Class Notes

• Class Notes 2020 - 29
  • Harjot Dhillon '20 has been appointed Deputy District Attorney of Santa Clara County.
  • Nicole Englanoff Herzberg '20 joined Youngman Reitshtein as an associate. Click here to read more. 07/21
  • Jeremy Weese ’20 received an honorable mention award in the Beverly Hills Bar Association’s 2021 “Rule of Law” writing competition for his UCLA Law Review article “The (Un)Holy Shield: Rethinking the Ministerial Exception” 04/21
  • Vukie S. Mpofu ’21 was named Manager of Hockey Operations and Legal Affairs for the LA Kings.  Click here to read more. 06/21
• Class Notes 2010 - 2019
  • Elina Avakian '10 was named the winner of the inaugural 2021 LA Times In-House Counsel Leadership Award in the Mid-Sized Public Company category. Avakian is Senior Counsel for Snap Inc. 07/21
  • Robert J. Ellison ’10 was named partner at Latham & Watkins LLP. He is a member of the Litigation & Trial Department who concentrates his practice on complex commercial litigation, with an emphasis on entertainment, sports, and media litigation.
  • Jenna Glassock '10 joined Lido Advisors LLC to expand the firm's wealth planning services. Jenna is the founding attorney of Glassock Law APC and has expertise in estate planning and trust administration.
  • Emily Haan '10 has joined UC Hastings College of the Law as Director of Student Services.
  • Patrick W. Kelly ’10 is among Snell & Wilmer's 2019 newly elected California partners. His practice is concentrated in business and commercial litigation, with an emphasis in contract disputes and claims relating to corporate, franchise, and partnership disputes, commercial lease disputes, and uniform commercial code issues.
  • Tina Koonse ’10 was quoted in November in a front-page Los Angeles Times article on wage theft in the garment industry. A graduate of the David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy and Critical Race Studies program, Koonse is the legal and policy research manager at the UCLA Downtown Labor Center.
  • Dana Lee ’10 has joined UC Irvine as a tenure-track faculty member.
  • Sharlene Lee ’10 was elected shareholder at Nevers, Palazzo, Packard, Wildermuth & Wynner PC. 04/21
  • Mary Prendergast ’10 has been promoted to partner at Morrison & Foerster's Washington D.C. office. She is a member of the Litigation Department and part of the firm’s Patent Litigation, Trade Secrets, and ITC Litigation Groups. Mary is a trial lawyer with extensive experience litigating patent and trade secrets cases in district courts across the country and at the ITC.
  • Dominic Quiller ’10 was mentioned in the Daily Journal concerning a case against the Torrance school district. Quiller is a partner at the firm McCune & Harber LLP.
  • Michael J. Reiss ’10 was made partner at Latham & Watkins LLP. He is a member of the Litigation & Trial Department whose practice encompasses a range of complex commercial litigation, including consumer class actions, financial institution litigation, insolvency litigation, sports and entertainment litigation, and intellectual property litigation.
  • Lidiana Rios ’10 has joined Ireland Stapleton as an associate. She is a commercial litigator who has represented small, mid-sized and large public and private companies, as well as individuals. She is based in Denver, CO.
  • Ira Steinberg '10 was promoted to partner at the law firm of Greenberg Glusker LLP. Steinberg practices complex commercial and business litigation in the technology, real estate, entertainment, and media fields.
  • Jeremy Avila '11 has been appointed as Chief Counsel of the California Department of Aging. He has been Deputy County Counsel of Santa Clara County since 2019.
  • James Behrens ’11 practices bankruptcy and restructuring law in Los Angeles at Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP. His recent article, “Don’t Fear the 363 Sale, Fear the Delay that Follows It,” was published in the March 2014 issue of the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal and was recently selected to be included in Best of ABI 2014: The Year in Business Bankruptcy.
  • Katherine Bissett '11 was made partner at Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP. She is a seasoned real estate finance attorney.
  • Alan Butler '11 was named Executive Director of the Board of Directors of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. Alan has served as Interim Executive Director since April 2020.
  • Drew Capurro ’11 was named partner at Latham & Watkins LLP. He is a member of the Corporate Department who focuses his practice on corporate representation, with an emphasis on capital markets and corporate governance matters.
  • Andrew Cosgrove ’11 joins LendingUSA as general counsel and chief compliance officer. He leads LendingUSA’s legal, compliance and regulatory management functions and reports directly to the company’s founder and CEO, Camilo Concha.
  • Drew Harbur '11 joined Allen Matkins as partner. Click here for more info. 09/21
  • Helen Hwang ’11 was promoted to partner at Covington & Burling LLP in Shanghai. Her practice focuses on counseling clients, particularly in China and other jurisdictions in Asia, through complex and sensitive internal investigations, investigations by U.S. federal and state enforcement authorities, such as the DOJ and SEC, and related litigation involving alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other anti-corruption laws.
  • Vandana Kapur '11 was elected Co-President of the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California. Vandana is an associate in the Employment Services Group at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in Los Angeles.
  • Nick Kennedy '11 made partner at Baker McKenzie, where he sits in the Dallas office and focuses on international arbitration and commercial litigation throughout the United States and worldwide.
  • Christopher S. Lindsay ’11 was promoted to partner at Jenner & Block's Los Angeles office. He focuses his practice primarily on media and entertainment litigation at the trial and appellate levels, including disputes raising copyright, trade secret, defamation, privacy and publicity right, contract and business tort issues.
  • Molly K. Madden ’11 has joined Skylar Kirsch LLP as an associate in the Litigation Department. Prior to joining the firm, Molly was an associate at Goodwin Procter, where she specialized in complex commercial and consumer cases, with a focus on financial services litigation and the defense of class actions and government enforcement actions.
  • Darcy Meals '11 has been appointed to a two-year term on the Equal Justice Works National Advisory Committee. Meals, a graduate of the UCLA Epstein Public Interest Program, was selected because of her commitment to expanding public interest opportunities on law campuses across the country.
  • Krysta Kauble Pachman '11 has been named a partner with Susman Godfrey LLP, effective January 1, 2020.
  • Mary Tanagho Ross '11 led a class action lawsuit which overturned a government policy affecting the rights of unaccompanied immigrant children.
  • Michael Seiden '11 joined Greenberg Traurig, LLP as a shareholder in their Real Estate Practice.
  • Anne-Sophie Skrebers '11 was promoted to Head of Intellectual Property at the European Broadcasting Union. 05/21
  • Jessamyn Vedro ’11 is an associate in the litigation group at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP. Vedro is also an accomplished ballerina who has performed in notable shows such as The Nutcracker and Cinderella.
  • Jennifer Wang ’11 elevated to member at TroyGould. Her practice focuses on helping clients achieve successful results in complex business disputes. This includes handling unfair competition, securities fraud, and real estate litigation, as well as advising clients about their employment and trade secret concerns. 
  • Lauren Woodland ’11 reprised her role as Brittany Hodges on The Young and the Restless during the show's 45th anniversary week. Woodland is an Associate at Miller Barondess LLP. She is a civil litigator specializing in business and entertainment litigation.
  • Daniel Belzer '12 was promoted to partner at Sheppard Mullin. He is a member of the firm's Corporate practice group and is based in the Century City office.
  • Alisha Burgin '12 joined the board of Bet Tzedek. https://www.bettzedek.org/our-team/board/ 07/21
  • Cara Dessert '12 is celebrating two years at the San Diego LGBT Center.
  • Joshua Escovedo '12 was elected to shareholder at Weintraub Tobin.
  • Lulu Chiu Gomez ’12 was elected as the Young Lawyer Division (YLD) Liaison to the Governing Committee of the American Bar Association, Forum on Franchising. She is an associate at Snell & Wilmer's Los Angeles office.
  • Francis Guzman ’12 has been announced as the recipient of the Juvenile Law Center’s 2018 Leadership Prize. Guzman currently directs the California Youth Justice Initiative (CYJI) at the National Center for Youth Law (NCYL).
  • Kendall Johnson '12 has been elected partner of Latham & Watkins in Century City, Los Angeles. She is a member of the firm's Corporate Department who works at the intersection of entertainment, sports, and media. 
  • Rachel Landy '12 joined YouTube's government affairs and public policy team (at Google) in April to be the global lead for music policy.
  • Yoojin Lee ’12 was selected as a representative member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity 2019 Pathfinder Program, which fosters professional development of lawyers early in their careers. Lee represents banks and institutional lenders in domestic and cross-border financing transactions, and has advised clients in multibillion-dollar acquisitions. Before joining the firm’s downtown Los Angeles office, she practiced law in Seoul, South Korea, and represented international companies with operations in Asia, Europe and the United States.
  • Elizabeth Levin '12 was promoted to partner at Manatt. She is part of their real estate group.
  • Karen Lorang '12 made partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson. She has extensive experience in real estate law.
  • Joshua McDaniel '12 was appointed head of Harvard Law School's Religious Freedom Clinic. Click here to read more. 07/21
  • Chris Myers '12 has been elected to a partnership at Holland & Hart. 
  • Luis A. Patiño ’12 was promoted to Vice President at ViacomCBS. 04/21
  • Abigail Stecker Romero '12 joined Arrow Electronics, Inc. as corporate counsel in Denver, specializing in employment matters. 06/21
  • Jonathan Tobin ’12 was featured in an article on The Eastsider website about his firm Counsel for Creators. Tobin's practice is focused on the needs of creative businesses and individuals. He deals with matters involving copyrights, trademarks, software, design, licensing, business, art law and contracts.
  • Brandon Golob '13 was named the 2020-2021 Professor of the Year for the University of California, Irvine School of Social Ecology. 07/21
  • Tanya Franklin '13 was elected to become Board Member for the Los Angeles Unified School District 7.
  • Nicole M. Howell '13 was promoted to counsel in the Corporate group of Skadden's Los Angeles office. 06/21
  • Marshall Hunt ’13 was confirmed as a new member of the Tempe Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. Hunt is an attorney at Davis Miles McGuire Gardner, PLLC in Tempe, Arizona.
  • Robert Pepple ’13 joined Epstein Becker Green as an associate in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice in Los Angeles.
  • Christina Snider ’13 was appointed Governor's Tribal Advisor and executive secretary to the Native American Heritage Commission.
  • Jyoti Wescott ’13 Jyoti Westcott (née Avila) and Brent Westcott were married in April 2018 at Talega Golf Club in San Clemente, CA. They recently relocated to Sacramento, where Brent works as Deputy Legislative Counsel for the California Office of Legislative Counsel, and Jyoti works as Associate General Counsel for Health Net Federal Services, LLC.
  • Adam Ackerman ’14 joined the American Red Cross Santa Monica Bay Chapter. Ackerman is an associate in Mergers & Acquisitions at O’Melveny & Myers.
  • Hammad Alam ’14 was selected by Equal Justice Works for its 2018 Equal Justice Works Fellowship. Alam will advocate for Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian students and families who are victims of school bullying in San Bernardino County.
  • Jordan Cunnings ’14 won a victory for a client through her work at Public Counsel. This is a major victory for the immigrant rights movement in Los Angeles.
  • Jamie Friedland ’14 was named one of the Chicagoans of the Year by Chicago Magazine. Friedland was recognized for his volunteer work with other lawyers to give free assistance to travelers affected by the travel bans set forth by President Donald Trump. Friedland is an associate at Latham & Watkins. Prior to joining Latham, he served as a law clerk to Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
  • Natasha Gandhi ’14 was named to the 2018 “Pathfinders Program” class for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD). Gandhi is an associate at the firm of Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP in Dallas, Texas.
  • David Kramer '14 was promoted to partner at Vicente Sederberg LLP. 04/21
  • William Marshall ’14 joined the firm of Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP in Denver, Colorado as an Associate in the Environmental Group and Natural Resources Department.
  • John Scheerer ’14 joined Sacks, Glazier, Franklin & Lodise as an Associate. Prior to joining Sacks, Glazier, Franklin & Lodise, Scheerer was a litigation associate at Hueston Hennigan LLP, and previously at Irell and Manella LLP.
  • Cody Weiss ’14 , previously at Proskauer Rose LLP, is now practicing in house at Fandango.
  • Courtney Corbello ’15 accepted a new position as State of Texas Assistant Attorney General - Law Enforcement Defense in Austin, Texas. Previously she served as a briefing attorney for Judge David Newell, and a law clerk for the State of Texas Criminal Court of Appeals.
  • Ines Gillich '15 finished my post-PhD qualification (“Habilitation”) at the University of Cologne/Germany. The Habilitation, or post-doctoral degree, is the highest university degree that can be awarded in Germany and is a prerequisite to work as a Full Law Professor. (7/23/21)
  • Peter A. Griffin '15 was awarded the California Minority Counsel Program's (CMCP) Marci Rubin Emerging Diversity Leader Award, which is given to those who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. Peter is one of only two recipients of this award this year.
  • Jessica Krouner '15 joined Wasser, Cooperman & Mandles as an associate. 07/21
  • Sara McDermott ’15 was mentioned in the Daily Journal for her work in authoring a letter prompting a review of the federal judiciary’s workplace policies. McDermott is a litigation associate in the Los Angeles office of Munger, Tolles & Olson.
  • Ariane Nevin ’15 wrote an article on The Blog on the Huffpost entitled "South African Judges Should Visit A Prison Once A Year." Nevin is the National Prisons Specialist at Sonke’s Policy Development and Advocacy Unit, where she was the UCLA – Sonke Health and Human Rights Fellow in 2015. She now leads the policy and advocacy work in Sonke’s national prisons project.
  • Kelly Orians ’15 founded two nonprofit organizations, First 72 and Rising Foundations, which help create avenues for those released from prison to avoid returning to a criminal life. Orians was featured in the Forbes article "Not Going Back to Prison: A Rising Foundation in New Orleans."
  • Delaram Peykar '15 joined Fox Rothschild LLP in its Los Angeles office as an associate in the Taxation & Wealth Planning Department. 08/21
  • Christina Behrman '16 joined the board of the Sanctuary Centers of Santa Barbara. Sanctuary Centers of Santa Barbara is a local nonprofit providing comprehensive mental health care to thousands of patients since 1976.
  • Iricel Payano'16 has joined law firm Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney as an Associate in New York. 4/21
  • Sonia Singh ’16 was mentioned in the Los Angeles Daily Journal article entitled "Resolving Insolvency", concerning multi-million dollar reorganizations and her firm Danning, Gill, Diamond & Kollitz, LLP. Singh recently joined the firm as an associate.
  • Geneva E. Thompson '16 has been appointed Assistant Secretary for Tribal Affairs at the California Natural Resources Agency. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/04/09/governor-newsom-announces-appointment… 04/21
  • Michael Zorkin '16 left Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP to launch his own litigation practice concentrating on health care and business disputes. 04/21
  • Erika Georgiou Cumbee ’17 , an Associate Attorney at Quinn Emanual Urquhart & Sullivan LLP (Complex Commercial Litigation), was featured in the Daily Journal.
  • Jeffrey Elkrief ’17 became an associate at Fisher Phillips, LLP. He joins the firm from Thompson Coe, Cousins & Irons LLP in Los Angeles. Elkrief defends clients against various employment law claims, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination and wage-and-hour violations.
  • Brian Fink '17 wrote a legal guidebook for farm businesses on complying with federal food-safety and labeling laws, which has been published by the National Farmers Union under a grant from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. He was also named a 2021 New York Metro Rising Star by Super Lawyers in the area of Food and Drug Law. 04/21
  • Brady Granger ’17 was selected by Equal Justice Works for its 2018 Equal Justice Works Fellowship. Granger will design and implement a robust and cohesive program of legal clinics, legal representation, outreach, and community education sessions serving the community of veterans in West Texas.
  • Sabine Jean ’17 joined Outten & Golden's New York office as an Associate. Jean, the Public Interest Fellow at the firm, will be a member of the firm's Individual Practice Area, Class Practice Area, and co-chairs the Firm's Public Interest Committee.
  • Nabeelah Mia ’17 wrote an article on The Blog on the Huffpost entitled "South African Judges Should Visit A Prison Once A Year." Mia was a 2016-2017 UCLA-Sonke Health and Human Rights fellow.
  • Ira Catherine Perez ’17 was added as an Associate at Bell Nunnally. Perez is a member of the Corporate and Securities, Mergers and Acquisitions and Tax practice areas. 
  • Addison H. DiSesa '18 joined Sacks Glazier Franklin & Lodise LLP as an associate focusing on high net worth trust, probate and conservatorship litigation. Prior to joining Sacks Glazier Franklin & Lodise, DiSesa was a litigation associate at Reed Smith LLP in the Global Commercial Disputes practice group. 04/21
  • Natalie J. Mackary ’18 has joined the law firm of Ajalat, Polley, Ayoob & Matarese as an associate. Ajalat, Polley, Ayoob & Matarese is a law firm that specializes solely in California State & Local Taxes.
  • Larken Yackulic ’18 was named a member of the 2018 class of Skadden Fellows, a group of 29 graduating law students and judicial clerks who are devoting the next two years of their professional careers to public interest work.
  • Kelsey E. Clayton '19 joined Sullivan Hill as an associate litigation attorney in the San Diego office. She will be a member of the firm's Commercial and Business Litigation, Construction Law, and Insurance Coverage practice groups. 04/21
  • Mathew A. Leonard '19 joined Carlton Fields as an associate in the Los Angeles office. He is a member of the firm's Business Litigation Practice. 08/21

   

• Class Notes 2000 - 2009
  • Phillip K. Cha ’00 is pursuing a new career as a full-time mediator, after 16 years in employment law.
  • Jeff B. Cohen ’00 , partner at Cohen Gardner LLP and former star of The Goonies has published a book titled The Dealmaker's Ten Commandments: Ten Essential Tools for Business Forged in the Trenches of Hollywood.
  • Melissa Dagodag '00 has had her own law firm in Beverly Hills for 14 years. She handles transactional matters related to intellectual property, as well as music, film, and fashion contracts
  • David Grossman ’00 was honored as one of the Top Intellectual Property Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal. Grossman is a partner at Loeb & Loeb in Los Angeles.
  • Jennifer Hartman King ’00 is the founder and president of the downtown Sacramento firm Hartman King PC, where she focuses on environmental issues, litigation and enforcement defense, contaminated real property matters and regulatory compliance. Among her many professional accolades, she has received the Sacramento Business Journal's "Best of the Bar" award for the past seven years.
  • Jill Kastner ’00 will be the next bar president of the Wisconsin State Bar. Kastner, a public interest lawyer of Legal Action of Wisconsin, will be the first female bar president in ten years.
  • Jonathan Levine ’00 has joined Arnold & Porter as a partner in the Bankruptcy and Restructuring practice. He will be resident in the firm's New York office. An experienced bankruptcy and restructuring attorney, Levine represents asset managers and private funds in their investments in distressed situations.
  • Thuy Thi Nguyen ’00 was honored by the Carnegie Corp. as part of its annual Great Immigrants tribute. Nguyen is the President of Foothill College. At age 3, Nguyen and her family joined the wave of “boat people” who fled Vietnam after the end of Vietnam War. They drifted in the Pacific Ocean on a boat for more than 20 days before a commercial ship rescued them and took them to a refugee camp in Japan.
  • Alexandra Roje ’00 joined the Los Angeles office of Lathrop Gage as a Partner in the Insurance Recovery & Counseling practice. Previously Roje was at Latham & Watkins.
  • Chris Kwok ’00 joined JAMS in New York. Kwok joined the JAMS Resolution Center as an arbitrator, mediator and special master in a variety of disputes including business/commercial and employment matters. Kwok joined JAMS after 15 years at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in New York, where he mediated hundreds of employment disputes.
  • Jennifer McGrath ’00 , Senior Attorney at Johnson & Johnson LLP, was featured in the Daily Journal.
  • Courtney Powers ’00 served as the President of the UCLA Law Alumni Association Board of Directors for the 2017-2018 year.
  • Michael Weil '00 joined Morgan, Lewis & Bockius as partner in the San Francisco and Silicon Valley offices. https://www.morganlewis.com/news/2021/06/addition-of-michael-weil-expan… 06/21
  • Peter Ballance '01 has joined the Los Angeles office of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP as a partner in the national Real Estate Group.
  • John Carrigan '01 of Cozen O'Connor, had an article about getting your workforce vaccinated without being sued featured in Law360 and it reached #1 of their top ten articles.
  • Jeff Diener ’01 has joined DLA Piper as the firm's Real Estate Partner in San Francisco. He represents clients in the acquisition, finance, sale, development, management, restructuring and bankruptcy of hospitality, life science, technology and other real estate assets and businesses throughout the world.
  • Rasha Gerges Shields '01 has been elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Click here to read more. 07/21
  • Michelle K. Sugihara ’01 is the Executive Director of CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment), the pioneering non-profit professional organization creating systemic change in Hollywood from the writers’ room to the boardroom to the living room. She is a fourth generation Japanese American born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. She graduated with honors from Claremont McKenna College with a dual major in Economics and Psychology and a minor in Asian American Studies, followed by a law degree from UCLA. Prior to joining CAPE, she was an entertainment attorney, film producer, and adjunct professor for the Claremont Colleges’ Intercollegiate Department of Asian American Studies.
  • Betsy Smegal Andersen ’01 , chair of the Recreation Commission and active civic volunteer, was named to the Piedmont City Council in October 2017.
  • Blye Faust ’01 , award-winning film and television producer, addressed the Morning Forum of Los Altos, championing the power of storytelling in her presentation “Truth in Storytelling: Bringing Real Events to Life Onscreen.”
  • Cara Horowitz ’01 served as co-chair of the 2017 UCLA Law Women LEAD Inaugural Summit.
  • Ur Jaddou '01, President Biden's pick to head U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), was confirmed by the Senate, making her the first woman and first person of Arab and Mexican descent to lead the agency. Click here to read more. 07/21
  • Ross Kutash ’01 runs the Plaintiffs department at BASTA - an eviction defense law firm with three locations in Los Angeles County.
  • Alphonsie Nelson '01 has been named Managing Partner of the Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A.'s Atlanta office.
  • Natalie Fields '02 celebrated a decade of Accountability Counsel, the non-profit legal organization she founded and directs that has supported 2 million people in 50 countries to have their voices heard when their rights are violated.
  • Alex Fisch ’02 was sworn in as Mayor of Culver City.
  • Johanna Schiavoni ’02 recently joined the specialty appellate boutique firm California Appellate Law Group LLP, launching the firm's San Diego office. She also just completed her term as the 2020 President of the San Diego County Bar Association, and was appointed by San Diego's Mayor as the 2021 Chair of the Board of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.
  • Laura Godfrey Zagar ’02 , partner in Perkins Coie’s San Diego office, has been selected by the Burton Awards as a recipient of the 2017 Law360 Distinguished Writing Award for her participation in writing the article "Environmental Streamlining Measures in Title 41 of the FAST Act: What Will They Mean for Infrastructure Project Developers?"
  • Hailyn Chen ’03 was elected as Co-Managing Partner at Munger Tolles & Olson LLP. She also co-chairs the American Bar Association Section of Litigation’s Woman Advocate Committee and serves as a state Supreme Court-appointed member of the state bar’s Board of Trustees.
  • Calvin Z. Cheng ’03 elevated to Member at TroyGould. Cheng, who is bilingual, advises investors and acquirers on cross-border transactions, having completed deals in the U.S., China and the EU. Before joining the firm, he practiced in the Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice of White & Case LLP and as an associate at Morrison & Foerster's Beijing and Los Angeles' offices.
  • Michelle Decasas '03 has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. DeCasas has served as a Deputy City Attorney in the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office since 2007.
  • Lisa Laffer '03 has been promoted to Principal and will join Regent Properties (Regent) Executive Team. Previously Laffer served as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at the real estate investment and development firm.
  • Songhai Miguda-Armstead '03 has been selected to lead a "Cares First, Jails Last" initiative to implement a broad set of alternatives to incarceration. Armstead is scheduled to retire from the Superior Court bench this month.
  • Brett Oppenheim ’03 is the Senior Vice President of The Oppenheim Group. He manages a group of elite real estate agents who sell more than $250 million in luxury properties annually. He and his brother Jason Oppenheim are featured in the Netflix series Selling Sunset.
  • Phuong Phillips ’03 has been named one of Legal Momentum's 2021 honorees at their 16th Annual Women of Achievement Awards.
  • Todd Piro ’03 currently serves as a general assignment reporter, as part of the FOX & Friends team. In this role, Piro serves as a breaking news reporter and occasional guest host across both FOX & Friends and FOX & Friends Weekend. Before embarking on a career in television, he practiced law for five years in Los Angeles at Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP.
  • Anne Swoboda Cruz ’03 received the 2017 Outstanding Leader award from the Defense Research Institute's (DRI) Women in the Law (WITL) Committee. Cruz is a partner at the Los Angeles office of Tucker Ellis LLP.
  • Abigail Zelenski '03 is serving as the 2021 President the Philippine American Bar Association, the largest local association of Filipino American lawyers in the United States. 09/21
  • Arti Bhimani '04 has joined Liebert Cassidy Whitmore in their Los Angeles office as Senior Counsel. Arti most recently served as Deputy General Counsel and head of litigation for a leading global healthcare nonprofit.
  • Phillip E. Carter ’04 was appointed as Senior Director for Legal at Salesforce, responsible for the legal team supporting the company's public sector sales in the U.S. and Canada. Alongside this work, Carter continues to teach government contracts and national security law as an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. 04/21 
  • Jeffrey Goldman ’04 was named by California Superior Lawyers to the Southern California Rising Stars list for 2019. Mr. Goldman is a Partner, resident in Pepper Hamilton LLP's Orange County and Los Angeles Offices.
  • Michael Y. Kao ’04 has joined Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP as general counsel. Prior to joining Cox, Castle & Nicholson, Kao served as assistant general counsel at a leading global strategic advisory and expert consulting firm, where among his responsibilities, he managed the conflicts department and provided strategic advice to senior professionals on a wide range of legal matters, including contractual risk management and regulatory compliance issues.
  • Cheryl M. Lott '04 began her term as a voting alumni Regent on the University of California Board of Regents. the governing body for all ten UC campuses and six healthcare systems on July 1, 2021. Lott also serves as the Vice President of the Alumni Associations of the University of California, and is the immediate Past President of the UCLA Alumni Association, serving 500,000 living alumni world-wide. She is also a member of the UCLA Foundation Board of Directors. 06/21
  • Matthew Nesburn ’04 was named a partner at Akin Gump in Los Angeles. Nesburn is a member of the firm’s global project finance practice.
  • J. Carlos Orellana '04 became the District Counsel of the Santa Clara Valley Water District. Valley Water is a California special district providing Silicon Valley safe, clean water for a healthy life, environment, and economy. Orellana advises the elected Board of Directors and staff, and is responsible for all in-house counsel, outside counsel, and risk management for the agency. 07/21
  • Kelly Pope ’04 was honored by Sacramento Magazine as a 2021 Top Lawyer in Eminent Domain and Backruptcy & Creditor/Debtor areas. 06/21
  • Dylan Ruga ’04 was mentioned in the Los Angeles Daily Journal for starting Stalwart Law Group.
  • Dominik Sklenar ’04 was promoted from counsel to partner at Latham & Watkins in March 2019. He is qualified in California and Hong Kong, and advises on corporate finance and other corporate matters, with a focus on cross-border transactions.
  • Angela Mooney D'Arcy ’04 was featured in Indian Country Today as a featured activist for Native Americans. D'Arcy founded Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples, a Native rights group, and continues to serve as its Executive Director. D’Arcy was also a recipient of the New Voices Fellowship, a national Ford Foundation-funded program dedicated to cultivating the next generation of social justice leaders; the Earthjustice Sutherland Fellowship, awarded each year to a young lawyer to continue their work in environmental public-interest law; and is a member of the 2012 Circle of Leadership Academy sponsored by Native Americans in Philanthropy and the Center for Leadership Innovation.
  • David Ambroz '05 has been named President and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston.
  • Gabriel F. Brakin ’05 has been elevated to Chief Operating Officer at Participant Media. Brakin previously served as General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Business Affairs, and in his new role will oversee company-wide business operations, deal-making, as well as corporate and legal affairs for Participant’s overall long-term strategic plan. He will also be responsible for driving the overall integration and functionality of Participant’s mandate to create commercial content that empowers positive social action.
  • Michael Brown ’05 to lead as partner of Fenwick & West, which has expanded to Southern California, opening an office in Santa Monica to accommodate the growing needs of its technology, life sciences and investor clients in the area. The new office reflects Los Angeles’ growing power in the tech and investor landscape.
  • Pallavi Dhawan ’05 is now the Director of Domestic Violence Policy and Prevention for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.
  • Shana Elson '05 launched the world's first customizable-on-the-spot chocolate store in Ventura, California. At the store customers can choose premium milk, white or dark chocolate, select their toppings from various nuts, dried fruit, candy, cookies and salty snacks and decide whether they want their creation handmade into a bar, squares or hearts.
  • Eric Fisher ’05 has been elected to the Board of Directors for the Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice. Prior to being named a board member, Fisher served as president of the Georgia Appleseed Young Professional Council (YPC.) Fisher is a partner at Taylor English Duma LLP in Atlanta.
  • Julie Goldstein '05 was appointed President-Elect of the Bucks County Bar Association for a one-year term.
  • Bradley A. Lebow ’05 was promoted to partner of the law firm Dunn DeSantis Walt & Kendrick.
  • Audrey Lustgarten ’05 spoke at the North Central Michigan College's Luncheon Lecture about global employment-based immigration in a restrictionist era, both in the U.S. and abroad, and what it means for companies and their employees. Lustgarten currently serves as the co-chair of the American Bar Association Section of International Law’s Immigration and Naturalization Committee.
  • Rory Miller ’05 has been selected by Benchmark Litigation for its 2017 “Under 40 Hot List.” Miller is a partner in Glaser Weil’s Litigation Department.
  • Joshua Schneiderman ’05 has been selected for inclusion in the 2018 Southern California Rising Stars list. Schneiderman is a Partner at Snell & Wilmer in the firm’s corporate and securities group.
  • William DeClercq ’05 announced partner in litigation at Taylor English Duma LLP. In the 15 years that DeClercq has practiced law, he has represented a wide range of large and small businesses, individuals and Fortune 500 companies. In 2019, he was selected as a California Super Lawyer and was previously selected as a Rising Star for four years. He will serve as a remote partner based in Los Angeles.
  • David Guess '05 joined the Orange County office of Greenberg Traurig, LLC as a Shareholder. Although as a member of the firm's sizable Restructuring & Bankruptcy Group David will be involved in bankruptcy cases across the country, he will play a leading role in West Coast bankruptcy cases.
  • Isabel Safie ’05 was named a "Woman Worth Watching" by the Profiles in Diversity Journal. Safie was also selected to the 2017 Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for the fourth consecutive time, and was selected by the Daily Journal as a top Labor & Employment attorney for 2018. Safie is a partner at Best Best & Krieger LLP's Riverside office.
  • Eric Vandevelde ’05 was featured in the Los Angeles Daily Journal as a top Cyber/Artificial Intelligence Lawyer. Vandevelde is known for his work on some of the country's most high profile cases including Apple Inc. in the "Apple v. FBI" case involving the government's demand for assistance in connection with the San Bernardino terrorist attack.
  • Kenneth Askin ’06 was promoted from counsel to partner at Latham & Watkins LLP in March 2019. He is a member of the Banking Practice in the Finance Department who advises on domestic and cross-border acquisition financings, structured financings, and other secured and unsecured leveraged finance transactions.
  • Mohammed Cato ’06 was appointed as UCLA's Title IX Coordinator. In this role, Cato will lead and oversee a talented and growing Title IX team responsible for UCLA’s compliance with Title IX, including policies and procedures to prevent and respond to gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexual violence.
  • Renée Delphin-Rodriguez ’06 has joined DLA Piper as a partner in the firm's Corporate practice based in San Francisco. 05/21
  • M. Douglas Flahaut ’06 was promoted to partner at Arent Fox LLP. M. Douglas Flahaut focuses on business reorganizations, representation of Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 trustees, representation of creditors, preference litigation, and related business litigation matters.
  • Robert Hurwitz ’06 joined Rocket Lab as Senior Legal Counsel. He previously served as an in-house attorney at SpaceX.
  • Elizabeth Y. J. Oh ’06 was promoted from counsel to partner at Latham & Watkins LLP in March, 2019. She is a member of the Banking Practice in the Finance Department who advises on debt financing for direct lenders in the late stage growth and lower middle market space, including technology and life sciences companies, practicing in the firm’s Los Angeles and San Francisco offices. She also represents private equity sponsors and public companies in leveraged finance transactions, with a focus on domestic and cross-border acquisition financings.
  • Neil Peretz ’06 co-founded Contract Wrangler. Peretz is the CEO of the company and they were recently selected for the FFL Accelerator and the LexisNexis LegalTech Accelerator. Previously, Peretz was co-founder and CEO of PocketMail Group, and then COO and CFO of Libraria/Sertanty.
  • Lucy Schwallie '06 was named the Managing Attorney for the Athens, Ohio office if Southeastern Ohio Legal Services. Lucy represents indigent clients in civil legal matters in Appalachian Ohio, and leads the program's Education Equity practice group.
  • George Azadian ’07 is co-founder of the Azadian Law Group PC. with locations in Los Angeles and Pasadena. George is the firm’s President and specializes in employment law, exclusively representing employees.
  • Matt Bonovich '07 was promoted to partner at Sheppard Mullin. He is a member of the Energy, Infrastructure, and Project Finance team and the Real Estate, Land Use, and Environmental Practice Group and is based in the Chicago Office.
  • Veronica Darling '07 has joined the offices of Cultiva Law PLLC, a boutique cannabis practice with offices in Washington, Oregon, and California.
  • Sarah Esberg ’07 is to join the newly formed production company Goddard Textiles, as president. Esberg has been a longtime producer and executive at Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B.
  • K. Sage Fahimi ’07 has been promoted to shareholder at Littler in San Diego, CA. As an accomplished litigator, Sage defends her clients’ interests in all aspects of employment law. In particular, she possesses a deep understanding of California wage and hour law and the legal issues involving California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), class actions and other representative claims.
  • Greg Good '07 was elected President of the Los Angeles Board of Public Works.
  • Patrick Hammon ’07 joined McManis Faulkner as a partner. Patrick has more than a decade of trial experience on a wide range of complex commercial disputes, and he joins the firm from Skadden Arps.
  • Matthew W. Harris '07 pursued a career in education after graduating from UCLA Law. He has been a Principal, Assistant Superintendent, and now Superintendent of Petaluma City Schools in Petaluma, California. 04/21
  • Andrea Hwang ’07, partner at Ropes & Gray in New York, was profiled in “They’ve Got Next: Banking & Finance Fresh Face Andrea Hwang.” Click here to read more. 09/21
  • Taisuke Kimoto ’07 was promoted to partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. Licensed in both Japan and California, Kimoto advises Japanese and US clients on cross-border deals, helping reconcile legal and cultural differences in corporate law, employment matters, and dispute resolution, among other issues. He also advises on real estate matters. He is a member of the Japan practice, collaborating to develop relationships with blue-chip Japanese clients.
  • Jessie Kornberg ’07 has been selected by the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division for the 2016 American Bar Association On the Rise – Top 40 Young Lawyers Award. Kornberg, a founding board member of UCLA Law Women LEAD, became the first female CEO of legal services nonprofit Bet Tzedek in 2014.
  • Dhananjay Manthripragada ’07 made partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Manthripragada has extensive experience defending companies in complex litigation in state and federal courts throughout the country, from pre-trial demands through trial, arbitration, or settlement, and on appeal.
  • Priscila Ocen '07 has been appointed to the Committee on the Revision of the Penal Code by California Governor Gavin Newsom. 4/30/21
  • Kiran Patel ’07 has been named partner at Dentons LLP. Kiran is a member of the Firm’s Commercial Litigation practice and resident in our New York office.
  • Rishi Puri '07 has been named a Shareholder at Lane Powell. His practice focuses on labor and employment issues.
  • Morvareed Salehpour ’07 , Managing Partner at Salehpour Legal Consulting, was interviewed in June 2019 by Tyler Gallagher, for a series called "Women Leading The AI Industry: "If you are planning an event in the AI space, make sure you are including a female speaker". She has represented clients across the nation ranging from entrepreneurs and small businesses to Fortune 500 companies and works in a variety of industries, including technology, artificial intelligence and blockchain among others.
  • Lorna Wilson ’07 was made a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Wilson’s practice focuses on federal income tax matters, including corporate and partnership tax matters in both the United States and international contexts.
  • Kevin Zen ’07 is among Snell & Wilmer's 2019 newly elected California Partners. He is a member of the firm’s corporate and securities group in the Orange County office.
  • Alina Ball ’08 was selected as this year’s recipient of the Clinical Section’s Shanara Gilbert Award. Ball is the founding director of the Social Enterprise & Economic Empowerment Clinic at UC Hastings College of the Law.
  • Rachel Bloomekatz ’08 was a court appointed amica curiae for a case in Ohio - a rare and honorable appointment. The case was heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit.
  • Gregory Broege '08 appeared on the cover of the December 2019 Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine due to his article on California's upcoming "Split Roll" ballot initiative which could drastically change the state's property tax system.
  • Tristan Brown ’08 was featured in an article on PRWeb, examining the importance of hiring a bankruptcy attorney. His office, the T.L. Brown Law Firm, P.C., also hosted a holiday toy donation drive for Toys for Tots.
  • Emily Cuatto ’08 of Horvitz & Levy was selected by her peers for inclusion in Southern California Rising Stars 2017 in the field of Appellate Law. Rising Stars is a list of outstanding attorneys who are 40 years old or younger, or have been practicing for less than 10 years.
  • Shirin Forootan ’08 has joined Workplace Justice Advocates, PLC as a Partner to lead and strategize on behalf of the firm's employee clients. Forootan previously served as defense counsel in employment litigation for several years at reputable firms and has over a decade of experience practicing law. Ms. Forootan has been selected to Super Lawyers’ Southern California “Rising Stars” for several consecutive years, which is a distinction reserved for just two and one-half percent of the attorneys in California.
  • Ethan Goldman '08 was elected partner at Davis Polk. Goldman is a member of the firm's Tax practice in New York. 07/21
  • Sally James ’08 has been elevated to partner at Greenberg Glusker. A summer associate at Greenberg Glusker back in 2007, James joined the firm in July 2017 after nearly a decade at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP.
  • Vanessa Lavely ’08 was promoted to partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in the Litigation Department. She became the first UCLA School of Law graduate to rise to that position at the New York firm.
  • James McGrath ’08 founded the Intellectual Virtues Academy, a Long Beach charter high school, which was recently celebrated in the New York Times top 10 bestseller Coddling of the American Mind. The high school and affiliated middle school were the only K-12 programs identified, and stated that the program developed "wiser, stronger" students, and urging "prestigious universities" to "[a]dmit more students who have attended schools that teach the 'intellectual virtues.'"
  • Sean McKissick '08 joined the trust and litigation practice as of counsel in the Sacramento office of Downey Brand. 4/28/21
  • Anthony Nguyen ’08 was featured in the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of 2018's most influential minority attorneys in Los Angeles. Nguyen is a Shareholder with Shegerian and Associates and has previously represented Fortune 500 companies in labor and employment disputes.
  • Meehan Rasch ’08 was named to the 2018 National LGBT Bar Association list of “Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40.” Rasch currently serves as an appellate court attorney to Justice Brian M. Hoffstadt '95 of the California Court of Appeal, and was also recently elected Co-President of the LGBT Bar Association of Los Angeles.
  • Tim Reed '08 was promoted to Partner at FordHarrison LLP and recognized by the National Bar Association as a 40 Under 40 - Nation's Best Advocate award winner.
  • Kelsey Szamet ’08 was promoted to partner at the California firm of Kingsley & Kingsley. Szamet has been representing plaintiffs in employment cases since 2008 and has been recognized as a "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers magazine each year since 2014.
  • Sara Urch '08 has begun serving as a Senior Assistant Attorney General for the Oregon Department of Justice. She works in the Natural Resources Section of the General Counsel Division focusing on the Portland Harbor Superfund cleanup project.
  • Nathaniel Braun ’09 was admitted to partnership at Selman Breitman in Los Angeles. Braun is a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation, Commercial Transactions, and Insurance practice groups.
  • Jon Cieslak '09 joined Bona Law PC as a Partner. Jon brings nearly a decade of Anti Trust litigation and white-collar criminal defense experience.
  • Christopher G. Geissinger ’09 was promoted to Counsel at Latham & Watkins LLP. He is a member of the Corporate Department whose practice includes advising public and privately held companies, as well as venture capital and investment banking firms, in public and private financing transactions, SEC disclosures, and corporate governance matters, particularly in the life sciences and technology sectors.
  • Tanya Greene ’09 was featured in the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of 2018's most influential minority attorneys in Los Angeles. Greene is a litigation partner in Kirkland's Commercial Litigation Practice Group. She has represented some of the world's most well-known companies and high-profile clients such as BP, Boeing, and RBS Securities, among others.
  • Timothy Hutter ’09 was elected to partnership at Allen Matkins. Hutter's practice focuses primarily on business and real estate disputes, including contract, construction, joint venture, entitlement, land use and commercial landlord/tenant litigation.
  • Heather Brooks Karatz ’09 has been named president of the XFL team the LA Wildcats. She previously worked as the Executive Vice President and general counsel of the Los Angeles Football Club.
  • Kirsten M. Kinegak-Friday ’09 joined Landye Bennett Blumstein’s Alaska Native and corporate law and civil litigation practice in the firm’s Anchorage office.
  • Linda Klein '09 has been promoted to partner at Cox, Castle, and Nicholson LLP. Klein’s practice focuses on land use entitlement and litigation, with extensive expertise in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and in particular air quality and greenhouse gas issues.
  • Jose Macias ’09 has been promoted to shareholder at Littler in San Jose, CA. He focuses his practice across the employment law spectrum, advising and representing clients on matters related to discrimination and harassment, wage and hour class action litigation defense, wrongful termination, and compliance advice and training.
  • Gina Marek ’09 was named one of the 2017 Women Leaders in Tech Law by The Recorder. Marek is a partner at Gunderson Dettmer in their Silicon Valley office.
  • Gina Nicholls ’09 was recently promoted to Partnership at Nossaman LLP and is a member of the Water Practice Group in the Los Angeles office. Ms. Nicholls has litigation, regulatory, and transnational experience. Her practice focuses on water rights, litigation, and California public agencies. She was named a Super Lawyers "Southern California Rising Star" in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
  • Casey Pick ’09 , Senior Fellow for Advocacy & Government Affairs at The Trevor Project, recognized among 2019's Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40.
  • Michael Saryan '09 joins Structure Law Group, LLP for the opening of their new Los Angeles office. Michael has been working with clients solely in business law for 10 years.
  • Karen Michail Shah ’09 has joined FisherBroyles LLP's Los Angeles office, and will be practicing for the firm's Financial Services & Lending and Real Estate groups.
  • Michael A. Titera ’09 was made a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Titera’s practice focuses on advising public companies regarding securities disclosure and compliance matters, financial reporting, and corporate governance.
• Class Notes 1990 - 1999
  • Anthony Barron '90 was named head of the Litigation Department at Nixon Peabody. 05/21 
  • Philip E. Cook '90 was recently elected Chair of the Board of Public Counsel, the nation's largest public interest law firm. Phil has been involved in pro bono work with Public Counsel for some time; he received its Volunteer of the Year award in 2012 (representing applicants for child care centers and homes), 2013 (representing victims of mortgage and other consumer fraud), and 2017 (representing operators of child care homes).
  • Robert Fabela ’90 was appointed the City Attorney for the City of Anaheim. He was previously General Counsel of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.
  • Lisa Halko '90 has been reappointed Chief Counsel of the Department of Conservation. She has served in this role since 2017.
  • Yakub Hazzard ’90 was featured in the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of 2018's most influential minority attorneys in Los Angeles. Hazzard is a partner in Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp's Entertainment and IP Litigation practice group.
  • Francis James '90 was appointed as Resident Representative for the UN Development Programme in Gabon (Central Africa) where his work focuses on climate change, the environment, good governance, youth and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Francis has spent the past 4 and a half years in Haiti with UNDP and the UN peace-keeping mission in Haiti.
  • David Klatsky ’90 is Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Premier Inc. Ranked by U.S. News and World Report as one of the Best Lawyers in America for four consecutive years. Klatsky has served as Premier’s chief outside counsel for the past nine years and has advised Fortune 500 companies. Prior to joining Premier, Klatsky was partner at Mc Dermott Will & Emery LLP.
  • Ann Munson Steines ’90 will be joining Nordstrom as general counsel after more than 21 years in-house at Macy's. She will be responsible for Nordstrom’s risk management strategies and policies and will provide strategic counsel on legal, risk, business and operational matters.
  • Phillip Neiman ’90 joined the JAMS panel in San Francisco. Neiman joined the JAMS Resolution Center as a mediator, arbitrator and special master in a variety of disputes including business/commercial, financial/securities, employment, real property, trusts/estates, insurance, intellectual property and tort claims.
  • Dennis Rolstad ’90 was featured in the Los Angeles Daily Journal as he recently joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP as a Partner in the San Fracisco office.
  • Rebecca Tsosie ’90 gave a talk on ‘Indigenous Nations, Environmental Justice and Public Health’ at the University of Arizona where she is a Regent’s Professor at the James E. Rogers College of Law and a Special Adviser to the Provost for Diversity and Inclusion. Professor Tsosie discussed how environmental pollution from energy resource development causes health impacts for tribal members in many reservation communities, and she will discuss how tribal governments and the federal government ought to handle the consequences of this development for tribal members. Professor Tsosie also serves as a Supreme Court Justice for the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation and as an associate judge on the San Carlos Tribal Court of Appeals.
  • Hui Chen '91 has been hired by the Hawaii Attorney General's Office to work as the Chief Integrity Adviser.
  • Janet Dhillon ’91 , Burlington Stores Inc. general counsel, has been selected by President Donald Trump to serve on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and take over as its chair. Dhillon, who began her legal career by spending 13 years at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, will be nominated to serve a term that expires on July 1, 2022.
  • Michael Garfinkel ’91 joined DLA Piper as a partner in the Media, Sport and Entertainment practice. Garfinkel, who has spent more than 25 years as an entertainment industry litigator, joins DLA Piper from Perkins Coie LLP.
  • Richard Hasen ’91 is the Chancellor's professor of Law and Political Science at the University of California, Irvine. He is an observer, analyst, and commentator on all things electoral. In 2016, Hasen published "Plutocrats United".
  • Nicole Healy '91 was appointed to be a judge in the San Mateo County Superior Court by Governor Gavin Newson. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/07/09/governor-newsom-announces-judicial-ap… 07/12
  • Jayne Lee ’91 has been appointed to a judgeship in the San Joaquin County Superior Court. Lee has served as a commissioner at the San Joaquin County Superior Court since 2018 and has served as a judge pro tem and supervising probate attorney at the San Joaquin County Superior Court from 2015 to 2018.
  • Jacqueline Nguyen ’91 was featured in the Daily Journal as one of the judge panelists that worked on the sneaker case, Adidas v. Sketchers.
  • Marlene Nowlin '91 was promoted to partner at Finch, Thornton & Baird, LLP.
  • Dan Robbins ’91 was elected to a two-year term as President of the Uniform Law Commission (ULC), a leading nation law group. Robbins is Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) in Los Angeles, California.
  • Eric Sagerman '91 was named one of the 500 most influential people in the Los Angeles business community. Sagerman is Managing Partner of BakerHostetler's Los Angeles office and has been recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal on its LA 500 list for the second year in a row. The annual feature highlights the most influential, powerful, and most impactful business professionals in Los Angeles. 08/21
  • Rafael A. Sivilla-Jones '91 was appointed as a judge on the Santa Clara County Superior Court by California Governor Gavin Newsom. Click here to read more. 09/21
  • Susan Koehler Sullivan ’91 was featured in the Los Angeles Daily Journal as a 'Top Woman Lawyer.' Sullivan is a seasoned commercial litigator with over 25 years of experience. Within the first two months of 2017, she won four summary judgments. Sullivan handles insurance coverage investigations and disputes.
  • Kimberly Arouh ’92 has been appointed as the Office Managing Shareholder of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney LLP's San Diego office. Arouh handles complex business litigation, and has been selected for inclusion multiple times in the San Diego Super Lawyers list and The Best Lawyers in America list for Commercial Litigation. She joined Buchanan after serving as a litigator at Latham & Watkins.
  • Matt Fawcett '92 has been awarded Legal Momentum's "Man of Distinction" honor at their 16th Annual Women of Achievement Awards.
  • Nana Gyamfi ’92 was featured in a series in LA Weekly “25 Years After the Riots” – featuring accounts from Angelenos who witnessed the first 48 hours of the 1992 riots. Gyamfi was a student at the time, and after she helped rally community support for defendants in the Reginald Denny case. She has since become a leading civil rights attorney in Los Angeles, where she runs the Crenshaw Legal Clinic, represents Black Lives Matter in court and teaches at Cal State Los Angeles University.
  • Lisa Hone '92 joined the National Economic Council team to steer the Biden administration's broadband expansion efforts. https://www.axios.com/broadband-expert-lisa-hone-white-house-28514ba9-9… 06/21
  • Laurie J. Hepler '92 was elected in 2020 as a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. She also became the Contributing Editor for California's leading treatise in the field - Eisenberg, "Civil Appeals & Writs" (The Rutter Group.) 04/21
  • Jason Kim ’92 was featured in the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of 2018's most influential minority attorneys in Los Angeles. Kim is a deal lawyer. In 2016 and 2017, Kim was also named Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Asian Business Association. He also serves as Director on the Board of Directors of U.S. Korea Law Foundation.
  • David Korduner '92 joined Endeavor Content, the cutting edge independent film and television studio that puts creative talent at the forefront, as Senior Vice President, Associate General Counsel, Labor Relations - the company’s first in-house labor hire.
  • Dan Kupetz ’92 will join 20th Century Fox TV as Executive Vice President of Business Affairs and Operations. Dan had worked at CBS Television Studios as head of business affairs since 2004.
  • Steven Levy ’92 and wife, Sarah, recently wrote a book, "The Rashi Discussion Torah Commentary", which was published by the Jewish Publication Society. Levy works in real estate.
  • Patrick Marette ’92 joins Miller Starr Regalia as senior counsel. Click here for more info. 09/21
  • Patti Perez ’92 , VP of Workplace Strategy for Emtrain, a technology-driven HR culture/compliance company, published her book The Drama-Free Workplace in April 2019. Built upon 25 years of professional experience and robust data from behavioral science research, her book is now available wherever books are sold.
  • Tony Rodriguez '92 was promoted to Vice President and Assistant General Counsel for Litigation at Kaiser Permanente in September 2020. With over 12 million members in eight states and D.C., KP is America’s largest integrated healthcare system. He joined KP in 2015 after partnerships at Morrison & Foerster and Donahue Fitzgerald.
  • Aaron Silberman ’92 will serve as ABA Chair of Public Contract Law Section in 2017-2018. Silberman is a Shareholder at Rogers Joseph O'Donnell, PC., and a member of the firm’s Construction and Government Contracts Practice Groups.
  • John Ulin '92 joined TroyGould PC. John brings more than 25 years of experience to TroyGould and an outstanding reputation as a copyright and trademark litigator.
  • Eugene Volokh ’92 wrote an amicus brief in support of Gerawan Farming on behalf of the Western Growers Association, California Fresh Fruit Association, California Farm Bureau Federation and Ventura County Agricultural Association in an appellate case involving the state Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB.) The State Appellate Court remanded the ALRB, and this is a seen as a victory for Fresno County-based Gerawan, which is one of the largest tree fruit farmers in the nation.
  • James Farrell '93 joined Gibson Dunn as partner. https://www.gibsondunn.com/gibson-dunn-adds-securities-litigation-partn… 07/21
  • Tamar Faulhaber ’93 was sworn in as President of the North Fulton Bar Association in Georgia on May 4, 2019. She has a solo practice in Alpharetta, Georgia and specializes in Family Law.
  • Michelle Flores ’93 joined Akerman LLP's Los Angeles office. Flores joined as a partner in the Labor and Employment Practice Group.
  • Jeffrey Freedman '93 has been appointed chief administrative officer at Creative Artist Agency (CAA.) Previously General Counsel at CAA, he will maintain oversight of CAA’s global legal, human resources, information technology, and real estate areas.
  • Jeff Galvin ’93 was honored as a 2021 Northern California Super Lawyer in Estate and Trust Litigation and as a 2021 Top Lawyer in Estate Planning and Probate by Sacramento Magazine. He was also recognized by JD Supra as a Top Author in the 2021 Readers’ Choice Awards. Galvin is a partner at Downey Brand in the Sacramento office where he represents clients across Northern California in trust and litigation and related civil disputes. 07/21
  • Robert Galvin ’93 is a partner at Wilmer Hale LLC. in the Palo Alto office, and a member of the Intellectual Property Litigation Practice Group. Galvin won a precedent case of popular website domain company Daddy Inc., against the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences in a cyber-squatting dispute. He was also mentioned on The Hollywood Reporter’s Hollywood’s Top 100 Lawyers in 2016.
  • Michael Morgan ’93 was featured in the Los Angeles Daily Journal as a top Cyber/Artificial Intelligence Lawyer. Morgan is a partner at McDermott Will & Emery and specializes in complex data breaches, vehicle autonomy and connectivity.
  • Liane Randolph '93 has been appointed as Chair of the California Air Resources Board. She has been Commissioner at the California Public Utilities Commission since 2015.
  • Teri L. Witteman ’93 has been appointed General Counsel and Secretary of Beyond Meat, Inc. as of May, 2019. Ms. Witteman joins the Company from Musick, Peeler & Garrett LLP, where she was a partner since April 2016, specializing in the areas of SEC compliance, corporate governance, and mergers and acquisitions.
  • Daniel Alexander II '94 is the new director of the Startup and Small Business Clinic (SSBC) at UC Irvine Law School. Alexander is a graduate of Howard University, where he received a bachelor’s in international relations.
  • Yar Chaikovsky ’94 is Global Co-chair of the Intellectual Property practice at Paul Hastings based in Palo Alto, California. Cahikovsky serves as lead counsel for companies in all stages of development, such as eBay, Fox, HTC, Rovi(formerly Macrovision), TrendMicro, Twitter, Vitesse, Yahoo! He is recognized as one of the top patent lawyers in the nation since 2011 in IAM Patent 1000- The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners.
  • Don Fishman ’94 is in his 12th season with the Washington Capitals and ninth as Assistant General Manager and Director of Legal Affairs. In this role, he handles player contract negotiations, player contract research and analysis, the club's day-to-day salary cap position, team salary cap strategic planning, the salary arbitration process, NHL and team salary cap analysis, and interpretation of NHL/NHLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) issues. Fishman also assists the club's general manager with the day-to-day operations of the Capitals hockey operations department such as roster issues, player movement, preseason and regular season scheduling, budgeting, and training camp planning.
  • Darren Green '94 was promoted to Professor of Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital and Practice at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. 07/21
  • Michael Kalt '94 was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America 2021. Michael is a partner in the litigation office of Wilson Turner Kosmo.
  • Brad Small '94 joined Fox Rothschild as partner. Click here to read more. 09/21
  • Teri Vasquez '94 was appointed to the 17th Judicial District Court by Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado. She was previously a shareholder at Bayer & Carey,PC.
  • Hernán D. Vera '94 was nominated to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Judge Vera has served as a judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court since 2020. He previously worked as a principal at Bird Marella P.C. Click here to read more. 09/21
  • Mark Campbell ’95 to spearhead the opening of Shook, Hardy & Bacon's LA office along with partners Michael Mallow and Rachel Straus.
  • Michael Chang '95 was appointed a member of the Advisory Board at the University of California, Irvine Customer Experience Continuing Education Program. Chang will review and advise the curriculum, leveraging his experience bringing great content to passionate fan bases by negotiating sponsorships, tie-in arrangements with sports and entertainment properties and co-promotion and licensing deals. 07/21
  • Lesley Freeman '95 was named the Hollywood Reporter's 2021 Raising the Bar honoree. A top attorney for MGM, Freeman was featured in an article about find her place in Hollywood and keeping a busy film slate amid the pandemic. Click here to read more. 05/21
  • Dmitry Gorin ’95 and his law partner Alan Eisner, both State-Bar Certified Criminal Law Specialists, successfully argued that a murder conviction should be reversed, and obtained a new trial for the elderly client.
  • Hadar Harris ’95 , a human rights attorney and non-profit leader with a passion for working with and on behalf of students, has become the executive director of the Student Press Law Center. Prior to joining SPLC, Harris served as the executive director of the Northern California Innocence Project. She previously served for 13 years as the executive director of the Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law at American University Washington College of Law.
  • Alexander Hoehn-Saric '95 was nominated by President Biden to be the Chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Click here to read more. 07/21
  • Brian Hoffstadt ’95 was mentioned in the Los Angeles Daily Journal for a case involving contractors suing a company over labor violations.
  • Gregory Jones '95 moved from being a partner at Dykema Gossett to a shareholder at Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, in Century City.
  • Michael King ’95 joined The Signatry as Senior Vice President of Gift Planning. King arrives at The Signatry after serving more than 10 years as a charitable gift and estate planning attorney at National Christian Foundation.
  • Jeffrey Prieto ’95 serves as the General Counsel at Los Angeles Community College District. Prieto is the chief legal officer and advisor to the Board of Trustees, Chancellor, Personnel Commission, and senior management for the District.
  • Angela Reddock-Wright ’95 was featured in the "Women of Influence" write-up by the Los Angeles Business Journal. 4/28/21
  • Alexander Tamin '95 has been named Assistant General Manager of the Los Angeles Angels. 
  • Angela Villegas ’95 was featured in the Los Angeles Daily Journal. Villegas serves as a Commissioner for Los Angeles County at the Central Civil West Courthouse and is tasked with hearing requests to modify child support payments.
  • David Warner '95 has been hired as Principal Counsel by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. The Commission governs land use and planning for the 2,000,000 residents bordering Washington D.C. in Prince George’s and Montgomery County, Maryland.
  • Arun Baheti ’96 was appointed Vice President of Operations at The California Wellness Foundation, effective August 2018. He will oversee grants management, information technology, facilities and risk assessment. As part of the executive team, Baheti will help promote excellence and innovation throughout Cal Wellness’ operations.
  • Jennifer Hasbrouck ’96 has been named Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Southern California Edison. Hasbrouck has been with SCE since 1999 and currently serves as the assistant general counsel.
  • Kristin Holland ’96 is now a partner with Dentons US LLP in Honolulu, Hawaii. She handles complex commercial and intellectual property litigation matters and lives in Kailua with her husband Rick Sachar.
  • Andrei Iancu ’96 was unanimously confirmed by The U.S. Senate as the next head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He will lead an agency tasked with deciding who owns the rights to inventions in areas like software, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. Iancu was nominated by President Donald Trump in August.
  • Alexander Lee '96 has been awarded the 2021 Dana Latham Memorial Award by the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Taxation Section for his outstanding contribution to the community and to the legal profession. He is the youngest practitioner to receive this prestigious award. Alexander Lee is a partner at Cooley LLP and focuses on domestic and international transactional tax matters with a concentration on public and private M&A, lending and finance and capital markets and an emphasis on cross-border transactions and corporate transactions involving Asian clients.
  • Caroline Mankey ’96 has been selected by the editorial team at The National Law Journal for inclusion on its “Intellectual Property Trailblazers” list. She was also selected by the editorial team at the Daily Journal, for inclusion on its “Top Intellectual Property Lawyers” list. Mankey joined the firm Akerman LLP as a partner. She was previously at Sedgwick LLP, where she chaired the Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Group.
  • Michael Tu ’96 was featured in the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of 2018's most influential minority attorneys in Los Angeles. Tu is a partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP and is responsible for the victory of the Sumner Redstone's battle for control of Viacom Inc.
  • Andres Almanzan '97 was re-elected to serve as Chief Executive Officer of Mounce, Green, Myers, Safi, Paxson, & Galatzan, P.C.
  • Lil Delcampo ’97 , former USC Associate General Counsel, joins Carlson & Jayakumar LLP as Partner. Before joining Carlson and Jayakumar, Ms. Delcampo served as Associate General Counsel for USC Health Sciences where she supervised the health sciences attorneys, providing legal support to the university’s health system.
  • Irving Gomez ’97 was interviewed for an article in Forbes entitled "Helping Investors Understand The Importance Of ESG." Gomez is an Assistant Corporate Secretary and Managing Counsel in the Corporate Legal Group for Intel Corporation. Irving is responsible for the company's corporate-level legal activities, including certain securities filings with the SEC, providing advice and counsel to the Board, the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and senior management in the areas of emerging corporate governance, securities laws, and executive compensation. Prior to joining Intel, Irving was in private practice as an Associate at Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco.
  • Michelle Hernandez ’97, shareholder at Modrall Sperling in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has again been named a Southwest Super Lawyer and is listed in Best Lawyers in America for Health Care Law, Litigation – Health Care, and Litigation – Insurance. 09/21
  • Jennifer Kelly ’97 was named one of the 2017 Women Leaders in Tech Law by The Recorder. Kelly is a partner at Fenwick & West LLP. She is the Chair of the IP & Commercial Litigation Group and Co-Chair ​of the Games Industry Group.
  • Dan Limerick '97 has been appointed to Chief Operating Officer of WME.
  • John McKinney ’97 , Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney, was featured in a Los Angeles Times article after he secured a murder conviction against an 18-year-old woman for her role in the 2014 death of a USC graduate student from China.
  • Ingrid Myers ’97 joins King & Spalding as a partner. Myers joined the firm's Corporate, Finance, and Investments practice group in its Houston office. Myers's practice focuses on the drafting and negotiation of construction-related contracts for the development of energy and other major infrastructure projects.
  • Rosemary Nunn '97 was named 2021 Commercial Real Estate Visionary. Nunn is a partner at Musick Peeler. Click here to read more. 07/21
  • Tracy Rane '97 joined Ballard Spahr's Los Angeles office. Rane is a member of the firm's Litigation Department and Media and Entertainment Law Group. She is a litigator with two decades of experience providing counsel to clients through all stages of a trial. 07/21
  • Stephen A. Cazares ’98 joined the white collar and government investigations team at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. He was most recently the Deputy Chief of the Major Frauds Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles and was previously a staff attorney in the SEC Division of Enforcement.
  • David Frockt '98 is currently serving his third term in the Washington State Senate, representing parts of Seattle and surrounding suburbs. He serves as Vice Chair of the Senate Ways & Means Committee and on the Senate Health Care Committee.
  • Brenton Hamlet ’98 , a Beverly Hills, California based Merrill Lynch advisor, was one of 11 employees recently honored with the 2015 David Brady Award at a ceremony in New York, recognized for his outstanding philanthropy, client focus and overall commitment to his company and community.
  • Jamie Jefferson '98 joined Barg Coffin Lewis & Trapp as partner. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/attorney-jamie-jefferson-joins… 06/21
  • Richard Johnson '98 joined Kaufman Borgeest & Ryan LLP's California office. He is Senior Litigation Counsel to the firm and represents international and domestic insurers in complex coverage and litigation matters. 08/21
  • Jeffrey Lowenstein ’98, partner at Bell Nunnally in Dallas, Texas, made the Best Lawyers in America 2022 list for Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Intellectual Property. 08/21
  • Marie Mendoza '98 was promoted to Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Kratos Defense and Security Solutions Inc.
  • Effie Turnball Sanders ’98 was selected as Executive Director for the South Los Angeles Transit Empowerment Zone (SLATE-Z). Sanders also serves as Vice President of the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters and as a member of the nonprofit board Social Action Partners.
  • Nichole Neal Walker ’98 has been promoted to Senior Vice President & Senior Wealth Planner in the Wealth Planning/Private Banking division at City National Bank.
  • Joshua Briones ’99 was named one of the 500 most influential people in the Los Angeles business community. Briones is Managing Member of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.'s Los Angeles office and has been recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal on its LA 500 list for the second year in a row. The annual feature highlights the most influential, powerful, and most impactful business professionals in Los Angeles. 08/21
  • Chad Gordon ’99 was named as a member of the World Poker Fund Holdings, Inc. Board of Directors. Gordon, a lawyer and broker, has nearly two decades of experience in gaming, gaming regulation, real estate and corporate issues.
  • Spencer Kook ’99 was welcomed as a new member to the Imagine Project - Los Angeles' new Equity Children's Theatre’s Board of Directors. Kook is a member of the Executive Committee and Managing Partner of the downtown Los Angeles office of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP.
  • Peter Nguyen '99 was appointed to the position of Associate Director - Systemwide Labor Relations at the University of California, Office of the President.
  • Lynn Scaduto ’99 presides over a family law court at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles, and her role was discussed in an article in the Daily Journal.
  • Jonathan West ’99 was elected to partnership at Latham & Watkins. West is a member of the Entertainment, Sports & Media Practice in the Corporate Department in Century City.
  • Daniel Wu '99 joined O'Melveny & Myer's technology practice in Century City as partner. Wu, a leading technology focused lawyer, was recently named one of the Most Influential Minority Attorneys by the Los Angeles Business Journal. Click here to read more. 06/21
  • Navid Yadegar '99 was named among the top 100 lawyers in Southern California by Super Lawyers. Navid practices employment law and is a partner at Yadegar, Minoofar, & Soleymani LLP.
  • Meldia Yesayan ’99 was appointed Director of Oxy Arts, the interdisciplinary hub for creativity and the arts at Occidental College.
• Class Notes 1980 - 1989
  • Rebecca Burnham ’80 was appointed to serve as chair of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona board of directors. Burnham is a Shareholder at the Greenberg Traurig office in Phoenix, AZ.
  • Dale A. Drozd ’80 was featured in the Los Angeles Daily Journal. Judge Drozd was confirmed as U.S. District Judge in 2015 to the Fresno division. Since JudgeDrozd's appointment, he has been instrumental in providing relief to the court system which had been strained under significant case backlog.
  • Theresa Fay-Bustillos ’80 was appointed Chief Program Director of Blue Shield of California Foundation. In this role, she will lead the overall strategy, design, and management of all the Foundation's programmatic and grantmaking activities, as well as its strategic planning, organizational learning, and evaluation.
  • Theresa Fay-Bustillos ’80 joins Benetech board of directors. Benetech, the leading software for social good nonprofit, announced the appointment of Theresa Fay-Bustillos to its Board of Directors. Fay-Bustillos’s appointment will provide insight, support and guidance for Benetech’s work in education, poverty alleviation, and human rights.
  • Knox Kimberly '80 serves as Chair of the Steering Committee for the Texas Child Protection Roundtable and on the Board of Directors for Texans Care for Children, the state's leading advocacy organization for the well being of children.
  • Laurie Levenson ’80 is the founding director of Project for the Innocent and was featured in the Daily Journal article titled "After decades, murder conviction is overturned" (3/16/2017) for her work on the overturned murder conviction for Andrew Leander Wilson.
  • Alec Nedelman '80 has joined Katten's Real Estate practice as Senior Counsel.
  • Rosendo Pena Jr. ’80 is the first Latino appointed justice to serve on the 5th District. Justice Pena was appointed by Gov. Gray Davis on October 21, 2002.
  • James Ash ’81 retired December 31, 2020 from Husch Blackwell LLP, where he had served in several leadership roles, including Executive Board membership, Business Division Chair, and Food and Agriculture Business Unit head.  Ash was recognized by Best Lawyers in America for 26 straight years in the areas of corporate, M&A and corporate finance, and was twice named by that publication as the top corporate attorney in the Kansas City market.  He was also ranked Tier 1 by Chambers.  In retirement, Jim and his wife Pam of 44 years are enjoying their granddaughter and Jim continues to serve as an appointee of President Obama to the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development, which advises USAID on issues of food insecurity in developing countries. 08/21
  • Douglas Canfield '81 has been working in legal services for almost 30 years. He is the founding Executive Director of Legal Services Corporation of Delaware, Inc. and has served in that position, going into his 25th year. He is the longest serving executive director of any legal aid or legal services organization in the history of the State of Delaware. In that position he has been the involved in the creation of numerous initiatives, including the Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program, the Access to Justice Program and the Homelessness Prevention Project.
  • Joscelyn Jones Torru '81 was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to the Alameda County Superior Court to serve as a Judge.
  • Adam Kurland ’81 , Howard University School of Law Professor, was quoted in a Reuters article entitled “FDA’s sharing of grand jury information comes under criticism” in September 2016.
  • Julie Mebane ’81 a partner at Duane Morris LLP, received the fourth annual Duane Morris Pro Bono Leadership Award, which recognizes an attorney who exemplifies the spirit of pro bono: a selfless, long-standing and unwavering commitment to pro bono service; a leader by example who accepts pro bono matters without fanfare; and a pro bono contributor who encourages and mentors other firm attorneys in pro bono service.
  • Martine Rothblatt ’81 was honored with the UCLA Medal, the university's highest honor. Rothblatt is the Founder and CEO of United Therapeutics pharmaceutical company. She also founded Sirius XM satellite radio.
  • Benjamin Scheibe ’81 was mentioned in a Daily Journal article as a representative of a client suing a former law partner.
  • Janice Kamenir-Reznik ’82 was appointed new Board Chair at Beit T’Shuvah.
  • Dennis Ragen ’82 was mentioned in a Daily Journal article as the defense in an appeal concerning herbicides.
  • Brad "Tony" Summers ’82 joined Lane Powell's Portland office as a Shareholder. Summers' principal areas of practice are bankruptcy and debtor-creditor law, workouts and business transactions. He was previously a partner at Ball Janik.
  • Michelle Blakemore ’83 , who has served the County of San Bernardino for 28 years, was appointed County Counsel by the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors. Blakemore joined the Office of County Counsel in 1989 as a Deputy County Counsel and was promoted to Principal Assistant County Counsel in January 2009. In December 2010, she was named to her current position as Chief Assistant County Counsel.
  • Angela Brock-Kyle ’83 , JD/MBA 1983, added a directorship with Hunt Companies, Inc., a global private real estate and infrastructure firm, to her board portfolio which includes Guggenheim/Rydex Funds and the YMCA Retirement Fund. In addition she advises on global governance and board issues through her firm B.O.A.R.D.S., founded in 2013, and on behalf of Diligent Institute, a research affiliate of Diligent Corporation and board service organization.
  • Tim Coates '83 was appointed Co-Chair of the International Municipal Lawyers Association’s California State Region.
  • Don Gibson ’83 joined the ASU Law staff as a professor of practice in the Sports Law and Business Program. He focuses primarily on interscholastic and intercollegiate athletics, including an examination of gender- and racial-equity issues. He also designed a new course focused on personal and business branding for athletes and sports properties.
  • E. George Joseph ’83 , managing partner at Nossaman, was featured in the Los Angeles Daily Journal about the firm's 75th anniversary.
  • Daniel McLoon ’83 was featured in the Los Angeles Daily Journal as a top Cyber/Artificial Intelligence Lawyer. He was a part of the legal team that convinced a 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel to ax a $12 million class action judgement against a unit of Experian PLC, a consumer credit reporting agency and one of McLoon's longtime clients. McLoon specializes in data breach response and class action defense.
  • Jeffrey Nagler ’83 was promoted to President, Warner Bros. Worldwide Studio Operations effective February 1, 2020. Nagler most recently served as Executive Vice President of the Studio Facilities group at Warner Bros., a role he was promoted to in 2001. He previously served as Senior Vice President of Business Affairs for the group.
  • Walter Oetzell ’83 was mentioned in the Los Angeles Daily Journal article entitled "Resolving Insolvency", concerning multi-million dollar reorganizations and his firm Danning, Gill, Diamond & Kollitz, LLP. Oetzell is a partner at the firm.
  • Yvette Roland ’83 was featured in the Daily Journal highlighting her work as a hearing judge on the State Bar Court since 2014.
  • Dolly Gee ’84 was mentioned in the Daily Journal for reducing a judgement against Kimberly-Clark Corp. and Halyard Health Inc. Judge Gee is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
  • Leslie Gilbert-Lurie '84 has released an audiobook version of her highly-acclaimed Holocaust memoir "Bending Toward the Sun: A Mother and Daughter Memoir". The audiobook is available on Audible.
  • Philip Gutierrez ’84 was mentioned in the Los Angeles Daily Journal for granting certification to a subclass of real property owners to sue an oil company. Judge Gutierrez also presided over the 2017 UCLA Law Bar Admission Ceremony. He swore graduates into the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
  • Daniel A. Olivas ’84 is an award winning author of nine books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. He has written on culture and literature for the New York Times, Los Angeles Review of Books, BOMB, La Bloga, and the Guardian. Most recently, Playwrights' Arena announced the cast of his play, Waiting. This is a shorter, pandemic version of his full-length play, Waiting for Godinez. 07/21
  • David Gindler ’84 , partner at Irell Manella LLP, specializes in intellectual property litigation and licensing. Gindler was one of the principal trial attorneys in City of hope National Medical Center v. Genentech, Inc., in which the City of Hope obtained a verdict including $302 million in compensatory damages. The Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal named Gindler one of California’s “Top IP Litigators” in 2008, 2014, 2015 and 2018. He was also recognized by Law360 as a “Life Sciences MVP”.
  • Val Ackerman '85 was elected to the 2021 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class. Click here to read more. 
  • Joanne Moore ’85 won an "Excellence in Teaching" award from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Moore is a full-time faculty member in the School of Filmmaking.
  • Arnold Wuhrman '85 relocated to Lake Oswego, Oregon in June, 2018. Both of his kids graduated in 2020, and he and his wife are living the joyous life of empty nesters on top of a beautiful, pine tree-filled mountain.
  • Joel Beres ’86 has been named to the 2021 "IP Stars" list in Kentucky as a Copyright Star and a Trademark Star. He was also recognized as the Louisville Litigation - Patent Lawyer of the Year for 2021. Beres is a founding member and former co-chair of the Intellectual Property and Technology Service Group at Stites & Harbison PLLC. 07/21 
  • Lolita Buckner Inniss ’86 was named Dean of University of Colorado Law School. Inniss will become Colorado Law’s first African American dean and second female to lead the school. 04/21
  • James M. Burns ’86 joined Dykema Gossett PLLC's Busines Litigation practice group as a member in the firm's Washington, D.C. office. 04/21
  • Brad Krasnoff ’86 was mentioned in the Los Angeles Daily Journal article entitled "Resolving Insolvency", concerning multi-million dollar reorganizations and his firm Danning, Gill, Diamond & Kollitz, LLP. Krasnoff is a partner at the firm.
  • Gary Bradus '87 was named a 2020 Northern California Super Lawyer. Gary is a Shareholder in the Corporate group at Weintraub Tobin.
  • Alicia Miñana de Lovelace ’87 served as the UCLA School of Law Reunion Challenge National Chair for 2017, speaking at the September 2017 Law Reunion.
  • Andrew Shapiro ’87 was elected to a 2nd term as Board Chair & President of the Mill Valley Library Foundation. Additionally he was appointed to the Board of the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Northern California.
  • Joseph Taylor ’87 was added as a partner to the firm Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, PC in the Media & Entertainment Litigation Group. Joe has been involved in several high profile entertainment cases in recent years and is a significant addition to the New York based Frankfurt Kurnit’s 2-year-old Los Angeles office.
  • Scott Campbell ’87 serves as City Attorney for the City of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island and General Counsel for Gold Coast Health Plan, which provides Medi-Cal benefits for over 200,000 members in Ventura County. He also continues to serve as the Practice Group Leader of Best Best and Krieger's Municipal Law practice group. He has been recognized as a Super Lawyer for over a decade. 05/21
  • Patricia Donahue '87 was appointed Magistrate Judge by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. She will sit in the court's Western division.
  • Gary Frischling ’87 a partner at Irell & Manella LLP in the Los Angeles area, has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for the 11th straight year and was named to the Southern California "Super Lawyers" list by Los Angeles Magazine for the years 2006-2016. Frischling was also honored as one of the Top Intellectual Property Lawyers in California in 2018 by the Daily Journal.
  • Bill Anderson ’88 is the founder of chief executive at First Beverage - a private equity group which funds startups and helps get their beverages on the shelves before being acquired. Anderson founded First Beverage Group as an investment bank and consultancy in 2005 after serving as executive vice president at Topa Equities.
  • Michelle A. Banks ’88 , senior adviser at BarkerGilmore, is a recipient of the American Bar Association’s 2019 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award. Banks is a senior adviser at BarkerGilmore, a New York-based boutique executive search firm, specializing in providing executive coaching to general counsel, as well as the co-founder and co-chair of UCLA Law Women LEAD.
  • James Batchelder ’88 was honored as one of the Top Intellectual Property Lawyers in California in 2018 by the Daily Journal. Batchelder is a partner at the firm Ropes & Gray LLP.
  • Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. '88 was confirmed to serve as a federal judge in the Central District of California. He has been an LA County Superior Court Judge since 2016.
  • George Brown '88 was appointed executive director of the Stanford Center for Racial Justice at Stanford Law School. Click here to read more. 09/21
  • Frank W. Chen ’88 Frank W. Chen was elected by the judges of the Los Angeles Superior Court to become the Los Angeles Superior Court's newest Court Commissioner. As a lawyer, Frank was best known for his pro bono work in combating abusive litigation. Most notably, in recognition for his public service involvement, he was named a recipient of California Lawyer Magazine's Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award for 2003 for his volunteer work with state and local prosecutors, local elected officials, legislators, and the State Bar of California in coordinating a unique and sweeping defense to abusive litigation brought by the Trevor Law Group of Beverly Hills. Additionally, since 2009, he has written and given a multitude of presentations on the topic of combating abusive ADA accessibility litigation in California to numerous bar associations, chambers of commerce, and professional organizations. In the late 1990s, he was also instrumental in leading both the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office and the State Bar of California in the battle against the Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL).
  • Jeff Galvin '88 was selected to join the Executive Committee of the Anthony M. Kennedy American Inn of Court. Galvin is a partner at the firm Downey Brand. (7/23/2021)
  • Chuck Geerhart ’88 has been selected for membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Geerhart is a partner in the firm Paoli & Geerhart.
  • Sidney Levinson ’88 joined Debevoise & Plimpton LLP as a partner in its Restructuring Group. She brings to the firm more than 30 years of experience representing bondholders, secured lenders, debtors, trustees and creditors' committees in complex and challenging restructuring and bankruptcy proceedings.
  • Mark Miller ’88 has been appointed Senior Vice President of investor relations and strategic planning at Encompass Health, a national leader in integrated healthcare services. Previously, Miller was Vice President at Maximus. Click here to read more. 09/21
  • Mark Price ’88 was named among The Best Lawyers in America© for 2018. Price is a Shareholder at Roetzel & Andress in Naples, Florida, where he practices real estate law.
  • Arthur Rieman '88 established The Law Firm for Non-Profits (LFNP) as a solo pratice in August 1996. This month marks the 25th anniversary for the now seven person firm who help guide the important work of the LFNP, "helping good people do good things." Click here to read more. 08/21
  • Ronald Sally ’88 joins JLL's Project and Development Services team as a Senior Vice President in charge of Sports & Entertainment and Higher Education sectors in the West. Sally is a seasoned and accomplished business executive with considerable experience and success in the sports/entertainment, venue development, and education industries. At CAA ICON, he served as an owner’s representative and development executive on several successful, high-profile projects including the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, home of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings and the first LEED platinum indoor sports arena in the country.
  • Thomas R. Sestanovich '88 joined Freeman Freeman & Smiley (FFS) as partner in its real estate practice. Sestanovich brings to FFS over 30 years of commercial real estate experience.
  • Erich Andersen ’89 has been named the Global General Counsel of TikTok. He will lead global legal team as the company expands its compliance and regulatory engagement capabilities.
  • Ken Berlin ’89 has been appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer of Advaxis. Berlin will also serve as a Director of the company.
  • Sara Berman- Barrett ’89 has been named Director of Programs for Academic and Bar Success for the AccessLex Center for Legal Education Excellence. Berman will be coming from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law, where she served as Director of Critical Skills and Bar Success Programs.
  • Kevin Brown ’89 was featured in an article in the Los Angeles Daily Journal about his work as a Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge titled "Tough Love."
  • Ronald Kaye '89 has been appointed to serve on the L.A. County Superior Court. Kaye was previously a partner at Kaye, McLane, Bednarski, & Litt LLP.
  • Dommond Lonnie ’89 was appointed to serve as Director of the Automotive Industry Group at Dykema, a multidisciplinary group focused on providing legal services to automotive and mobility clients. Based in the firm’s Los Angeles office, Dommond represents domestic and foreign automobile/mobility manufacturers in product liability, class action, toxic tort, and commercial litigation matters.
  • Susan S. Shields ’89 , a shareholder and tax and estate planning attorney with the law firm of McAfee & Taft, has been elected to serve as president-elect of the Oklahoma Bar Association. She will assume the role of president of the professional organization, which currently has more than 18,000 members, in 2020.
  • Susan Shields ’89 received a top Band 1 ranking in the Private Wealth Law category of the recently released 2020 edition of Chambers High Net Worth.
  • Livingston "Jack" Wong ’89 was profiled in the Hawaii Business Magazine for his work as CEO of Kamehameha Schools (6/2017). Wong oversees a portfolio that includes a $10.6 billion endowment; ownership of more Hawaii land than any other nongovernment organization; and developments in Kakaako, Moiliili, Kapalama and Kona; three K-12 campuses and 30 preschools with a total of 7,000 students; plus another 7,000 learners in a variety of culture-based programs. Wong joined Kamehameha Schools in 1997 as senior counsel.
  • Erich Andersen ’89 joined TikTok as global general counsel after 24 years in various leadership roles at Microsoft. He will be based in New York.
  • Ronald Kaye ’89 was named one of the 100 attorneys in California by the Los Angeles Daily Journal. Kaye has specialized as a trial lawyer representing plaintiffs in both federal and civil. Before forming KMBL, Kaye was a trial lawyer in the Office of the Federal Public Defender for 8 years. In 2010, he was named one of the California Attorney of the Year by the California Lawyer Magazine. Kaye was also featured in Southern California’s Prisoner’s Right Award. In 2015, Kaye received the Johnnie Cochran Award from the Criminal Courts Bar Association of Los Angeles, and he was the Lead counsel for the Gabriel Carrillo v. County of Los Angeles.
  • Melinda Murray '89 was elected to her third term as President of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission. She is also President of the California Association of Black Lawyers.
  • Scot Stone '89 retired from the Federal Communications Commission at the end of 2019 and reports that teleretirement, while not optimal, still beats teleworking.
• Class Notes 1970 - 1979
  • Dick Eiden ’70 recently published his memoir “Paying the Rent: Adventures of a Left Coast Activist Lawyer from the Turbulent ‘60s to the Era of Donald Trump,”. The book covers his 25 years a lawyer and his continuing struggle for peace and justice.
  • Thomas Stindt ’70 (Ret.), has been recognized for civic volunteerism by receipt of a Certificate from the Los Angeles Police Department, acknowledging one thousand hours of service to the Detectives of the Van Nuys Division, L.A.P.D. He is in his fourth year of pro bono service as a Detectives' Assistant, Los Angeles Police Department, supporting the CAPS, MAC and Theft table detectives of the Van Nuys Division.
  • John Dobroth '71 has retired and has been doing some commercial acting.
  • Donald Engleman ’71, Managing Partner at North Harbor Associates LLC investment firm, is also one of the founders of the investment group TechFort Worth and is Chair of its Screening Committee. He retired as Vice President -International Partnership of Verizon Information Services. He is also a judge in the Metroport Court in Southlake, Texas. 09/21
  • Harold Hart-Nibbrig ’71 is an artist and a sole practitioner who continues to practice out of his Los Angeles office. His art piece entitled "River's End" appeared at the Riverside Art Market event at the Riverside Art Museum. Hart-Nibbrig has had exhibits throughout Southern California, including Pasadena, Claremont, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Sierra Madre, Los Angeles and Idyllwild.
  • Paul S. Meyer ’71 will serve as Co-Chair of the American College of Trial Lawyers Communication Committee for 2019 and as President of the Orange County Criminal Defense Bar Association. He was also named Orange County Lawyer of the Year in Criminal Defense by Best Lawyers in America.
  • Laurence Rubin ’71 has been appointed Presiding Justice of Division 5 of the Court of Appeal.
  • Rinaldo Brutoco ’71 is now the host of “Solutions News", a weekly radio talk show presented by the World Business Academy. The show discusses solutions to local, national and global problems to give people optimism and solutions for the future.
  • David Carter ’72 led a march of county workers, elected officials, lawyers and reporters through Orange County’s largest homeless encampment along the Santa Ana Riverbed. Unsatisfied with secondhand information about living conditions at the riverbed, Judge Carter went to see for himself, talking to dozens of homeless people, picking up trash and recruiting volunteers.
  • Roger Boren ’73 was featured in the Daily Journal article concerning a trial involving Beats headphones.
  • George Kieffer ’73 was mentioned by the Daily Journal in an article regarding his interest in music and his path to becoming a lawyer. Kieffer is a partner at Manatt, and the Chair of the University of California Board of Regents.
  • Jonathan Airey ’73 is a retired partner in the Vorys Columbus office. His Oil and Gas law expertise has appointment him as General Counsel to the Ohio Oil and Gas Association. He has also has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America, Oil and Gas Law, 2008-2017.
  • Joshua Dressler '73 is in his 43rd year of full-time teaching, his 20th year at Ohio State, and prior recipient of the Distinguished University Scholar and Distinguished University Professor awards.
  • Arnold Gross '73 was selected as a Southern California Super Lawyer for 2022 in plaintiff personal injury, a selection he has received every year since 2008. Gross was selected as a Best Lawyer for 2022 as well. He has been pre-eminent AV rated by Martindale Hubbell for over 35 years. Gross is senior trial counsel for State Law Firm, APC. 07/21
  • Joe Hilberman ’73 is happy to announce yet another potential Bruin! His daughter Charlotte gave birth to daughter Ruby 8/1/21.  He continues his mediation and arbitration practice is and enjoying his now 4 grandchildren! 09/21
  • Michael Abzug ’74 was mentioned in the Los Angeles Daily Journal for doing "good judicial work." The article went on to say that Judge Abzug "tends to issue written rulings so lawyers understand his reasoning."
  • Julian Bailey ’74 was mentioned in a Daily Journal article regarding the release of discovery by the Orange County Crime Lab. Judge Bailey is a Superior Court judge in Orange County. He was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown in May 2012 to fill a newly created position, and was elected to a full term in 2014.
  • Kenneth Gibbs '74 successfully mediated a dispute between Kiewit Corp. and the Metropolitan Transit Authority using a seldom-used mediation technique often referred to as a "mini trial". His 75-page non-binding was accepted by both parties and it became the settlement of the case.
  • Antonia Hernandez ’74 attended a "Real Film" event at the law school featuring the film "No Más Bebés." The film is about her fight for justice for Mexican immigrant women who were sterilized at the Los Angeles County - USC Medical Center in the 1970s. Hernandez was on hand for Q & A after the screening.
  • Victor Kenton ’74 was featured in an article in the Daily Journal titled "Timely & Therapeutic" detailing his work at Judicate West and 14 years as a magistrate judge of the Central District of California (4/28/2017).
  • Franz Miller ’74 has been appointed to Orange County Superior Court by Gov. Gray Davis. In 2002, Judge Miller was Senior Staff Attorney at 4th District Court of Appeal. From 1989 to 2002, he was Adjunct Professor of Law at Whittier Law School.
  • Lynn Miller ’74 joined autonomous trucking company Plus as General Counsel. Prior to Plus, Miller was  Associate General Counsel and Chief of Litigation and Privacy at Tesla Motors. Prior to Tesla, Miller was Senior Litigation Manager at Apple Inc. Miller was also partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, and served as Assistant City Attorney for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office where she prosecuted 40 jury trials. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210622005314/en/Lynn-Miller-Fo… 06/21
  • Judith O'Brien ’74 is a partner in the Silicon Valley office of King and Spalding, member of the firm’s Corporate Practice Group. Prior to joining King and Spalding, O’Brien was partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. She also co-founded Incubic Venture Fund and served as Manager Director. She has been recognized in various publications continuously since 1993 - such as The Legal 500 United States, The American Lawyer - Deal maker of the Year 2000. Forbes Magazine Midas List- One of venture capital’s top deal makers, 2001-2005.
  • Percy Anderson ’75 was responsible for granting favor to the plaintiff in the Wells Fargo Bank case, in which he ruled that Wells Fargo had violated labor laws and was liable for damages. Judge Anderson was also mentioned in the Daily Journal article concerning a $500 million copyright infringement lawsuit he tossed out in 2016 that is now up for revival.
  • John G. Branca ’75 a distinguished biographee of Marquis Who's Who, was named the World's #1 Music Attorney. Partner and head of the music entertainment department at the prominent entertainment law firm Ziffren Brittenham LLP in Los Angeles since 1981, Mr. Branca has represented over 35 members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
  • Edmund Clarke ’75 was appointed to the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 2007 by Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggar. Prior to his appointment, Judge Clarke was a partner from 1992 - 2006 at Stark, Rasak & Clarke.
  • Andrew Guilford ’75 was profiled in the Daily Journal for his service as U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California. He was also was mentioned in another issue of the Los Angeles Daily Journal about a case concerning what constitutes timely public access to state court filings. Judge Guilford was appointed by President George W. Bush to the federal bench in 2006.
  • Robert Mc Guiness ’75 was featured in the Los Angeles Daily Journal in regard to his decision in Vaughn v. Tesla Inc. race bias case.
  • Juan Ulloa ’75 was featured in the Los Angeles Daily Journal highlighting his ability to work with limited resources in Imperial County. Judge Ulloa was elected to Imperial Country Court - an under-funded, high intensity drug trafficking, impoverished area - in 1994. Judge Ulloa is known for his ability to efficiently manage cases, empathy and creative thinking.
  • Alex Kozinski ’75 was profiled on CBS' 60 Minutes in an interview with Lesley Stahl. Judge Kozinski offered advice to President Donald Trump, and offered his opinion on various topics including splitting the Ninth Circuit and the death penalty.
  • Maggie Levy '75 Maggie Levy is a mediator and arbitrator with ADR Services, Inc., which has offices in Century City, downtown LA, Orange County, San Diego, Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. Since April of this year, she has been conducting mediations on Zoom.
  • Carolyn Starks Saxon '75 Retired from the Office of the State's Attorney, Baltimore City in 2004 and retired from the Office of the State's Attorney Prince George's County in 2012. She resides in Bowie, Maryland.
  • Marc Steinberg '75 Has recently published a new book entitled Rethinking Securities Law, Urges Reform of Nation’s Securities Laws. (7/23/2021)
  • William Fahey ’76 was appointed to the Los Angeles County Superior Court by Gov. Pete Wilson in 1998. Judge Fahey is known for his thorough preparation when trying a case. Prior to his appointment, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District and formed Smaltz, Anderson & Fahey in Los Angeles, specializing in complex civil and white-collar cases.
  • Wilma Pinder ’76 has been inducted into the National Bar Association Hall of Fame. She receives this award among judges, corporate, private and government lawyers across the nation.
  • Michael Rich ’76 published the research report/book, “Truth Decay: An Initial Exploration of the Diminishing Role of Facts and Analysis in American Public Life." Rich is president and chief executive officer of the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that helps improve policy and decision making through research and analysis.
  • Bruce Stuart ’76 was selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers® in America 2018. Stuart was recognized in the practice area of Real Estate Law for Orange County. Stuart is a partner at Stuart Kane LLP in Newport Beach, CA.
  • Norman Tarle '76 joins Judicate West's roster of neutrals. Judicate West is one of California's leading providers of dispute resolution services. (7/17/2021)
  • Donald Clark ’77 was named a senior staff member of the Federal Trade Commission. Clark will continue to serve as the Secretary of the FTC.
  • Kenneth J. Fransen ’77 has opened a boutique estate planning practice in Portland, Oregon. Ken was an attorney in "that other state which shall not be named if you live in Oregon" for 38 years, then retired so he and his wife could move to Portland to be with their family, and also to travel. After 75,000 miles of road trips in just over two years, he found that he really missed practicing law. Take note young associates and junior partners! You can indeed love the law! After taking the Oregon Bar exam this year, Ken proudly became the oldest new lawyer in Oregon. He handles all manner of estate planning projects, and is a member of the Rotary Club of Portland, the University Club, and the board of directors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Portland.
  • Rickey Ivie '77 was appointed to the Commission on Judicial Performance by California Governor Gavin Newsom. Ivie is a Founding Member  of Ivie McNeill Wyatt Purcell & Diggs, where he has been a Director since 1980. 06/21
  • Royal Oakes ’77 was honored by the Los Angeles City Council in a special presentation recognizing 30 years of commentary and service to the community. Oakes is a legal analyst, news contributor, and has his own show - "The Royal Oakes Show." He is also a partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, and general counsel for the Radio and Television News Assn.
  • Vincent O'neill '77 recently retired after a 43-year career, including 28 years on the Ventura County Superior Court. He has affiliated with Alternate Dispute Resolutions (ARC).
  • James Blancarte ’78 was featured in the Los Angeles Daily Journal highlighting his ability to make tough decisions to protect domestic violence victims. Blancarte serves as Commissioner in Los Angeles County at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse. After earning his law degree, Blancarte embarked on a career in entertainment law as well as media and broadcasting and international matters. Over the years, he has represented celebrities such as comedians George Lopez and Paul Rodriguez as well as institutions such as the Comedy Store.
  • John Parke ’78 has been appointed to represent the 3rd Supervisorial District on the County Planning Commission. Parke is a senior partner at Allen & Kimbell LLP, where his emphasis is on litigation in real estate and trust matters in addition to land-use issues.
  • Paul Rutter ’78 has been named the Urban Development Lawyer of the Year by the Century City Bar Association. The Association provides legal education, leadership opportunities, and a sense of community to more than 4,000 Century City attorneys. Paul is among six attorneys being recognized by the Association for distinguishing himself in his respective field of expertise.
  • Julia Strickland ’78 was featured in the Daily Journal as one of 2018's "Best Woman Lawyers." Strickland works with victims of the Great Recession at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP.
  • Anthony Wheeldin ’78 was featured in the Daily Journal for his goals and accomplishments as a traffic court judge. Judge Wheeldin is a Superior Court Commissioner in the Sonoma Superior Court.
  • Glen Reiser ’78 has joined the panel at JAMS, the largest private provider of alternative dispute resolution services worldwide. Judge Reiser will be based in the Century City Resolution Center.
  • Beth Berke ’79 joined Nelson Hardiman, LLP as Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining the healthcare specialty law firm, Berke was Chief Administrative Officer of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
  • David De Alba ’79 was elected the next Presiding Judge by the Judges of the Sacramento Superior Court. Judge De Alba’s term will commence on January 1, 2018 and will continue through December 31, 2019. Judge De Alba is presently the Assistant Presiding Judge of the Sacramento Superior Court, and has served in that capacity since January 2016.
  • Rogelio Flores ’79 of the Santa Barbara County Superior Court is retiring after more than 30 years on the bench. Judge Flores lectures nationally and internationally on the idea of "collaborative justice" which diverts non-violent offenders away from incarceration and into drug or mental health treatment programs..
  • Michael Schwartz ’79 was appointed Chief Assistant District Attorney at the Ventura County District Attorney's Office. The position is second in command in the office, overseeing 282 employees and some 20,000 criminal prosecutions a year.
  • Roger Lautzenhiser ’79 was selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2018. Lautzenhiser is a partner at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease. He was also mentioned in The Best Lawyers in America, Corporate Law, 2009-2013, and 2015-2017, Columbus CEO, Top Lawyers in Columbus 2014 and in Chambers and Partners, Leading Lawyer in Corporate/M&A, 2013-2017.
• Class Notes 1960 - 1969
  • John Liebman '61 Retired 5 years ago and moved to Santa Fe, NM. Then came to Marin County with his partner, Bonnie Kohl, and we’ve been here ever since. He would welcome hearing from his old classmates.
  • Richard Aldrich ’63 joined the JAMS Resolution Center as a mediator, arbitrator and special master in disputes across California following his retirement from the California Court of Appeal.
  • A. Barry Cappello '65 has won billions of dollars for plaintiffs during a 50-year career. He is still taking on major corporations, including Southern California Edison, Boeing, and Plains All America Pipeline. 
  • William Elfving ’65 has been honored by Santa Clara Country Trial Lawyers Association with its Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognizes judges for their extended commitment to fairness and their dedication to public service.
  • Walter Howald '65 was named the 2021 Newport Beach Citizen of the Year. 09/21
  • Jack Newman ’65 was appointed to the Los Angeles County Municipal Court in 1975 by Gov. Jerry Brown. Judge Newman later began working as a settlement judge in 1990 and retired from the bench in October 1996. The bulk of his 20 years on the bench was in civil departments and he specialized in real estate, commercial/business disputes, and labor and employment.
  • Arnold York ’65 has served as the publisher of the Malibu Times since 1987.
  • Kenneth Ziffren ’65 was featured in an article in Variety entitled "Lawyer Ken Ziffren Bridges the Worlds of Show Business and Politics." Ziffren was the keynote speaker at Variety's Power of Law breakfast.
  • Barry Russell ’66 was featured in a Los Angeles Daily Journal article entitled "Living Legacy." Judge Russell is one of the longest serving bankruptcy judges in the nation.
  • Lawrence Jacobson ’67 has been recognized among the top in his industry by the Expert Network. Lawrence, Founder and President of Lawrence H. Jacobson APC, has been chosen as a distinguished Lawyer based on peer reviews and ratings, dozens of recognitions, and accomplishments achieved throughout his career.
  • Jeffrey Miller ’67 was featured in the Los Angeles Daily Journal. Judge Miller was first appointed to the San Diego Superior Court by Governor Deukmejian in 1987. He was then appointed to the U.S. District Federal Court by President Bill Clinton on May 27, 1997 (assumed senior status June 6, 2010). Judge Miller serves at the U.S. Courthouse in downtown San Diego.
  • Steven Perren ’67 served as a U.S. Army captain during the Vietnam War shortly after completing his law degree at UCLA. In 1983, he was appointed to the Ventura County Superior Court. Judge Perren is also a devoted musical artist and has participated in productions such as "Man of La Mancha," "Guys & Dolls," " South Pacific," "Oklahoma," and even at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown LA.
  • Barry Russell ’67 serves as Chief Judge of Bankruptcy Court for Central District of California. Judge Russell has been resolving cases for 43 years, making him one of the longest-serving bankruptcy judges in the nation.
  • Thomas E. Warriner ’67 has retired after nearly 29 years on the California Bench, and is now working as a Neutral with ADR Services. He is attached to the firm's San Francisco office and assigned matters in Northern California.
  • Steven Wawra ’67 works with IVAMS Inc. and is based in Santa Monica. Wawra has spent 30 years as a corporate transnational attorney for organizations such as Mitsui Real Estate Sales USA Co. Ltd. and Vidal Sassoon Inc. and became a mediator in 2000.
  • Bob Weeks ’67 and his wife Nancy were featured in the Bruin Spotlight in the UCLA Alumni Connection newsletter. The article focuses on their time at UCLA, their lives together since then and their support for UCLA and Alumni Scholarships over the years.09/21
  • Jordan J. Paust '68 retired from the University of Houston Law Center in 2017. See www.law.uh.edu/faculty for details. Professor Emeritus Paust and his wife Paula now reside in Reno, Nevada. 04/21
  • Allan Morton '68 has retired from Family Law litigation practice and has established a family law mediation practice in Santa Barbara.
  • Sidney A. Israels ’69 , a real estate and business partner with Wendel Rosen LLP, the largest law firm in the East Bay representing businesses throughout the state, has recently been appointed to the UC Merced Foundation Board of Trustees.
  • Elwood Lui ’69 was designated as Administrative Presiding Justice of the Second Appellate District. Justice Lui is the first Asian-American administrative presiding justice in the state of California.