Helping Others Start Fresh: My Commitment As An Immigration Lawyer
Rafael "Ace" S. Climaco
- Attorney
Contact
Practice Areas
- Immigration Law
- Immigrant Visas
- Non-Immigrant Visas
- Naturalization and Citizenship
- Removal/Deportation Defense
- Waiver Applications
Biography
Rafael "Ace" Shinn Climaco is admitted to practice law in California, the United States Federal Court Northern District of California, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He has specialized in Immigration Law since 2005 and has successfully handled thousands of immigration cases.
Super Lawyers magazine named Ace to its 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 Rising Stars list for Northern California.
From 2012 to 2022, he taught Immigration Law at the John F. Kennedy School of Law as an adjunct professor.
Ace is fluent in Spanish and Chavacano (a Philippine Spanish-based dialect) and is proficient in Tagalog. He comes from a proud heritage of lawyers. Ace's grandfather, Rafael Climaco, was a Philippine Appeals Court Justice and Philippine bar topnotcher. His uncle is Philippine national hero Cesar Climaco, who was a lawyer, longtime mayor of Zamboanga City, and a former presidential cabinet member.
Education
- University of San Francisco School of Law, San Francisco, California
- J.D.
- Honors: Recipient of Douglas Raskin Memorial Scholarship and Law Faculty Scholarship
- UCLA, Los Angeles, California
- B.A.
Bar Admissions
- California
- U.S. District Court Northern District of California
- U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
Professional Associations
- Filipino Bar Association of Northern California, President (2008) Secretary (2005-2007), Lifetime Member, 2005 to Present
- American Immigration Lawyers Association, Member, 2005 to Present
Honors
- Rising Stars list for Northern California, Super Lawyers magazine, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015
- Minority Bar Coalition Unity Award, 2009
Past Positions
- John F. Kennedy University, School of Law, Adjunct Law Professor, Immigration Law, 2012 to 2022
Languages
- English
- Spanish
- Tagalog