Honorees

Peter Quon, Jr.

1951-2020

Peter Quon, Jr. blazed an exceptional trail through the San Diego legal community for his distinguished career at the California Attorney General’s Office and for his pioneering leadership in the Pan Asian Lawyers and other diversity bar associations. Peter Quon was devoted to advancing diversity and inclusion in the legal profession by building specialty legal associations and fostering collaboration and friendship between bar associations. He was particularly devoted to the advancement of law students and new attorneys through mentorship. Everyone who met Peter benefitted greatly from his wisdom and joy of life.

Born in Berkeley, California in 1951, Peter attended a racially segregated public elementary school while living in a racially diverse Berkeley neighborhood. Growing up in Berkeley, Peter’s interest in empowering people of color was sparked and he began to see how the law could bring opportunity to underserved people.

After graduating from high school in 1969, Peter attended the University of California, Davis, where he graduated with a degree in Asian History. It was in college that Peter began building communities by co-founding organizations like U.C. Davis’ Asian American Student Association. In 1974, Peter moved to San Diego and attended Western State University College of Law where he earned his law degree in 1977 and was later inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame.

Also in 1977, Peter collaborated with other legal professionals to establish the Pan Asian Lawyers of San Diego where he served as a two-time president. In later years, he also played a vital role in creating other diversity bar associations like the Japanese American, Korean American, and South Asian Bar Associations of San Diego. And he was co-founder of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of California. Peter also served for many years on the board of the Union of Pan Asian Communities (UPAC) and was a longtime volunteer with the San Diego Chinese Center and the House of China.

At the start of his career, Peter partnered with other counsel on a San Diego County Criminal Defense Contract and was also part of the leadership for the then newly formed Mediation Center. Thereafter, he joined the California Attorney General’s Office where he enjoyed 37-years of public service as a prosecutor in the Appeals, Writs, and Trials Section of the Criminal Law Division and as a litigator in the former Employment, Regulation, and Administration Section of the Civil Division at the San Diego Attorney General’s Office. Following his retirement from the Attorney General’s Office in 2017, he became a Deputy District Attorney in the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office until 2020 where he worked on significant writs and appeals. Throughout his career, Peter was a beloved supervisor, cherished colleague, and a thoughtful mentor.

Peter was the supervising or primary attorney in over 1,300 state appellate cases, the primary attorney in over 40 felony jury trials, and argued before the California Supreme Court seven times. He has nearly 40 published state and federal appellate opinions to his name. His work and commitment to justice was recognized when he was selected by the California Attorney General as “State Prosecutor of the Year” in 1994 and was later awarded the William E. James Award by the California District Attorneys Association for outstanding service as a Deputy Attorney General.

In recognition of Peter’s significant contributions to diversity and dedication to community service, he was awarded the 2003 Pan Asian Lawyers of San Diego President’s Award, the 2009 National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Trail Blazer Award, the 2009 San Diego County Bar Association’s Service to the Legal Profession Award, the 2009 South Asian Bar Association of San Diego’s Community Leadership Award, the 2009 California Western School of Law’s Mentor Award, the 2010 House of China’s Champion Award, the 2012 Filipino American Lawyers of San Diego President’s Award, the 2013 Korean American Bar Association’s Magunghwa Award, and the 2014 South Asian Bar Association of San Diego’s Annual Award. In 2017, he was recognized by the National Asian Pacific Islander Prosecutors Association (NAPIPA) with its Lifetime Achievement Award, and later by the San Diego County Bar Association as the Outstanding Attorney of 2019.

Of all his professional accomplishments, Peter was most proud of his work in promoting, mentoring, and connecting with law students and young attorneys. Countless students and attorneys can attest to Peter’s profound impact on their lives and careers. A conversation with Peter would always center on how he could be of help, and how those he mentored could also be of future service to others. It was in this way that Peter brought others along on his journey to create enhanced access to justice through diversity in the legal community.

While Peter is a legend within the San Diego community, his greatest roles were that of husband, father, and grandfather. Peter was a beloved husband to his wife, Denise, a devoted father to his two sons, Peter and Jeffrey, and a doting grandfather to his three grandchildren.

The light from Peter’s rich legacy will shine through the countless individuals he inspired to continue his dream of mentorship, community empowerment, and legal excellence.

Watch the 2023 Ceremony Honoring Peter Quon, Jr.

<– Back to Honorees