With two younger brothers looking up to him, a mother to make proud, and a community invested in his development, Jo made it his mission to achieve his full potential. In his view, the best way to pay back all who sacrificed is to pay it forward.
After a solid tenure in high school, Jo received a $1000 scholarship from the president of his local UNCF chapter to support his transition to the University of California, Riverside (UCR). With this, he invested in the resources he needed to succeed in college. At UCR, Jo graduated cum laude, served as President of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity and the Black Law Student Association, Chief Justice of his Student Government’s Supreme Court, and co-founded a Black Student Task Force focused on improving the Black student experience on campus. During the course of these experiences, Jo met attorneys who introduced him to “Big Law”, reviewed his applications, financially invested in his future, and enabled him to attend the Washington University School of Law (WashU).
At WashU, Jo served a judicial extern for the Hon. Chief Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel for the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois, a judicial extern for the EEOC, a student attorney for the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office, a summer associate at a Thompson Coburn LLP, and a summer associate at Littler. Additionally, Jo served as an executive articles editor of the Washington University Journal of Law & Policy, a competitor in the Wiley Rutledge Moot Court Competition, Justice of Phi Alpha Delta, an executive board member of the Black Law Students Association, and co-founded the Bridging the Gap Scholarship. Upon graduation, Jo was a commencement speaker and recipient of the Dean’s Service Award.
Currently, Jo is a labor and employment attorney at Littler Mendelson, P.C., the largest labor and employment law firm. Jo focuses his practice on advising and representing employers in all aspects of labor and employment law. He currently serves as the Pro Bono Liaison for Littler’s San Francisco office. In 2023, he will serve as a judicial law clerk at the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, IL. An active member of his community, Jo is a member of NAMI, the Co-Chair of the Professional Development Committee for the National Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division, a member of UCR and WashU’s alumni associations, and the Executive Vice President of the Bridging the Gap Scholarship.