In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Houston attorneys Caroline Capili and Tim Dominguez join the Fast Takes podcast to share their journeys, highlighting their Filipino heritage and the firm’s diverse environment.

Featured This Episode

Our Host:
Courtney White Research Attorney, Dallas & Houston Follow on LinkedIn » Instagram: @courthousecouture
Episode Guests:
Caroline Capili Associate, Houston Follow on LinkedIn »		Tim Dominguez Associate, Houston Follow on LinkedIn »

Episode Transcription

Courtney White: Hi everyone, I am Courtney White, and this is Jackson Walker Fast Takes. Jackson Walker deeply values various cultures and cultural experiences. And Jackson Walker is extremely proud of our Asian American attorneys and allied professionals who have provided leadership and helped shape our firm into what it is today. I asked two of my colleagues to join this episode. Caroline Capili is an associate in the Houston office. And Tim Dominguez is an associate in the Houston office, Caroline and Tim, welcome to the podcast.

Caroline Capili: Thank you so much for having us.

Tim Dominguez: Thank you so much. Great to be here.

Courtney White: And, Caroline, I’d love to start with you. Will you please tell us your story of how you came to Jackson Walker?

Caroline Capili: Yes, so I can’t really tell my story without talking about my parents. Both of my parents immigrated from the Philippines where they were born and Candelaria, Quezon in the 1960s. And they both came over in the 1990s. I always knew that everything that they had ever given to me would turn into something beautiful and they had always supported me. So, when I came out and said that I wanted to become a lawyer, they were over the moon about it. I’m sure as you know, there aren’t too many AAPI attorneys in the United States and so they were really excited to be a part of that. It was a really huge deal in my family. I was the first to go to law school and I had never met an AAPI attorney. Lo and behold, I met some really great people before I even started law school and they were from Jackson Walker. My first AAPI attorney that I had met, was actually here in the Houston office during my 1L summer interview, and that was Sang Shin. Fast forward a few years later, the first Filipino American lawyer I met at Jackson Walker was Tim Dominguez, so I’m happy to be here.

Courtney White: I absolutely love that. I love how the first attorneys that you connected with who shared your similar experience, your similar cultural experience you met at Jackson Walker. That is awesome story to hear. Now, Tim, I would love to hear about your story next, and what brought you to Jackson Walker?

Tim Dominguez: Oh, yeah, similar to Caroline, I came from parents who immigrated from the Philippines. Actually, met first in the same kindergarten class, but didn’t meet later until after high school. But they came from Manila in the Philippines and settled down in Los Angeles. And I was there for 12 years before finally moving to Texas. But I was always aware of Jackson Walker’s reputation as one being a Texas firm that is true to its roots, but also to producing great work product and having a very collegial atmosphere. But also what drew me to Jackson Walker was the diverse atmosphere that the firm and the Houston office contains. I was very, very excited to find that we had a lot of AAPI attorneys in the Houston office and at the firm in general. And as well as meeting Caroline was it was great to have another Filipina attorney in the ranks.

Courtney White: I think that that is amazing. Tim, I am so glad that you were able to meet another Filipino attorney at Jackson Walker. I really think that that is an interesting part of your story. And I would love to hear about the NFALA (National Filipino American Leadership Academy) Leadership Summit that both of you worked on and actually held in the Jackson Walker Houston office.

Caroline Capili: Yeah, it was an amazing time to kind of showcase what Jackson Walker has to offer not only to Texas, but the whole entire nation. We had almost 100 attorneys from all over the nation, judges, lawyers, in-house counsel, government, nonprofit sector.

Courtney White: I didn’t realize that it was a nationwide gathering. That is really amazing.

Tim Dominguez: Yeah, it was a very, very great experience overall. It was great getting to connect with Filipino attorneys across the entire nation. And we viewed this as an opportunity to also show what Texas has to offer to Filipino American attorneys as well. Traditionally, we’ve had a good time with connecting with the Filipino attorneys on both coasts, but it was great to show what both Houston and Texas were able to offer. And of course, showing what Jackson Walker has to offer and cementing its place as committing to its own Filipino American attorneys as well.

Courtney White: Do either of you have leadership positions in the NFALA?

Caroline Capili: Yes, so I am currently a part of the inaugural Leadership Academy for NFALA. And the true goal is to support and foster community amongst very young Filipino American lawyers. And so, where that starts is from the ground up. So, one of our biggest projects this year is supporting the creation of NFALSA, which is the National Filipino American Law Students Association. And something like this did not exist when I was in law school, which wasn’t even that long ago. But going to a predominantly white institution. I wish I would have had these resources back then. But now I’m happy to be a part of the next generation that will connect our students to the greater AAPI community.

Tim Dominguez: And I am hoping to get more involved with NFALA especially after this event. I’ve been a member since starting here at Jackson Walker, but I hope to get even more involved now.

Courtney White: I love to hear that Caroline and Tim, I want to thank both of you for coming to share your stories today, during Asian American and Pacific Islander Month. I loved hearing about the NFALA Leadership Summit as well.

Caroline Capili: Thanks for having us, Courtney.

Tim Dominguez: Thanks for having us.

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The music is by Eve Searls.

The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm, its clients, or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

Meet Caroline

Meet Tim

Tim Dominguez is an attorney in the Finance & Banking practice of Jackson Walker’s Houston office. Tim represents financial institutions and borrowers in commercial lending transactions involving a wide variety of real estate as well as corporate loans. Since the beginning of his legal career, he has represented financial institutions in multiple fronts including regulatory compliance (both consumer and commercial), deposits, operations, and litigation, bringing this well-rounded banking experience to his transactional practice. In recognition of his practice, Tim has been named “Ones to Watch” in the area of Banking and Finance Law by The Best Lawyers in America.