Class Notes

• Class Notes 2020 - 2029
  • Sarah Abeson ’20 joined Barnes & Thornburg in their Los Angeles office as an associate. Click here to read more. 03/22
  • Aaron A. Bauer '20 has joined as an associate in Duane Morris LLP’s Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group in its Chicago office. 03/23
  • Harjot Dhillon '20 has been appointed Deputy District Attorney of Santa Clara County. 2/21
  • Vidaur Durazo '20 joined Nixon Peabody LLP as a healthcare associate in their Los Angeles office. 03/23
  • Nicole Englanoff Herzberg '20 joined Youngman Reitshtein as an associate. Click here to read more. 07/21
  • Mary C. Lipscomb '20 joined the Los Angeles-based trusts and estates litigation firm Sacks Glazier Franklin & Lodise LLP as an Associate. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • Ajwang Rading ’20 was featured recently in the Los Altos Town Crier. The article focused on Rading’s run for the 16th Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The primary election is June 7. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • Roz Sedaghat ’20 was named Head of Legal and Business Affairs at Wavelength Film Production Company. Click here to read more. 04/22

  • Alyson Tocicki ’20 authored a piece in The National Law Review entitled “Supreme Court Excuses Inadvertent Legal Errors in Copyright Applications.” Click here to read more. Tocicki is an associate in the Litigation Department at Proskauer Rose LLP. 03/22
  • 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
  • Heather Dadashi ’21 authored a piece for the Legal Planet blog regarding NOx pollution. Legal Planet, a collaboration between faculty at UC Berkeley School of Law and UCLA School of Law, provides insight and analysis on energy and environmental law and policy. Dadashi is currently an Emmett/Frankel Fellow in Environmental Law and Policy at UCLA Law for 2021 – 2023. Click here to read more. 05/22
  • John Draxler '21 joined the office of U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell as Tax Counsel. 03/23
  • Sam Gillen ’21 joined Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP as an associate in the firm’s Intellectual Property practice group. He counsels clients on a wide variety of intellectual property-related matters. Prior to joining Taft, Gillen served as a law clerk for the Office of the Indiana Attorney General in the Asset Recovery and Bankruptcy Litigation Section. Click here to read more. 05/22

  • Nikki Mahmoudi ’21 joined Weintraub Tobin as an associate in the Labor & Employment practice group. Click here to view more. 01/22

  • Vukie S. Mpofu ’21 was named Manager of Hockey Operations and Legal Affairs for the LA Kings.  Click here to read more. 06/21
  • Dana Ontiveros ’21 joined Snell & Wilmer as an associate. Ontiveros is a corporate and securities associate in the Los Angeles office. 01/22
  • Austin Pegues ’21 joined Structure Law Group, LLP on their transactional team in their Los Angeles office. Click here to read more. 05/22
  • Penny Rosenberg '21 was named editor of the Albany Democrat-Herald, the Corvallis Gazette-Times, and the Lebanon Express newspapers in Oregon. Please click here to read more. 09/21
  • Michelle Edgar ’22, recent graduate, wrote an article about how taking up running the UCLA track and finishing UCLA Law at 40 gave her an empowering perspective for her career and company. The piece entitled “Creating A New Blueprint for Life—at Any Age” was featured on CSQ, C-Suite Quarterly and can be read here. Before pursing her master’s in legal studies degree, Edgar was an agent, recording executive, and manager at ICM Partners and Epic Records. Currently, she serves as Head of Strategic Partnerships at LiveXLive Media, Inc.  

• 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
  • Ran Ben-Tzur ’10 has been recognized by The American Lawyer as Dealmaker of the Year for his work representing Coinbase in its pioneering direct listing on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. This prestigious award honors practitioners across the U.S. who have played a pivotal role in the year’s most notable and innovative transactions. Ben-Tzur is a partner in the corporate practice group at Fenwick & West LLP. Click here to read more. 04/22

  • 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. 10/20
  • Dana Lee ’10 has joined UC Irvine as an Assistant Professor and as the Mohannad and Rana Malas Scholar in Islamic Legal Studies. Prior to her appointment, she was a research fellow at the Program in Islamic Law at Harvard Law School for the 2019–2020 academic year. 07/20
  • Sharlene Lee ’10 was elected shareholder at Nevers, Palazzo, Packard, Wildermuth & Wynner PC. 04/21
  • Jake Miller '10 was promoted to counsel at Arnold & Porter. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • Sarah-Eve Pelletier ’10 was named the first Sports Integrity Commissioner by the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC.) As the first head of Canada’s safe sport program, Pelletier’s office will field complaints about violations within Canadian sports. Pelletier currently works as the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Director of Sport Business and Sustainability. Previously, she was a national teamer for Canada in artistic swimming. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • 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. 01/21
  • Cindy Villanueva ’10 was elected Vice President of the 2022 Los Abogados Board of Directors. Los Abogados is Arizona’s Hispanic Bar Association. 01/22

  • Az Virji ’10 was promoted to General Counsel of Marlin Equity Partners. 11/21
  • 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. 02/21
  • Katherine Bissett '11 was made partner at Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP. Bissett is a commercial finance attorney on the firm’s Capital Markets Team and specializes in representing lenders and borrowers in all their real estate finance needs. 01/21
  • 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. 02/21
  • Matthew DellaBetta ’11 joined Kelley | Uustal as a trial attorney. DellaBetta, a former federal and state prosecutor, served as the Deputy Chief of the Violent Crimes and Gangs section for the United States Attorney’s Office in the District of Maryland. Click here to read more. 05/22
  • Cassandra Gaedt-Sheckter '11 made partner at Gibson Dunn. Click here to read more. 11/21
  • Drew Harbur '11 joined Allen Matkins as partner. Click here for more info. 09/21
  • Kendall Johnson '11 has been named one of Hollywood's New Leaders of 2021 by Variety. Click here to read more. 11/21
  • 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. 08/20
  • Antonio Kizzie ’11 joined Snell & Wilmer as an associate in their Los Angeles office. He is a litigation, trial and appellate attorney. Kizzie was selected to join the American Board of Trial Advocates. To be invited to join ABOTA membership, an attorney must have tried at least 10 civil jury trials to jury verdict or hung jury as lead counsel. Previously, Kizzie served as a Volunteer Deputy City Attorney prosecuting DUIs for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, Metropolitan Branch. Click here to read more. 05/22
  • Jason Lueddeke ’11 was named to Billboard’s 2022 Top Music Lawyers class. Lueddeke is an associate at DLA Piper and his practice focuses on entertainment and media, sports, and technology. Click here to read more. 04/22

  • Jason Lyon '11 was elected to the Pasadena City Council. He took office on December 12, 2022. Lyon will represent Pasadena's District 7, home to Caltech, the Pasadena Playhouse State Theater of California, Pasadena City College, and the historic Langham Huntington Hotel. 03/23
  • Molly Madden ’11 was elevated to partner at Sklar Kirsh. Click here to read more. 12/21
  • 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. 09/20
  • Harsh Parikh ’11 was promoted to partner at Nixon Peabody. Parikh’s focus is on Healthcare and he works in the Los Angeles office. Please click here to read more 03/22
  • Samantha G. Rothaus '11 was promoted to partner at Davis+Gilbert. 03/23
  • Michael Seiden '11 joined AHV Communities as General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer. 01/22
  • Anne-Sophie Skrebers '11 was promoted to Head of Intellectual Property at the European Broadcasting Union. 05/21
  • Nora Stilestein ’11 was promoted to partner at Sheppard Mullin. Stilestein is a member of the firm’s Labor and Employment practice group and is based in the Los Angeles office. Click here to read more. 02/22

  • Scott Timpe '11 joined Sheppard Mullin as a partner. He is a member of the firm's real estate, land use and environmental practice group as well as its health care industry team. Previously, Timpe was at Polsinelli. Click here to read more. 03/22
  • Jessamyn Vedro ’11 joins Troutman Pepper's market-leading Consumer Financial Services Practice Group as partner. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • Alicia Virani ’11 co-authored a piece in the Los Angeles Times entitled “The Monster of Incarceration Quietly Expands Through Ankle Monitors.” To read the Op-Ed, click here. Virani is the Gilbert Foundation Director of the Criminal Justice Program at UCLA Law. She is leading a new project called “Overcoming (Claimed) Legal Barriers to Defunding the Police.” Virani is examining how insurance laws in Los Angeles might act as barriers to reforms, such as having mental health teams or de-escalation teams respond to non-violent situations, instead of police. Her work will be funded by a grant from UCLA for research into policing, which has been an important part of calls for racial and social justice. Click here to read more. 05/22

  • Lauren Woodland ’11 reprised her role as Brittany Hodges on The Young and the Restless during the show's Summer Fun Week. Woodland is a Senior Counsel at Novian & Novian LLP in Century City. She is a civil litigator specializing in business and entertainment litigation. 07/20
  • 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. 02/21
  • Allison Blanco '12 was promoted to counsel at Latham & Watkins LLP in Orange County. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • Alisha Burgin '12 joined the board of Bet Tzedek. Click here to read more. 07/21
  • Cara Dessert '12 was appointed to the Healthy California for All Commission by the Senate Rules Committee. Dessert currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the San Diego LGBT Community Center. Click here to read more. 02/21
  • Josh Escovedo '12 has been named the number one ranked Trademark author in the 2022 JD Supra Readers’ Choice Awards. He is an intellectual property, litigation, and sports attorney at Weintraub Tobin. He is a shareholder and the leader of the firm’s Sports Law group. Click here to read more. 03/22
  • Brad Greenberg ’12 joined National Public Radio's (NPR) policy team as legislative counsel after previously serving as assistant general counsel for the U.S. Copyright Office. 03/22
  • Linda Igarashi ’12 was promoted to partner at Sheppard Mullin. Igarashi is a member of the firm’s Corporate Practice Group and is based in the Orange County office. Click here to read more. 03/22
  • 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. 01/21
  • Mike LaPlante ’12 joined Morrison & Foerster as a partner. Click here to read more. 01/22
  • Elizabeth Levin '12 was promoted to partner at Manatt. She is part of their real estate group. 01/21
  • Karen Lorang '12 made partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson. She has extensive experience in real estate law. 02/21
  • 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. 01/21
  • Yohei Nakagawa '12 was elected to partnership at Morrison Foerster. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • 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
  • Tim Shimizu ’12 has been promoted to Assistant City Attorney for the City of Palo Alto. 03/22
  • Samuel Siegel '12 started a new position in the US Department of Justice at the Office of Legal Counsel. 03/23
  • Colin Dailey '13 was promoted to partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP. Colin is licensed in California and North Carolina and represents clients in complex commercial litigation, class action defense, and intellectual property litigation. 03/23
  • 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. 12/20
  • Nicole M. Howell '13 was promoted to counsel in the Corporate group of Skadden's Los Angeles office. 06/21
  • Ryan Krueger ’13 was promoted to partner at Sheppard Mullin. Krueger is a member of the firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group and is based in the Los Angeles office. Click here to read more. 03/22
  • Abby Meyer ’13 was promoted to partner at Sheppard Mullin. Meyer is a member of the firm’s Business Trial Practice Group and the co-lead for the Food and Beverage Team. She is based in the Orange County office. Click here to read more. 03/22
  • Sarah E. Moses '13 joined Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, as counsel in their Entertainment Group. Click here to read more.10/21
  • Zachary Thompson ’13 was promoted to counsel at Latham & Watkins. A member of the Investment Funds Practice in the Corporate Department, he represents private fund sponsors, investors, and joint venture participants in forming, investing in, and operating private investment funds. Click here to read more. 10/21
  • Erica Walker ’13, Privacy Counsel at Google, will participate on a UCLA School of Law panel in regard to privacy in entertainment on March 28, 2022. 03/22
  • John Alexander ’14 joined Snell & Wilmer as a corporate and securities associate in their Orange County office. He focuses his practice on advising clients on general corporate and litigation matters, as well as the formation, structuring and ongoing management of private and registered funds, and regulatory and compliance-related matters. 02/22
  • John De La Merced ’14 was promoted to senior counsel at Stubbs Alderton & Markiles. Click here to read more. 01/22

  • David Hansen ’14 was elected to join the partnership at Snell & Wilmer. Hansen concentrates his practice on defending companies against product liability, negligence, and general liability claims in state and federal courts, involving catastrophic injuries and wrongful death allegations. 01/22
  • David Kramer '14 was promoted to partner at Vicente Sederberg LLP. 04/21
  • Youdi Andy Pan ’14 was recognized as a “Next Generation Partner” in Regulatory/Compliance category of The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022 Edition. Pan is a Partner at YuandaWinston China Law Office in Shanghai. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • Christopher Pasich ’14 was elevated to partner at Pasich LLP in its Los Angeles office. This is the first partner elevation since the firm’s founding. 01/22
  • Allen Secretov '14 was promoted to partner at Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump Holley. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • John Scheerer '14 was promoted to partner at Sacks, Glazier, Franklin & Lodise LLP. 03/23
  • David Crane ’15 joined Employment Law firm Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP as an associate in their Los Angeles office. Previously, Crane was an associate at LTL Attorneys LLP. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • Katy Alimohammadi Crown ’15 was promoted to Partner at Donaldson Callif Perez, a entertainment law firm based in Los Angeles. Crown specializes in representing filmmakers in all stages of their projects, including production legal services, rights clearance and distribution. Click here to read more. 03/22

  • Ines Gillich '15 finished her 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. 07/21
  • 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. 09/20
  • Jessica Krouner '15 joined Wasser, Cooperman & Mandles as an associate. 07/21
  • Ivan Lu ’15 has been recognized as a Rising Leader in Private Client Global Elite 2022. Lu is an attorney in Butler Snow’s Singapore office in its Business Services Practice Group. He focuses his practice on International Tax and Trust & Estates. 03/22
  • Kelly Orians '15 joined the University of Virginia School of Law faculty as the director of the school's new decarceration clinic. Click here to read more. 11/21
  • Delaram Peykar '15 joined Fox Rothschild LLP in its Los Angeles office as an associate in the Taxation & Wealth Planning Department. 08/21
  • Lindsey Shi ’15 was promoted to Partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. 11/21
  • San Yu '15 joined the California Department of Social Services' State Hearings Division as an Administrative Law Judge on June 10, 2022. 03/23
  • Aurore Boussemard ’16 joined Franklin Templeton as corporate counsel. 11/21
  • Lee Kaplan '16 joined Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard & Swanson as an associate. Click here for more info. 12/21
  • Cyrus Moshiri ’16 joined Fisher Phillips as an associate in their Irvine office. Click here to read more. 03/22
  • Iricel Payano'16 has joined law firm Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney as an Associate in New York. 4/21
  • Geneva E. Thompson '16 has been appointed Assistant Secretary for Tribal Affairs at the California Natural Resources Agency. Click here to read more. 04/21 
  • Nathan Walter '16 launched Briefpoint, an AI-backed platform dedicated to the facilitation of end-to-end litigation document automation. Briefpoint's goal is to eliminate the rote work inherent in drafting litigation documents so as to reduce the cost of litigation for clients while improving the lives of litigation attorneys. 03/23
  • Nick Warshaw ’16 is working for former California Governor Gray Davis at Loeb and Loeb LLP.  Nick works with Governor Davis providing strategic counsel to companies, nonprofits, research institutes, and universities. 02/22

  • Michael Zorkin '16 left Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP to launch his own litigation practice concentrating on health care and business disputes. 04/21
  • 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
  • Jonathan Jager '17 was appointed to the founding Governing Board of the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency. 04/23
  • Daniel J. Matloubian ’17 joined Snell & Wilmer’s Orange County office. He is a private client services attorney, and his practice focuses on complex trust and estate litigation, as well as trust and estate administration. 11/21
  • Donald Munson '17 is serving as Corporate Counsel for the Tampa Bay Lightning/Vinik Sports Group. 03/23
  • Natalie Petrucci '17 joined Human Rights First's New York office as a Supervising Senior Staff Attorney with the Refugee Representation team. Human Rights first is a non-profit organization that works in the U.S. and abroad to promote respect for human rights and the rule of law. 04/23
  • 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
  • Kathleen Foley '18 has joined Goldstein & Russell, P.C., as an associate. Goldstein & Russell is an appellate litigation boutique with a focus on practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. 10/21
  • Lorien Giles ’18 joined the litigation team at Miller Nash’s Seattle office. Giles will provide creative and strategic guidance to firm clients in all stages of litigation, from pre-litigation guidance, discovery, depositions, and decisive motions practice. 02/22
  • Caleb Jackson ’18 joined Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law as Public Counsel. The organization was formed at the request of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 to combat racial discrimination. Jackson will work primarily on voting rights issues. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • Beth Kent ’18 co-authored a piece on Legal Planet entitled “California Legislators Call for More Stringent Requirements for Oil and Gas.” Kent is an Emmett/Frankel Fellow in Environmental Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law. Click here to read more. 03/22
  • Tomoki Kodama '18 was elected to partner at Morrison Foerster. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • Kabita Parajuli ’18 was featured in an article entitled “Here’s why moving to Beijing to work as an in-house legal associate at AIIB is a career move worth taking” on the eFinancial Careers website explaining the particulars of being a legal associate for Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Click here to read more. 04/22

  • Angela Reid ’18 joined Gibson Dunn & Crutcher as a commercial and employment litigation associate. 03/22

  • Rebecca Ney Robinson ’18 joined Eden Health as corporate counsel. 09/21
  • Kenny Chung '19 is a Board member of the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association (SCCLA), which was awarded the 2022 Affiliate of the Year Award by National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). 03/23
  • 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
  • Ayan Jacobs ’19 joined Employment Law firm Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP as an associate in their Los Angeles office. Previously, Jacobs was an associate at Sanders Roberts LLP. Click here to read more. 04/22

  • 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
  • Meha Raja ’19 joined Lewis & Llewellyn as an associate. Previously, Raja practiced at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. There, she primarily represented technology and financial services companies, in high-stakes, high-profile litigation. 04/22
  • Luis A. Vasquez '19 has passed the California Bar Exam and accepted an offer to join the Human Rights Campaign as their new Senior Legal Writer. 03/23

   

• Class Notes 2000 - 2009
  • Lilit Asadourian ’00 joined Barnes & Thornburg’s Los Angeles office as a partner in the Litigation Department, where she will practice in the firm's Insurance Recovery and Counseling group. She has over two decades of litigation experience across her career. She previously served as legal counsel for Fifth Third Bank and Bank of America. Click here to read more. 02/22
  • 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. 10/20
  • Loan Dang ’00 was featured in Variety’s Women’s Impact Report Class of 2022. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • Chris M. Kwok ’00 is serving on Alvin Bragg's transition Committee as Bragg prepares to become Manhattan DA in New York. 12/21
  • Scott Loras Murray '00 was promoted to partner at the law firm of Nicholson, De Vos, Webster & Elliott LLP.  Scott joined NDWE after serving as Chief Patent Counsel at Ring, where he built up the company’s patents from just a handful of assets into a portfolio that helped drive Ring’s billion-dollar acquisition by Amazon. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • Kevin Rising '00 was appointed as managing partner of Barnes & Thornburg's Los Angeles office. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • Michael Weil '00 joined Morgan, Lewis & Bockius as partner in the San Francisco and Silicon Valley offices. Click here for more info. 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. 10/20
  • Marina Bogorad '01 joined Munck Wilson Mandala as partner in the firm's Los Angeles office. Click here to read more. 05/23
  • Camille Carey '01 has been named Dean of the University of New Mexico School of Law. Click here to read more. 11/21
  • 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. 01/21
  • Ana Damonte ’01 joined Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. as Assistant General Counsel. 04/22
  • Jeff Diener ’01 joined BakerHostetler as a partner in its Business Practice Group. Based in San Francisco and Los Angeles, Diener will be a member of the Real Estate team and will co-lead the national Hospitality Industry team. Click here to read more. 01/22
  • Chad Fitzgerald ’01 was named to The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers 2022 list of Hollywood’s Top 100 attorneys. Fitzgerald, a partner at Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump Holley, specializes in complex entertainment industry disputes as well as business and intellectual property litigation. Click here to read more. 04/22

  • Rasha Gerges Shields '01 was appointed by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to serve on the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners, a five-member board that oversees the Los Angeles Police Department. 03/23
  • 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
  • Jolene Konnersman '01 received the Counsel for Justice Community Impact Award for her work with the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Immigration Legal Services Project. 03/23
  • Alphonsie Nelson '01 has been named Managing Partner of the Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A.'s Atlanta office. 01/21
  • Allen Seto '01 is appointed chief legal officer of FinancialForce. Click here to read more. 11/21
  • Betsy Tucci ’01 joined Minerva Project as General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer. Tucci will oversee all legal, finance and people functions including all regulatory matters such as contracts, intellectual property, and people operations. Tucci was previously General Counsel and Company Secretary of InStride. Click here to read more. 05/22
  • Bijan Esfandiari ’02 has been promoted to Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman’s Board of Directors. He has also been elevated from firm shareholder to senior shareholder. Esfandiari works as a pharmaceutical product liability attorney at Baum Hedlund. Click here to read more. 04/22

  • Lev Ginsburg ’02 was named to The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers 2022 list of Hollywood’s Top 100 attorneys. Ginsburg is a founding partner at Ginsburg Daniels Kallis. Click here to read more. 04/22

  • Johanna Schiavoni ’02 was honored with a Bernard E. Witkin Award for Excellence in the Practice of Law and as a Community Changemaker by the San Diego Law Library Foundation. The award recognized Johanna's achievements in appellate practice, and her extensive community service, including a term in 2021 as Chair of the Board of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, and as the 2020 President of the San Diego County Bar Association. Read more here. 02/22
  • Waiyi Tse ’02 was selected to be in the Outstanding Women in Business list by the Triad Business Journal. Tse is the chief of staff at her alma mater, University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Tse was recognized for her work during the pandemic and countless contributions to the university. Click here to read her interview about why she decided to return to the university and what achievement she is most proud of. 05/22
  • Diego Cartagena ’03 was appointed to the California Access to Justice Commission. Click here to read more. 11/21
  • Hailyn Chen ’03, partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson, will take the lead on conducting an external investigation into allegations that women's swim head coach Teri McKeever at UC Berkeley bullied and verbally abused more than 20 current and former Golden Bears athletes. Chen was one of the first female coxswains for the Yale varsity crew team and was named the program's MVP in 1996. Click here to read more. 05/22
  • Andrew Kendall ’03 was appointed to serve as a judge on the Kern County Superior Court. Click here to read more. 11/21
  • 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. 03/21
  • Mari Metcalf '03 was awarded the Linda Duttenhaver Distinguished Alumni Award by the University of California Education Abroad Program (UCEAP). The award recognizes alumni who have demonstrated a record of distinguished service and extraordinary achievement in a particular discipline or organization. Metcalf has volunteered in a number of capacities, including serving six years on the Board of Directors at Project Open Hand, and as a volunteer attorney assisting Spanish speaking clients applying for U-Visa status. 04/27
  • Songhai Miguda-Armstead '03 has been selected to lead a "Care 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. 09/20
  • Phuong Phillips ’03 has been named one of Legal Momentum's 2021 honorees at their 16th Annual Women of Achievement Awards. 02/21
  • Todd Piro ’03 currently serves as lead anchor of Fox & Friends First. 08/20
  • Susan Schalla ’03 has been elected to the Board of Directors and Director of Associates at Carney Badley Spellman, PS in Seattle, Washington. 01/22
  • 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. 02/21
  • 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 
  • Brett Cook ’04 has been appointed as Data Privacy & Cybersecurity Advisor to the National Bar Association President, The Honorable Carlos Moore. 02/22

  • Daniel A. Dingerson ‘04 was promoted to Counsel at Davis+Gilbert LLP. Click here for more info. 12/21
  • Michael Kurzer ’04 joined Vinson & Elkins as partner in their New York office. He will add depth to the firm’s Technology Transactions and Intellectual Property (IP) practice. Prior to becoming an attorney, Kurzer worked as a product engineer for the Hewlett Packard Company. Click here to read more.

  • Marc Lewis ’04 celebrated his firm’s tenth anniversary. He founded Lewis & Llewellyn in 2012 with Paul Llewellyn. The Northern California firm now has sixteen attorneys and has recently expanded into Southern California. The firm was selected by The National Law Journal (“NLJ”) to its 2022 list of Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Trailblazers. The NLJ selected 50 plaintiffs’ attorneys across the United States who it characterized as “truly agents of change.” In selecting the firm for this honor, the NLJ recognized the firm’s groundbreaking work bringing civil lawsuits on behalf of survivors of sexual abuse. 05/22
  • 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
  • Kamran Mirrafati ’04 rejoined Seyfarth Shaw as partner. Click here to read more. 01/22

  • 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 Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor areas. 06/21
  • Shawn Westrick ’04 became In-House Counsel for crypto company Stakefish, the leading staking service provider for blockchain projects. 12/21
  • David Ambroz '05 has been named President and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston. 02/21
  • Michael A. Brown ’05 has been recognized by The American Lawyer as Dealmaker of the Year for his work representing Coinbase in its pioneering direct listing on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. This prestigious award honors practitioners across the U.S. who have played a pivotal role in the year’s most notable and innovative transactions. Brown is a partner in the corporate practice group at Fenwick & West LLP. Click here to read more.04/22

  • Pallavi Dhawan ’05 is now the Director of Domestic Violence Policy and Prevention for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office. 06/20
  • 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. 08/20
  • Julie Goldstein '05 was named president of the Bucks County Bar Association in Pennsylvania. Click here to read more. 12/21
  • Nathan Jackson ’05 was promoted to Associate General Counsel at Amazon.com.12/21
  • Ahmand Johnson ’05 joined Greenspoon Marder LLP as a partner in the Entertainment & Sports practice group in their Miami office. Johnson represents entertainers, athletes, and companies in transactional matters as well as both companies and individuals in high-stakes commercial litigation. He also represents artists, record companies, songwriters, producers and production companies in regard to copyrights, licensing, financing, content acquisition, production, digital distribution and music. Previously, he was at Diaz Reus and Shutts & Bowen LLP. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • Rory Miller ’05 joined Locke Lorde as a Partner and will serve as Head of Private Equity Litigation for California. Click here to read more. 02/22
  • Danny Passman ’05 was named to The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers 2022 list of Hollywood’s Top 100 attorneys. Passman is a partner at Gang Tyre Ramer Brown & Passman. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • Eric Scarazzo '05 made partner at Gibson Dunn. Click here to read more. 11/21
  • Joshua Schneiderman ’05 was selected for inclusion in the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2021 Leaders of Influence: Thriving in Their 40s list. This list recognizes Los Angeles’ leading professionals in their 40s, along with some insights about their careers, attributes and accomplishments. 01/22
  • Nathaniel Bach ’06 joined Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP in the Firm's Century City office as an Entertainment Litigation Partner. Click here to read more. 02/22
  • Nikki Buffa ’06 is being promoted to partner at Latham & Watkins LLP. She is a member of the Environment, Land & Resources Practice in the Corporate Department. Click here to read more. 02/22

  • Renée Delphin-Rodriguez ’06 has joined DLA Piper as a partner in the firm's Corporate practice based in San Francisco. 05/21
  • Jennifer Grock ’06 joined Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo as partner. Click here to read more. 01/22
  • Steven E. Hurdle Jr. ’06 joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP as a partner in their Los Angeles office. Hurdle Jr., who spent 12 years at Loeb & Loeb, joins the Willkie corporate and financial services department and the entertainment transactions practice. He specializes in sophisticated transactions for clients in media, entertainment, and technology. Click here to read more. 05/22
  • Robbie Hurwitz ’06 has been hired as the General Counsel of Hermeus, a venture-backed startup with the long-term vision of transforming the global human transportation network with Mach 5 aircraft. Click here to read more. 12/21
  • Neil Peretz '06 recently joined Automattic as lead legal counsel for WooCommerce, the creators of software and services that power over 23% of online stores worldwide. In addition to e-commerce, Neil is also Automattic's legal lead for payments, trademarks, and EU law. 03/23
  • Michael Pulos ’06 was appointed to serve as a judge on the San Diego County Superior Court. Click here to read more. 11/21
  • Gabrielle Rabinovitch ’06 was appointed to serve as interim CFO of PayPal. Currently, Rabinovitch is PayPal’s senior vice president of corporate finance and investor relations. Previously, she spent four years as vice president of the corporate financial planning and analysis team and led the investor relations program for Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • Michael Rivera '06 joins Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard & Swanson as partner. Click here to read more. 09/21
  • 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. 02/21
  • Jason Breen ’07 joined Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC as partner in their Los Angeles office. He is a mergers and acquisitions expert and primarily handles M&A deals for clients in the life sciences sector, but also works with technology companies in areas including software, media and consumer products. Breen was previously at Goodwin Procter LLP. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • Andrew Brunsden ‘07 was named General Counsel and Deputy Commissioner of Legal Affairs at the New York City Department of Investigation, the City’s independent anticorruption and oversight agency. Click here to read more. 11/21
  • Rebecca Cohen ’07 was appointed as General Counsel at Centre Consotrium. Cohen will oversee and advise Centre on legal strategy as the consortium continues to set industry-wide standards for the blockchain industry. Previously, she served as General Counsel for the values-driven public safety platform Mark43 and Associate General Counsel for digital currency protocol Worldcoin. Click here to read more.
  • 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
  • Briana Hill ‘07 joined Pryor Cashman as partner in the Media + Entertainment Group. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • 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 joined Covington & Burling as partner and co-head of the firm’s Japan Initiative. Click here to read more. 11/21
  • Adrianne Marshack '07 has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Orange County Superior Court by Governor Gavin Newsom. Most recently, Marshack has been a partner at Goodwin Procter LLP. Previously, she was a partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP2 Click here to read more. 03/22
  • Katrina Mulligan ’07 will join the Biden-Harris Administration as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict. 10/21
  • Priscila Ocen '07 has been appointed to the Committee on the Revision of the Penal Code by California Governor Gavin Newsom. 4/21
  • Rishi Puri '07 has been named a Shareholder at Lane Powell. His practice focuses on labor and employment issues. 01/21
  • Paul Seeley ’07 was promoted to partner at Sheppard Mullin. Seeley is a member of the firm’s Business Trial practice group and is based in the Los Angeles office. Click here to read more. 02/22
  • Jennifer Yoo ’07 joined Fenwick & West LLP as a partner in their corporate regulatory practice group in their Santa Monica office. Previously, Yoo spent over 14 years at Latham & Watkins LLP.  Click here to read more. 04/22
  • Liza Brereton ‘08 started a new position as partner at Turner Dhillon LLP. 01/22
  • Jeremy Close '08 was appointed Director and Managing Litigation Counsel at Kia America. In this Executive role, Jeremy will oversee all complex litigation and government/regulatory issues for the Korean automaker's U.S. operations. 04/23
  • Ethan Goldman '08 was elected partner at Davis Polk. Goldman is a member of the firm's Tax practice in New York. 07/21
  • Gabriel Grossman '08 was promoted to partner at Linklaters LLP. 04/23
  • Sean McKissick '08 joined the trust and litigation practice as of counsel in the Sacramento office of Downey Brand. 4/21
  • Christopher Moore '08 joins Clear Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP Bay Area offices as partner. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • Tim Reed '08 rejoined Ogletree Deakins in their San Francisco office as shareholder. Reed was previously a member of Ogletree Deakins’ San Francisco office from 2013 to 2016. Most recently, he was at FordHarrison, where he was the office managing partner and co-founder of FordHarrison’s San Francisco Bay Area office. Click here to read more. Reed was featured in the Profiles in Diversity Journal in its 2021 Black Leaders Worth Watching issue. 05/22
  • Edwin Sadik '08 joined Kemp Klein in Troy, Michigan, as a shareholder. Click here to read more.10/21
  • Almuhtada Smith '08 was featured in an article in Ebony entitled "6 Tips for Black Entrepreneurs Looking for Startup Funding." Click here to read more. Smith is the Founder and Principal at ARS IP Law Firm, P.C. 03/22

  • Kate Tyler '08 joined California Resources Corporation as Assistant General Counsel in October 2022. California Resources Corporation is an independent energy and carbon management company committed to energy transition. 04/23
  • 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. 09/20
  • Andrea Campbell '09 is running for Attorney General in Massachusetts. Click here to read more. 02/22
  • Moises Ceja ’09 was nominated by the Governor of Oregon, Kate Brown and then confirmed by the Oregon Senate to serve as a Board Member of the Oregon Workers' Compensation Board. As a Board Member, Ceja will serve as legal reviewer of Administrative Law Judge workers' compensation orders that are appealed. Click here to read more. 03/22
  • Eunice Chay ’09 was featured and interviewed for Leading the Way Forward: Women in Secured Finance Profiles. Chay is a corporate associate in the Los Angeles office of Winston & Strawn LLP. Chay is a member of the Community Outreach Committee of the Women in Securitization initiative of the Structured Finance Association. She is from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and has lived in China and England before making her way to California. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • Ryan Erickson ’09 was selected by The National Law Journal (“NLJ”) to its 2022 list of Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Trailblazers. The NLJ selected 50 plaintiffs’ attorneys across the United States who it characterized as “truly agents of change.” Erickson is a partner at Lewis & Llewellyn in their San Francisco office. 05/22

  • Aaron Friberg ’09 was promoted to counsel at Latham & Watkins. Click here to read more. 10/21
  • Leah Goodridge ’09 was featured on Law360 about her new role as one of the commissioners of the NYC Planning commission. Goodridge was appointed to the commission in 2021. She is the only tenant lawyer on the commission, in addition to being a managing attorney at Mobilization for Justice. Click here to read more. 02/22
  • Tanya Greene ’09, partner at McGuireWoods LLP, was profiled by L.A. Biz as one of this year's Women of Influence honorees. Click here to read more. 10/21
  • Chris Kolosov ’09 joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as a partner on the Energy, Infrastructure and Project Finance industry team. Kolosov will be based in the Los Angeles office. She joins with three other partners from Winston & Strawn LLP. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • Ryan Lafevers '09 was elected to partner at Latham & Watkins LLP. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • Jesse Levin ’09 was promoted to partner at Glaser Weil Fink Howard Avchen & Shapiro. Click here to read more. 01/22

  • Shahram Samie '09 was elevated to shareholder status at Littler. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • Katie Viggiani '09 has been elected partner at Morrison Foerster. Click here to read more. 01/22

• Class Notes 1990 - 1999
  • Anthony Barron '90 was named head of the Litigation Department at Nixon Peabody. 05/21 
  • Lisa Halko '90 has been reappointed Chief Counsel of the Department of Conservation. She has served in this role since 2017. 01/21
  • Angel Juarez Navarro ’90 of the Central District of California was elected Court Commissioner by judges of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Click here to read more. 12/21
  • Lisa Pai ’90 was appointed to the Board of Directors of Hope Bancorp, Inc., and the Bank of Hope, the first and only super regional Korean American bank in the United States. Pai will serve as a member of the Board Risk Committee. Click here to read more. 12/21
  • Jeff Frankel ’91 was named to The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers 2022 list of Hollywood’s Top 100 attorneys. Frankel is a partner at McKuin Frankel Whitehead. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • Rick Hasen ’91 will join the UCLA Law faculty in the fall. Hasen is Chancellor’s Professor of Law and Political Science at the UC Irvine Law and is the Co-Director of the Fair Elections and Free Speech Center. Hasen founded the Election Law Blog in 2003 to share news and analysis of election law issues and co-founded the Election Law Listserv in 1995 with UCLA Law Professor Daniel Lowenstein. Hasen is a nationally recognized expert in election law and campaign finance regulation and served as a CNN Election Law Analyst in 2020. 04/22
  • Nicole Healy '91 was appointed to be a judge in the San Mateo County Superior Court by Governor Gavin Newson. Click here for more info. 07/21
  • Andrew Herrup '91 has served as Acting Deputy Chief of Mission since December 2021. He arrived in Seoul in 2021 following two years in Washington as the Deputy Director for the Office of Southern African Affairs. Prior to that, from 2016-2019, he served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Lilongwe, Malawi. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • Chris Mosley ’91 joined Foley Hoag LLP as a partner and will work remotely from Denver, Colorado. Mosley will specialize in representing policyholders in disputes with insurers and join the firm’s insurance recovery practice within its litigation department. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • Jacqueline Nguyen '91 administered the oath to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to UCLA Law grads at the UCLA School of Law Bar Admission Ceremony in December 2021. 12/21
  • Marlene Nowlin '91 was promoted to partner at Finch, Thornton & Baird, LLP. 01/21
  • 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. 07/21
  • 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
  • Mary-Christine “M.C.” Sungaila ’91 launched “The Portia Project,” a weekly podcast where she will interview high-achieving women in the field of law in hopes of inspiring that next generation. The four initial podcasts include conversations with Christine Durham, retired Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court; Karen Scott, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Central District of California; Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michelle Williams and West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth D. Walker. Sungaila is the head of Buchalter’s Appellate practice group and a Shareholder in the firm’s Orange County office. Click here to read more. 02/22
  • Greg Zipes ‘91 recently published a book entitled “Justice and Faith: The Frank Murphy Story”. The biography tells the story of Supreme Court Justice Frank Murphy and has won a Michigan State History Prize. Justice Murphy was most famous for condemning the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II as racist. 03/22

  • Nicole Bershon '92 administered the State Bar oath to UCLA Law grads at the UCLA School of Law Bar Admission Ceremony in December 2022. 03/23
  • Matt Fawcett '92 has been awarded Legal Momentum's "Man of Distinction" honor at their 16th Annual Women of Achievement Awards. 02/21
  • Leslye Miller Fraser '92 was elected a life member of the MIT Corporation, which is the Board of Directors and governing body of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. There she serves on the Executive Committee and three Visiting Committees: Civil and Environmental Engineering; Libraries; and Undergraduate and Graduate Education (Chair). She also serves as the National Director of Programs for The Links, Incorporated and is a member of the MIT Dean of Engineering's Advisory Committee and the U.S. Comptroller General’s Audit Advisory Committee. 03/23
  • Lisa Hone '92 joined the National Economic Council team to steer the Biden administration's broadband expansion efforts. Click here for more info. 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
  • 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. 06/20
  • Patrick Marette ’92 joins Miller Starr Regalia as senior counsel. Click here for more info. 09/21
  • Ruth Bermudez Montenegro ’92 was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a U.S. District Court judge. She was nominated by President Biden and confirmed to a lifetime appointment to the San Diego federal bench. U.S. Magistrate Judge Montenegro is the second Latina among the 61 U.S. District Court judges in the state of California. Click here to read more. 03/22
  • Bob Offer ’92 was named to The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers 2022 list of Hollywood’s Top 100 attorneys. Offer is a founding partner at Sloane Offer Weber & Dern. Click here to read more. 04/22

  • Tony Rodriguez '92 was promoted to Vice President and Assistant General Counsel for Litigation at Kaiser Permanente. 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. 09/20
  • 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. 06/20
  • Eugene Volokh ’92 celebrated the 20-year anniversary of his blog The Volokh Conspiracy. Hosted by Reason Magazine, the blog features mostly law professors and one political science professor contributor. Professor Volokh is the Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law. He was recently quoted in a piece in the Los Angeles Times regarding how Elon Musk should run Twitter. Click here to read more. 05/22
  • David Byrnes ’93 was named to The Hollywood Reporter’s Top Music Lawyers of 2022 list. Byrnes is a partner at Ziffren Brittenham. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • Toby Dorsey '93 was promoted to the position of Deputy General Counsel in the Executive Office of the President, Office of Administration. 03/23
  • David Eisman ’93 was named to The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers 2022 list of Hollywood’s Top 100 attorneys. Eisman, a partner at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, is head of the firm’s Entertainment Group and leader of the Mergers and Acquisitions/Corporate Group in the Los Angeles office. Click here to read more. 04/22

  • James Farrell '93 joined Gibson Dunn as partner. Click here to read more. 07/21
  • 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. 03/21
  • 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
  • Charlotte Maya '93 published her book, Sushi Tuesdays: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Family Resilience. Released February 28, 2023. 
  • Judy Posner ’93 became a partner in the appellate boutique of Benedon & Serlin, LLP. 09/21
  • 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. 12/20
  • Terry Truong '93 was appointed as judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • Scott Burton ’94 joined Norton Rose Fulbright as a partner in their Los Angeles and Washington D.C. offices. Burton’s practice focuses on environmental regulation and government affairs. Joining from Hunton Andrews Kurth, Burton leverages his extensive environmental, energy and natural resources experience to advise clients in the national and international public policy arenas on a spectrum of high-profile and high-risk issues. Click here to read more. 05/22
  • Kevin Davis ’94 was named to the Board of Directors of Adai (Active Design Advisors, Inc.), an affiliate of The Center of Active Design (CfAD.) Adai is a new business unit of CfAD, which operates the Fitwel healthy building certification system. Davis is the CEO of JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group, Americas, where he is responsible for investment sales, debt and equity placement, strategic advisory and asset management. Click here to read more. Davis was also named to the advisory board of the Cornell Center for Real Estate and Finance in 2021. Click here to read more. 05/22
  • Elia Gallardo ’94 has been appointed Deputy Director of Legislative and Governmental Affairs at the California Department of Health Care Access and Information by Governor Newsom. Gallardo has been Director of Government Affairs at the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California since 2019. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • 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 selected for inclusion on the 2022 San Diego Super Lawyers list. Kalt is a partner in the Employment Law Practice Group of Wilson Turner Kosmo LLP and was acknowledged for his employment litigation practice. 04/22
  • Sue Ryan '94 is currently the Executive Director of the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence. In her spare time, she writes shorts stories. Sue is very happy to share that she recently self-published a collection of fictional little stories on Amazon; the book is called Just a Glimpse. As the title suggests, the stories provide a brief glance at the power of relationship, connection, loss and love. All the stories were written with the hope that they are entertaining. 03/23
  • Brad Small '94 joined Fox Rothschild as partner. Click here to read more. 09/21
  • Adaora Udoji ’94 is named Vice President of Programming & Operations at PBS. Click here to read more. 11/21
  • Teri Vasquez '94 was appointed to the District Court bench in 2021 by Colorado Governor Jared Polis. Teri serves in the 17th Judicial District currently sitting in Adams County in a civil division. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • 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
  • Patrick Brown ’95 was appointed to Law360’s newly formed 2022 Banking Editorial Advisory Board. Brown, the Managing Partner at Sullivan & Cromwell’s Los Angeles office and member of the firm’s General Practice Group, is also an advisory board member at the Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy at UCLA Law. Click here to read more. 04/22

  • 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
  • Paul Eckles '95 joins Moses Singer as partner in its Litigation Practice Group. Click here to read more. 04/23
  • 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
  • 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
  • Gregory Jones '95 moved from being a partner at Dykema Gossett to a shareholder at Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, in Century City. 08/20
  • Josh Meyer ’95 was promoted to Executive Vice President, Head of Business Affairs at DreamWorks Animation. A 6-year DreamWorks veteran, Meyer has a strong background in global film and television production, acquisition and distribution; consumer products licensing; and digital/home entertainment production and distribution. Prior to DreamWorks Animation, Meyer served as General Counsel and Senior Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs at Discovery/Hasbro’s joint venture cable television Hub Network. 05/22
  • Jeffrey Prieto '95 was confirmed as general counsel at U.S. EPA. Click here to read more. 11/21
  • Angela Reddock-Wright ’95 featured as the cover story for the Spring 2022 issue of “Best Lawyers: Women in the Law” magazine, released nationwide. The title of the feature story is, “A Conversation with Workplace Thought Leader, Angela Reddock-Wright: Destiny Fulfilled.” Click here to read more. 03/23
  • Jack Schaedel '95 joins Jackson Lewis as principal. Click here to read more. 12/21
  • Karin Shine '95 was appointed General Counsel and Deputy Director at the Employment Development Department. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • Alexander Tamin '95 has been named Assistant General Manager of the Los Angeles Angels. 12/20
  • 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. 12/20
  • Arun Baheti '96 was elected to the Board of Coro Southern California. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • Donna Dean '96 was promoted to Supervising Deputy Attorney General in the California Office of the Attorney General in January 2023. 03/23
  • Stephen Foley '96 was appointed by Governor Newsom to serve as a Superior Court Judge for Santa Barbara County. 04/23
  • Ruben J. Garcia '96 has been elected to membership in the American Law Institute (ALI). Click here to read more. 03/23
  • 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. 08/20
  • Willie Hernández ‘96 has joined The Coca-Cola Company as General Counsel, International. His new responsibilities will include providing legal support for multiple billion-dollar brands and other beverage products in more than 200 countries and territories. Click here to read more. Hernandez was also elected to the Ronald McDonald House Charities Board of Directors Bay Area. Previously, Hernández was the Head of Legal for the Messenger division at Meta (Facebook), following executive positions with IBM, Amazon and Hewlett Packard. Click here to read more. 05/22
  • 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. 01/21
  • Janai Nelson ’96 was named the eighth President and Director-Counsel of The NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s (LDF.) Nelson has also helped to steward some of LDF’s most pivotal developments in the past seven years, including guiding the design and launching one of the most far-reaching efforts to create the next generation of civil rights leaders: The Marshall-Motley Scholars Program. Click here to read more. 03/22
  • Andres Almanzan '97 was re-elected to serve as Chief Executive Officer of Mounce, Green, Myers, Safi, Paxson, & Galatzan, P.C. 01/21
  • Heather Anderson ’97 moved to ESPN as Vice President, Programming and Acquisitions. Prior to joining ESPN, she served as vice president and assistant chief counsel at The Walt Disney Company. Click here to read more. 10/21
  • Magdalena Reyes Bordeaux ’97 was sworn in as a bankruptcy judge in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Click here to read more. 01/22
  • Halim Dhanidina ’97 joined Werksman Jackson & Quinn LLP as partner. The former appellate justice spent six years as a Los Angeles County superior court judge and three years as a state appellate justice. The Honorable Halim Dhanidina [Ret.] was the first Muslim ever appointed appellate court judge in the state of California. He retired from the bench in 2021 and will work out of the firm’s downtown Los Angeles office. Click here to read more. 04/22

  • Sarah Gill '97 is named ombudsman of FINRA. As the new Ombudsman, Gill will handle issues, inquiries and complaints that arise from FINRA’s interactions with public investors, member firms, member firm employees, FINRA staff and other stakeholders. Click here to read the press release. 09/21
  • 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
  • Ilene Eskenazi ’97 was appointed the Board of Directors of a.k.a. Brands Holding Corp., a brand accelerator of direct-to-consumer (DTC) fashion brands for the next-generation. Eskenazi currently serves as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary for Petco Health and Wellness Company Inc., where she oversees all legal, corporate governance and regulatory affairs in support of the company’s strategic plans and growth objectives. Click here to read more. 05/22
  • Dan Limerick '97 has been appointed to Chief Operating Officer of WME (William Morris Endeavor.) 11/20
  • Salvador Mendoza Jr. ’97 was nominated for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by President Biden. Judge Mendoza has served as a U.S. District Court judge for the Eastern District of Washington since 2014 and would be the first Hispanic judge to ever serve on the Ninth Circuit from Washington State. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • 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
  • Gretchen Rush ’97 was named to The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers 2022 list of Hollywood’s Top 100 attorneys. Rush is a named partner at Hansen Jacobson Teller Hoberman Newman Warren Richman Rush Kaller Gellman Meigs & Fox. Click here to read more. 04/22

  • Cheryl Snow ’97 was named to The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers 2022 list of Hollywood’s Top 100 attorneys. Snow is a partner at Gang Tyre Ramer Brown & Passman. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • 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. 10/20
  • Sandra Fujiyama ’98 was named executive director of the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE) at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Shidler College of Business. Click here to read more. 10/21
  • Lorena Gonzalez '98 left the California Assembly to lead the California Labor Federation. Click here to read more. 01/22

  • Jamie Jefferson '98 joined Barg Coffin Lewis & Trapp as partner. Click here for more info. 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
  • Mark Lamb ’98 joined Carney Badley Spellman, P.S.as a principal.  His legal practice centers on three primary areas: real estate and land use, business transactions and litigation, and government affairs, campaign finance and election law. Lamb was Mayor of Bothell, Washington for four terms and served on the Bothell City Council from 2004-2015. Click here to read more. 05/22
  • Jeffrey Lowenstein ’98, partner at Bell Nunnally in Dallas, Texas, made the Best Lawyers in America 2022 list for Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Intellectual Property. He was also named to the 2021 “Texas Super Lawyers” list. Click here to read more. 09/21
  • Minh Merchant ’98 joined Aspira Women’s Health as general counsel and corporate secretary. Click here to read more. 01/22
  • Jake Simon ’98, Director of Legal at Red Bull and Adjunct Professor of Entertainment Law at UCLA School of Law, will moderate a UCLA Law panel in regard to privacy in entertainment on March 28, 2022. 03/22

  • 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
  • Felicia Chang ’99 joined Westmount Asset Management LLC as Director of Wealth Strategy. She joins Westmount from Wells Fargo Private Bank and has more than 20 years of trust and estate planning experience. Click here to read more. 02/22
  • Angel Tang Nakamura ’99 was named to the 2022 Woman of Influence: Attorneys list by the Los Angeles Business Journal. Nakamura is a Product Liability and Mass Tort partner at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP. Her practice focuses on the management of complex, multi-party litigation, including class actions and multi-district litigation. Click here to read more. 04/22

  • Peter Nguyen '99 was appointed to the position of Associate Director - Systemwide Labor Relations at the University of California, Office of the President. 12/20
  • Jason Pu ’99 was appointed the Regional Administrator of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Region 9, by President Biden. Please click here to read more. 01/22

  • Fred Slaughter '99 was confirmed as a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He was nominated to fill the seat vacated by retired U.S. District Judge Andrew Guilford ’75. His chambers will be in Santa Ana, and he will be the first Black federal judge in Orange County history. Click here to read more. 03/22
  • 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
• Class Notes 1980 - 1989
  • Michael Gendler ’80 was named to The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers 2022 list of Hollywood’s Top 100 attorneys. Gendler is a founding partner at Gendler & Kelly. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • 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 wellbeing of children. 09/20
  • David Lash '80 was among a small group of pro bono professional attorney leaders who co-founded the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance, a group of now more than 300 law firms working with civil rights and legal aid organizations to research, identify, and combat through advocacy, legislation and litigation, those laws/regulations that serve to perpetuate system racism in 18 different substantive areas of the law. David also was named by the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of the City's top 100 lawyers, as well as having been named by the Los Angeles County Bar as this year's recipient of the prestigious Jim Robie Professionalism & Civility Award. 03/23
  • Laurie Levenson ’80 was the featured guest on an episode of B.S.: Beyond Stereotypes podcast. Levenson talked about growing up white in Inglewood, other pivotal personal experiences, and why we all need to look in the mirror and face our stereotypes. Levenson is a legal commentator for high-profile, televised criminal cases. In 2019, she co-founded Girl Scout Troop 1085, a troop for girls experiencing homelessness. At Loyola Marymount Law School, Professor Levenson is the Founding Director of the Loyola Project for the Innocent, the Loyola Center for Ethical Advocacy, and the Fidler Institute on Criminal Justice, and Senior Faculty for Loyola's Journalist Law School. 04/22
  • 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
  • Marcy Morris ’81 was inducted to The Hollywood Reporter’s Legal Legends list, a title she will retain for life. The list is a Power Lawyers special feature dedicated to honoring entertainment industry attorneys whose career achievements are extraordinary. Morris, an attorney at Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein, prides herself on being a mentor inside the firm, helping to increase the number of female employees to nearly 40 percent over the past seven years. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • Joscelyn Jones Torru '81 was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to the Alameda County Superior Court to serve as a Judge. 06/20
  • Dirk Van De Bunt '81 has retired after 40 years of primarily in-house entertainment legal work, most recently as Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at Guthy-Renker Ventures, where he worked for 14 years. Prior to that he spent 11 years at Carsey-Werner, where he rose to Co-President/COO, and 10 years in Business & Legal Affairs at Paramount Television. Now he is bossed around by two grandchildren and an old dog. 03/23
  • Jocelyn Thompson ’82 has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Apollo Silver Corporation, bringing California Resource Department expertise to the Apollo team. In addition to her project permitting experience, Ms. Thompson will provide additional legal and governance support to the Board and executive team. Most recently, Ms. Thompson was a partner at Alston and Bird LLP. Click here to read more.11/21
  • James Baca ’83 is serving as Managing Partner at Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo (AALRR.) Baca has been with AALRR for over 30 years and has served in many leadership positions, including Chair of the Firm’s largest practice group, the Southern California Education Law Practice Group, for over 10 years; as a member of the Executive Committee; and, most recently as Chief Operating Officer (COO). Click here to read more. 03/22
  • Steven Heimberg, M.D. '83 joined the Stalwart Law Group as Partner. As an experienced medical doctor and litigant, he maintains an exemplary track record in the medical malpractice space. 04/27
  • Steve Rice ’83 was endorsed by the Henderson Professional Fire Fighters for Henderson City Council Ward 3 in Nevada. Rice is running to be Henderson’s next City Councilman. The Primary Election will be held on June 14, 2022. Rice’s law practice focuses on commercial real estate and he heads his own firm, Rice Reuther Sullivan & Carroll LLP. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • David A. Thompson ’83, Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal, announced his official retirement from the court this month. He will be taking a position with JAMS, a private provider of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services. 10/21
  • Gary Eto '84 was appointed to serve as judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • Leslie Gilbert-Lurie '84 was appointed to the California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees by Governor Gavin Newsom. The CSU Board of Trustees is the 25-member board that adopts regulations and policies governing the university.​ Click here to read more. 03/23
  • Louis Gutierrez '84 was made the chief human capital and equity officer at Los Angeles World Airports. Click here to read more. 03/22
  • Philip Gutierrez '84 administered the State Bar oath to UCLA Law grads at the UCLA School of Law Bar Admission Ceremony in December 2022. 03/23
  • Robert D. Lenhard '84 was appointed by President Biden to the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Bob is a partner in the Election and Political Law practice group at Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. 03/23
  • Ann McMillan '84 was named president of the law firm of Caplin & Drysdale. Click here for more info. 12/21
  • 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
  • Betsy Rosenthal ’84 has a new children's book out, When Lightnin' Struck. Set in 1928 Texas, it's a story of hidden family history, friendship, and a boy's journey of self-discovery. To learn more about what she's been up to over the years, you can visit her website: www.BetsyRosenthal.com. 02/22
  • Val Ackerman '85 was elected to the 2021 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class. Click here to read more. 05/21
  • Stephen Cooke ’85 has been elected to the board of directors of the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach. Cooke is currently Of Counsel in the securities and capital markets practice group of Paul Hastings LLP in Orange County, where he has been advising clients in a wide variety of complex matters for more than 30 years and was a partner in the firm for 27 years. He will join the Bank’s Risk and Compliance Committee and the Nominations and Corporate Governance Committee. Click here to read more. 02/22
  • V. James DeSimone ’85 and his firm have filed a landmark Covid related wrongful death suit in California according to Lawyer News. The lawsuit centers around a man's death from COVID-19 and places the onus directly on an employer for refusing to make reasonable workplace accommodations for someone with known underlying health problems. DeSimone focuses his practice on seeking justice in a variety of workplace disputes and has been named a top 100 Southern California Super Lawyer five years in a row, a top California employment attorney 10 years in a row, and California Civil Rights Lawyer of the Year. Click here to read more. 05/22
  • Andrius Kontrimas '85 opened a new Sheppard Mullin office in Houston, Texas. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • Joanne Moore ’85 was named Dean of the School of Film and Television at Loyola Marymount University (LMU.) Moore is an educator, university administrator, and film industry executive. Most recently, she served as associate professor and chair of the Producing Department in the School of Filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Click here to read more.

  • 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. 08/20
  • 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 recently became the Dean of Law at the University of Colorado Law School Boulder, making her the school’s first African American dean and second woman dean to lead the school. She is also the author of the book “The Princeton Fugitive Slave: The Trials of James Collins Johnson,” which she published in 2019. Click here to read more. 03.22
  • James M. Burns ’86 joined Dykema Gossett PLLC's Business Litigation practice group as a member in the firm's Washington, D.C. office. 04/21
  • Gary L. Bradus ’87 has been recognized as a 2022 Most Admired CEO by the Sacramento Business Journal. Gary is a Shareholder in the Corporate group at Weintraub Tobin. Click here to read more. 02/22 
  • 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
  • Alan Epstein ’87 was named to The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers 2022 list of Hollywood’s Top 100 attorneys. Epstein, a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, is in the Corporate & Financial Services Department and chair of the firm’s Entertainment Transactions Practice. Click here to read more. 04/22

  • Kenneth Kimmell ’87 was named vice president of development for offshore wind at Avangrid Renewables. Click here to read more. 01/22
  • Michele Martell '87 was named licensing and legal counsel of Mighty Coconut. Click here for more info. 12/21
  • Alicia Miñana de Lovelace '87 has been named chair-elect of The UCLA Foundation Board of Directors. She will succeed the current chair, Craig Ehrlich, on July 1. Click here to read more. 02/22
  • Ann I. Park '87 was appointed as President of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • Rachelle Bin '88 was appointed General Counsel at Fox Rothschild. Click here to read more. 03/23
  • Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. '88 was confirmed to serve as a federal judge in the Central District of California. He administered the oath to the U.S. District Court Central District and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to UCLA Law grads at the UCLA School of Law Bar Admission Ceremony in January 2021. 01/21
  • 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
  • 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. 07/21
  • Chuck Geerhart '88 was sworn in as the 2022 President of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association, a consumer-side organization dedicated to providing trial skills education to the bar and preserving the right to a jury trial. 01/22
  • Carlos Goodman ’88 was named to The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers 2022 list of Hollywood’s Top 100 attorneys. Goodman is a founding partner at Goodman Genow Schenkman Smelkinson & Christopher. Click here to read more. 04/22

  • Scott Lenga ’88 has a new book out entitled The Watchmakers. It tells the true story of his father's upbringing in a Chassidic family of watchmakers in the 1920s and 30s, and how watchmaking skills and an oath among brothers enabled three brothers to survive the Ghettos and camps in German occupied Poland. Set against the dark background of the period, The Watchmakers is an uplifting saga of brotherhood, optimism and resilience of the human spirit. Please visit his website for book information, some cool photos and sweet Chassidic violin music from his father’s hometown. 01/22
  • 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
  • Sandy Pooler’ 88 was appointed town manager of Arlington, Massachusetts. Pooler, currently the Deputy Town Manager/Finance Director, will assume the role and serve as interim town manager for the balance of the unexpired term vacated by the previous town manager. Pooler is in talks to stay until 2025, but he has plans to retire before then and is negotiating an end date. Click here to read more. 05/22
  • Arthur Rieman '88 established The Law Firm for Non-Profits (LFNP) as a solo practice 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
  • Mary D. Rodriguez ’88 is the recipient of the Latina Commission Mari Carmen Aponte Award at the 2021 Hispanic National Bar Association Annual Convention. 10/21
  • Ronald Sally ’88 joined 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. 08/20
  • 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. 03/21
  • Jason Sloane ’88 was named to The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers 2022 list of Hollywood’s Top 100 attorneys. Sloane is a founding partner at Sloane Offer Weber & Dern. Click here to read more. 04/22

  • David Gabor ’89 has been named to the 2022 Southern California Super Lawyers® list, an honor only given to no more than 5 percent of California lawyers each year. Gabor is a Shareholder at Weintraub Tobin and Chair of the Firm’s Litigation group. 01/22

  • John Fukunaga ’89 was named to Variety’s Dealmakers Impact Report 2022: Tough Times Take Tough Negotiators list. Fukunaga is Executive VP, Corporate Legal & Deputy General Counsel at Sony Pictures. Click here to read more. 02/23
  • 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. 11/20
  • Anna McLean ’89 was named a member to Law360’s newly formed 2022 Consumer Protection Editorial Advisory Board. The editorial advisory board provides feedback on Law360's coverage and expert insight on how best to shape future coverage. McLean is a partner in the business trial practice at Sheppard Mullin's San Francisco office. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • 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. 08/20
  • Karen Robinson '89 administered the State Bar oath to UCLA Law grads at the UCLA School of Law Bar Admission Ceremony in December 2021. 12/21
  • Leslie Ryland ’89 was elevated to Principal Attorney at Schaffer Family Law Group. Ryland is a Certified Legal Specialist in Family Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. 01/22
  • Phillip Talbert ’89 was appointed as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California by President Biden. Talbert had been the attorney general-appointed U.S. attorney since December 2021. He also held the position in 2016 and 2017. Previously, Talbert was a trial attorney in the U.S. Justice Department’s criminal division. He also worked at a Seattle law firm and as a law clerk to Judge David R. Thompson of the U.S. Court of Appeals. Click here to read more. 04/22
• Class Notes 1970 - 1979
  • Thomas Stindt '70 has spent much of the past seven years as a Specialist Volunteer with the Detectives Division of the Los Angeles Police Department. He has supported Detectives of the Van Nuys Community Station's Theft Table, the Crimes Against Persons Table, the Major Assault Crimes Unit, and the Cold Case unit of the Valley Bureau's Homicide detectives. During that time, Tom has been on day and night watch ride-alongs and on a helicopter ride-along. He has assisted the Elder Abuse detectives in the protection of at-risk Seniors in our Valley communities, which is an area of high personal satisfaction. If any retired classmates might be interested in volunteering to assist with Elder Abuse cases at the Van Nuys Community Police Station, you are invited to email Tom at 012VT@LAPD.online. 03/23
  • John Dobroth '71 has retired and has been doing some commercial acting. 06/20
  • 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
  • Paul S. Meyer ’71 was appointed to the Newport Beach Civil Service Board for 2021.  He continues to be active in the American College of Trial Lawyers and International Society of Barristers. 11/21
  • David Carter ’72, U.S. District Court Judge, was featured in an article in the Orange County Register regarding his recent ruling and conclusions concerning a dispute over emails and their connection to the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • Steven Yslas ’72 is the recipient of the Ohtli Award presented by the Government of Mexico at the 2021 Hispanic National Bar Association Annual Convention.10/21
  • 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 (Ret) is serving as a representative of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Board of the American Board of Trial Advocates. ABOTA is the preeminent organization supporting the right to a civil trial by jury, attorney civility and respect for an independent judiciary. 03/23
  • 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. 11/20
  • 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. Click here to read more. 06/21
  • John Branca ’75 donated generously for the new practice field at Jackie Robinson Stadium. It's named the Branca Family Field in honor of the three-time All-Star legend Ralph Blanca - the Dodger who stood next to Jackie Robinson on April 15, 1947, the most remembered opening day in Major League Baseball history. The new turf is a state-of-the-art AstroTurf Diamond Series playing surface and it will support UCLA’s baseball program, as well as the school’s decades-long commitment to helping U.S. veterans. Click here to read more. 04/22
  • Andrew Guilford ’75 was honored by the OC Bar Association one year after his retirement as a federal judge. Judge Guilford spent over 13 years on the federal bench before joining Judicate West last year. 09/21
  • Juan Ulloa ’75 was featured in an article in the Calexico Chronicle about devising ways to get more people of color into law and onto the bench. 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. 06/21
  • Alex Kozinski ’75 was inspired by his ex-law clerk, once imprisoned, to pen 5th Circuit amicus brief. Click here to read more. 03/21
  • Maggie Levy '75 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. 10/20
  • 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. 10/20
  • Marc Steinberg '75 has recently published a new book entitled Rethinking Securities Law, Urges Reform of Nation’s Securities Laws. 07/21
  • Wilma J. Pinder ’76 serves as a Member of the Ethics Committee of the UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center. She is honored to serve along with dedicated physicians and other lay members, in advising physicians, patients and their family regarding critical medical decisions. 03/23
  • Norman Tarle '76 joined Judicate West's roster of neutrals. Judicate West is one of California's leading providers of dispute resolution services. 07/21
  • Dorothy Wolpert ’76 is being honored by UCLA School of Law with a U. Serve L.A. award and establishing the Dorothy and Stanley Wolpert Public Interest Law Fellowship to provide financial support to UCLA Law students who work for the Inner City Law Center. Click here to read more. 03/22

  • David W. Evans ’77 joined the West Los Angeles-based accounting firm Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt LLP ("HCVT") as a Partner and the firm's first General Counsel. Evans departs the law firm Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP after 26 years where he served as Managing Partner of the firm's San Francisco Office and acted as the firm's General Counsel.  He will continue to be headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. 01/22
  • 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
  • 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). 02/21
  • Daniel Hedigan ’78 joined Five Point Holdings as its new chief executive. Previously, Hedigan was a former homebuilding president at Irvine Company. Click here to read more. 02/22
  • Dean Kitchens ’78 has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court by Governor Gavin Newsom. Kitchens has been a Partner at Gibson Dunn since 1986 and has served in several positions there since 1978, including General Counsel and Associate. Click here to read more. 03/22
    

  • Bernard Resser ’79 joins Barton as a partner. Click here for more info. 01/22
• 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. 12/20
  • Jim Spitser ’64 was featured in an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune about his March Madness memories. Spitser, now retired, has been to the Final Four 25 times, and has watched the Bruins take the crown 5 times. Click here to read more. 03/22

  • 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. 09/20
  • Walter Howald '65 was named the 2021 Newport Beach Citizen of the Year. 09/21
  • Arnold York ’65 has served as the publisher of the Malibu Times since 1987. Recently, he and his wife, Karen, sold the 75-year-old institution. He remarked his greatest accomplishment over the past 34 years as publisher was never missing an issue. Please click here to read more.11/21
  • Irving Greines '66, a retired founding partner of the appellate specialty firm Greines Martin Stein and Richland and a professional fine art street photographer, informs that multiple prints from his photographic documentary series “The Street People” have been added to the permanent collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).  Irving’s photography can be seen here and the specific works added to LACMA’s collection can be seen here. 03/23
  • Gil Garcetti ’67 was appointed to the Milton Marks “Little Hoover” Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy. Click here to read more. 11/21
  • Steven Wawra ’67 was featured in a Los Angeles Daily Journal Article entitled "The Dealmaker". Following a 30-year career in law and real estate business, Steve has focused since 2000 exclusively on conducting mediations, settlement conferences and arbitrations, and on ADR instruction. He is based in Newport Beach, CA. 10/21 
  • 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
  • Barry Fisher ’68 was named the 2021 Warren M. Christopher International Lawyer of the Year. Fisher, a named partner at Fleishman & Fisher, focuses his practice on human rights and constitutional law on behalf of ethnic, racial, religious minorities world-wide including Kurds, the Roma (so-called “Gypsies”), and others. Fisher has assisted the drafting of constitutions and legislation for countries including Romania, Moldova, Albania, Bosnia, Sierra Leone, and Belarus, and has consulted on legal matters in many countries, including Russia, Mexico, Spain, Cambodia, Slovakia, Argentina, Canada, Germany, and England. This month, he traveled to Brussels to speak at the European Parliament at the Justice for Kosovo Roma Event. Click here and here to read more. 05/22
  • Jordan J. Paust '68 retired from the University of Houston Law Center in 2017. Click here to read more.  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. 09/20
  • Michael Allan Cowell '69, after serving for 43 years on the Los Angeles County Superior Court Bench, has retired to write and publish his legal thriller novels, Adverse Witness, Presumption of Guilt, At the Hour of Our Deaths, Gideon's Murders and the historical saga, The King's Archer. 03/23
• Class Notes 1952 - 1959
  • John Arguelles ’54 was honored by the UCLA School Of Law with a celebration of his career, an exhibition of his photographs outside the UCLA Law Library, and a new scholarship is his name. Justice Arguelles was the first UCLA Law School graduate and the second Hispanic Justice to serve on the California Supreme Court. Click here to read more. Watch his interview here. Justice Arguelles passed away shortly after his tribute. 04/22