[2] He then obtained a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1980, where he was a member of the Board of Student Advisers.

Between 1984 and 1986, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of California.

From 1992 to 1993, he was the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California.

Mendez served as a judge on the Sacramento County Superior Court for the State of California between 2001 and 2008.

[4] He was nominated by President George W. Bush on September 6, 2007, to a seat vacated by David F. Levi.