Nick DeFiesta

Deputy County Counsel

Nick DeFiesta joined the Office of the County Counsel in 2022 and is a member of the Environment and Land Use and Finance and Government Operations teams.  His practice focuses on legal advice to County departments on projects related to the environment, elections, budgetary matters, and general government functions.  Nick previously served as a law clerk to Justice Dario Borghesan of the Alaska Supreme Court and to Judge J. Paul Oetken of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and was part of the Oakland City Attorney’s Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit.

Nick’s professional expertise includes:

• Local government law
• Affirmative litigation
• Labor and employment law
• Environmental law

Education

• Stanford Law School, J.D., High Pro Bono Distinction, 2019
  • Senior Development Editor, Stanford Law Review
  • Co-President, Stanford Law Association
  • Co-President, OutLaw
  • Co-President, Stanford Public Interest Law Foundation
  • Public Interest Fellow, Levin Center
  • Student Attorney, Religious Liberties Clinic
  • Asian American Activities Center Graduate Leadership Award
  • Community Impact Award
  • Jenner & Block Diversity Scholar
• Yale College, B.A., 2014
  • City Desk Editor, Yale Daily News
  • William H. McKim Prize

Prior Experience

• Law Clerk to the Honorable Justice Dario Borghesan, Alaska Supreme Court (2021-2022)
• Law Clerk to the Honorable J. Paul Oetken, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (2020-2021)
• Stanford Law School Public Interest and Public Rights Project Fellow at Oakland City Attorney’s Office (2019-2020)