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Hastings Magazine                                                       Hastings Archives and History

Spring 2019

UC Hastings Law (Spring 2019)
Hastings College of the Law Alumni Association

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UC Hastings Law
                     SAN FRANCISCO

GAMECHANGERS
                                 A SPECIAL ISSUE HONORING PROMINENT
                                ALUMNI WHO HAVE MADE EXTRAORDINARY
                                    CONTRIBUTIONS TO THEIR FIELDS

INCLUDING MARVIN R. BAXTER ’66, Former Justice, Supreme Court of California; WILLIE L. BROWN JR. ’58, Former Mayor of
San Francisco and Former Speaker of the California State Assembly; CAROL A. CORRIGAN ’75, Justice, Supreme Court of California;
  JOSEPH W. COTCHETT ’64, Founding Partner of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy; EDWARD J. DAVILA ’79, Judge, U.S. District
 Court for the Northern District of California; KAMALA HARRIS ’89, U.S. Senator for California; BRAD R. HILL ’83, Presiding
 Justice, California Fifth District Court of Appeal; LAWRENCE J. O’NEILL ’79, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern
                       District of California; AND JACKIE SPEIER ’76, U.S. R epresentative from California.
UC Hastings Law (Spring 2019) - UC Hastings Scholarship Repository - UC Hastings Scholarship ...
[   FROM THE DEAN

Dear Alumni and Friends,                                                               UC Hastings Magazine
                                                                                       Spring 2019
The law has ancient roots, and we practice our profession in accordance with
                                                                                       Volume 12, Number 1
fundamental axioms and principles. We rightfully take pride working within
                                                                                       Chancellor & Dean
an Anglo-American legal system that is centuries old. Substantive guarantees
                                                                                       David Faigman
of due process and equal protection, and procedural guarantees of the adver-
                                                                                       Academic Dean | Morris Ratner
sarial system and fundamental fairness, are cornerstones of our profession. At
the same time, the law and what it means to be a lawyer have changed and               Chief Communications Officer
                                                                                       Alex A.G. Shapiro
continue to change, sometimes in dramatic and even revolutionary ways. And
                                                                                       shapiroa@uchastings.edu
this change is inevitably led by the lawyers themselves. It is these lawyers who
                                                                                       Chief Development Officer
                                     give those ancient and fundamental principles
                                                                                       Eric Dumbleton
                                     modern meaning. They are the gamechangers.        dumbletoneric@uchastings.edu
                                       We are in the midst of a time of particular     Illustrations | Max-o-Matic
                                     upheaval in the law, as tech increasingly
                                                                                       Photography | Jim Block
                                     changes legal practice and the law asserts
                                                                                       Produced by | DCP
                                     its influence on, and power over, tech.
                                     Additionally, myriad areas of practice—from       Board of Directors
                                                                                       Tina Combs ’88, Chair
                                     tax to immigration to bankruptcy to crimi-
                                                                                       Carl W. “Chip” Robertson ’98,
                                     nal sentencing to the environment—present           Vice Chair
                                     constant challenge and revision. UC Hastings      Simona Agnolucci ’06
                                     has begun a major renovation and expansion        Donald Bradley ’68
                                                                                       Thomas Gede ’81
                                     of its campus with one goal in mind: to further
                                                                                       Adrienne Go
                                     its mission of training students in the basics    Claes H. Lewenhaupt ’89
                                     of lawyering, while preparing them to employ      Christian Osmeña
                                     that knowledge to be ready for, and to contrib-   Mary Noel Pepys ’78
                                     ute to, a quickly changing legal landscape.       Courtney Power ’01

                                       UC Hastings is already well-known for           Contact Us
                                                                                       Advancement & Communications
producing leaders across a wide spectrum of law and law-related fields. It is
                                                                                       University of California
with this in mind that we decided to celebrate a cross section of distinguished        Hastings College of the Law
UC Hastings alumni who have been gamechangers in both traditional and                  200 McAllister St.
nontraditional ways. Founded in 1878, UC Hastings has graduated countless              San Francisco, CA 94102
high achievers, innovators, and thought leaders. In this special edition of UC         415.565.4615

Hastings magazine, we spotlight a selection of them; we will feature many more         alumni@uchastings.edu
in future editions. Our honorees include high-profile elected officials and lumi-      uchastings.edu

naries of the bench, social justice pioneers and tech trailblazers, media titans       Send changes of address to
                                                                                       updates@uchastings.edu.
and independent impresarios. Collectively, they illustrate the breadth of possi-
bilities available to the farsighted and prodigiously gifted lawyers of yesterday,     Please submit your class notes at
                                                                                       classnotes@uchastings.edu.
today, and tomorrow.
  We thank all of the honorees in these pages (and those to be honored in              UC Hastings is published by the
                                                                                       University of California Hastings
future magazines) for their contributions—and for continuing to make the law
                                                                                       College of the Law. ©2019
school proud.
                                                                                       All rights reserved.

Sincerely,                                                                             If you prefer to opt out of receiving
                                                                                       UC Hastings magazine by mail, email
                                                                                       updates@uchastings.edu or visit
                                                                                       uchastings.edu/alumni-contact.

                                                                                       Any reference or depiction of a
                                                                                       commercial product does not con-
                                                                                       stitute or imply an endorsement by
David Faigman                                                                          UC Hastings of the product or its
Chancellor & Dean                                                                      provider or producer.
UC Hastings Law (Spring 2019) - UC Hastings Scholarship Repository - UC Hastings Scholarship ...
CONTENTS             ]

GAMECHANGERS   OVER THE YEARS, UC HASTINGS HAS GRADUATED MANY
               ALUMNI WHOSE VISIONARY THINKING MAKES THEM LEADERS
               IN THEIR FIELDS. IN THIS ISSUE, MEET SOME OF THE INSPIRING
               ALUMNI WHO ARE CHANGING THE GAME.

               2 PU BLIC SE RV ICE / PU BLIC I NT E R E ST
               Alumni contribute to the greater good in countless ways, from serving the country as
               elected officials to overseeing transformative social justice organizations. They have
               left—and continue to leave—an indelible mark on the communities they serve.

               9 T H E J U DICI A RY
               Serving in—and presiding over—courts of all levels in states across the nation,
               UC Hastings alumni have been judicial thought leaders for generations.

               13 T H E PR ACTICE OF L AW
               UC Hastings graduates can be found in top leadership positions at the country’s most
               respected law firms—and in many cases were the firms’ founders. Their track records
               in and out of the courtroom are impressive, as is their commitment to giving back.

               21 BUSI N E SS A N D T ECH NOLOGY L AW
               Movers and shakers in wide-ranging industries such as finance, biotech, real estate,
               and insurance, UC Hastings alumni excel in careers that are anything but “business
               as usual.”

               27 BEYON D T H E L AW
               Highly accomplished alumni thrive in fields as diverse as documentary filmmaking,
               television news, public relations, academia, and ice dancing—putting their law degree
               to work in creative ways.

               32 A DVA NCEM ENT
               Two alumni reflect on the long-term benefits of giving back to their alma mater,
               whether through planned giving or cy pres awards.

               33 BU I L DI NG UC H A STI NGS
               With plans underway to establish a vibrant academic village in the heart of San
               Francisco, UC Hastings is changing the game for how students can live and learn
               in an interdisciplinary community.

                                                                                      UC HASTINGS       1
UC Hastings Law (Spring 2019) - UC Hastings Scholarship Repository - UC Hastings Scholarship ...
JEFF ADACHI ’85                  ZAHRA BILLOO ’09              Over the next 20 years,
 PUBLIC SERVICE / PUBLIC INTER EST
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Former San Francisco             Executive Director,           and after stints in the state
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Public Defender                  San Francisco Bay Area        Senate and as Nevada’s
                                     → ALUMNI CONTRIBUTE TO THE GREATER GOOD IN COUNTLESS WAYS, FROM SERVING THE COUNTRY AS
                                                                                                                          ELECTED OFFICIALS TO OVERSEEING TRANSFORMATIVE SOCIAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATIONS. THEY HAVE

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   → Adachi spent almost his        Office of the Council         attorney general, he was
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   entire legal career in the San   on American-Islamic           elected governor in 1982.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Francisco Public Defender’s      Relations                     After serving two terms,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Office and served as the         → Since joining the           Bryan represented Nevada
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   city’s public defender since     Council on American-          in Washington, D.C., as a
                                                                                                                          LEFT—AND CONTINUE TO LEAVE—AN INDELIBLE MARK ON THE COMMUNITIES THEY SERVE.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   he was elected to the post       Islamic Relations at the      two-term U.S. senator. He
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   in 2002. During his tenure,      beginning of her legal        currently practices law at
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   he tried more than 150 jury      career, Billoo has shep-      Fennemore Craig in Las
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   trials, handled more than        herded the San Francisco      Vegas, where he focuses on
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   3,000 criminal matters,          chapter through a decade      government relations.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   and established innovative       of unprecedented growth,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   programs that have placed        overseeing a team of          XOCHITL CARRION ’07
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   the office, whose team of                                      Assistant District
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   almost 100 lawyers and 60                                      Attorney, San Francisco
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   staff represents more than                                     District Attorney’s Office
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   23,000 people annually, at                                     → Carrion has assisted San
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   the cutting edge of legal                                      Francisco District Attorney
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   representation of the poor.                                    George Gascón since 2015
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Adachi passed away earlier                                     in representing the people
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   this year.                                                     of the city and county of
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  San Francisco. She also
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   MANUELA                                                        serves as the Northern
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   ALBUQUERQUE ’75                  advocates who serve the       District vice president of
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Former Berkeley                  local American Muslim         the California La Raza
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   City Attorney                    population through direct     Lawyers Association. She
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   → Albuquerque served             legal services and com-       also served as a member of
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   as Berkeley city attorney        munity outreach. Under        the California Law Revision
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   for 22 years, the longest        her tenure, the chapter has   Commission, to which
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   tenure of any city attorney      also engaged in high-im-      she was appointed by
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   in Berkeley’s history. In that   pact litigation challenging   Gov. Edmund G. Brown
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   position, from which she         discriminatory treatment      Jr. in 2011 and which she
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   retired in 2007, she advised     against Muslims. Billoo       chaired in 2012-2013. She
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   the Berkeley City Council,       received the 2017 Human       also served as co-president
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Housing Authority, city          Rights Award from the         of Brava! for Women in the
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   manager and staff, and city      Society of American Law       Arts; chair of communi-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   boards and commissions,          Teachers in honor of her      cations for the Hispanic
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   while also litigating cases      work.                         National Bar Association’s
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   at every level of state and                                    Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   federal courts. She earned       RICHARD H. BRYAN ’63          Transgender Division;
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   numerous honors for her          Former U.S. Senator           and president of the San
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   work, including California       from Nevada                   Francisco La Raza Lawyers
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Lawyer of the Year in 2007,      → Following his early         Association.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   and was named Public             days as a deputy DA and
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Lawyer of the Year by the        public defender, Bryan        JAMES M. COLE ’79
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   California State Bar’s Public    was elected to the Nevada     Former U.S. Deputy
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Law Section in 2005.             State Assembly in 1968.       Attorney General

2 GAMECHANGERS
UC Hastings Law (Spring 2019) - UC Hastings Scholarship Repository - UC Hastings Scholarship ...
PUBLIC SERVICE / PUBLIC INTEREST                            ]

                                                → Following his graduation      He teaches as an adjunct
                                                from UC Hastings, Cole          professor at UC Hastings.
                                                joined the Department of
                                                Justice, and spent the next     SEAN ELSBERND ’00
                                                13 years working in various     Chief of Staff, San
                                                roles, from trial attorney to   Francisco Mayor’s Office
                                                deputy chief of the Public      → Elsbernd was selected
                                                Integrity Section. He served    as chief of staff to Mayor
                                                as deputy attorney general      London Breed in 2018.
                                                from 2011 to 2015, working      He previously served as
                                                with the attorney general       state director for Sen.
                                                to formulate the federal        Dianne Feinstein, District
                                                response to changes such
                                                as state decriminaliza-
                                                tion of marijuana and the
                                                Smart on Crime program.
                                                He is now global co-lead
                                                of Sidley’s White Collar:
                                                Government Litigation and
                                                Investigations practice.
Willie L. Brown Jr. ’58
FORMER MAYOR OF SAN FRANCISCO                   BURK DELVENTHAL ’69
                                                Chief Deputy,                   7 representative on the
Following a few years as a criminal
                                                Government Law Division         San Francisco Board of
defense lawyer, Brown launched his              of the San Francisco City       Supervisors, chief legislative
political career with his election to the       Attorney’s Office               aide for Supervisor Tony
California State Assembly in 1964. During       → Delventhal joined the San     Hall, and co-director of
                                                Francisco City Attorney’s       the Congressional Human
his 30-year tenure, he became the body’s                                        Rights Caucus under former
                                                Office in 1970. During his
first African American speaker in 1980,         career, he handled liti-        Congressman Tom Lantos,
a position he held until his retirement in      gation, opinion writing,        among other roles. Upon
                                                and legislative drafting        his appointment as chief
1995. Brown wasn’t through with politics,
                                                involving constitutional,       of staff, the San Francisco
however. In 1995, he was elected mayor of                                       Chronicle noted that he was
                                                municipal, and public pol-
San Francisco and served two terms that         icy issues. He was awarded      “known for his willing-
coincided with the dot-com tech boom.           the Charles S. Rhyne            ness to dig into the more
                                                Lifetime Achievement            unglamorous aspects of
He oversaw a number of substantial infra-
                                                Award by the International      local government.”
structure and building projects during
                                                Municipal Lawyers
his mayoralty, including a subway exten-        Association in 2013, the        CLAIR ENGLE ’33
sion and a new biomedical campus at UC          highest award of its kind for   Former U.S. Senator
                                                local government attorneys      from California
San Francisco. Retired from politics since
                                                in North America, granted       → Known as “Congressman
2004, he now heads the Willie L. Brown                                          Fireball,” Engle served
                                                irregularly to exceptional
Jr. Institute on Politics and Public Service,   recipients. He was also the     in the U.S. House of
writes a freelance column for the San           California State Bar’s 2013     Representatives from
                                                Public Lawyer of the Year,      1943 to 1959 and as a
Francisco Chronicle, and remains one of the
                                                honored for his long career     U.S. senator from 1959 to
city’s most influential power brokers.                                          1964. He became district
                                                in service to the public.

                                                                                           UC HASTINGS       3
UC Hastings Law (Spring 2019) - UC Hastings Scholarship Repository - UC Hastings Scholarship ...
[   PUBLIC SERVICE / PUBLIC INTEREST

attorney at age 23 in           political issues and policy.   NOREEN FARRELL ’97              E.J. FLYNN ’87
California’s Tehama             She served as a legisla-       Executive Director,             Senior Human Rights
County and served in the        tive assistant for Rep. Pat    Equal Rights Advocates          Officer, United Nations
California Senate. While        Schroeder, chief of staff      → Farrell set her career path   Security Council Counter-
in the House, the “Flying       for Rep. Anna Eshoo, and       in law school when she          Terrorism Committee
Congressman” flew him-          defense policy adviser for     served as editor-in-chief       → Flynn has spent most
self to meet with his 18        Sen. Ted Kennedy. She          of the Hastings Women’s         of his career at the United
counties of constituents.       has been the subcom-           Law Journal. As executive       Nations, in roles that have
Despite losing the ability      mittee staff director on       director of Equal Rights
to speak, he famously           the House Permanent            Advocates (ERA), a civil
voted in the Senate roll call   Select Committee on            rights organization that
to break the Civil Rights       Intelligence and profes-       focuses on gender jus-
Act of 1964 filibuster          sional staff member for the    tice, Farrell leads national
shortly before his passing      House Armed Services           initiatives addressing issues
from a brain tumor, by          Committee. The Associated      such as the gender wage
pointing to his eye, repre-     Press, Politico, and The       gap, women’s economic
senting his “aye” vote.         Wall Street Journal have       security, sexual harass-
                                requested her analysis, and    ment, and education equity.
MIEKE EOYANG ’02                she has written for Forbes     She has been at the forefront   focused on human rights
Vice President, Third Way       and The Washington Post.       of ERA’s impact litigation      and led to assignments
→ Eoyang is the vice            She appears frequently on      work, including before the      around the world, including
president for the National      MSNBC, commenting on           U.S. Supreme Court, serving     in Haiti, Croatia, Bosnia-
Security Program at Third       national security and legal    as lead counsel to plaintiffs   Herzegovina, Switzerland,
Way, a think tank for           issues.                        in numerous lawsuits.           and New York City. For the

                                                               K amala Harris ’89
                                                               U.S. SENATOR FROM CALIFORNIA
                                                               Harris’ formidable career has been marked
                                                               by firsts. A daughter of Indian and Jamaican
                                                               immigrants, she became the first black woman
                                                               to serve as district attorney in California when
                                                               she was elected to serve as San Francisco’s
                                                               district attorney. She was the first woman and
                                                               first person of color to serve as California’s
                                                               attorney general and the first-ever South Asian-
                                                               American U.S. senator, a position she has held
                                                               since January 2017. As Harris sets her sights
                                                               ever higher, she is living proof that barriers are
                                                               meant to be broken to pave the way for future
                                                               generations of leaders.

4 GAMECHANGERS
UC Hastings Law (Spring 2019) - UC Hastings Scholarship Repository - UC Hastings Scholarship ...
past 13 years, he has served     Office of Legal Counsel          JOHN T. KNOX ’52               California State Legislature
as a senior officer at the UN    (OLC), which acts as a           Former California State        for nearly 10 years, where
Security Council, providing      legal advisory office for the    Assemblyman                    he worked to further pro-
strategic advice to member       U.S. executive branch, for       → Knox represented             gressive public policy on
states on how to prosecute       more than a quarter cen-         western Contra Costa           issues of access to justice,
and prevent terrorism, while     tury. Her primary duties         County in the Assembly         public rights, and civil
honoring human rights            involve examining all            from 1960 through 1980,        liability. Before attending
obligations. Prior to joining    executive orders, as well        the last four years of which   UC Hastings, Lew enjoyed
the UN in 1993, Flynn spent      as other legal documents         he served as the Assembly      a career in the public
six years as a lawyer with       issued by both the presi-        speaker pro tem. Knox          health arena, working as a
nonprofits, representing         dent and attorney general,       was a driving force behind     research analyst for the UC
Central American refugees        to ensure legality and           the 1970 creation of the       Berkeley School of Public
pro bono on the Texas-           proper form. She special-                                       Health and the Department
Mexico border and later in       izes in constitutional and                                      of Health Services in Los
Southern California.             administrative law and is                                       Angeles County.
                                 an elected member of the
PHILIP GINSBURG ’93              American Law Institute.                                         MARY CATHERINE
General Manager, San             She was honored with the                                        MALIN ’84
Francisco Recreation and         Mary C. Lawton Award for                                        Assistant Legal Adviser
Parks Department                 Outstanding Government                                          for Diplomatic Law
→ Ginsburg became                Service from the American                                       and Litigation, U.S.
general manager of the San       Bar Association in 2013.                                        Department of State
Francisco Recreation and                                          California Environmental       → During her 30-year
Parks Department in July         ROBERT M.                        Quality Act, which requires    career at the Department of
2009. Previously, he served      HERTZBERG ’79                    state and local agencies       State, Malin has worked on
as a labor and employment        California State Senate          to identify and mitigate       landmark Supreme Court
attorney at Carroll Burdick      Majority Leader                  significant environmental      and International Court of
and McDonough, and               → Active in politics since       impacts of all planned         Justice cases and served as
worked in a variety of San       he volunteered in local          construction projects. He      a diplomat in The Hague.
Francisco city positions—        elections as a college stu-      also sponsored laws in 1965    She is a specialist in foreign
as a deputy city attorney,       dent, Hertzberg has won          to create the San Francisco    state and official immunity
human resources direc-           seats in both California         Bay Conservation and           issues, the recognition of
tor, and chief of staff for      state houses and is one          Development Commission.        states and governments,
Gavin Newsom during his          of a handful of California       Knox died in 2017.             and diplomatic law. A
tenure as mayor. As general      politicians to have served                                      two-time recipient of the
manager, he has focused on       as both Assembly speaker         ANTHONY LEW ’08                Presidential Rank Award,
making the parks system          and a state senator. After       Deputy Attorney General,       she also teaches foreign
accessible for all. Under his    leaving the State Assembly       California Department of       relations law as an adjunct
leadership, San Francisco        in 2002, he spent 12 years       Justice                        professor at Georgetown
became the first city in the     in the private sector focus-     → Lew joined the California    University Law Center.
country where 100 percent        ing on global clean energy       Department of Justice in
of its residents live within a   initiatives, which led           2018, and acts as legis-       ROBERT T. MATSUI ’66
10-minute walk of a park.        him to receive the World         lative advocate on issues      Former U.S. Representative
                                 Bank Award for Lighting          that include consumer          from California
ROSEMARY HART ’79                Africa in recognition of his     protection, privacy rights,    → Matsui represented
Special Counsel, U.S.            efforts. Hertzberg returned      and white-collar crime.        California’s Third (later
Department of Justice            to electoral politics in 2014,   Previously, he served as       Fifth) District in Congress
Office of Legal Counsel          when he was elected to           counsel for the Assembly       from 1979 to 2005. He
→ Hart has served in the         the state Senate.                Judiciary Committee in the     had previously served as

                                                                                                            UC HASTINGS       5
UC Hastings Law (Spring 2019) - UC Hastings Scholarship Repository - UC Hastings Scholarship ...
a Sacramento city coun-        Gov. Brown and deputy           and as interim director of
cilman and vice mayor.         research director for his       Refugee and Immigrant
An internee of Tule Lake       2010 campaign.                  Services for Jewish Family
during World War II, he                                        & Community Services.
went on to help pass the       GEORGE R.
Civil Liberties Act of 1988,   MOSCONE ’56                     KATE ORLOVSKY ’06
which included a formal        Former Mayor of                 Director; Hague Office,
apology for the intern-        San Francisco                   ICC & ICL Programme,
ment program, and helped       → A former state senator,       International Bar
secure the Manzanar camp       Moscone campaigned for          Association                   she co-founded the DNC
National Historic Site         mayor on a platform of          → Orlovsky has spent          Veterans and Military
designation. He chaired the    inclusivity. As the “People’s   most of her professional      Families Council. A mem-
Democratic Congressional       Mayor,” he appointed            life working in and around    ber of the DNC Resolutions
Campaign Committee from        dozens of individuals from      The Hague, with a focus       Committee since 2001, she
2003 to 2005 and is the        underrepresented minori-        on human rights and           is currently chair of the
namesake for the Robert        ties to administrative posts.   gender equality issues.       California Democratic Party
T. Matsui United States        During his tenure—which         She served as a consul-       Women’s Caucus and the
Courthouse and Federal         was cut tragically short in     tant on Human Rights          DNC Executive Committee.
Building in Sacramento. He     1978 when he and Harvey         Watch’s International         She is a co-founder and
passed away in 2005.                                           Justice Programme and         counsel at WeSaidEnough,
                                                               as a legal officer for the    a women’s rights advocacy
LILA MIRRASHIDI ’09                                            Women’s Initiative for        group that launched the
Deputy Secretary;                                              Gender Justice. In 2016,      MeToo politics movement.
California Business,                                           she joined the Hague office
Consumer Services and                                          of the International Bar      STEVE PHILLIPS ’97
Housing Agency                                                 Association, where she was    Founder,
→ Gov. Gavin Newsom                                            named director in 2018.       Democracy in Color
appointed Mirrashidi dep-                                                                    → A civil rights lawyer and
uty secretary of business                                      CHRISTINE PELOSI ’93          senior fellow at the Center
and consumer relations         Milk were assassinated          Chair, California             for American Progress,
in January 2019. Over the      by former Supervisor Dan        Democratic Party              Phillips is the founder of
previous eight years, she      White—Moscone gave              Women’s Caucus                Democracy in Color, an
was appointed by Gov.          voice to marginalized           → Pelosi began her legal      organization dedicated
Edmund G. Brown Jr. to         populations and started to      career as a public interest   to race and politics. He is
serve in multiple capaci-      transform the city into the     attorney in San Francisco.    co-founder of PowerPAC+,
ties. She held positions at    San Francisco people know       She then served as HUD        a social justice organization
the California Department      today.                          special counsel in the        dedicated to building a
of Business Oversight,                                         Clinton-Gore adminis-         multiracial political coali-
which included leading         ROCHELLE NASON ’87              tration, a chief of staff     tion. He has appeared on
the implementation of the      Mayor of Albany,                on Capitol Hill, and a        multiple national radio and
PACE program and heading       California                      Democratic National           television networks, and is
the legal division. At the     → Nason was named the           Committee member elected      a columnist for The Nation
California Department of       2019 mayor of Albany by         from California. A former     and a contributor to The
Corporations, she played a     the Albany City Council,        executive director of the     New York Times. He is the
key role in the Department     just after her re-election      state party, she led its      author of the best-selling
of Financial Institutions      to a second council term.       Platform Committee for 13     Brown Is the New White:
merger. She also served        Previously, she served as       years, and has been elected   How the Demographic
as deputy appointments         executive director of the       six times to the Democratic   Revolution Has Created a
secretary for the Office of    League to Save Lake Tahoe       National Committee, where     New American Majority.

6 GAMECHANGERS
UC Hastings Law (Spring 2019) - UC Hastings Scholarship Repository - UC Hastings Scholarship ...
PUBLIC SERVICE / PUBLIC INTEREST                          ]

Julia Olson ’97
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CHIEF LEGAL
COUNSEL, OUR CHILDREN’S TRUST
After spending 15 years representing conser-
vation groups, Olson founded Our Children’s
Trust, an organization that gives voice to young
people in the fight for their right to a stable
climate. She is best known for her work as lead
counsel in a landmark constitutional climate
lawsuit, Juliana v. the United States. Brought
by 21 youth plaintiffs, the suit asserts that
government actions causing climate change
have violated the plaintiffs’ Fifth Amendment
rights to life, liberty, property, and public trust
resources. Olson received the Kerry Rydberg
Award for Environmental Activism in 2017.

VIRGINIA PATTON                 Corruption, the Convention       abortion restrictions on       the course of his career, he
PRUGH ’81                       Against Transnational            foreign aid and to ensure      has served in various dep-
Attorney Adviser, Law           Organized Crime, and the         justice and accountability     uty and assistant attorney
Enforcement and                 Commission on Narcotic           for gender-based violence.     general positions, including
Intelligence, Office of the     Drugs.                           She previously interned at     acting chief deputy attorney
Legal Adviser, U.S.                                              the International Criminal     general for former California
Department of State             AKILA                            Tribunal for the Former        Attorney General Kamala
→ After graduating from UC      RADHAKRISHNAN ’09                Yugoslavia and DPK             Harris ’89.
Hastings, Prugh joined          President, Global Justice        Consulting.
the U.S. Army Judge             Center                                                          SIMIN SHAMJI ’94
Advocate General’s              → Radhakrishnan was              MATTHEW                        Deputy Public Defender,
Corps, where she served         named president of the           RODRIQUEZ ’80                  San Francisco Public
for 27 years, retiring as a     Global Justice Center (GJC)      Secretary for                  Defender’s Office
lieutenant colonel. After       in 2018 after eight years        Environmental Protection,      → As the managing attor-
leaving the Army, she           working at the organi-           CalEPA                         ney of the Clean Slate and
joined the Department of        zation. At the GJC, she          → Rodriquez became             Specialty/Reentry Unit
State as an attorney adviser.   combines advocacy with           secretary for environmen-      in the Public Defender’s
Recognized for her exper-       legal analysis to develop        tal protection at CalEPA       Office, Shamji oversees
tise in international crime,    precedents that advance          in 2011. In addition to        various initiatives, includ-
she has been a member           gender equality through          supervising various state      ing the program that helps
of several U.S. delegations     the rule of law. She is active   environmental boards and       people clear their criminal
to the United Nations,          in international women’s         departments, he acts as an     records through expung-
including those advising        rights, and is leading           environmental adviser on       ing certain convictions
the Convention Against          efforts to challenge U.S.        the governor’s cabinet. Over   and obtaining certificates

                                                                                                           UC HASTINGS         7
[   PUBLIC SERVICE / PUBLIC INTEREST

of rehabilitation. She        J. CHRISTOPHER
has worked in the San         STEVENS ’89
Francisco Public Defender’s   Former Ambassador to
Office for more than two      Libya
decades and, after practic-   → Stevens’ distinguished
ing as a trial attorney for   diplomatic career took off
many years, began focusing    with postings in Riyadh,
on criminal justice policy    Cairo, Damascus, and
issues, including bail and    Jerusalem. He was con-
sentencing reform, racial     firmed as U.S. ambassador
disparities, implicit bias,   to Libya in 2012 follow-
and evidence-based alter-     ing the fall of Muammar
natives to incarceration.     el-Qaddafi. During a visit to
                              the U.S. diplomatic mission
RANDY SHAW ’82                in Benghazi in 2012, Stevens
Executive Director,           and three other Americans
Tenderloin Housing Clinic     were killed in a terrorist
→ Shaw founded the            attack. UC Hastings estab-
Tenderloin Housing Clinic     lished the Ambassador
while he was a law student    J. Christopher Stevens
at UC Hastings. He has        Memorial Lecture Series in      Jackie Speier ’76
dedicated his career to       his honor, which focuses on     U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM CALIFORNIA
improving living condi-       the use of law and public
tions for tenants, limiting   policy to promote peace.
                                                              Shot five times at point-blank range and left
tenant displacement, and                                      for dead during the 1978 Jonestown massa-
preserving and increasing     ELISE K. TRAYNUM ’86            cre that killed her then-boss, Congressman
affordable housing. THC is    General Counsel, ACLU           Leo Ryan, Speier entered electoral politics
the city’s leading provider   of Northern California
                              → As general counsel at         by running for Ryan’s vacant seat in 1979.
                              the ACLU of Northern            Although she lost that election, it marked the
                              California, Traynum             beginning of a political career that started
                              provides legal services         with a seat on the San Mateo County Board
                              and representation for
                              ACLU-NC on a range of
                                                              of Supervisors, continued with an 18-year
                              work, including com-            stint in the California State Legislature, and
                              pliance, employment,            led to her election to Congress in 2008. As
                              contracts, and other laws       a U.S. representative for California’s 14th
                              and regulations. Previously,
of legal representation to    she served as general
                                                              Congressional District, Speier has focused
tenants facing no-fault       counsel and secretary to        on women’s rights, military and veterans’
evictions and is the chief    the board of directors at       affairs, and advocating for the middle class.
provider of housing for       UC Hastings for 14 years.       In 2012, Newsweek named her to its list of
homeless single adults.       During her tenure, she
Shaw has authored six         defended a case against
                                                              150 “Fearless Women” in the world. In 2018,
books on activism; his        the law school that was         Politico named her as one of the 50 thinkers,
most recent work is           heard by the U. S. Supreme      doers, and visionaries driving American poli-
Generation Priced Out:        Court. In Christian Legal       tics and policy. She has written a best-selling
Who Gets to Live in the       Society v. Martinez, the
New Urban America.            court upheld UC Hastings’
                                                              autobiography, Undaunted.

8 GAMECHANGERS
THE JUDICIARY             ]

policy to require student      Zipser, a business litigation                                                                                                                                                                                       JEFFREY AMESTOY ’72

                                                                                     → SERVING IN—AND PRESIDING OVER—COURTS OF ALL LEVELS IN STATES ACROSS THE NATION, UC HASTINGS
organizations to open their    and intellectual property                                                                                                                                                                                           Former Chief Justice,
membership to all students     law firm in Irvine.                                                                                                                                                                                                 Supreme Court of
irrespective of their status                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Vermont
or beliefs.                    ANN M. VENEMAN ’76                                                                                                                                                                                                  → After graduating from
                               Former Executive                                                                                                                                                                                                    UC Hastings, Amestoy
VIEN TRUONG ’06                Director, UNICEF                                                                                                                                                                                                    returned to his home state
Former President,              → Veneman has had a dis-                                                                                                                                                                                            of Vermont to serve as
Dream Corps                    tinguished career in public                                                                                                                                                                                         assistant attorney gen-
→ Truong witnessed             service, most notably serv-                                                                                                                                                                                         eral. Following a stint as
poverty firsthand while        ing as executive director of                                                                                                                                                                                        Vermont’s commissioner
growing up in Oakland          UNICEF from 2005 to 2010                                                                                                                                                                                            of labor and industry, and
with her Vietnamese            and as the U.S. Secretary                                                                                                                                                                                           more than a decade as
refugee parents. She           of Agriculture from 2001                                                                                                                                                                                            the state attorney gen-
has devoted her career         to 2005, the only woman                                                                                                                                                                                             eral, he was confirmed as

                                                                                                                                                                                 ALUMNI HAVE BEEN JUDICIAL THOUGHT LEADERS FOR MANY GENERATIONS.
to ending the scourge          ever to have led that                                                                                                                                                                                               chief justice of Vermont’s
of poverty, and as the         department. She was also                                                                                                                                                                                            Supreme Court in 1997. In
president of Dream Corps,      the first woman to lead                                                                                                                                                                                             his role as chief justice,
a national social change       California’s Department of                                                                                                                                                                                          Amestoy authored the
organization, she focuses      Food and Agriculture as                                                                                                                                                                                             1999 landmark ruling in
on environmental, energy,      its secretary, a position she                                                                                                                                                                                       Baker v. State of Vermont,
and economic policies to       held from 1995 to 1999. She                                                                                                                                                                                         which held that same-sex
improve the lives of vulner-   was named to the Forbes                                                                                                                                                                                             couples were entitled to
able populations. Truong       World’s 100 Most Powerful                                                                                                                                                                                           the rights and benefits of
received the White House       Women list in 2009 and as                                                                                                                                                                                           marriage. Amestoy retired
                                                               T H E J U DICI A RY
Champion of Change             a woman of history by the                                                                                                                                                                                           from the court in 2004
Award in 2016.                 National Women’s History                                                                                                                                                                                            but continues to publish
                               Museum in 2016.                                                                                                                                                                                                     widely respected legal
THOMAS J. UMBERG ’80                                                                                                                                                                                                                               scholarship.
California State Senator       VIVIANA WAISMAN ’95
→ A retired U.S. Army          President and CEO,                                                                                                                                                                                                  MARIA LUCY
colonel and former deputy      Women’s Link Worldwide                                                                                                                                                                                              ARMENDARIZ ’97
drug czar under President      → As the founder of                                                                                                                                                                                                 Judge, Superior Court of
Bill Clinton, Umberg           Women’s Link Worldwide,                                                                                                                                                                                             Los Angeles County
served three terms in the      Waisman leads a team                                                                                                                                                                                                → In 2018, Gov. Edmund
California Legislature prior   located on four continents                                                                                                                                                                                          G. Brown Jr. named
to his election as a state     that advances the rights                                                                                                                                                                                            Armendariz to the Superior
senator in 2018. As a fed-     of women and girls in the                                                                                                                                                                                           Court of Los Angeles
eral criminal prosecutor, he   courts of countries around                                                                                                                                                                                          County. Her impressive
had a 100 percent convic-      the world. She has written                                                                                                                                                                                          career trajectory previously
tion rate. Among his tours     and spoken extensively on
of active duty, Umberg led     human trafficking, repro-
the U.S. military effort to    ductive rights, and gender
attack corruption within       crimes. Prior to founding
the Afghan army and            Women’s Link in 2001,
police in 2009 and earned a    Waisman consulted for the
Bronze Star for meritorious    U.N. Population Fund and
service in a combat zone.      was a lawyer at the Center
He is a partner at Umberg      for Reproductive Rights.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             UC HASTINGS     9
[   THE JUDICIARY

                                                              Marvin R. Baxter ’66
                                                              FORMER ASSOCIATE JUSTICE,
                                                              SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA
                                                              Baxter began his accomplished legal career as a
                                                              district attorney in Fresno County before spend-
                                                              ing the next 13 years in private practice. Prior
                                                              to joining the California bench, he spent six
                                                              years as appointments secretary to Gov. George
                                                              Deukmejian and helped appoint more than 700
                                                              judges. After serving as an associate justice on
                                                              the California Court of Appeal, he was named
                                                              to the California Supreme Court in 1991, where
                                                              he served until his retirement in 2015. He also
                                                              served 18 years as vice chair of the Judicial
                                                              Council of California. UC Hastings’ moot court-
                                                              room is named after Baxter and his wife, Jane.

included service as chief of   Commission on Children in      in Alameda County. During      defender and judge of the
staff for former California    Foster Care in 2006.           the course of her career,      Superior Court of California,
Senate Majority Leader                                        she has taught at several      both for Santa Clara
Gloria Romero, legal           CAROL A.                       law schools, including         County; he also maintained
counsel for then-Assem-        CORRIGAN ’75                   UC Hastings; served on         a private legal practice in
blyman (and later Los          Associate Justice,             various task forces; and has   San Jose. While a Superior
Angeles Mayor) Antonio         Supreme Court of               received numerous honors       Court judge, Davila
Villaraigosa, legal con-       California                     and awards.                    presided over the head-
sultant to the office of       → In December 2005, Gov.
California Assemblyman         Arnold Schwarzenegger          EDWARD J. DAVILA ’79
Robert Hertzberg ’79, State    nominated Corrigan to          Judge, U.S. District Court
Bar Court judge, counsel       the California Supreme         for the Northern District
for the State Assembly         Court. Prior to assuming       of California
Committee on Public            her seat on the state’s        → In 2011, Davila was
Safety, and ombudsman          highest bench, she served      named to the U.S. District
for women’s prisons at the     as an associate justice        Court for the Northern
California Department          on the California Court        District of California by
of Corrections. A native       of Appeal, a judge on the      then-President Barack
of East Los Angeles,           Alameda County Superior        Obama. He was the first        line-making case of a Las
Armendariz spent part of       Court, and a judge for         Latino in the federal judi-    Vegas couple who planted
her youth in the California    the Oakland-Piedmont-          ciary to represent the Bay     a severed finger in a bowl of
foster care system, and        Emeryville Judicial            Area in more than 15 years.    Wendy’s chili in an attempt
was appointed to the           District. She also served as   During his career, he has      to win a lawsuit against
California Blue Ribbon         a deputy district attorney     served as deputy public        the fast-food chain. In early

10 GAMECHANGERS
2006, Davila sentenced the                                    As a neutral, Flier helps to   later—making history
wife and husband to prison                                    resolve matters that run       as the first woman to
terms of nine and 12 years,                                   the gamut from commer-         hold that position. Before
respectively.                                                 cial disputes to familial      embarking on her judicial
                                                              conflicts involving probate    career, she worked as an
MICHAEL L.                                                    issues.                        attorney for the Atlantic
DOUGLAS ’74                                                                                  Richfield Company and
Former Chief Justice,                                         CARIN FUJISAKI ’85             the Montana Power
Supreme Court of                                              Associate Justice,             Company. She retired
Nevada                         Feinstein—instead, paving      California First District      from the Supreme Court in
→ Douglas was appointed        a path that led to the bench   Court of Appeal                2008, but remained active
to Nevada’s Supreme            rather than politics. After    → Fujisaki has enjoyed a       in promoting improved
Court in 2004, the first       working as a prosecutor in     diverse career; she got her    access to justice, the abo-
African American justice       the San Francisco District     start as a research attor-     lition of the death penalty,
in the court’s history;        Attorney’s Office and a        ney at the San Francisco       and refinements to the
he served as the court’s       lead attorney in the City      Superior Court and then        civil and criminal justice
chief justice in 2011 and      Attorney’s Office, she         spent four years as an         systems. Gray passed
2018. Prior to his Supreme     joined the San Francisco       associate at Howard, Rice,     away in 2017.
Court term, Douglas was        Superior Court in 2000. In     Nemerovski, Canady,
chief judge of the Las         2010, she began a two-year     Robertson & Falk. She then     BRAD R. HILL ’83
Vegas District Court (and      term as the court’s pre-       moved to the California        Administrative Presiding
a trial judge beginning in     siding judge and retired in    Supreme Court, where she       Justice, California Fifth
1996), vice president of the   2012. Since then, Feinstein    served as a staff attor-       District Court of Appeal
Nevada District Judges         has devoted her time to        ney for Associate Justice      → Appointed in 2006 to the
Association, and a member      serving on nonprofit and       Marvin R. Baxter ’66 for       California Fifth District
of the Judicial Council of     government boards.             more than 20 years and         Court of Appeal by Gov.
the State of Nevada. He                                       as principal attorney to       Arnold Schwarzenegger,
was also an attorney for       RICHARD FLIER ’71              Chief Justice Tani Cantil-
Nevada Legal Services and      Former Judge, Superior         Sakauye for four years.
served in the Clark County     Court, County of Contra        Fujisaki served on the UC
District Attorney’s Office,    Costa                          Hastings board of direc-
where he promoted access       → Following more than a        tors for 12 years, including
to justice and specialty       decade as a prosecutor         one year as board chair.
courts. The National Bar       and a 20-year career as        In 2018, Gov. Edmund
Association honored            a Superior Court judge,        G. Brown Jr. appointed
him with its Lifetime          Flier has been a neutral for   Fujisaki as the first Asian
Achievement Award in           almost 15 years, helping       American woman to the
2016. He retired in 2019.      adversarial parties reach      First District Court of        Hill has long been active
                               resolution of their disputes   Appeal.                        in the field of judicial
KATHERINE                      through arbitration or                                        education. His career
FEINSTEIN ’84                  mediation. While on the        KARLA GRAY ’76                 includes service on the
Former Presiding Judge,        bench, he served three         Former Chief Justice,          Superior Court of Fresno
Superior Court of San          tours as a civil fast track    Supreme Court of               County, where he served
Francisco                      judge, which required him      Montana                        as presiding judge, assis-
→ Throughout her career,       to supervise approximately     → Named an associate           tant presiding judge, and
Feinstein has resisted         25 percent of all litigation   justice of the Supreme         as a member of the court’s
calls to follow in the         in the county and pre-         Court of Montana in 1991,      Executive Committee. In
footsteps of her famous        pared him for the relatively   Gray became the court’s        2000, in a highly pres-
mother, U.S. Sen. Dianne       fast-paced world of ADR.       chief justice nine years       tigious appointment,

                                                                                                       UC HASTINGS     11
[   THE JUDICIARY

he was named by Chief          elevated to the California
Justice Ronald George          Supreme Court—becom-
to the Judicial Council        ing the first African
of California—the gov-         American to serve on
erning body for all trial      the high court. One of
and appellate courts in        his most notable cases is
California—first to serve      the criminal prosecution
as a trial judge and then as   of William and Emily
an appellate justice.          Harris of the Symbionese
                               Liberation Army for the
WILLIAM                        kidnapping of Patricia
LAFFERTY ’85                   Hearst in 1974. Manuel
Judge, U.S. Bankruptcy         was well-known for his
Court for the Northern         pro bono work, and in 1989
District of California         the State Bar of California
→ Lafferty’s post-law          created an annual award
school clerkship for San       for pro bono legal services
Francisco bankruptcy           in his honor. In addi-
judge Thomas E. Carlson        tion, the Wiley Manuel
foreshadowed his own           Courthouse, part of the
future. After Lafferty         Alameda County Superior       A. Ashley Tabaddor ’97
worked for Howard, Rice,       Court, was named after
                                                             JUDGE, LOS ANGELES IMMIGRATION COURT
Nemerovski, Canady,            the Oakland native, who
Falk & Rabkin for 24           passed away in 1981.          Tabaddor held various positions before
years, he was appointed                                      her appointment as an immigration judge
as a bankruptcy judge          LESLIE C. NICHOLS ’66         in 2005, including as an assistant U.S.
for the Northern District      Former Judge, Superior
                                                             attorney and a trial attorney with the
of California in 2011. He      Court of California
was also appointed to the      → Nichols has led a dis-      civil division handling federal appellate
Ninth Circuit’s Bankruptcy     tinguished career on the      litigation. During her time on the bench,
Appellate Panel in 2016        bench, serving as a judge     she has presided over tens of thousands
and serves as a member         of the Superior Court of
                                                             of cases, including cases on the detained,
of the Federal Judicial        California for 25 years.
Center’s Bankruptcy            In that role, he handled      non-detained, unaccompanied juvenile, and
Education Committee.           settlement conferences,       mental competency dockets. As the cur-
                               and pretrial, trial, and      rent president of the National Association
WILEY MANUEL ’53               post-trial matters involv-
                                                             of Immigration Judges, she has testified
Former Associate Justice,      ing civil law, family law,
Supreme Court of               juvenile delinquency and
                                                             before Congress and has called upon it
California                     dependency, probate and       to remove the immigration court from the
→ Following his time at        mental health, and crim-      Justice Department’s purview to ensure the
UC Hastings, Manuel            inal law. After stepping
                                                             court’s independence from a law enforce-
worked for 23 years in         down from the bench in
the California Attorney        2009, Nichols served in the
                                                             ment agency and its use of the court in
General’s Office. He           Assigned Judges Program       furtherance of law enforcement priorities.
transitioned to a judge-       until joining ADR Services    Tabaddor is currently a lecturer at UCLA
ship in the Alameda            as a full-time mediator,
                                                             School of Law, where she teaches a course
County Superior Court in       arbitrator, and referee.
1976, and in 1977 he was
                                                             on immigration law and practice.

12 GAMECHANGERS
T H E PR AC T IC E OF L AW                                      ]

LAWRENCE J.                   the District of Columbia                                                                                                                                                                                                                    SIMONA
O’NEILL ’79                   (an office later renamed                                                                                                                                                                                                                    AGNOLUCCI ’06
Chief Judge, U.S. District    Attorney General for the                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Partner; Keker, Van Nest

                                                                                               → UC HASTINGS GRADUATES CAN BE FOUND IN TOP LEADERSHIP POSITIONS AT THE COUNTRY’S MOST
Court for the Eastern         District of Columbia) and                                                                                                                                                                                                                   & Peters

                                                                                                                                                                                    RESPECTED LAW FIRMS—AND IN MANY CASES WERE THE FIRMS’ FOUNDERS. THEIR TRACK RECORDS
District of California        was selected to lead the                                                                                                                                                                                                                    → Agnolucci specializes
→ After graduating from       department in 2000. As an                                                                                                                                                                                                                   in complex litigation,

                                                                                                                                                                                    IN AND OUT OF THE COURTROOM ARE IMPRESSIVE, AS IS THEIR COMMITMENT TO GIVING BACK.
UC Hastings and complet-      active service member in                                                                                                                                                                                                                    including class actions,
ing a prestigious clerkship   the U.S. Army from 1981                                                                                                                                                                                                                     white-collar criminal
for Judge Robert F. Kane of   to 2014, Rigsby continued                                                                                                                                                                                                                   defense, and bet-the-com-
the First District Court of   to serve during his time                                                                                                                                                                                                                    pany commercial disputes.
Appeal, O’Neill went into     in the attorney general’s                                                                                                                                                                                                                   She represents “sharing
private practice in Fresno,   office and as a judge; he                                                                                                                                                                                                                   economy” platforms, tech
                              made history when he                                                                                                                                                                                                                        companies, investment
                              became the first D.C.                                                                                                                                                                                                                       advisers, smartphone
                              sitting judge and the first

                                                              T H E P R A C T I C E O F L AW
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          manufacturers, and leading
                              military judge in the Army                                                                                                                                                                                                                  law firms. She recently suc-
                              to deploy on a full-time                                                                                                                                                                                                                    cessfully tried to verdict
                              basis to an active war                                                                                                                                                                                                                      one of the few class actions
                              zone.

                              LIDIA STIGLICH ’95
                              Associate Justice,
arguing 50 jury trials        Supreme Court of
to verdict. In 1990, he       Nevada
became a Fresno County        → Stiglich was appointed
Superior Court judge, and     to the Supreme Court of
in 1999, he was appointed     Nevada by Gov. Brian
a U.S. magistrate judge. In   Sandoval in 2016; she is
2007, he was nominated        its first openly gay justice.                                                                                                                                                                                                               to be tried in California
to the U.S. District Court    Prior to her appointment                                                                                                                                                                                                                    in recent years. She also
for the Eastern District of   to the Supreme Court,                                                                                                                                                                                                                       has an extensive pro bono
California, unanimously       she spent four years as                                                                                                                                                                                                                     practice—in which she
confirmed by the Senate,      a District Court judge in                                                                                                                                                                                                                   often represents women
and becoming chief judge      Nevada’s Second Judicial                                                                                                                                                                                                                    fleeing gender-based per-
in 2016.                      District. In addition, she                                                                                                                                                                                                                  secution—that has been
                              was the co-founder and                                                                                                                                                                                                                      recognized by national
ROBERT R. RIGSBY ’86          presiding judge of the                                                                                                                                                                                                                      media, including The New
Associate Judge, Superior     Youth Offender Drug                                                                                                                                                                                                                         York Times.
Court of the District of      Court, a specialty court
Columbia                      designed to serve as an                                                                                                                                                                                                                     KHALDOUN A.
→ Rigsby has served on        alternative to incarceration                                                                                                                                                                                                                BAGHDADI ’97
the District of Columbia      for young adult drug users.                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Shareholder; Walkup,
Superior Court since 2002,    Stiglich is an instructor at                                                                                                                                                                                                                Melodia, Kelly &
when he was named to          the University of Nevada,                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Schoenberger
the bench by President        Reno, and a faculty mem-                                                                                                                                                                                                                    → Baghdadi served as
George W. Bush. Prior         ber at the National Judicial                                                                                                                                                                                                                chairman of the San
to his appointment, he        College.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Francisco Human Rights
served in the office of the                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Commission, the first
Corporation Counsel for                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Palestinian American

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    UC HASTINGS     13
[   T H E PR AC T IC E OF L AW

to hold that post. He           open warrants, and low-in-       DONALD E.
is a shareholder with           come individuals seeking         BRADLEY ’68
Walkup, Melodia, Kelly &        criminal record remedies.        Chief Legal Officer,
Schoenberger, where he          Prior to joining Orrick, she     Wilson Sonsini Goodrich
has worked for 20 years.        was a litigation fellow in the   & Rosati
He is dedicated to helping      Office of General Counsel        → As chief legal officer at
people in need of an advo-      for The Regents of the           Wilson Sonsini Goodrich &
cate and has earned the         University of California.        Rosati, Bradley advises the
highest accolades in cases                                       firm on ethical and other
involving wrongful death,       PHILIP T. BESIROF ’96            legal aspects of its practice.   Volunteer in Public
defective products, medical     Managing Partner,                He also is the president         Service,” and he serves as
negligence, and public tran-    Morrison & Foerster              and a director of Attorneys      immediate past president
sit injuries. He has served     → Besirof is the manag-          Insurance Mutual Risk            of the Charles Houston
as an instructor of trial       ing partner of Morrison &        Retention Group, which           Bar Association and
practice and moot court         Foerster’s San Francisco         provides primary profes-         president of the California
at California institutions,     office and a partner in the      sional liability insurance       ChangeLawyers.
including UC Hastings.          firm’s Securities Litigation,    to a number of California
                                Enforcement, and White-          law firms, including his         DION COMINOS ’88
SUZETTE J. BARNES ’10           Collar Criminal Defense          firm. Earlier, Bradley was       Firm Managing Partner,
Senior Associate; Orrick,       Group. He has 20 years’          the chair of the firm’s tax      Gordon Rees Scully
Herrington & Sutcliffe          experience in complex            practice, specializing in        Mansukhani
→ Barnes, a senior asso-        civil litigation, with an        mergers and acquisitions,        → Cominos, who joined
ciate in Orrick’s San           emphasis on represent-           corporate finance, and           Gordon & Rees in 1987,
Francisco office and a          ing companies and their          investment funds. Before         has been its managing
member of the White Collar,     directors and officers in        joining the firm, he was         partner since 2006. The
Investigations, Securities      securities class actions,        a partner at Pillsbury,          firm has over 900 attorneys
Litigation & Compliance         shareholder derivative suits,    Madison & Sutro (now             with offices across the
Group, focuses on the repre-    and regulator inquiries and      Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw          country. He specializes
sentation of major financial    investigations. He is among      Pittman). Bradley serves on      in commercial litigation,
institutions, corporations,     the few lawyers in the           the UC Hastings board of         and has also acted as a
and individuals in securities   country who have defended        directors.                       mediator and an arbitrator,
                                a securities class action at                                      and served on commit-
                                trial. Contributing to the       ERIC S. CASHER ’06               tees for the American Bar
                                defense verdict for JDSU         Principal, Meyers Nave           Association, the California
                                and its former executives        → Casher leads the public        Bar Association, and the
                                in a securities class action     law practice at Meyers           Defense Research Institute,
                                jury trial seeking $20 billion   Nave, and has always             among others. He has
                                in damages for alleged           demonstrated a passion           been distinguished as a
                                securities fraud and insider     for public service. He is        Super Lawyer every year
                                trading, he played a key role    city attorney for the city of    since 2004 for his work
                                in co-managing case strat-       Pinole and was appointed         in civil litigation defense
and complex commercial          egy and complex discovery        by then-Attorney General         and business litigation. He
actions, regulatory inves-      issues. He is also chair of      Kamala Harris to a four-year     also periodically teaches
tigations, and internal         the board of directors of        term as commissioner on          courses at UC Hastings as a
investigations. She also        the San Francisco AIDS           the California Fair Political    visiting lecturer.
provides pro bono services      Foundation, a nonprofit          Practices Commission in
to veterans seeking VA          organization that provides       2013. The Bar Association        ALISON CORDOVA ’12
benefits, homeless individu-    education and treatment.         of San Francisco honored         Partner; Cotchett, Pitre &
als seeking the resolution of                                    him as an “Outstanding           McCarthy

14 GAMECHANGERS
Joseph W. Cotchett ’64
FOUNDING PARTNER;
COTCHETT, PITRE & MCCARTHY
Cotchett has been lauded as one of the best
trial strategists not only in California but
also in the United States. Cotchett has an
exceptional history of standing up for social
justice in his 50-plus-year legal career, espe-
cially representing victims of white-collar
fraud and corporate malfeasance. He has
tried more than 100 jury cases, including
a celebrated victory on behalf of 23,000
senior citizens harmed by the collapse of
Charles Keating’s Lincoln Savings and Loan
in 1990 that resulted in a $3.3 billion jury
verdict. He also successfully represented
the California Supreme Court and individ-         → Cordova is a trial lawyer     Norwalk virus, and settle-
                                                  who has proven her talents      ments of 12 injury and death
ual judges in a case brought against them
                                                  and acumen in large,            lawsuits brought on behalf
by the New York Stock Exchange and the                                            of the victims of the 2015
                                                  complex matters, including
National Association of Securities Dealers.       taking on Chevron, PG&E,        Berkeley balcony collapse.
Among his many honors, Cotchett was               PetSmart, Samsung, the          As San Francisco deputy
                                                  United States of America,       city attorney from 1992 to
inducted into the very select State Bar of
                                                  and Boeing. A partner at        2001, he prosecuted con-
California Litigation Trial Lawyers Hall                                          sumer protection lawsuits
                                                  the Cotchett firm, she has
of Fame in 1999 and into the prestigious          argued at the Ninth Circuit     against big businesses,
American Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame in             and won several trials,         including suits alleging
                                                  including representing a        California’s largest title
2011. He has been recognized as one of the
                                                  central California Irrigation   insurers had defrauded both
100 most influential lawyers in the nation                                        consumers and the gov-
                                                  District in a legal mal-
for the past 17 years and was lauded by his       practice action against a       ernment (which resulted in
peers as Super Lawyers’ No. 1 lawyer in           nationwide law firm.            some $75 million in verdicts
                                                                                  and settlements) and a suit
Northern California in 2017. He has been
                                                  MATTHEW DAVIS ’89               accusing Bank of America
practicing at Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy
                                                  Shareholder; Walkup,            of mishandling government
since 1967. Following his graduation from         Melodia, Kelly &                bond funds, which settled
California State Polytechnic University with      Schoenberger                    for $187 million.
an engineering degree, he served as an offi-      → Since joining Walkup in
                                                  2001, Davis has obtained        PHILLIP A. DAVIS ’83
cer in the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps and
                                                  verdicts and settlements        Special Counsel;
as a Special Forces paratrooper and JAG           on behalf of plaintiffs,        Sheppard, Mullin, Richter
Corps officer, being awarded the Legion of        including a $25 million jury    & Hampton
Merit for his service.                            verdict on behalf of hotel      → As a special counsel
                                                  guests who contracted the       in Sheppard Mullin’s Los

                                                                                           UC HASTINGS      15
Angeles office, Davis           Los Angeles Superior and         Boats and Ford Motor            of the country’s top
specializes in corporate and    Municipal Courts.                Company, Dreyer obtained        plaintiff-side litigation
securities litigation; direc-                                    verdicts in the amounts of      firms—Fineman joined the
tor, officer, shareholder,      ROGER A. DREYER ’80              $31 million for a brain-in-     firm in 1991 and became
and partnership litigation;     Partner, Dreyer Babich           jured client and $65 million    national managing part-
real estate litigation; and     Buccola Wood Campora             for a family who lost their     ner in 2003. He represents
creditors’ rights. He has       → Dreyer has tried more          husband and father, both as     institutional investors
represented public and          than 125 civil jury trials       a result of defective prod-     in individual and class
private companies, individ-     for clients in 14 California     ucts. Additionally, as lead     securities and financial
uals, and venture capital       counties, obtaining multi-       trial lawyer for the Oakland    fraud cases, and classes
funds, among others, in         million-dollar jury verdicts     Raiders, he achieved for        and groups of individuals
federal and state securi-       in wrongful death actions        that team a verdict in the      in mass tort and consumer
ties fraud class actions,       and catastrophic brain           amount of $34 million, the      fraud litigation, and has
shareholder derivative          and spinal injury cases.         largest fraud verdict in        won a number of awards
suits, and other disputes—      His most notable cases           Sacramento County history.      and honors for his work.
including those involving       included the “water intoxi-                                      Fineman is a past president
breach of fiduciary duty        cation” death case of 2007,      STEVEN E.                       of the national public inter-
and mismanagement. He           which held a broadcast           FINEMAN ’88                     est law firm Public Justice
also successfully defended      company responsible for          Managing Partner, Lieff         Foundation and currently
a number of consumer            actions that led to the death    Cabraser Heimann &              serves as an ex-officio
class actions filed under       of Jennifer Strange, and         Bernstein                       member of the board. He is
the Song Beverly Act. Davis     resulted in a verdict of $16.7   → Based in the New York         a member of the board of
is a volunteer judge pro        million for her family. In two   City office of Lieff Cabraser   the American Constitution
tem and arbitrator for the      trials against MasterCraft       Heimann & Bernstein—one         Society for Law and Policy.

                                                                 Lynne Hermle ’81
                                                                 PARTNER; ORRICK, HERRINGTON & SUTCLIFFE
                                                                 Hermle is one of the most recognized
                                                                 employment defense lawyers in the country,
                                                                 successfully representing major companies such
                                                                 as Microsoft, Twitter, SpaceX, and others in
                                                                 bet-the-company litigation. She broke out on the
                                                                 national stage with a big win for Kleiner Perkins
                                                                 in the Ellen Pao sex harassment trial, where her
                                                                 courtroom work was called “masterful” by The
                                                                 Recorder. Hermle has been named a national
                                                                 Employment MVP four times by Law360, which
                                                                 calls her a “serial winner,” and The Daily
                                                                 Journal has named her one of its top 100 lawyers
                                                                 in California five times. She was named a fellow
                                                                 of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2017.

16 GAMECHANGERS
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