The LEAD Summit brings together UCLA Law's community of alumnae and students to share insights on advancing the profession, promoting equity and achieving excellence. The day-long event features dynamic speakers and smaller roundtables on topics ranging from leadership styles to rainmaking to career pathways, all with a focus on expanding impact.

UCLA Law Women LEAD: Building Community.  Driving Change.

Welcome – J.D. Class of 2022 Student LEADers

• Kaitlyn Hittelman ’22, Incoming Associate, Hogan Lovells US LLP
• Robyn Jimenez ’22, Incoming Associate, Paul Hastings LLP
• Hannah Schnell ’22, Incoming Associate, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

The Dean’s Welcome

• Russell Korobkin, Interim Dean, Richard C. Maxwell Distinguished Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law

Celebrating a Lifetime of Contributions to Our Community: The UCLA Law Women LEAD Trailblazers Lifetime Achievement Awards

• Presented by Dean Korobkin and Margaret Levy ’75, Summit Co-Chair, Mediator and Arbitrator, ADR Services, Inc., to:
  • Dorothy Wolpert ’76, Founding Principal, Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks, Lincenberg & Rhow, P.C.; Member of the Board and Past President of the Inner City Law Center
  • Mia F. Yamamoto ’71, Owner, Law Office of Mia F. Yamamoto; Past President of the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, the Japanese Bar Association and the Asian Pacific American Women Lawyers Alliance

My Journey from Michael to Mia, from Criminal Defense Trial Lawyer to Community Activist

• Mia F. Yamamoto ’71, Owner, Law Office of Mia F. Yamamoto

Blazing Your Own Trail: Plot Twist – From Law to Television Producer

• Elizabeth Franco ’15, Manager of Original Documentary Series, Netflix; Executive Producer, “The Terrorist” and “Black Boy Joy,” winner of the 2021 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Short Film

Speaking to Win: Strategies to Engage, Inspire and Influence your Audience

• Star Bobatoon ’01, Award-winning Presentation Coach and Story Navigator, Owner, Star Consulting, LLC, Author, I Hate Muscular Dystrophy: Loving a Child with a Life-Altering Disease and STARPoints: 31 Strategies to Illuminate Your Life

View part 1 of the 2022 LEAD Summit

 

---

Building Coalitions to Lead Change; Skills and Strategies for Challenging Times

Beyond Your Bubble: How to Connect Across the Political and Cultural Divide

• Tania Israel, Ph.D., Professor, Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology: Skills for talking across differences; special emphasis on interventions to support the mental health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals and communities, University of California at Santa Barbara; Author, Beyond Your Bubble: How to Connect Across the Political Divide, Skills and Strategies for Conversations That Work
• Panel Discussion on Building Communities for Change, moderated by: Cara Horowitz ’01, Andrew Sabin Family Foundation Co-Executive Director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, UCLA School of Law
  • Heather Anderson ’97, Vice President, Programming and Acquisitions, ESPN
  • Karen Tse ’90, Founder & CEO, International Bridges to Justice, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Lauren van Schilfgaarde ’12, UCLA Research Fellow, formerly San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Tribal Legal Development Clinic Director, UCLA School of Law
  • Katy Young Yaroslavsky ’05,* formerly Senior Environmental and Arts Policy Deputy, LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl; Member and Executive Committee Member of the Board, Coro Southern California

View Tania Israel's presentation and the panel discussion

 

---

Career Networking

Corporate, Real Estate, Tax and Other Transactional Practices

• Coordinated by:
  • Nicole Howell ’13, Counsel, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
  • Gretta Moy ’16, Assistant Vice President, Real Estate Counsel, Macerich
  • Sara Semnani ’11, Partner, Cooley LLP
  • Evelyn Aguilar Shimazaki ’84, Retired Corporate Counsel

Employment Law

• Coordinated by:
  • Felicia Davis ’09, Partner, Paul Hastings LLP
  • Tina Mehr ’10, Founder & Principal Attorney, Vision Legal, Inc.
  • Marina Serrano ’20, Associate, Makarem & Associates

Entertainment Law

• Coordinated by:
  • Laila Babaeian ’15, Counsel, Intellectual Property, NBCUniversal Media, LLC
  • Briana Hill ’07, Partner, Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP
  • Sarah Moses ’13, Counsel, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
  • Priya Srinivasan ’17 , Warner Bros. Entertainment

Litigation

• Coordinated by:
  • Chantal Hwang Barksdale ’10, Apple (Trademark & Copyright)
  • Bety Javidzad ’05, Partner, Dentons
  • Angel Tang Nakamura ’99, Partner, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP
  • Hana Oh ’14, Counsel, O’Melveny & Myers LLP
  • Benita Yu ’19, Associate, Wilkie, Farr & Gallaher LLP

Government Agency Practices

• Coordinated by:
  • The Honorable Nicole Bershon ’92, Judge, Los Angeles Superior Court; Adjunct Lecturer in Law, USC Gould School of Law
  • Sireen Sawaf ’10, Deputy City Attorney, City of Los Angeles
  • Danielle St. Clair ’11, Deputy City Attorney, City of Pasadena
  • Leana Taing ’14, Deputy County Counsel, Los Angeles County and Adjunct Lecturer in Law, USC Gould School of Law

Public Interest Law

• Coordinated by:
  • Karin Wang, Executive Director, David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest law and Policy, UCLA School of Law
  • Ella Hushagen ’13, Senior Trial Attorney, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

---

Concurrent Breakout Sessions

These activities are approved for one hour of general MCLE credit. UCLA School of Law is a State Bar of California approved MCLE provider. Materials will be distributed during the presentation and sent to attendees after the event.

Protecting Voters Rights, co-Sponsored by the Latinx Law Students Association

• Introductions by: Daniela Dillarza ’24, Co-Chair, Latinx Law Students Association
• Moderator and Panelist: Erinn Contreras ’06, Partner, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
• Panelists:
  • Richard L. Hasen ’91, Professor of Law, Director, Safeguarding Democracy Project, UCLA School of Law
  • Sonni Waknin ’20, Program Manager and Voting Rights Counsel, UCLA Voting Rights Project

View the Protecting Voters Rights session

 

Advocating for Children’s Rights, co-sponsored by UCLA Law Women

• Introductions by: Jill Kleinkauf ’23 and Sydney Robles ’24, UCLA Law Women
• Moderator:
  • Danielle Katzir ’04, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
• Panelists:
  • The Honorable Debra Archuleta, Judge, Los Angeles Superior Court
  • Marisa Muma ’18, Director, Disaster Relief, Baby2Baby
  • Luz Nagle ’92, Professor of Law, Stetson University College of Law
  • Shantel Vachani ’08, Staff Attorney, Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights

View the Advocating for Children’s Rights session

 

Combatting Hunger, Homelessness, and Housing Oppression, co-sponsored by the Black Law Students Association

• Introductions by: Rochelle Mulondo ’24, Black Law Students Association
• Moderator:
  • Kris Cheh Beck ’99, Chief Legal Officer, CREXi; Co-Chair, UCLA Law Women LEAD
• Panelists:
  • Dorothy Wolpert ’76, Founding Principal, Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks, Lincenberg & Rhow, P.C.; Member of the Board and Past President of the Inner City Law Center
  • Shayla Myers ’08, Senior Attorney, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
  • Nisha Vyas ’03, Senior Attorney, Western Center on Law & Poverty; Lecturer, UCLA School of Law

View the Combatting Hunger, Homelessness, and Housing Oppression session

 

Driving Workplace Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, co-sponsored by the Womxn of Color Collective

• Introductions by Erica Kelley ’24 and Sahana Matthews ’24, Womxn of Color Collective
• Moderator and Contributor: Beth Berke ’79, Founder, Beth Berke Consulting, Summit Co-Chair; formerly, Chief Administrative Officer, Sony Pictures Entertainment
• Panelists:
  • Hailyn Chen ’03, Co-Managing Partner, Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
  • Tania Israel, Ph.D., Professor, Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology, University of California at Santa Barbara
  • Tritia Murata ’04, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP
  • Daedra Staten ’13, Founder, SCG Diversity Consulting, Anti-racism Educator

View the Driving Workplace Diversity, Equity and Inclusion session

 

Lawyers and the Climate Crisis: Views from Inside the Fight, co-sponsored by the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment

• Introductions by: Cara Horowitz ’01, Andrew Sabin Family Foundation Co-Executive Director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, UCLA School of Law
• Moderator: Beth Kent ’18, UCLA Law Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
• Panelists:
  • Nikki Buffa ’06, Latham & Watkins LLP
  • Sarah Kozal ’16, Counsel, California Independent Systems Operator (CAISO)
  • Jerilyn López Mendoza ’96, Los Angeles Regional Organizer, The Climate Center; Lecturer, Loyola Marymount University; formerly Presidential Appointee to the International EPA Advisory Committee
  • Geneva Thompson ’16, Assistant Secretary for Tribal Affairs, California Natural Resources Agency

View the Lawyers and the Climate Crisis session

 

---

Working for Reproductive Justice in a Post-Dobbs World, co-sponsored by the Center on Reproductive Health, Law and Policy

• Cary Franklin, Ph.D., McDonald/Wright Chair of Law, Faculty Director of the Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy and Faculty Director of the Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law
• Grace Sung Ehn Meng, Director, Judge Rand Schrader Pro Bono Program, UCLA School of Law

Celebrating LEADership: A Tribute to Michelle Banks ’88, Co-Founder and Outgoing Co-Chair, UCLA Law Women LEAD

• Presented by Nancy Abell ’79, Partner, Paul Hastings LLP and Co-Founder, UCLA Law Women LEAD

View Working for Reproductive Justice and Celebrating LEADership

 

---

*This is a nonpartisan event organized by UCLA for educational purposes. As a 501(c)(3) organization, UCLA is prohibited from supporting or opposing candidates for public office. Accordingly, we will not be addressing or otherwise discussing a speaker’s candidacy for the 2022 election, including any specifics of her reelection and/or its platform.

We are grateful for the support of our 2022 UCLA Law Women LEAD Summit Sponsors.

Presenting Sponsors

Morrison & Foerster LLP

Nancy ’79 and Les Abell

Paul Hastings LLP

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

---

Platinum Sponsor

Heather Morgan ’94

---

Blue Sponsors

Kris Cheh Beck ’99

Dentons

---

Gold Sponsors

Arnold & Porter

Michelle Banks ’88

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

McGuireWoods LLP

Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

---

Bronze Sponsors

Val Ackerman ’85

Apple

Buchalter

Erinn Contreras ’06

Felicia Davis ’09

Google Fiber

HWG LLP

Tritia Murata ’04

Emily Gould Sullivan ’95

Reed Smith LLP

---

Blue and Gold Sponsors

Ashley Artmann ’17

Beth Berke ’79

Tanya Greene ’09

Margaret Levy ’75

Evelyn Aguilar Shimazaki ’84

Boryana Zamanoff ’04