident, or damages of any sort.” He replied that he will never profit from the misfortune of his son and that we were old enough to know, without saying who was right or who was wrong, why this had happened. With much respect and admiration, I thanked the man. He said he was informed that I recently enrolled in law school, so part of the condition for absolute forgiveness was that I become a lawyer. I would never forget this condition and made it part of my arsenal of perseverance.

RVT: What is your favorite part of practicing law?

RM: The opportunity to cross boundary lines and offer a meaningful settlement to the controversy. It is common experience that there is no absolute justice in this world. What is available and what we have command of is the understanding to approximate justice. When parties come to terms with their own conscience, they are sincerely coming across and desire to put an end to the issues and avail of the chance to move forward with their lives. In my experience, everyone sleeps better and can look forward to better years.

RVT: Do you enjoy arguing in court?

RM: Definitely. I have enjoyed arguing with elders when I was a child, enjoyed it through my academic and personal life, and also enjoying it on print, electronic format or other modes of communication. In collegiate bodies before a panel of justices, it is very fulfilling.

RVT: What do you wish you had known about practicing law before you started?

RM: On one end, had I known that it would be a fulfilling journey and my true calling, I would have started earlier. I have no regrets though, because on the other end, however, by working for several years before law school, I gained enough experience in business operations, client relations and everything in between the practice and business to move forward and establish our firm earlier than that of our contemporaries.

RVT: What kind of professional and personal skills does it take to succeed in practicing law?

RM: One must be a good communicator. The better storyteller is the one that gets the message through. He must be logical and analytical in his manner of thinking. Hard working and willing to work long hours with enough patience with his clients, judges and court personnel.

RVT: What do you see as the major issues/trends in the field of law?

RM: An issue on the horizon is the unbridled use of social media by lawyers who willingly or unwittingly promote or market themselves or their law practice. Ethical issues may be raised on such use of social media. Our Supreme Court has always taken a very conservative stand in reminding lawyers that the law profession is an honorable profession and not a business. Several jurists, lawyers and firms have had marketing innovations in the past declared by the High Tribunal as unethical and that these lawyers are unworthy of being members of the bench or the bar. The technological advances in social media have disrupted the ethical boundaries in the practice of law.

The predominant lawyering trend these days would be working remotely. The concept of physically being present at brick and mortar law firms is being challenged by more lawyers comfortably adapting to technology and business tools for them to efficiently work remotely or even on the go. With the current health issues, clients have accepted these trends as the normal way of doing things. Because of technology, we now also see the demand for paperless workflow. Actual work and the review thereof are kept in servers or on the cloud and reduced the need to use paper drastically. With more tech savvy lawyers, dependence on cyber security will also become a common concern in the legal profession.

RVT: What inspired you to join the Rotary Club of Manila? How did the experience change your outlook in life?

RM: My first influence was my late father. He was a Rotarian and active in our province for several years. My second influence was my sponsor, IPP Jack Rodriguez. We had the privilege of joining Jack in facing some legal obstacles in business a couple of years back. As the legal adversity subsided and came under control, our friendship remained and grew over the years. When I was introduced to RC Manila, I met people who are highly regarded in their fields of endeavor, public servants, captains of industry, leaders, movers, influencers, technocrats and even fraternity brothers. Rotary keeps us grounded with what’s going on outside our professional or business lives. It is a venue for people from different disciplines and expertise to band together and serve our communities, our country and the rest of the world through meaningful projects.

RVT: How do you keep a healthy work/life balance?

RM: Since I am no longer in the competitive sphere, I have several hobbies and activities to choose from. They are usually outdoor activities that entail travelling outside the metro where we get a lot of sun, green, fresh air, sand, sea or fresh water.

RVT: What is your favorite weekend activity?

RM: I enjoy life with my family. Even if I have several hobbies which the family members cannot participate in, I make it a point to have family activities close by so I could join them when I’m done with my “me time.”

RVT: What is the most important thing that people should know about you?

RM: My word is my bond.