Opening Briefs
On-Court Brilliance Fuels Off-Court Support
Extending its undefeated run against Stanford Law student teams, Berkeley’s master class finished with a rousing 70-46 victory spurred by tenacious play, 20 team cheerleaders, and several hundred boisterous fans in attendance.
“My favorite part of the game was the energy the fans brought,” says 2L James Steinberger, who scored a game-high 19 points. “I was genuinely impressed by the turnout and enthusiasm.”
Steinberger fueled Berkeley Law’s blazing start, scoring 11 points in the first quarter to spark a 21-4 lead. Two Izzy DeTroy layups helped extend that gap to 22 points at halftime — when the school’s a cappella group The Pro Bonotes performed and the cheer squad put on a dance routine to a mashup of songs by Cardi B, Gunna, Britney Spears, and KPop Demon Hunters.
Several players delivered strong defense and rebounding against the Stanford team’s 6-foot-10 center, and the co-ed game — each team could have no more than three male players on the court at one time — showcased Berkeley Law’s depth, with 14 players scoring.
“Participating in Order on the Court was an amazing experience. The camaraderie, practices, and atmosphere of the game itself is unmatched,” says Faith Magbero ’26, whose two 3-pointers included a buzzer-beater to end the third quarter. “I’ve made close friends on the team simply through our shared love of basketball, and playing in the game has shown me just how supportive our Berkeley Law community is.”
Student Turned Teacher
Its premise: If every future legal practitioner should understand how race has shaped American law and legal institutions, undergraduate legal studies students deserve that same foundation.
Her syllabus moved from law and society scholarship and critical legal theory to landmark case law and contemporary debates that addressed policing, the carceral state, education, and migration.
Assisted by Graduate Student Instructor and JSP Ph.D. student Mariel Bustamante, Yitref’s class cultivated critical inquiry, meaningful discussion, and intellectual curiosity — while encouraging students to examine issues through an interdisciplinary lens and inviting them to challenge, refine, and build on the ideas discussed.
The response was deeply rewarding. The abundant glowing student evaluations included comments that “everything was taught with precision and intellectual honesty,” “the lectures were incredibly well-structured,” and “the balance between historical context and contemporary issues made the course feel incredibly relevant and engaging.”
The class also represented a full-circle moment for Yitref.
“The best way to know you’ve truly mastered something is to be able to teach it to someone else,” she says. “Teaching is not simply the transmission of knowledge; it is one of the deepest forms of learning itself.”
Exposing Misuse of
Crowd-Control Weapons
The incidents involved federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, with chemical irritants and kinetic impact projectiles accounting for most of the documented misuse incidents nationwide, while hybrid weapons such as pepper balls made up more than one-quarter.
The report documented over 100 cases of injuries caused when law enforcement agencies deployed crowd-control weapons in ways that violated manufacturer guidance, agency policies, widely accepted policing norms, or international use-of-force standards.
Using open-source analysis — which included verified video, photography, and news footage — researchers at HRC’s Investigations Lab documented and analyzed improper practices involving firing kinetic impact projectiles directly at people’s heads, firing from unsafe close-range distances, deploying chemical irritants in enclosed spaces, firing tear gas canisters directly at individuals, using crowd-control weapons against people with no safe avenue of escape, and using force against protected groups.
More than 90% of documented incidents occurred in just five metro areas — Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Newark, and Portland — and 86% of the incidents were directly attributable to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies.
“Law enforcement’s repeated use of dangerous crowd-control tactics against protesters, journalists, and other protected groups raises serious concerns under both the U.S. Constitution and international human rights law,” says Alexa Koenig Ph.D. ’13, HRC’s faculty director and the director of the Investigations Lab.
By using open-source investigative methods, she says, “We can document these violations with a level of detail that strengthens accountability, supports efforts to pursue justice, and provides evidence to inform reforms, including phasing out weapons that pose an unacceptably high risk of serious injury.”
Pipeline Perspective
Working with the ACLU of Northern California’s Democracy, Speech, and Technology team this past summer, Jang and other first-generation law students discussed their experiences.
She urged the high schoolers to explore opportunities, even those out of their comfort zone, especially if they’re the first in their family to have them.
“Now’s the best time to figure out who you are, who you want to be, and what you’re passionate about,” she said. “If and when you find that spark, chase it.”
Pipeline Perspective
Working with the ACLU of Northern California’s Democracy, Speech, and Technology team this past summer, Jang and other first-generation law students discussed their experiences.
She urged the high schoolers to explore opportunities, even those out of their comfort zone, especially if they’re the first in their family to have them.
“Now’s the best time to figure out who you are, who you want to be, and what you’re passionate about,” she said. “If and when you find that spark, chase it.”
‘A Beautiful Thing to Do’
“Learning about how to build client rapport was a major highlight, and I enjoyed connecting with my client throughout the week,” says 2L Gabrielle Ladun. “I appreciated the opportunity to improve my advocacy skills in a real-life context.”
The students also took a writing workshop and gained direct attorney feedback on how to write persuasively. Berkeley Law has assisted with the project, which helps people with criminal records understand their legal rights to expunge them and offers legal assistance, since 2021.
“Every Berkeley Law student who has joined this adventure over the years has brought energy, dedication, kindness, intelligence, and diligence to this shared work,” says project founder and leader Margaret Stevenson. “Their willingness to step into new situations to further social justice is inspiring.”
The students went to the Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas to help present a guide on clearing a criminal record to people in custody. When Stevenson explained that the students were spending their spring break to work on clients’ expungement cases, the 60 men in custody at the session burst into applause.
Law students interviewed clients, worked on their clearance petitions, and later went to the Family Justice Center in San Jose to see live hearings where a judge cleared clients’ records. When clients’ cases are calendared, law students are invited to court to speak on their behalf.
“Record clearance is such a beautiful thing to do,” 3L Jessica Shannon says. “When we went to court one day during our week there, the judge was clapping for our clients. I’m glad that I got to see a positive aspect of the whole criminal legal system.”
Excellence on Full Display
- Rebecca Goren ’26, who won the Top Gun National Mock Trial Competition and $10,000 first prize. Hosted by Baylor University School of Law, the annual tournament invites the best student advocate from each of the top 16 trial programs.
- 3Ls Jeff Chen, Christopher Hong, Maddison Konway, and Michael Yang, who won the 2026 National Patent Application Drafting Competition, besting nearly 50 other law school teams.
- 3L Neil Gallagher, who won the UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Award for Civic Engagement in the graduate student division. He runs a nonprofit that documents military veterans’ memories and co-led the law school’s pro bono project Legal Obstacles Veterans Encounter.
- 2L Sunnie Liu, who won the Foundations for Change Thomas I. Yamashita Prize, given annually to an outstanding emerging social change activist in California. She has worked to improve conditions in prisons and public defense, fought against the displacement of Chinatown residents, and produced award-winning political research.
- 1L Kamryn Yanchick, who won the Best Overall Student award at the American Indian Law Center’s Pre-Law Summer Institute. She has taken on leading roles to advance civic engagement initiatives across Indian Country, further Native empowerment in the political process, and advocate for the sovereignty of tribal nations.
— Andrew Cohen
Inspiring Example
The award recognizes a local chapter that demonstrates strong leadership, consistent programming, community engagement, and meaningful support for Indigenous law students and communities.
Berkeley Law’s chapter provides robust academic, professional, and social programming, works closely with the Center for Indigenous Law & Justice, and contributes meaningful advocacy.
University of Wisconsin Law School student and NNALSA Area 4 Representative Erica Mendez said its students go “above and beyond for both its members and the broader community” and “continuously answer the call when the California Native community needs support.”
Helping Hollywood Stars Shine
- Bruce Gellman ’91. The publication says Gellman’s roster “reads like a streaming service’s entire drama slate.” His clients include “The Diplomat” creator Debora Cahn, whose political thriller is a huge hit on Netflix, and Dan Fogelman, whose Hulu show “Paradise” is entering its third season.
- Michael Schenkman ’90. He negotiated Christopher Nolan’s and Emma Thomas’ writing, directing, and producing contracts for The Odyssey, Michael Waldron’s overall deal at 20th Television after “Chad Powers,” and Brad Bird’s writing and producing deal for Incredibles 3, among other major deals.
- Douglas Stone ’86 has helped Daniel Craig finalize his deal to act in Greta Gerwig’s Netflix adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, and in an upcoming Damien Chazelle prison drama. He also closed a deal with Amazon MGM for Joe Eszterhas to do a Basic Instinct reboot.
- Darren Trattner ’94 steered deals for Sigourney Weaver in the films The Mandalorian & Grogu and Dust Bunny, and in a London run of “The Tempest.” He also brokered deals for Karen Gillan in the next Jumanji and Scott Cooper in “Roswell,” and co-represents Myha’la, a lead actor on HBO’s drama “Industry.”
— Andrew Cohen
Going Above and Beyond
Wang, a staff attorney and lecturer at the Criminal Law & Justice Center, leads the center’s Immigration Liberation Practicum — created in the months after the November 2024 election when alumni who defend undocumented immigrants asked for assistance responding to the expected increase in detentions.
Partnering with local immigration rights advocates, students have played a key role in helping immigrants win their release from detention, prevented the arrest and re-detention of a longtime Bay Area resident, and obtained bond hearings for individuals who had waited years in detention for their cases to be heard by an immigration judge.
“It’s honestly hard to believe how much we were able to accomplish in just over a semester,” Wang says, noting that the practicum enables students to “engage directly in legal practice and develop the skills needed to be thoughtful, client-centered advocates.”
A Berkeley Law staff member for 30 years, Mendicino has supported the Miller Institute for Global Challenges and the Law and its International Law Certificate program since 2013 and began administering the institute full-time in 2021. She produces Professor Katerina Linos’ groundbreaking “Borderlines” podcast, which focuses on global problems in a world fragmented by national borders, extending its influence far beyond traditional academic boundaries.
“I truly consider this school my extended family,” Mendicino says. “I am motivated daily by the values that bring people here to study, teach, and research.”
A senior audio-visual (AV) and information technology engineer, Kirby advances technical operations in Berkeley Law’s classrooms and event spaces. She helped shift the design and installation of AV systems away from third-party contractors to a more effective model training staff AV technicians and campus partners — saving the school tens of thousands of dollars with superior results.
Kirby created AI-powered custom chatbots on classroom podium iPads that can answer questions about that room’s AV system, and is helping central campus pilot a Wi-Fi-based assisted listening system. She says “expanding our faculty and student support resources is incredibly gratifying.”
Tuning in to The Network
One recent piece by 2L Armita Fazel addresses the first-ever conviction for AI-related economic espionage charges. It explores the legal implications of a former Google engineer stealing trade secret information and trying to send it to entities in China.
Fazel explains how the case “demonstrates the growing threat posed by insiders who exploit trusted access to circumvent traditional cybersecurity defenses,” and predicts the AI industry will likely increase investments in internal monitoring, access controls, and governance structures.
Other recent submissions on The Network address the growing field of green finance, which involves financial activities that support renewable energy, low-carbon infrastructure, and climate adaptation plans; why the tariff fight isn’t over even though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize tariffs; and conflicts of interest inherent in continuation funds for private equity sponsors.
A Shared Achievement
With nearly 15 years of international legal practice experience, she earned the LL.M. Program’s Law and Technology Certificate as well as its AI Law and Regulation Certificate.
Rózsa-Parázsó and her family recently moved to Boston, where her work focuses on privacy, data security, and the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.
A Shared Achievement
With nearly 15 years of international legal practice experience, she earned the LL.M. Program’s Law and Technology Certificate as well as its AI Law and Regulation Certificate.
Rózsa-Parázsó and her family recently moved to Boston, where her work focuses on privacy, data security, and the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.