Dion-Cherie Raymond is Senior Counsel at Olivarez Madruga Law Organization, LLP, serving in the office’s Education Law department. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Raymond was the inaugural director of UCLA’s Discrimination Prevention Office. Located within the Chancellor’s Organization, Ms. Raymond co-created DPO in response to recommendations by the Moreno Committee, an external review committee directed by former California Supreme Court Associate Justice Carlos Moreno. Ms. Raymond led a team of attorney investigators conducting neutral, independent investigations in response to perceived complaints of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. The office’s reach was that of a small city consisting of on-campus faculty, the UCLA medical center, and its associated hospitals and clinics.
Ms. Raymond’s office also created and maintained a database and complaint tracking system of party demographics, outcomes, and recommendations useful for identifying any trends. In addition, she served as a liaison to faculty department chairs and administrators, and coordinated communications among various department investigatory units, including the offices of Title IX, Staff Diversity and EEO Compliance, Office of Accessible Education, Dean of Students, the Whistleblower, and office of the Ombudsperson. She also supported and participated in matters involving policy and training.
Ms. Raymond’s legal experience includes adult and juvenile criminal defense with the Los Angeles County Public Defenders’ Office; personal injury and employment with the Law Offices of Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr., where she successfully represented the estate of former councilperson Gilbert W. Lindsey in a case of fraud, duress and undue influence; mass tort wildfire; and, all phases of civil litigation, trial, mediation and arbitration.
In law school, Ms. Raymond clerked for the San Jose City Attorney’s Office as well as the Oakland City Attorney under Jayne Ware Williams, the first Black woman to serve as a city attorney in California. She also taught Street Law to Oakland youth, earning her an invitation to teach in the Street Law Court Program, an alternative to the juvenile legal system for first-time youthful offenders.
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