Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

Real Estate, Energy, Land Use & Environmental

Rockard "Rocky" Delgadillo is a partner in the Real Estate, Energy, Land Use & Environmental Practice Group in the firm's Los Angeles office.

Rocky has more than 30 years of experience in litigation, economic development transactions, and government law and public policy.

Rocky served an eight-year tenure, the term limit, as the City of Los Angeles City Attorney. As the city's chief lawyer and chief criminal prosecutor, he led more than 550 attorneys who comprise the second largest municipal law firm in the nation. Rocky was the first Latino to win citywide office in more than 100 years when he was elected in 2001. Running unopposed, he was re-elected in 2005 to a second four-year term.

During his tenure as City Attorney, Rocky implemented a number of innovative programs to further his vision of a better and safer Los Angeles. His top priorities included fighting crime, improving the quality of life in local neighborhoods and reducing the city's civil liabilities. In his first term, Rocky more than tripled the number of gang injunctions, contributing to a steep decline in crime in affected areas. Throughout his tenure, he helped make neighborhoods safer by implementing the neighborhood prosecutor program and by reducing the city's liability costs to free up millions of dollars to help pay for police and other crucial city services.

Prior to his election as Los Angeles City Attorney, Rocky was the Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles for Economic Development, where he attracted new jobs to emerging neighborhoods. He created an efficient neighborhood-friendly approach to business development through the creation of the LA Business Team and, in four years, helped bring in billions in private investment to the city. As Deputy Mayor, in the wake of the Northridge Earthquake, Rocky worked with the late US Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown to attract and implement the Minority Business Opportunities Committee (MBOC) in the City of Los Angeles. Initially securing nearly $6B in MBE/WBE/SBE contracts, MBOC served as the inspiration for the City’s business diversity initiatives.

Rocky serves as an Owner and Executive Chairman of Los Cabos United, a new 3rd Division Futbol Club in Mexico. Rocky is the Founder, Owner and Chairman of ISMX, LLC, International Soccer Management Company. He is also the Founder and Chairman of the Los Angeles United Futbol Academy (LAUFA), one of the premiere Youth Soccer Academies in the United States and part of the MLS Next Academy System.

Additionally, Rocky is the Founder and Chairman of HUBcities Technologies, a start-up technology company and software developer, developing game-changing data platforms, utilizing Blockchain methodology to connect disparate data silos and provide real time data integration and analysis.

J.D., Columbia University School of Law, 1986

A.B., Harvard University, 1982, with honors