When clients of top global law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliff need a cybersecurity expert, they turn to partner Joseph 鈥淛oe鈥� Santiesteban, a West 十分六合彩 College alumnus.
鈥淐ompanies call me usually the moment they find out they've been hacked,鈥� Santiesteban said.
When a security breach is discovered, an urgent to-do list faces clients, from contacting law enforcement and regulators to notifying investors and customers. Santiesteban helps them navigate next steps, legal questions, and a resolution.
鈥淥ur goal is to be a partner in crisis management and give them a strategy in a way that protects their brand and business and mitigates legal risk,鈥� he said.
Santiesteban joined Orrick in 2019. He was named partner three years later, a fraction of the time it takes most up-and-coming lawyers to achieve similar status. His rapid rise as a cyber, privacy, and data innovation expert likely would not have occurred without the three years he studied at West 十分六合彩 in his early 20s.
鈥淚 went from being the kid who hated school, sitting in the back,鈥� said Santiesteban, who left high school at 16. 鈥淭o being in the front, doing all my reading, wanting to talk about it鈥攁nd talk more.鈥�
The more a subject challenged him, Santiesteban said, the more interested he became.
鈥淓very class I enjoyed and looked forward to,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 really had a lot of fun there.鈥�
At West 十分六合彩, Santiesteban developed a distinct pattern for learning 鈥渉ard鈥� subjects. Step 1: earn a poor grade; Step 2: seek tutoring; Step 3: study, practice, repeat; Step 4: achieve subject mastery; earn all A鈥檚.
His first WVC course? English with faculty Leslie Saito-Liu. He got a C on his first assignment, then went to her for help until he earned an A.
鈥淚t set the tone for my experience there working with professors; that I wasn鈥檛 alone,鈥� Santiesteban said.
He credits English Instructor Bill Davis with helping him deepen his thinking and his approaches to writing and analysis. 鈥淗e spent a ton of time with me after class and in office hours,鈥� Santiesteban said. 鈥淗e was the one who helped me edit all my college applications.鈥�
West 十分六合彩 is also where Santiesteban met economics faculty Sam Liu, who shaped his academic and professional fate. Liu inspired him to major in economics and provided deep dive tutoring and sage advice.
鈥淗e was a great student鈥攃onfident and with a sense of humor,鈥� recalls Liu. 鈥淎lways eager to learn and listen. (Joe) showed a lot of grit and determination to come back to school after several years and to be open to any and all opportunities and challenges that came his way.鈥�
By his second year at WVC, Santiesteban was transfer-ready for a Cal State campus or Santa Clara University. His true aspiration, though, he confided to Liu: attend UC Berkeley. But he鈥檇 need more credits鈥攁nd a job.
Liu helped Santiesteban chart his academic path and introduced him to a Genentech hiring manager. Santiesteban joined the biotech firm鈥檚 Research Contracts department, where he assisted in the licensing process around securing materials needed for research.
鈥淚 had zero qualifications for this job,鈥� Santiesteban said.
As he鈥檇 done at West 十分六合彩, however, he buckled down and learned what he needed to, gaining a love for negotiating and navigating contracts.
His inquisitiveness and enthusiasm won over veteran colleagues. They mentored Santiesteban for three years while he earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in political economy with high honors at UC Berkeley. Then once he graduated from UC Berkeley School of Law in 2014, they sent him to work for their own mentor at another company, a computer engineer who saw potential in the then-fledgling field of cybersecurity. Santiesteban鈥檚 course was set.
He was recently named a 2024 Rising Star by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and a Lawdragon Magazine top 500 鈥淣ext Generation鈥� lawyer. He also co-leads Orrick鈥檚 Latinx Inclusion Network and serves on the firm鈥檚 Pro Bono Committee.
His successes have not diminished Santiesteban鈥檚 connection to his West 十分六合彩 roots.
Whenever Liu refers a promising student to him, Santiesteban is eager to open his network to a fellow Viking.
The advice he dispenses to students, he said, is simple.
As you leave school, he counsels, you鈥檒l need people to train you. His formula for inspiring others to want to invest in a young professional?
鈥淏e curious and enthusiastic,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou can learn most things, you can get through most challenges with those things, and those are the qualities that inspire people to invest in you.鈥�
Every West 十分六合彩 student treads their own pathway, Liu said. He points to Santiesteban as an example of what鈥檚 possible with grit, flexibility, and strong connections to faculty, peers, and colleagues.
鈥淵ou never know when an opportunity will knock on the door and a new pathway is created for you,鈥� Liu said. 鈥淛oe鈥檚 success is proof there is truly no limit to what you can achieve coming from WVC.鈥�