Ismael Bautista is a senior counsel at SoCalGas, where he advises on wide-ranging compliance and regulatory matters, including renewable energy projects, and represents the company before the California Public Utilities Commission. He earned a BA as a dual major in economics and philosophy from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. He also received a JD from the UCLA School of Law, where he served as a managing editor for the Chicano-Latino Law Review.
As a USC undergraduate, Bautista interned for Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard via the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute in Washington, D.C.; he also served as president of the Latino Honor Society. A former LAA Scholar, Bautista was a 2003 nominee for the LAA’s John R. Hubbard Award. Bautista graduated as a USC Renaissance Scholar and was awarded the Order of Troy. Following graduation, he became an active member of the LAA’s Young Leaders Council.
A past chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s International Law Section, Bautista has been a member of the American Bar Association, the Hispanic National Bar Association and the Mexican American Bar Association. He has also served on various committees and boards, including the UCLA School of Law Marco Firebaugh Dream Fund, and Students, Educators, and Lawyers for Access to a Legal Education. In 2004, he created the Bautista Scholarship at his alma mater, Hawthorne High School, for deserving graduating seniors.
Prior to joining SoCalGas in January 2020, Bautista worked for national law firms, advising domestic and international clients in several areas, including business transactions and disputes, complex litigation, employment, intellectual property, international trade and probate. He tried more than 15 cases, including six as lead counsel. Bautista also volunteered his services to indigent clients as pro bono counsel in immigration, landlord-tenant and probate matters.
Having attended six years of grade school in Mexico, Bautista is fluent in Spanish. In his free time, he enjoys playing competitive soccer, wine tasting and spending time with his wife and daughters.