by The Honorable Frederick P. Aguirre (Ret.)
Mary-Christine (“MC”) Sungaila is well known in the Orange County legal community for her excellent appellate work and service to others. She is an inspiration to many. In the trail-blazing spirit of Judge Frances Muñoz, the OC HBA recognizes MC Sungaila for her pro bono international appellate court advocacy insuring human dignity rights, especially for abused and murdered women.
In 2023, the Orange County Hispanic Bar Association created the Judge Frances Muñoz Lecture and Award to honor one of the OC HBA’s cofounders and California’s first Latina trial judge. Judge Muñoz was a child of Mexican immigrants who was the first of her eleven siblings to graduate from high school. She earned her law degree from Southwestern Law School at night while managing furniture stores and putting her brother, Gregory Muñoz (who also became an Orange County judge), through USC law school. She was a public defender early in her career and served on the Orange County bench for thirty-eight years. And she paid it forward to the next generation as co-founder of the OC HBA, the Hispanic Education Endowment Fund, and the Ralph Luevano Scholarship Foundation.
The first Judge Frances Muñoz Lecture and Award recipient (and a prior recipient of the OC HBA’s Attorney of the Year Award) is Mary-Christine Sungaila, a partner at the Complex Appellate Litigation Group and a longtime bar, nonprofit board, and pro bono leader. She embodies Judge Muñoz’s commitment to service and excellence in the law.
Groundbreaking Appellate Work At the Lecture, which took place in Judge David Carter’s courtroom at the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana (the former courtroom of Judge Alicemarie Stotler, one of the judges for whom Ms. Sungaila clerked, and a legend in the OC legal community), we explored the impact of Ms. Sungaila’s amicus curiae work in appeals before the U.S. Supreme Court and the Inter American Court of Human Rights. Ms. Sungaila has taken on and won multiple appellate matters pro bono each year throughout her career, including on behalf of women, girls, and in defense of human rights. She has appeared in over 170 Federal and State appellate court cases.
In the Cotton Field Cases before the Inter American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica, for example, M.C. Sungaila filed a brief on behalf of Amnesty International and over fifty other human rights organizations and experts—the first time U.S.-based organizations had participated as amici curiae in a case before that court—which resulted in the first international human rights decision to interpret a women’s rights treaty and held Mexico responsible for decades of unsolved killings and disappearances of women and girls in Ciudad Juarez.
In her brief in this case and in others, she is a storyteller. She explains how and why the law should be developed in the way she urges it to be, and she describes it in both a rational and human way. She inspires the decision-maker to do the right thing and explains how the law leads to the result she urges. As M.C. observes in her recent essay in the ABA Litigation Magazine, What Makes an Amicus Brief Matter?, “[t]here is considerable evidence that amicus briefs influence court decisions—when done well.”
Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley and Costa Mesa Mayor John Stephens, who have both known M.C. throughout her professional career, introduced the Lecture by describing their experiences with M.C. and her impact on the law.
Supervisor Foley described how she met M.C.: when the Supervisor first moved to Orange County as a new lawyer, she sent letters to M.C. and other leading women lawyers in the county, introducing herself and asking to meet. M.C. was one of two lawyers who responded and met with her.
Said Foley:
M.C. Sungaila is an award-winning attorney and a ‘she-ro’ of mine. I met M.C. after graduating from law school in 1996 when I wrote inviting her to coffee after learning about her work advocating for women. We’ve remained friends and colleagues ever since. Who knew then that I would hire her to help the city where I served as Mayor to defend our land use ordinances and to protect the city during the pandemic. M.C. has crafted a career that reflects her love of writing inspired by her Latina mom, advocacy for women and human rights, and desire to give back and mentor the next generation of lawyers.
Mayor John Stephens underscored the value and impact of M.C.’s longstanding appellate work for the City of Costa Mesa:
M.C. Sungaila has been Costa Mesa’s appellate counsel on numerous high-profile cases, including those involving Sober Living Homes and protecting our community during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, her work culminated in a landmark decision by the Ninth Circuit in the Ohio House v. Costa Mesa case in which our regulations regarding Sober Living Homes were upheld. Her work has literally saved lives by averting a public health crisis when the President and Governor planned to place infected patients in a facility in Costa Mesa without appropriate safeguards at the outset of the pandemic, and by allowing the city to enact reasonable control over rehab homes. I cannot thank her enough for her effective advocacy and wise counsel in these and other high-stakes situations.
Community Service Ms. Sungaila also has a longstanding commitment to community service, having led or served on multiple nonprofit boards since 1996.
As an example, John Forsyte, President and CEO of Pacific Symphony, notes that:
M.C. Sungaila has been an invaluable member of Pacific Symphony’s Board of Directors, serving on the Executive Committee, leading standing committees, and demonstrating outstanding dedication to our mission. Her generous funding of the Second Harp chair, now named ‘The Sungaila Family Chair,’ exemplifies her commitment to artistic excellence. M.C. has spearheaded public affairs initiatives, including our ability to produce exhibits and performances at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport, significantly enhancing our community engagement. Her passion for making music accessible to all has profoundly enriched both Pacific Symphony and the broader community.
M.C. also contributes to the community outside of board service. Bonni Pomush, the CEO of Working Wardrobes who met M.C. at a Leadership Tomorrow program, shares that:
M.C. Sungaila is creating meaningful impact both inside and outside the courtroom. Through her partnership with Working Wardrobes, she inspires our clients with her thoughtful quote books. On her podcast, The Portia Project®, she highlights diverse journeys and wisdom, celebrating the many paths individuals take to overcome challenges and achieve greatness. Her work exemplifies a commitment to empowerment and amplifying voices that often go unheard. By providing resources, inspiration, and opportunities, she helps build stronger, more inclusive communities.
Maria Moskver, CEO of OC fintech company Cloudvirga, highlights M.C.’s work creating and hosting the award-winning Portia Project® podcast (one of the top women-in-the-law podcasts worldwide), which “features the diverse and inspiring journeys of leading women judges and lawyers, as well as women leaders in business and nonprofit and public service. Her podcast not only celebrates their stories but encourages and empowers the next generation.” Says Moskver: “M.C. is a remarkable trailblazer whose impact spans so many areas—from appellate advocacy to book publishing and podcasts, and now to the developing field of Space Law, pursuing an LL.M. in the subject and recently serving as an invited expert at a UN Office of Outer Space Affairs’ conference. In everything she does, M.C. makes an impact.”
Family M.C. Sungaila is the grandchild of immigrants who came to America through Ellis Island. In 2017, she received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor bestowed by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations for her combined professional achievements and her humanitarian and pro bono work—an award she shares with eight U.S. Presidents—which was celebrated in the very Arrivals Hall where her grandparents entered this country.
She is also the grandchild of Spanish immigrants who encountered and overcame the impact of racial and ethnic covenants on the transfer of property in California. She honors the strong family values she was raised with, and the legacy and wisdom of her mother, in her Mother’s Thoughts for the Day books, which capture some of the inspirational quotes her mother has sent her each day throughout her legal career. Those books were shared with those in attendance at the Judge Frances Muñoz Lecture, including law students from Western State.
The Honorable Frederick P. Aguirre (Ret.) a co-founder of the OC HBA, served as an Orange County Superior Court judge. He now serves as an arbitrator and mediator with Judicate West.
Professional Paragon is an occasional column featuring an attorney who has inspired others to pursue excellence.