Table of Contents
Features
Leading law firms big and small, alumni rise to the challenge with innovative strategies to navigate an uncertain legal landscape.
The Power of Pro Bono
Some law schools have a pro bono requirement. Berkeley Law has a pro bono culture. Meet students, faculty, and alumni who are fueling it.
Leadership Renewed
On the heels of an impressive, far-reaching record of success as dean, Erwin Chemerinsky is reappointed to another five-year term.
Column
Looking to Berkeley Law’s leaders for instructive inspiration.
Sections
Nuggets from the School Community
Moving Forward; Fantastic Fellowship; National Impact; Redistricting with Data, Tenacity, and New Tools; Big Help for Small Businesses; Write Aid; Tops in Telecom Analysis; Still Pursuing Justice; On the Record; Passing Lane; Leading the Way on Corporate Sustainability; Judges Pay a House Call; Prime Podcasts; No. 1 on the Dean’s List; Investigation Alliance; Charting New Terrain
Forefront
Leadership in Research, Service, & Education;
Booster Shot; Crisis Management; New and Improved; Walking the Walk; Power of Procedure; Showing Veterans Some LOVE; On-Site Assistance
Fast Forward
Powerful Student Action Figures
Study Hall
Selected Faculty Scholarship
Advancement
Updates from Development & Alumni Relations
Class Notes
All in the Alumni Family
Table of Contents
Features
Leading law firms big and small, alumni rise to the challenge with innovative strategies to navigate an uncertain legal landscape.
The Power of Pro Bono
Some law schools have a pro bono requirement. Berkeley Law has a pro bono culture. Meet students, faculty, and alumni who are fueling it.
Leadership Renewed
On the heels of an impressive, far-reaching record of success as dean, Erwin Chemerinsky is reappointed to another five-year term.
Column
Looking to Berkeley Law’s leaders for instructive inspiration.
Sections
Nuggets from the School Community
Moving Forward; Fantastic Fellowship; National Impact; Redistricting with Data, Tenacity, and New Tools; Big Help for Small Businesses; Write Aid; Tops in Telecom Analysis; Still Pursuing Justice; On the Record; Passing Lane; Leading the Way on Corporate Sustainability; Judges Pay a House Call; Prime Podcasts; No. 1 on the Dean’s List; Investigation Alliance; Charting New Terrain
Forefront
Leadership in Research, Service, & Education;
Booster Shot; Crisis Management; New and Improved; Walking the Walk; Power of Procedure; Showing Veterans Some LOVE; On-Site Assistance
Fast Forward
Powerful Student Action Figures
Study Hall
Selected Faculty Scholarship
Advancement
Updates from Development & Alumni Relations
Class Notes
All in the Alumni Family
Learning from Our Leaders
Having been a law school dean for 14 years and having occupied other leadership roles — such as president of the University of Southern California Academic Senate, chair of an elected commission to rewrite the Los Angeles City Charter, and now president of the Association of American Law Schools — I have thought a lot about leadership. I have learned tremendously from watching those in leadership positions. I have been fortunate to work as a faculty member at law schools with terrific deans and to serve as a dean with outstanding chancellors, provosts, and vice provosts.
Each has a unique style, but they all share some basic characteristics: they all have a vision; embrace a collaborative style of decision-making; have a sense of when to delegate and when they must decide; possess excellent managerial skills; genuinely care about the people they work with; and lead by example. Those described in this issue of Transcript embody these strengths.
In Brief
Moving Forward
The faculty overwhelmingly approved the Curriculum Committee’s proposal and committed to consistently offering sufficient classes that enable all students to meet this requirement. They also endorsed a commitment, starting in spring 2024, to consistently offer one or more electives introducing students to a range of theoretical perspectives on law and legal institutions.
Still Pursuing Justice
California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Distinguished Visiting Professor and civil rights icon Thelton E. Henderson ’62 to the state’s Committee on the Revision of the Penal Code. The committee investigates California’s legal system to identify areas where its criminal laws can be improved to increase public safety and reduce unnecessary incarceration.
Illuminators: Margaret Wu ’96 (left), Urmila Taylor (center), and Linda Tam ’00 bring vast experience to their new roles. Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small (Wu, Taylor, & Tam)
Write Aid
Linda Tam ’00 spent two decades advocating for immigrant rights. Urmila Taylor worked 12 years at the U.S. Social Security Administration after starting as a law-firm associate. Margaret Wu ’96 also started in private practice before spending 14 years with the UC Office of General Counsel.
Prime Podcasts
Passing Lane
Investigation Alliance
Booster Shot
Now, with COVID-19 driving home the importance of breakthrough medical technologies and the biotech industry booming in the Bay Area, BCLT is adding a life sciences initiative to its already robust agenda. The Life Sciences Project will explore intellectual property, innovation, and regulatory issues across myriad products and technologies, from drug discovery to artificial intelligence to healthcare data.
Crisis Management
The semester-long Berkeley Law Afghanistan Project focused on two urgent needs: establishing a pro bono initiative to help Afghans resolve legal issues impeding their ability to leave, and preserving evidence of human rights abuses committed by the Taliban.
New and Improved
A welcome waiver restores the promise of public service loan forgiveness
After years of operation so botched that the errors would be comical but for their real world impact, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program got a much-needed upgrade. It’s more heartening news for many Berkeley Law grads amid the school’s ramped up support for students and alumni pursuing public service (see Walking the Walk).
Walking the Walk
Enhanced LRAP
The annual salary threshold to receive full support from our Loan Repayment Assistance Program (vital for many students pursuing public service careers) increased from $70,000 to $80,000. Graduates making $80,000 or less now have no out-of-pocket student loan expenses; graduates making over $80,000 and up to $100,000 can receive partial LRAP support.
Power of Procedure
Alumna Mallika Kaur ’10, of counsel at ADZ Law, contacted Professor Andrew Bradt regarding a civil case filed in Napa County on behalf of a domestic violence victim against her then-partner (both from Georgia) for acts he committed during a trip to California. Although criminal charges were filed against him in California, the court ruled it lacked personal jurisdiction in the plaintiff’s case for civil damages.
“Who better to elucidate on the personal jurisdiction issues than Andew, an expert who has written two casebooks on civil procedure?” Kaur says. “I don’t know how he found time for this during pandemic teaching, but I know a lot of people who are deeply grateful that he did.”
Showing Veterans Some LOVE
“The rigors of law school can make this transition even more difficult,” says Baylis, a former U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Officer for five years who deployed twice. He founded LOVE to provide aid to the Bay Area veterans community and to give Berkeley Law veterans “an opportunity to participate in a project that feels familiar.”
On-Site Assistance
“Offering a similar course at Berkeley Law was the natural next step,” he says.
There were no offerings on depositions at the time — courses on how to try cases were considered more relevant. But that changed after a major study showed that in 2006 only 1.3% of U.S. district court civil cases reached trial.
Hecht carefully designed a course where students conduct mock depositions, review them in small groups, and glean insights from both alumni litigators and Hecht. Last semester, nine Berkeley Law grads — including eight of his former students — came to offer pointers.
Fall Star Lineup
Mel M. C. Cole ’13, shareholder at Littler Mendelson
Tyler Gerking ’02, partner at Farella Braun + Martel
Steve Holtzman ’89, independent practitioner
Jeff Homrig ’01, partner at Latham & Watkins
Bailey Langner ’15, associate at King & Spalding
Kaitlyn Murphy ’13, San Francisco deputy city attorney
Spencer Pahlke ’07, shareholder at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger
Allen Wang ’11, associate at Fenwick & West
Such Great Heights
At firms big and small, Berkeley Law alumni rise to the leadership challenge.
nna Elento-Sneed ’83 snagged a dream opportunity just a few years after graduating from Berkeley Law: The chance to work at one of the oldest law firms in her native Hawaii.
The labor and employment lawyer jumped at it — only to find the iconic firm too slow and hidebound for her tastes. A second, newer firm still felt stodgy, at least in terms of adopting technologies that could make practice easier and more effective.
“So I decided, ‘Well, I’ll just have to do it,’” Elento-Sneed says. “I took the whole department with me and set up this firm.”
Two Valley Titans Reflect
arry Sonsini ’66 and James McManis ’67 overlapped at Berkeley Law, and on a good day you can drive between their Silicon Valley firms in under 30 minutes. But their experiences have been far different.
Sonsini, a founding partner of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, is a renowned titan in the corporate governance world and his firm has shepherded some of the Valley’s biggest IPOs and deals. McManis has been a different kind of entrepreneur, building a successful litigation firm, McManis Faulkner, that he jokingly refers to as “a little mom and pop business here in San Jose” — the Shire to Wilson Sonsini’s Mordor.
Flying Solo to Exciting New Peaks
es, Ruky Tijani ’14 is a lawyer. And a trademark specialist. And an entrepreneur. But really, as the founder of Firm for the Culture, she’s an elevation expert.
Vaulting social entrepreneurs to a place where they can benefit society. Lifting up small businesses tangled in legal quagmires. Raising the status and number of diverse company founders.
“We help clients avoid legal pitfalls when engaging in social impact initiatives, such as creating innovative ways to provide affordable access to healthcare and devising procedures to increase voter participation, and changing the world in other meaningful ways,” Tijani says. “I’m proud to have a team combining social impact, intellectual property, tech, and creativity to make this happen.”
Three’s Company
hey heard all the warnings: Don’t mix work and friends. Don’t start your own firm without ample experience. Don’t offer new hires too much flexibility.
So how have former Berkeley Law roommates Ryan Shaening Pokrasso, Hash Zahed, and David De La Flor flourished at SPZ Legal? By ignoring them.
“Having these strong friendships that predate the firm allows for more honest conversations,” De La Flor says. “We all truly want nothing but the best for each other. When you’re growing a business together, knowing you have that support behind you is invaluable.”
The Power of Pro Bono
That ethos permeates the Berkeley Law landscape, from faculty who dive into wide-ranging pro bono cases to alumni lawyers who help supervise student projects to senior administrators who have significantly increased staffing, resources, and funding for the school’s Pro Bono Program.
Bringing vital services to underserved populations, these efforts produce more equitable access to the legal system — be it working to prevent gun violence, protect a tribal community’s cultural property, increase access to clean energy, secure housing for low-income tenants, or dozens of other endeavors. Here are some pro bono standouts and how they serve the school’s public mission.
Coming from a background with Indigenous and Mexican heritage, Hampson-Medina wanted to serve his communities in law school in ways he never could before. Participating in the Workers’ Rights Clinic, working as a project leader at the Native American Legal Assistance Project, and co-chairing the Native American Law Students Association satisfied that wish. “The work, both researching and speaking with clients, is extremely fulfilling and has led me to pursue Indian Law the rest of my career,” he says.
Hampson-Medina has relished advocating for communities of color in ways that may change their lives — and those of their future generations. “It is inspiring that we’re able to help people in our capacity as students and it makes the law school experience significantly more gratifying,” he says. “I chose to come to law school because I wanted to help people, and my experience with pro bono work has only strengthened that sentiment and will remain central to my work throughout my career.”
The national runner-up in BARBRI’s One Lawyer Can Change the World scholarship competition, McMillan “witnessed how the criminal justice system disproportionately impacts Black and Brown people” after a family member was incarcerated. She went to law school to pursue a career helping low-income communities get adequate representation. “I thought doing pro bono work would keep me grounded and constantly remind me of my purpose for being here,” she says.
McMillan volunteers with Berkeley Law’s Tenants’ Rights Workshop, which strives to keep area residents safely housed. She also worked with the Berkeley Law Afghanistan Project, which offered legal support to people fleeing persecution in Afghanistan, supported women’s legal rights advocates there, and documented evidence of human rights violations. “Helping a client work through the process to submit an Afghan loved one’s asylum packet was definitely a meaningful moment for me,” McMillan says. “I learned so much about being an advocate.”
Leadership
Renewed
t times, the descriptions of Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky seem wholly contradictory.
Colleagues joke that he’s a machine, that no human could write so many books, op-eds, and articles; answer so many emails, phone calls, and letters; and lead so many organizations, initiatives, and committees. But they’re also quick to note his humanity, and how it drives a leadership style that fosters mutual respect, high morale, and inspiring results.
On Jan. 5, UC Berkeley announced Chemerinsky’s appointment to another five-year term, enabling him to build on his impressive record since becoming dean in July 2017.
Fast Forward
UC’s One and Only
After moving from Mexico to the United States as a child, she spent her early college years advocating for higher education opportunities before gaining citizenship. As associate director of UC Riverside’s Center for Social Innovation, she researched the local impact of the U.S. census and co-founded a program to maximize representation for hard-to-count residents. And come July, she’ll be the UC Board of Regents’ lone student representative for the 2022-23 school year.
Selected from 93 student applicants, Pedral will have full voting and meeting participation privileges during her term. This year, she is busy attending regent meetings and learning more about UC’s governing body.
Refusing to Stay Silent
“Though the law against male sodomy is not actively enforced there, its existence hangs over the heads of queer Singaporeans like myself as a constant reminder of our second-class status in our own country,” he says. “This socialized me early on to how the law can serve as an instrument of oppression as much as it can be a liberating force.”
Carving Her Place
But for Kelsey Lobisser, the hard moments passed quickly. She had a robust community of nearly 40 fellow transfer students to bond with, and seeing everyone on Zoom eased some of the newbie jitters.
Then she found two communities that helped truly immerse her in law school life: the Moot Court Team and the Berkeley Business Law Journal.
Study Hall
Meaningful scholarship does more than just recite and regurgitate. It charts new terrain, probing topics that have an important effect on our own lives, our communities, and the world at large. From concerns about the growing use of artificial intelligence and the underproduction of new housing to data access inequities in criminal defense investigations and the impact of copyright rulings on software innovation, Berkeley Law faculty members continue to push the envelope and provide vital insights.
Influential, Inspiring, Instrumental
Also, in a recent survey of U.S. News & World Report voters conducted as part of the same study, a whopping 15 Berkeley Law professors were rated among the top 15 scholars in their fields between 2016 and 2020. They include Dean Erwin Chemerinsky — the most-cited law professor in the nation and third on the list of most impactful law professors — and Orin Kerr, who ranks No. 1 in criminal law and procedure and fifth on the most impactful list.
“It’s wonderful to see Berkeley Law professors at the top of so many fields,” Chemerinsky says, adding that it “reflects our having a tremendously prolific and influential faculty.”
Top 50 Law Faculties for Scholarly Impact
Most Impactful Law Professors
Most-Cited Law Faculty in the U.S.
Most-Cited
Tax Faculty
Most-Cited Critical Theories of Law Faculty
Most-Cited Constitutional Law Faculty
Most-Cited Law & Economics Faculty
Most-Cited Intellectual Property Faculty
Most-Cited Immigration Faculty
Most-Cited Law & Technology Faculty
Most-Cited Legal History Faculty
Most-Cited Criminal Law & Procedure Faculty
Most-Cited Law & Social Science Faculty
Most-Cited Corporate & Securities Regulation Faculty
Seven Up: The New Faculty Chairs
even Berkeley Law professors were recently awarded faculty chairs, recognizing their contributions to scholarship and legal education.
“A chaired position is the highest honor a university can bestow on a faculty member,” Dean Erwin Chemerinsky says. “These professors embody the very best of academia and of Berkeley Law: They are terrific teachers, superb scholars, and wonderful colleagues.”
The professors — Abbye Atkinson, Laurel E. Fletcher, Orin Kerr, Katerina Linos, Jeffrey Selbin, Elisabeth Semel, and Steven Davidoff Solomon — reflect the faculty’s depth and breadth. With expertise ranging from international law and human rights to the intricacies and pitfalls of corporate and consumer law, their impact is felt across the academic and policy landscape, from top law reviews to the halls of power in Washington, D.C., Sacramento, and beyond.
Advancement
Donor Dedication
The state’s policies at the time meant Miller earned two degrees at a very low cost. It’s moved him to give to the school for six decades — one of a cadre of stalwart donors who have made contributing annually to Berkeley Law a longtime habit.
Whether you graduated last year or in the last century, they say, annual giving helps pay forward the benefits of your own law school experience.
“I owe my entire career to that education, which cost me nothing,” Miller says. “To me, the idea of giving back to the university is a no-brainer. And I give as much as I can, as often as I can.”
William Hoffman ’69 made his first donation to Berkeley Law in the spring of 1970, while stationed at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. Having served in the Reserve Officers Training Corps as a UC Berkeley undergraduate, he was granted an educational delay from service in Vietnam to attend law school and then called to active duty right after passing the California Bar Exam.
“I realized that I’d had a world class education at the finest public institution on the face of the Earth, and I had no debt whatsoever,” Hoffman says.
Times have changed, but the Berkeley Law experience remains, he says. So year after year, he gives.
“It was incumbent on me to return the favor by supporting UC Berkeley for all it had done for me,” Hoffman says. “I owe everything I am to Cal, and I intend to give as much as I can, as long as I am able — and, after I’m gone, through my estate.”
Leadership Circle
J.D. tuition covers only about 60% of Berkeley Law’s annual operating costs, and market forces constrain future increases. As a result, further improving the alumni giving participation rate (which rose to 20% this past year) will be vital to sustain the school’s excellence.
Circle members are invited to exclusive annual events with Dean Erwin Chemerinsky in their home region and on campus. Those interested in joining are invited to meet with him and our Development & Alumni Relations staff to discuss membership in more detail.
Current Members
Rajesh ’94 & Sujata Aji
Carly ’06 & Ryan Alameda
Karen Boyd ’96
Michael Canan ’66
Michael Charlson ’85 & Susan Austin
Benson Cohen ’04
Gail ’86 & Doug Dolton
Alan Fu ’04 & Lei Chen
Mark Gergen & Susan Whitman
Donald Greenberg ’67
Jeffrey ’88 & Maria Harleston
Yury Kapgan ’01
Dan ’93 & Hana Lang
Monique Liburd ’08
Allan Marks ’90 & Mara Cohen
Rich ’74 & Marjorie McCracken
Alan Watenmaker ’72 & Maryanne Laguardia
Patrick LL.M. ’19 & Linda Yip
Driven by the Future
That mindset drove their recent five-year, $500,000 pledge to Berkeley Law. It creates three new funds for the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) and the Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice: One for scholarships and one each for CLEE and Henderson scholars programming.
“The current contribution combines our beliefs about equitable access to education, the need to level up social justice, and our concerns about the climate and environmental health of the planet that our children and grandchildren must inhabit,” Ruth says.
Planting the Seeds
The summer after his 2L year, while interning for Illinois Congressman Ralph Metcalf, John Burris ’73 worked with a commission on abuse by Chicago police. “Interviewing victims was an eye-opening experience and planted the seeds for my future career,” he says.
Class Notes
1955
J. Clifford Wallace, U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judge emeritus, received the 2022 Bolch Prize for the Rule of Law. Given annually by the Duke University School of Law’s Bolch Judicial Institute, the award honors extraordinary dedication to the rule of law and advancing its principles around the world. Clifford has led multiple efforts to improve the administration of justice in the federal courts and advised judiciaries worldwide to strengthen judicial processes, improve court structures, and help solve logistical and legal challenges.
1967
James McManis (see Two Valley Titans Reflect) was recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for the 26th consecutive year in several categories: Bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, criminal defense – white-collar, First Amendment litigation, intellectual property litigation, and municipal litigation.
1968
Bob Rhodes’ article “Florida Growth Management Odyssey: Revolution, Evolution, Devolution, Resolution” was included in a Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy festschrift publication honoring his longtime friend, former University of Florida and Georgia State law professor Julian Juergensmeyer. The article examines Florida’s growth management efforts, including Bob’s tenure in state government, and offers thoughts for future action. Bob is “mostly retired” in Jacksonville and welcomes classmates to reconnect at rmrhodes@bellsouth.net.
1978
Louise Ing (Hawaii), Mike Martinez (Washington, D.C.), and Holly Fujie (California) held a mini class reunion at the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Convention in Washington. They celebrated Louise being named a NAPABA Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer, the organization’s top honor. She’s the fifth 1978 alum to receive it — joining Fujie, the late Edwin Lee, Colbert Matsumoto, and Eric Yamamoto — believed to be the most of any law school class.
1979
Clothilde “Cloey” Hewlett was appointed commissioner at the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. She was executive director and chief legal officer at the Cal Alumni Association since 2016, and previously a partner at both Nossaman and K&L Gates.
Parting Shot
Spring 2022, Volume 58
Assistant Dean, Communications
Alex A.G. Shapiro
Managing Editor & Senior Writer, Communications
Andrew Cohen
Creative Direction
Laurie Frasier
Original Design & Layout
Arnaud Ghelfi, l’atelier starno
Contributing Writer
Gwyneth K. Shaw
Contributing Artists
Jialun Deng
Bo Lundberg
Asis Percales
Ariel Sinha
Contributing Photographers
Jim Block
Rachel DeLetto
Brittany Hosea-Small
Darius Riley
Contributing Editor
Sarah Weld
Email: updates@law.berkeley.edu
Phone: 510.642.1832
U.S. Mail: University of California, Berkeley, School of Law
Development & Alumni Relations
224 Law Building
Berkeley, CA 94720-7200
Visit www.law.berkeley.edu
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Transcript is published by the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law Communications Department.
