Jonah America Toleno

Ms. Jonah America Toleno is a partner based in the Firm’s San Diego office. She is licensed to practice in California and Arizona. Her practice is focused on financial services law, securities arbitration and litigation, business litigation, and alternative dispute resolution.

She appears regularly as trial counsel in matters pending before state and federal courts and in various arbitration forums, including the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA, formerly known as the NASD) and the American Arbitration Association.

She represents a wide range of individual and commercial clients in business disputes, complex securities litigations, securities fraud and Ponzi scheme prosecutions, customer-brokerage securities arbitrations (typically before FINRA), intra-industry brokerage employment disputes, and commercial transactions.

Her intra-industry cases include employment law cases, firm transition matters, trade secret prosecution and defense and Broker Protocol consultation. She acts as outside counsel to businesses including registered broker-dealers and investment advisory firms, providing guidance and representation on regulatory, operations, compliance, employment, and corporate issues.

She also represents individuals and business entities before FINRA and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in investigation and enforcement actions.

Ms. Toleno attended the University of California at Berkeley, where she majored in Legal Studies and minored in Music. She obtained her law degree from the University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, California.

While at U.C. Hastings, she was a staff editor for the Hastings Women’s Law Journal and served as President of various student organizations. She is a leader in local community and bar organizations. She currently serves as a Co-Chair of Lawyers Club of San Diego Diverse Women’s Committee and is a member of Lawyers Club’s Judicial Endorsements Committee and Work-Life Balance Committee.

She is a current Board Member and Immediate Past President of the Filipino American Lawyers of San Diego, where she currently serves as Co-Chair of its Community Outreach Committee and collaborates routinely with numerous other bar organizations. She also is active with the San Diego County Bar Association.

She speaks regularly on panels before bar organizations and at local law schools on topics including financial services regulations, securities, litigation, law practice management, marketing, networking.

EDUCATION:

• University of California, Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco, California
• University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California

BAR ADMISSIONS:

• California, 2000
• Arizona, 2005
• U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS:

• San Diego County Bar Association
  • Business and Corporate Law Section
  • Civil Litigation Section
  • Alternative Dispute Resolution Section
  • Employment Law Section
• Filipino-American Lawyers of San Diego, 2015 and 2016 President; Current Board Member
• Lawyers Club of San Diego
• Association of Business and Trial Lawyers, San Diego Chapter
• National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Member, Affiliate Past President