Class Notes

All in the Alumni Family

1962

Brian Landsberg has authored a new book, Revolution by Law: The Federal Government and the Desegregation of Alabama Schools. Published by the University Press of Kansas, it is the third in a trilogy about the work of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

1973

William Capps, a partner at Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell, was again named one of the 500 most influential people in the Los Angeles business community by the Los Angeles Business Journal. This is his fourth consecutive year on the list.

1976

Alan Brayton was elected as chair of the National Judicial College’s Board of Trustees, the country’s top education center for judges. A renowned personal injury attorney and founding member of Brayton Purcell in Novato, Calif., Alan has spent nearly 30 years as a lawyer. He also co-owns Thirty-Seven Wines in Sonoma with his wife Lisa Brayton.

A portrait photograph of Emily Vasquez (second from right) smiling as she poses for a picture being recognized for an award

1977

Emily Vasquez (second from right) retired from the Superior Court of California (Sacramento County) after 20-plus years on the bench. She writes, “It has been a most rewarding career and journey — one that I could never have imagined as a child. I want to express my gratitude to Berkeley Law for the excellent education that it provided to me.” This year she received the American Board of Trial Advocates’ Judge of the Year Award and the Cruz Reynoso Bar Association’s first Defensora de Justicia Award. Also, the Schwartz-Levi Inn of Court and UC Davis School of Law created the first Judge Emily E. Vasquez Community Service Award, honoring her accomplishments to the Inn of Court, judiciary, legal profession, and community.

1978

Stuart Brotman wrote a new book, First Amendment Lives On: Conversations Commemorating Hugh M. Hefner’s Legacy of Enduring Free Speech and Free Press Values. A University of Tennessee law and journalism professor, Stuart presents enlightening interviews with nominators, judges, and Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award recipients. Dean Erwin Chemerinsky calls the book a “wonderful collection of conversations with the top experts on the First Amendment” and a “terrific exploration of some of the hardest and most important legal issues of our day.”

Constance de la Vega attended a UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva in March with six students from the Frank C. Newman International Human Rights Law Clinic at the University of San Francisco, where she is a law professor. Three students made oral interventions before the full council and several took part in resolution- drafting sessions.

A portrait photographic headshot of Cynthia Giles smiling

Cynthia Giles has a new book, Next Generation Compliance: Environmental Regulation for the Modern Era. A senior advisor for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Air and Radiation and former head of its Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assistance, Cynthia dispels two myths: that compliance with environmental rules is good, and that enforcement is responsible for making compliance happen. She says that widespread violations of environmental regulations can cause myriad issues that affect human health and the planet, and land hardest on already overburdened communities. Her book outlines how to build better compliance into regulations and avoid the compliance calamities that plague many environmental rules today.

A book cover photograph of Next Generation Compliance: Environmental Regulation for the Modern Era by Cynthia Giles

1979

Michael Coffino transitioned to a writing and editing career in 2016 and since has authored and co-authored eight published works, including his multiple-award winning debut novel Truth Is in the House. He is working on his next piece of fiction.

Mark LeHocky, who also teaches the course Being General Counsel at Berkeley Law, was recognized as 2022 Mediator of the Year for the San Francisco region by The Best Lawyers in America.

1982

Kerry White and his brother Terry White published For The People: A True Story of the Los Angeles Criminal Justice System by Two African American Prosecutors. The book recounts high-profile cases they came across over their 30-year careers, including the O.J. Simpson trial, the Rodney King beating, the UCLA body parts scandal, and other dramatic cases involving celebrities, human trafficking, drug mafias, and serial killers.

1985

Laura Clayton McDonnell, senior vice president of sales for the East, Canada, and Latin America regions at ServiceNow, Inc., gave commencement speeches in April to the full-time MBA program graduating classes of 2020 and 2021 at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. In January, she was appointed to the board of directors at the public company Zuora, Inc., a software leader in the subscription economy.

1988

Kenneth Wainstein was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis at the Department of Homeland Security. With decades of government experience in both Democratic and Republican administrations, he was a litigation partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Davis Polk & Wardwell, a law school adjunct professor for 12 years teaching national security laws, a commissioner on the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense, and a member of several other national security organizations.

2000

Neha Sampat was quoted in a Harvard Business Review article, “I’m Not an Imposter — So Why Do I Feel Like One?” The founder and CEO of BelongLab, an organization focused on creating a culture of belonging for all employees, Neha gives workshops and keynotes on imposter syndrome and describes it as a form of internalized bias for racialized people.

2001

John Therien, a partner at Smith Anderson in Raleigh, N.C., was named among North Carolina’s top practitioners for intellectual property by Chambers USA, one of the legal profession’s leading research, analytics, and rankings agencies. It provides rankings of firms and lawyers based on independent research from clients, peers, and business community members.

Ana de Alba, a new federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, was mistakenly described as the court’s first Latinx judge in our last Transcript issue (she is the court’s first Latina judge). We apologize for the error.

Joshua Lerner joined WilmerHale’s San Francisco office as a partner. He often serves as lead counsel for top technology companies in trade secret, class action, and commercial litigation matters. Joshua has been named a Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation in intellectual property, employment law, general commercial litigation, and products liability, and also a Star by LMG Life Sciences in general patent litigation.

A portrait photographic headshot of Hernaldo Baltodono smiling

2002

Hernaldo Baltodano was appointed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom as an associate justice in Division 6 of the state’s Second District Court of Appeal, located in Ventura. He spent the past five years on the San Luis Obispo Superior Court, serving as the supervising criminal judge for nine months, and spearheaded efforts to create mental health diversion treatments and implement a misdemeanor diversion program. Before that, he was a founding partner and senior litigation partner at Baltodano & Baltodano (now The Baltodano Firm) in San Luis Obispo, which specializes in employment law for a diverse range of workers. The child of immigrants from Nicaragua, Hernaldo’s family received American citizenship when he was 19.

2004

Carolyn Boies recently completed 12 years at the Seattle City Attorney’s Office, where she supervised and handled political and constitutional litigation, including multiple matters against the Trump Administration. She is now an associate general counsel at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Eric Broxmeyer was named general counsel for the U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms in August 2021. He was previously general counsel of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board from 2015 to 2021, and also served as executive director from 2020 to 2021.

Devaraju Nagarjun (LL.M.) was elevated as judge of the Telangana High Court in India.

2005

Gregory Novotny was named co-chair of Fox Rothschild’s taxation and wealth planning department. A partner in the firm’s San Francisco office and a transactional attorney, his practice centers on sophisticated tax strategies and he advises on tax planning, entity formation and restructuring, succession planning, and mergers and acquisitions.

2006

Grace Kim was appointed a commissioner at the Los Angeles County Superior Court. She previously worked as a judicial law clerk with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, and as a U.S. Department of Labor trial attorney.

2007

Jasmine Anderson joined Fox Rothschild in San Francisco as a partner in the firm’s labor and employment department. She defends businesses in employment matters and litigation involving discrimination, harassment, wage and hour, failure to accommodate, leave denial, and other claims.

Lisa Cisneros was selected as a federal magistrate judge in the Northern District of California. She started the LGBTQ+ program at California Rural Legal Assistance, and has been an active mentor to many aspiring public interest lawyers.

Leah Granger brought her Ecology Law Quarterly editorial and Berkeley Law Library experiences to her contributions on the recently published Carbon Almanac, a book of facts on climate change meant to spark action.

Lenin Lopez was appointed as vice president, corporate securities attorney at Woodruff Sawyer, one of the largest independent insurance brokerages in the U.S. Working in San Diego, Lenin supports clients across Woodruff Sawyer’s entire management liability practice, lending his expertise in SEC reporting, corporate securities, and corporate governance.

Doan Nguyen was promoted to director of the Office of Access & Inclusion at the State Bar of California. Recently profiled by the American Bar Association newsletter, she manages the distribution of upwards of $140 million annually in funding to more than 100 legal aid nonprofit organizations.

2009

Ruth Isaacson joined Maslon LLP as an estate planning atttorney. Her expertise is enhanced by her prior work as a family law litigator, where she represented high-net worth individuals in contentious legal disputes.

2011

Flynn Coleman wrote a piece in Foreign Policy titled “To Prosecute Putin for War Crimes, Safeguard the Digital Proof.” An international human rights lawyer and the author of A Human Algorithm, Flynn is a fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and Carr Center for Human Rights Policy and a visiting fellow at Yale Law School’s Information Society Project.

2013

Jacqueline Aguilar was profiled in Hispanic Executive magazine regarding her legal journey from Berkeley Law to in-house counsel at Procter & Gamble, where she was also recently promoted to director and assistant general counsel of global transactions.

Jennifer Spencer was promoted to partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon in the firm’s Houston office. She practices in product liability litigation, mainly defending pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers.

2014

Amanda Karl was elevated to partner at Gibbs Law Group. She prosecutes a wide range of complex cases, including in the areas of employment law and consumer protection, and leads the firm’s voting rights task force. Amanda has been named a Rising Star by Northern California Super Lawyers every year since 2018.

Alex Li published a space law-related article in the Penn State Law Review. Entitled “Opening Outer Space: Safety and Stability Through Open Standards and Open Source” (126 Penn St. L. Rev. 667 (2022)), the piece discusses how open standards and open source can make outer space safer and more accessible for all.

Fang Liu (LL.M.), a partner at Tiantai Law Firm, was named Corporate Law Lawyer of the Year in China by Lawyer Monthly. In charge of the firm’s international business, Fang focuses her practice on corporate law, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, and international business transactions.

2017

Ayodele Babalola, who wrote Nigeria’s first campaign finance law textbook, successfully advocated for the subject to become a course for the first time there as a third-year class in the faculty of law at Redeemer’s University. “I believe that the course is too important to be ignored,” Ayodele writes. “Its absence is the main reason why we do not have campaign finance lawyers in Nigeria, a situation I am trying to change starting from legal education.”

2020

Louie Brian Sze (LL.M.) was appointed a regional trial court judge on the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He previously worked as a data privacy officer for GCash and as a state solicitor with the Philippines’ Office of the Solicitor General.

Scott Edelman ’84

Entertaining a Different Approach

For better or worse — usually the latter — the common image of a successful entertainment lawyer sprang from Ari Gold, the arrogant, maniacal, bombastic agent from HBO’s mega-hit show “Entourage.”

Scott Edelman, one of just five people on The Hollywood Reporter’s Legal Legends list this year, reached stratospheric heights with a markedly different approach.

“While you can and should fight as hard as you can, treat the other side with respect and always remember that they’re not the devil and in fact are often very similar to you,” Edelman says. “I started to realize this as a young lawyer when I’d see opposing counsel at our kids’ soccer games, in synagogue, and on charitable boards.”

When he joined Gibson Dunn, the firm did little entertainment work so he hunted for opportunities. Soon after being named partner in 1991, Edelman was tapped to co-chair the firm’s entertainment practice.

“When I asked, ‘Do we have one?’ I was told, ‘Not really, but you can build it,’” he recalls. “I started taking Gibson Dunn alumni who worked at the studios, networks, and record companies to lunch. Most were too junior to send me work … but they introduced me to their bosses, they got more senior, and little by little it happened.”

In 2004, his Q-rating soared in a fraud case against a music producer over fake movie budgets. When a key witness turned on him on the stand and began testifying for the other side, Edelman had to trash his question outline and launch into a searing cross examination. He deftly showed how the witness had lied about what he planned to say, and won a $120 million jury verdict.

Gibson Dunn’s entertainment law profile has grown with Edelman’s ever since. Now co-chair of the firm’s robust media, entertainment, and technology practice group, his VIP client list includes Warner Bros., Sony Television, and ViacomCBS.

“We represented Sony Electronics in the Supreme Court when the legality of time-shifting to enable recording of television on VCRs was an open question,” he says. “We also handled music industry litigation when the internet enabled peer-to-peer copyright violations.”

Edelman helped create Gibson Dunn’s international pro bono program, was inducted in the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the American College of Trial Lawyers, and received the American Jewish Committee’s Learned Hand Award. He also relishes seeing Berkeley Law thrive in entertainment law (ranked No. 4 nationally by The Hollywood Reporter) and having fellow alum Cliff Gilbert-Lurie ’79 join him on this year’s Legal Legends list.

And while entertainment technology continually changes, Edelman’s approach does not.

“I really enjoy the close collaboration with clients and colleagues, and the teamwork involved in achieving the best possible result in the circumstances presented,” he says. “I take great pride in those relationships.” — Andrew Cohen

A landscape photograph of Scott Edelman grinning while he poses for a picture in his business attire outside in between buildings
Nikesh Patel ’15

Homegrown: Native Son Leads San Fransisco’s Office of Cannabis

For Nikesh Patel, versatility is more than a positive attribute — it’s an occupational requirement. As the director of San Francisco’s Office of Cannabis, he works with growers and licensing agencies, dispensary owners and police officers, nonprofit leaders and city administrators.

Raised in the city’s Tenderloin District, Patel joined the office in 2019 and was named director in February. Striving to develop savvy policies while navigating an evolving legal landscape, he relishes helping lower-income residents.

“I lived in a single-room occupancy hotel with multiple generations of family at any given time,” Patel says. “I know what it feels like to come from a neighborhood that can feel unseen at times and heavily scrutinized at others; to be from a community where the hope to make things better is palpable but the understanding of how isn’t.”

San Francisco’s Social Equity Program prioritizes cannabis permit applicants who meet certain hardship thresholds, giving them a chance to enter the regulated commercial cannabis space and access to free legal and technical services. The program has also amassed $6.6 million so far in grant funding to support applicants.

“Even better, 25 new equity-owned cannabis businesses that didn’t exist several years ago have opened and are operating today,” Patel says. “They represent hope being actualized and opportunity being grasped.”

“Even better, 25 new equity-owned cannabis businesses that didn’t exist several years ago have opened and are operating today,” Patel says. “They represent hope being actualized and opportunity being grasped.”

A Stanford graduate who received a master’s degree from Oxford before attending Berkeley Law, Patel previously worked at the Santa Clara County and San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. In San Francisco, he managed over 200 people through a trailblazing pre-booking diversion program called LEAD SF that worked to reduce the incarceration of low-level drug offenders.

Cannabis has been legal in San Francisco since 2017, and Patel wants his office to model open, transparent, and accessible government while balancing the breadth of industry interests.

“Maintaining strong lines of communication across stakeholders is vital,” he says. “What may advance one person’s social justice goals, for instance, may raise public health and safety concerns for someone else. As an example, some see permitting cannabis events as creating opportunities to regulate public cannabis consumption and to showcase local vendors and the equity community. For others, they view these same events as creating public safety and health concerns where the events are held.”

Following targeted attacks against city dispensaries in summer 2020, Patel has convened police department-cannabis industry meetings to foster better understanding and practices between law enforcement and operators. Beyond being subject to enforcement across various government agencies, he points to widespread economic incentives for unregulated cannabis growers and distributors to become licensed.

“In San Francisco,” Patel says, “the economic benefits of transitioning to a regulated space are baked into our office’s programs and the code we enforce.” — Andrew Cohen

A portrait photograph of Nikesh Patel smiling as he poses for a picture in his business attire outside

In Memoriam

Harry L. Fledderman ’52
Lloyd A. Phillips Jr. ’52
John C. Baldwin ’53
James B. Davis ’56
Robert N. De John ’56
Lee H. Cliff ’58
Lewis K. Uhler ’58
E. Robert (Bob)
Wallach ’58
Stanley K. Dodson ’59
Frederic G. Dunn ’59
David Booth Beers ’60
David B. Lynch ’60
Warren M. H. Grover ’61
David P. Jones ’61
John C. Renshaw ’61
Reed H. Bement ’62
Michal J. Camras ’62
Bruce A. Richardson ’62
Harvey N. Black Jr. ’63
Edmund Burke III ’63
Kenneth H. Cole ’63
Burt Barnett ’65
Michael P. Cole ’65
William R. Irwin ’65
B. Clyde Hutchinson III ’65
Carl B. Leverenz ’65
Charles R. Dodson ’67
Jay B. Gaskill ’67
M. David McCloud Jr. ’67
G. Wright Morton ’68
H. James Wulfsberg ’69
John L. Langslet ’72
Bud Smith III ’72
Allan J. Thompson ’72
Marcus S. Topel ’72
Johnnie S. Harrison Jr. ’74
Salvador C. Ramirez ’74
Adele A. Hendrickson ’75
Fraser A. Bonnell ’77
Charles H. Martin ’77
Hillary Kelley Costin ’78
Bruce D. Fong ’80
Janis Harris Bellinger ’82
Charles D’Awol ’82
Christopher O. Wright ’86
LeAnn G. Bischoff ’92
Chen-Yuan Cheng ’22
———
Richard C. Blum
Stephen V. Bomse
John E. Cakebread
Martha M. Campbell
Mary Clarke
Jeffrey R. Demarest
John F. Dunlap
Barbara Neely Fledderman
Sarah D. Galbraith
Robert Gnaizda
Peter Goldberg
Steven M. Goldblatt
David M. Hartley
Sarah A. Hazan Hesse
Grant M. Inman
Jane K. Jackson
Geraldine Fitzgarrald
Martin
Laurie C. Morrison
David H. Osborne
Karl S. Pister
Jane L. Scheiber
Charles E. Simms
Billie J. Telford
Harry L. Fledderman ’52
Lloyd A. Phillips Jr. ’52
John C. Baldwin ’53
James B. Davis ’56
Robert N. De John ’56
Lee H. Cliff ’58
Lewis K. Uhler ’58
E. Robert (Bob)
Wallach ’58
Stanley K. Dodson ’59
Frederic G. Dunn ’59
David Booth Beers ’60
David B. Lynch ’60
Warren M. H. Grover ’61
David P. Jones ’61
John C. Renshaw ’61
Reed H. Bement ’62
Michal J. Camras ’62
Bruce A. Richardson ’62
Harvey N. Black Jr. ’63
Edmund Burke III ’63
Kenneth H. Cole ’63
Burt Barnett ’65
Michael P. Cole ’65
William R. Irwin ’65
B. Clyde Hutchinson III ’65
Carl B. Leverenz ’65
Charles R. Dodson ’67
Jay B. Gaskill ’67
M. David McCloud Jr. ’67
G. Wright Morton ’68
H. James Wulfsberg ’69
John L. Langslet ’72
Bud Smith III ’72
Allan J. Thompson ’72
Marcus S. Topel ’72
Johnnie S. Harrison Jr. ’74
Salvador C. Ramirez ’74
Adele A. Hendrickson ’75
Fraser A. Bonnell ’77
Charles H. Martin ’77
Hillary Kelley Costin ’78
Bruce D. Fong ’80
Janis Harris Bellinger ’82
Charles D’Awol ’82
Christopher O. Wright ’86
LeAnn G. Bischoff ’92
Chen-Yuan Cheng ’22
———
Richard C. Blum
Stephen V. Bomse
John E. Cakebread
Martha M. Campbell
Mary Clarke
Jeffrey R. Demarest
John F. Dunlap
Barbara Neely Fledderman
Sarah D. Galbraith
Robert Gnaizda
Peter Goldberg
Steven M. Goldblatt
David M. Hartley
Sarah A. Hazan Hesse
Grant M. Inman
Jane K. Jackson
Geraldine Fitzgarrald
Martin
Laurie C. Morrison
David H. Osborne
Karl S. Pister
Jane L. Scheiber
Charles E. Simms
Billie J. Telford

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