Mr. de Cordova attended South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas where he received his Doctor of Jurisprudence, magna cum laude, in 1990. Mr. de Cordova received The Order of the Lytae (1989), two American Jurisprudence Awards (Legal Research & Writing II, and Family Law), and the Philip Burleson Award : Outstanding Law Review Article - Criminal Law. As part of his law studies, Mr. de Cordova also attended the University of San Diego School of Law, Institute on International & Comparative Law, Mexico City, Mexico (1987), earning a Certificate of Completion: International Business Transactions and Public International Law (The Law of the Sea), and the College of William & Mary, Madrid, Spain (1989) earning a Certificate of Completion: The Legal Framework of the European Economic Community.

After being admitted to the bar in the State of Texas in 1990, Mr. de Cordova started his own practice emphasizing immigration law, and criminal defense in county and state district courts . In 1992, he joined the law firm of David T. Lopez & Assoc., a leading Houston plaintiff’s labor and employment firm, where he practiced as an associate attorney before relocating to Hawaii in 1995.

Mr. de Cordova joined the Honolulu law firm of Freed & Webb in 1995 as a law clerk, later joining Michael L. Freed, Esq. when he formed Michael L. Freed & Assoc. in 1998. In June 2005, both Mr. de Cordova and Mr. Freed joined the firm of Tom Petrus & Miller, LLLC. Mr. de Cordova was admitted to the State of Hawaii and the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii bars in June 2006. Mr. de Cordova’s practice with Tom Petrus & Miller emphasizes trial and appellate litigation in the fields of labor and employment law, maritime, insurance defense, and all phases of tort and general business litigation.