Law community mourns the loss of José Bahamonde-González

The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law community mourns the passing of José Bahamonde-González, who died May 15.  

In his more than 20 years at the law school, Bahamonde-González mentored hundreds of students in various roles, including 16 years as associate dean for administrative affairs and student services, and seven as associate dean for professional education. He also served as advisor to the Latinx Law Student Association (LLSA) and OUTLaw student groups. 

“We are heartbroken by José’s passing,” said Dean Donald Tobin. “He was deeply dedicated to our students and everyone in our law school family. We will miss his incredible energy, warmth, and kindness.” 

Throughout his career, Bahamonde-González was a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion. He was the inaugural chair and member of the Diversity Advisory Council (DAC) of the University of Maryland, Baltimore; served on the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) Diversity Committee; and was a member of the Student Services Section of the Association of American Law Schools.   

A member of the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) since 1992, Bahamonde-González was NALP vice president, chair of the Leadership/Membership Diversity Task Force and the Board of Directors. By request, he also served on law school accreditation teams of the American Bar Association (ABA), Council for Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. 

Bahamonde-González was a member of the Maryland Hispanic Bar Association (MHBA) and served on its Judicial Endorsements Committee. He received the MHBA 2018 Outstanding Achievement Award for his work counseling and mentoring Latinx law students and lawyers. In 2020, he was honored by his alma mater Syracuse University College of Law with the Latin American Law Students Association Legacy Award, for significant contributions to the community and professional excellence. Bahamonde-González founded the first Latino/a Law Student Association at Syracuse law school in 1990. 

While continuing part-time with Maryland Carey Law, Bahamonde-González became chief diversity, equity, inclusion & professional development officer at Miles & Stockbridge P.C. from 2019 to 2021, and senior diversity, equity and inclusion manager at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP in 2021. 

Bahamonde-González earned his BS in management from the University of Massachusetts and his JD from the Syracuse University College of Law. Prior to joining the Maryland Carey Law community, Bahamonde-González was assistant director for career services and coordinator for minority affairs at the Georgetown University Law Center and assistant dean for the career planning center at the University of Miami School of Law.