Mr. Aaron Lodge was born in Santa Barbara, California.  He grew up as the son of the longest sitting judge in California, Superior Court Judge Joseph Lodge.  Mr. Lodge first chose a career of teaching mathematics, which he did for over ten years.  However, through this time period, the law beckoned him.  Finally, in the 1990s, Mr. Lodge decided to follow in his father’s footsteps, and applied to a few of the more prestigious schools of law in his area.  He was accepted into Santa Clara University, School of Law, and began studying law.

In his first year of law school, Mr. Lodge was ranked #6 in his entire class, thus qualifying him for a prestigious grant.  In his second year, he was admitted into Law Review as a technical editor.  His qualifying paper on mediation was chosen by the entire law review board to be published in the Santa Clara Law Review Journal.  Since publication, his article (nearly 50 pages in length) has been cited numerous times in major legal publications and official legal texts as well.

Mr. Lodge went on to graduate Cum Laude with numerous awards.  He was given the class award (AMJUR) for the highest achievement in advanced criminal law.  Likewise he won the same award in property law.  He was given a plaque for outstanding dedication and work as a volunteer in the community.  Finally, he was one of probably less than ten students (from Santa Clara School of Law) in the entire 1990s to be admitted into the “order of the coif,” a highly prestigious membership for outstanding students who graduate from a select few universities.

After obtaining his Juris Doctor degree, Mr. Lodge took the bar exam and passed on his first try.  Less than 40% of all who took the bar exam that year passed.

As Mr. Lodge practiced law, gaining experience and helping others, he decided to continue his academic studies of the law by seeking to obtain a higher degree.  He applied for acceptance into the very rare scholarly program to obtain an LL.M, a degree higher than the Juris Doctor.  He was accepted and began studying International Law.  In order to obtain this degree, he not only needed numerous graduate level classes, but also was required to study abroad for two different years.  He chose his first study abroad to begin in Geneva, Switzerland, where he became acquainted with world organizations.  He then studied intensively in Strasbourg, France, where among other privileges, he was able to attend European Union “Congress” sessions, and visited the “Supreme Court” of the European Community.  While there he took classes and attended lectures on Human Rights, African Law, European Law, Law of the Americas, Free Trade Agreements, and many other subjects.

For the second set of studies in another country, Mr. Lodge chose to study in Mexico.  He was accepted into the “Harvard” of Mexico, the “Escuela libre de derecho,” a highly prestigious university based in Mexico City.  While there Mr. Lodge specialized in NAFTA, Free Trade Law, CAFTA, intellectual property issues between Mexico, the United States and Canada; and an intensive (comprehensive) A-Z course in Immigration Law.

After completing all course work and exams, and after completing both studies abroad, Mr. Lodge was required to write a full dissertation.  He chose the topic of globalization, and began researching by traveling to southeast asia, including Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Singapore.  Further, Mr. Lodge travelled and studied in other areas of Europe including Romania, the Czech Republic, Yugoslavia, Serbia, as well as France, Italy and Spain.  Finally, Mr. Lodge completed his initial research in more remote areas of Mexico (he is fluent in Spanish), and in Cuba.  The resultant dissertation titled “Globalization.....” was met with accolades.  His paper passed upon first inspection, and was immediately picked up for publication by the prestigious University of Oregon Journal of International Law.  As his first article, this article has also been cited numerous times in other legal journals and articles.

Currently, Mr. Lodge maintains a small, local legal practice in Santa Cruz, California.  He specializes in mediation.  He also gives a priority to Civil Rights cases, as he believes it is important to our freedom as a nation to maintain strong civil rights.  Mr. Lodge has taken cases in almost every practice area of law.