County’s Pharmacy Chief Also Works at a Law Firm

The county of San Diego’s chief pharmacy officer, who collects a $232,419 yearly salary, moonlights as a partner at a New York-based law firm that advises pharmaceutical companies. 

County officials refused Voice of San Diego’s request for disclosure documents that county staff must submit about outside work or other activities that may conflict with their county duties. 

Dr. Emily Do is the county’s full-time chief pharmacy officer, who oversees county pharmacy practices and standards and has been in that role since 2019. In April, she joined the law firm Dilworth & Barrese as a partner and patent attorney, according to her LinkedIn profile. 

The firm’s website lists Do as a partner and member of its West Coast team based in San Diego. The firm also notes that it “serves as counsel for leading companies in the pharmaceutical industry” but doesn’t identify specific ones.  

“Emily Do is a registered patent attorney and works with independent inventors, healthcare and pharmaceutical companies to protect their intellectual property interests in the United States and abroad,” her Dilworth & Barrese bio reads.  

The law firm bio doesn’t mention that Do is also San Diego County’s chief pharmacy officer – or specific companies she has advised. 

Do joined county government after working almost five years in the state public health department, according to her LinkedIn profile. 

Per a 2018 county job description, the chief pharmacy officer works with county Health and Human Services officials, including pharmacy staff, to implement pharmacy policies and standards, recommend changes to county pharmacy services “based on community need” and ensure the county is following regulations. 

In a more recent statement seeking to become the next president of the California Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Do wrote that her county role has also involved advocacy for legislation such Senate Bill 872, which in 2022 allowed counties to operate mobile pharmacies to provide medications and vaccines to homeless residents and others. Do is now set to become the state society’s next president. 

County officials have decided Do’s legal work doesn’t present a conflict. 

“Providing records regarding an employee’s activities outside of work, which has not been deemed to constitute a conflict, would impede on an individual’s personal life and right to privacy,” the county wrote in its Monday response denying Voice’s records request. “Therefore, withholding these documents clearly outweighs the public interest in the disclosure of these records.”    

County spokesperson Tim McClain wrote in a separate statement that that “based on the information provided by Dr. Do as required by county policy, no incompatible activities were identified.” 

Michael Musella, a managing partner at Dilworth & Barrese, confirmed the same. 

“Dr. Do has made full disclosure about her employment with us to the county and the county is satisfied with everything so there really isn’t any follow up here that needs to be made,” Musella said. 

Musella declined to answer other questions about the nature of Do’s employment at his firm. 

Do did not respond to emails and other messages seeking comment. 

Do has for years juggled both pharmaceutical and legal work. 

At the time the county hired Do, her LinkedIn page indicates that she was practicing intellectual property law as a sole proprietor though she didn’t report any related income in state-mandated economic disclosures for 2019. Her disclosures only mention volunteer legal work for two local organizations. 

Do reported that she was working for Virginia-based law firm FRESH IP by 2022, initially reporting no more than $10,000 in income. In both 2023 and 2024, she reported receiving total commissions of between $10,001 and $100,000 for intellectual property legal services. 

Do’s latest disclosure, filed in March for 2024, does not include income or details on her work as a partner at Dilworth & Barrese.  

The county this week denied Voice of San Diego’s state Public Records Act request for county forms that Do may have submitted reporting her outside employment. In those forms, county officials are charged with reporting outside activities or jobs they are paid for and their duties so the county can decide whether that work is incompatible with their county job. 

Voice also asked the county whether officials have flagged concerns about potential conflicts tied to Do’s legal work or if they have counseled her on how to avoid conflicts. 

McClain declined to directly answer those questions and instead responded generally. 

“Ethics and integrity are fundamental to the county and the work of our employees, and all employees are expected to know and follow the county’s Code of Ethics which includes incompatible activities, as well as the Code of Conduct,” McClain wrote. 

The county’s Code of Ethics advises county employees to “avoid becoming involved in activities that improperly influence their actions or job functions” including outside employment. It also notes that employment “outside of normal working hours may present a possible conflict of interest” and must be reported in disclosures. 

McClain also referenced the county Health and Human Services Agency’s Code of Conduct which called for staff to avoid commitments such as outside employment that might “interfere with, or could be perceived to conflict or interfere with, their ability to properly perform their HHSA duties.” 

Craig Barkacs, a University of San Diego business law and ethics professor, declined to say whether Do had a conflict of interest but pointed to the language in the Code of Conduct about perceived conflicts. 

“If it turns out you run into a situation where you have a public official operating in the private sector and there’s a perception of a conflict of interest, obviously the public is going to want to know: How is that OK if the rule is in fact that a perceived conflict of interest prohibits this type of outside activity?” Barkacs said. 

Barkacs argued that Do and the county should disclose more information about her dual roles and how she is avoiding conflicts. 

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