He was a Special Assistant United States Attorney of Eastern District of California from 1965 to 1966.

He was Chief Counsel of the San Francisco Neighborhood Legal Assistance Foundation from 1966 to 1967.

He was regional legal services director of the Office of Economic Opportunity in San Francisco, California from 1967 to 1970.

He was Executive Director of the Western Center on Law and Poverty in Los Angeles, California from 1970 to 1973.

He was a special assistant to the mayor and director of criminal justice planning in Los Angeles from 1974 to 1975.