Candidate for
Judge - Superior Court; County of Santa Clara; Office 11

Vanessa was born and raised in Santa Clara County. She attended Presentation High School (Class of 1980). "Presentation gave me the self-esteem and confidence to be the person that I am today," says Vanessa. She then graduated from Santa Clara University in 1984 with a degree in Philosophy and from Santa Clara University School of Law in 1987. Vanessa says "Santa Clara prepared me for life and for my law career and for that I will always be thankful."

Upon her graduation from law school in 1987, Vanessa Zecher began her career in the public sector in the County Counsel's Office. The County Counsel is responsible for providing legal services to multiple public agencies. During her four years in the County Counsel's Office, Vanessa's clients included the Department of Family and Children's Services, the Public Guardian and the Judges of the Superior (and then Municipal) Courts. "I wanted a job that allowed me to be in Court every day if possible and to work with real people. The County Counsel's Office allowed me to be in Court as much as I wished. I was indeed fortunate to have the support of the office so early on in my career." Vanessa Zecher was able to appear almost daily in Court at hearings and trials in multiple areas during her work with the County Counsel's office including civil court, probate court, and dependency court. "Being able to gain substantive experience in so many different areas of our Court system gave me a solid foundation for being a good trial lawyer. I also gained an invaluable understanding of how our entire Court system functions--and not just in one limited area." Additionally, because Vanessa's role as a Deputy County Counsel involved the representation of multiple different public agencies, she would act in a variety of different roles as an attorney -- sometimes advisory and sometimes as a Courtroom attorney. This allowed her to develop a diverse and solid skill set which has served her very well as her career has progressed.

Perhaps most importantly, Vanessa's work in the juvenile dependency area made her realize that her work as an attorney would need to have some involvement with children. "When I graduated from law school, I thought that my career path would focus more on traditional litigation work. I quickly found that my passion was children and families and I knew that my work as an attorney would always have to involve families and children. Indeed, is no area of our Court system which does not have the potential to touch the life of a child."

Four years later in 1991, Vanessa Zecher made a major change and decided to go into private practice. "I wanted to be a business owner and I knew that my legal work needed to focus on families and children. I had the opportunity to join another attorney and I felt that the timing was right." Zecher focused primarily on adoption and guardianship matters during that time and continued to gain substantial Courtroom and trial experience in our Court system.

In 1994, Vanessa opened her own law practice and continued her work in the adoptions, guardianships and dependency matters - she also made another important decision. "I was receiving a number of referrals for folks who needed a divorce attorney and I felt that this was an indication that perhaps I needed to again expand my skill set and enter the family law world. This decision turned out to be one of the most important of my career." Zecher remained committed to her philosophy that the more exposure she had to all areas of the Court system, the better attorney she would be. So, she took a six-month volunteer assignment with the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office in a misdemeanor and pretrial assignment. Says Zecher, "My time with the District Attorney's Office was extraordinary. In a short, focused period of time, I learned about how the criminal justice system works from the inside out rather than on the outside looking in. I was able to bring a different perspective to the cases that I handled during my volunteer time because of the experience that I had both in private practice and in the County Counsel's Office." This experience with the criminal justice system has allowed Vanessa the perspective necessary to understand how the entire Court system functions as a whole rather than in just one limited area.

From 1994 to the present, Vanessa Zecher has focused primarily on family law matters. "A family law attorney has to be experienced in a number of different areas -- particularly in Santa Clara County." Zecher, as a family law attorney, has certainly dealt with the more traditional family law issues such as custody, visitation and child and spousal support. She has also had to deal with issues related to business valuations, employment compensation packages, commercial and residential real estate issues, domestic violence issues, and criminal issues. "Good family law attorneys have significant experience in most of the areas that affect all of us in our daily lives. Nowhere has this been more evident than recently with the difficult economic issues that we are all facing."

Once again, in keeping with her commitment to remain connected to all areas of the Court system and not just the area in which she practices, Vanessa has volunteered her time as a Judicial Arbitrator in civil matters (1993-present). She has tried cases in the juvenile dependency system as a private attorney and she has continued her work in the area of probate guardianships. She has also served as an Early Neutral Evaluator and Discovery Master in Family Law Matters. She has served extensively as a Settlement Officer in Family Court helping families solve problems in a collaborative manner. Vanessa believes that "the power of solving problems should rest squarely with the family and not the Court system if at all possible."

Vanessa has been able to remain committed to making the lives of children better by representing children in Family Court and Guardianship Court. "I am saddened when a child needs an attorney because the family system is not taking care of the needs of the child. The fact that I am given the responsibility of trying to help a child in this situation, and the family, by extension, is a privilege and an honor. I work very hard to make sure that I am doing some good for the child and the family. Every child deserves an adult in his/her life who is committed to making the life of the child better. I feel a responsibility and an obligation to be that adult and to set an example for others."

Vanessa Zecher has also been able to donate significant time to pro bono legal services. "I firmly believe that with great privilege comes great responsibility." Since 1994, Zecher has been committed to providing pro bono legal services to those who cannot afford it. In 1995, she joined the Federal Pro Bono panel which allowed her to do some substantive Federal Court work. Zecher's representation of children is generally on a pro bono basis. "The family is already stressed and for me to add more stress to the family by wanting my bill for legal services paid seems inappropriate and inhumane."

Asked to describe her typical day, Vanessa responds: "There is no typical day except that the common thread is that I work to help people solve problems. There are many different ways to solve a problem. Many times I am able facilitate an agreement. Sometimes I have to put on a case for the Judge to decide. Often there is no easy answer to the problem and I have to be creative to find a solution."

Vanessa Zecher often reflects back to when she started as an attorney and wanted a job that allowed her to be in Court every day. She responds "Be careful what you wish for. I am in Court almost every day and I am allowed the privilege of trying to solve problems for people which directly affect their daily lives. If I am an elected Judge, I intend to use the same skill set that I have worked so hard to develop as an attorney to continue to solve problems. Sometimes a Judge solves a problem simply by making a decision when the parties involved cannot agree. Sometimes a Judge gets a wonderful opportunity to bring parties together to find a collaborative solution to the problem. I am prepared to do the hard work necessary to make an informed, fair and reasonable decision in order to allow the parties to move on with their lives. I am also extremely committed to helping parties find their own mutually agreeable solutions to problems which, in the long run, is the very best resolution for all concerned."