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.
1981
Maurice Sanchez was confirmed as associate justice on California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division 3, the first Latinx and first person of color to serve on the court. He had been an Orange County Superior Court judge since 2018, and before that worked in private practice and as in-house counsel for Hyundai Motor America and Mazda Motor of America, Inc.
1982
Heidi Hamilton was named general counsel and chief compliance officer at Urban Resource Institute in New York City. The nation’s largest provider of domestic violence shelter services, URI also offers shelter services for homeless families and myriad trauma-informed prevention, intervention, and education programs that reach 40,000 people a year.
Lori Kornblum was appointed to a judgeship on Wisconsin’s Court of Appeals, District II. She had been a private practice lawyer focusing on disability law, children’s welfare, and guardianships, and spent over 20 years in the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.
1984
Paula Boggs gave commencement speeches in May to the graduating classes of 2020 and 2021 at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. The school awarded her an Honorary Doctor of Laws, and last fall the Puget Sound Business Journal named her a Board Director of the Year.
Christopher Kerosky, an immigration law specialist at Kerosky & Gallelli, has been hired as a professor at Empire College School of Law in Santa Rosa, California. He previously served as a U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division trial attorney and on the Sonoma County Human Rights Commission.
1985
Donna Brady joined Ballard Spahr’s Los Angeles office. She has over 30 years of experience working on innovative procurement, contracting, and finance for infrastructure project development within a broad range of facilities, including transportation, water, and energy.
1986
Donna Peizer is the author of Somewhere Different Now, a young adult/historical fiction novel published by Atmosphere Press. Set in post-World War II rural Colorado, the book explores the racism of that era as experienced by two teenage girls, one Black and one white. The U.S. Review of Books says, “This is professional writing at its best.” See DonnaPeizer.com for more information.
1988
John Adkins, who oversees the San Diego Law Library, won the 2021 Witkin Award for Excellence in Public Service. He has been president of the Council of California County Law Librarians, a national board member for the American Association of Law Libraries, and a commissioner on the California Access to Justice Commission.
Wendy Strimling retired as Monterey County’s assistant county counsel at the end of 2021.
1989
Markéta Sims was promoted to directing appellate attorney for indigent services at the Los Angeles County Bar Association, where she has appellate coaching, mentoring, and knowledge management responsibility for the over 300 attorneys of the juvenile and adult conflict panels. In 2020, she was named the Pacific Juvenile Defender Center’s Juvenile Defender of the Year.
1991
James Abrams (see Lawyering Outside the Lines), a partner at Fox Rothschild, received the Meritorious Service Award from Legal Aid at Work, a nonprofit that helps low-wage workers, their families, and communities through free legal clinics, litigation assistance, and policy advocacy, among other services. He is the organization’s treasurer and serves on its board of directors and on its executive, finance, and audit committees.
Luis Li joined Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati’s Los Angeles office as a partner in the firm’s national litigation practice. A fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and noted white-collar defense attorney, he has twice earned California Lawyer Attorney of the Year selections and been named among the Daily Journal’s Top 100 Lawyers, among other honors.
1997
Jess Bravin was reappointed to the Ethics Commission in Takoma Park, Maryland. The commission administers the municipal and state ethics laws for covered city officials.
1998
Paul Karl Lukacs and Daniel M. Hattis ’99 have been prosecuting consumer class actions at their Seattle-area boutique firm, Hattis & Lukacs, since 2017.
1999
Niloofar Bina Shepherd has been promoted to deputy general counsel – litigation & employment at Creative Artists Agency, which represents talent in entertainment and sports. She says her global work spans the spectrum across the agency’s dynamic businesses, and that “I still routinely draw on my Berkeley Law experiences and relationships.”
2000
Michael Murphy, a partner at Ervin Cohen & Jessup, was named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s “Leaders of Influence: Thriving in their 40s” list. The list highlights the top business professionals in Los Angeles who demonstrate success inside business and throughout their communities.
2005
Michael Burns published his first book, The Flat Tire Murders: Unsolved Crimes of a South Florida Serial Killer, in October. A Miami native, Michael interviewed several retired Dade County detectives who still maintain that Ted Bundy committed at least two of these 1975 murders in South Florida. The book is available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
2006
Shawn Bayern, professor and associate dean at Florida State University College of Law, published his most unusual book to date: Autonomous Organizations, from Cambridge University Press. It shows how modern business-entity law is flexible enough to give legal personhood to software and robots.
2007
Daniel Dobrygowski was named by the National Association of Corporate Directors to its NACD Directorship 100 as one of the corporate governance community’s most influential leaders. He was honored for his work on governance of technology risk as the head of governance and trust at the World Economic Forum.
Michael Pasahow has joined the global law firm Faegre Drinker as counsel in the benefits and executive compensation practice group (San Francisco office). He had been senior corporate counsel at the employee stock ownership plan advisory firm Menke & Associates, Inc.
2009
Greta Williams was named co-partner-in-charge of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s Washington, D.C., office. Her practice focuses on executive employment disputes, class actions, trade secrets, and noncompete matters.
2010
Randall Yates, former Oklahoma Assistant Solicitor General, joined Crowe & Dunlevy in the firm’s Oklahoma City and Tulsa offices. He is a director in the Tulsa office and part of the appellate, litigation & trial, and Indian Law & gaming practice groups.
2011
Jonathan Baum joined Steptoe & Johnson as a partner in the firm’s white-collar defense group (San Francisco office). A Berkeley Law lecturer on legal ethics and professional development, Jonathan is a former speechwriter and consultant to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the ONE Campaign, which advocates for increased aid to Africa.
Tam Ma won UC Berkeley’s annual Mark Bingham Award for Excellence in Achievement by Young Alumni, which honors recent grads who have made a significant contribution to their community, country, or the world at large. Deputy legislative affairs secretary for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Tam has used public policy as a catalyst for social change.
2012
Nicholas Fram was promoted to partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson. A litigator in the firm’s San Francisco office, he focuses on high-stakes complex commercial litigation, internal investigations, and mass torts.
Shoaib Ghias has been elected partner at Goodwin Procter. He has worked in the firm’s Boston and San Francisco offices since 2013 and is a member of its life sciences and technology corporate practice.
Mary Kaiser was elected to the partnership of Morrison & Foerster. Based in Washington, D.C., and part of the firm’s litigation department and antitrust group, she represents domestic and multinational companies in all aspects of antitrust and competition-related matters.
Larisa Kingston Mann J.S.P. published the book Rude Citizenship: Jamaican Popular Music, Copyright, and the Reverberations of Colonial Power, which started as her J.S.P. dissertation. An assistant professor of media studies and production at Temple University, Larisa reveals how a culture of collaboration lies at the heart of Jamaican creative practices and legal personhood.
Juan Perla was promoted to partner at Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle in New York City. Focused on international and appellate litigation, he’s been a lead associate on several recent high-profile matters, including United States v. Vaello-Madero, argued in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dora Pulido has been promoted to counsel at Seward & Kissel. She advises private companies, investment management firms, and business owners and managers on business transactions, equity financings, and general corporate matters.
Vikram Swaruup was appointed chief deputy attorney general for the District of Columbia’s Office of the Attorney General, and now supervises its daily operations and the work of its nine legal divisions. He had served as senior counsel to the attorney general, and established the office’s civil rights practice as its first lawyer investigating and prosecuting cases under the District’s Human Rights Act.
Amanda Urquiza has been elected partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. She works on corporate and securities law matters with a focus on public company representation, corporate governance, and public offerings.
2013
Mica Klein was promoted to partner at Perkins Coie. A member of the firm’s Seattle office, Mica counsels owners and developers on public and private construction transactions.
Rob Landicho has been promoted to counsel at Vinson & Elkins. He focuses on international commercial arbitration, investor-state arbitration, and U.S. commercial litigation while also providing counseling on foreign investment planning.
2014
Juan Carlos Sanchez was elected to partnership at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, the country’s largest class action firm. Based in San Diego, he represents pension funds in litigation against some of America’s biggest companies, striving to restore losses to their funds and other investors through prosecuting for securities fraud.
2015
Rico Paolo Quicho LL.M. is the founding partner of Quicho Law Offices, whose extensive litigation practice includes intra-corporate disputes, commercial litigation, corporate rehabilitation, data privacy, and media. Former dean at the University of Makati School of Law, Rico is also a professor at San Beda College-Alabang School of Law.
2016
Yuichi Inase LL.M. was elected to partnership at Morrison & Foerster. Based in Tokyo, he tackles a broad range of litigation matters (including commercial and intellectual property cases and dispute resolution) and corporate matters (including compliance and regulatory issues, with a focus on the technology and e-commerce industries).
2017
Anupama Reddy LL.M. was chosen as one of the National Law Journal’s Rising Stars of the Plaintiffs Bar. An associate at Joseph Saveri Law Firm, she works mainly on antitrust class actions that allege anticompetitive conduct such as price-fixing and monopolization.
2019
Madeleine Bech joined Alto Litigation as an associate attorney. She has represented clients in commercial, trade secret, and intellectual property disputes, and maintains an active pro bono practice focused on advocating for people in the criminal justice and immigration systems.
Kevin Marshack joined Farella Braun + Martel in San Francisco as an associate. He is a corporate and transactional lawyer who advises clients across a wide range of industries.
2020
Ishan Shivakumar LL.M. was appointed as an assistant district attorney at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
2021
Fatemah Albader LL.M. was named to Emory University’s 40 Under 40 list of the school’s prominent alums. An assistant professor at Kuwait International Law School, she is a strong advocate for human rights in the Gulf region whose publications have confronted honor killings, citizenship rights, and women in parliament.
Still More Mountains to Climb
With a glittering resume lit up by major leadership roles, David Louie has long occupied a shiny spot on Hawaii’s legal landscape. So why toil for two years writing a book about his time as the state’s attorney general?
“There is a Zen koan which says, ‘When you reach the top of the mountain, keep climbing,’” Louie explains. “This encapsulates the experience of many who seek to make our communities better. When one accomplishment is achieved, they look for another issue to try and solve, another mountain to climb.”
That ethos inspired him to become a National Asian Pacific American Bar Association regional governor and the Hawaii State Bar president. As attorney general from 2011 to 2014, he was the state’s top law enforcement officer — providing advice, counsel, and representation to the governor, legislature, and state agencies.
“The highlight of my legal career,” says Louie, who details memorable moments in his book, From the Desk of the Attorney General.
Overseeing litigation that challenged Hawaii’s constitutional amendment and statute barring same-sex marriage, he worked to pass new legislation that legalized it. He testified at legislative committee hearings on the bill, and successfully defended the new law in court.
Louie also negotiated a resolution of 30-year-old Native Hawaiian claims for monies owed by the state to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs for revenues from historic lands — taken by the U.S. from the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy —settling the claims by providing $200 million of prime lands in Honolulu.
And he negotiated the terms of a 665-acre conservation easement on coveted hotel and residential development lands in Oahu, eliminating significant development and preserving the land as wild forever.
“It was a steep learning curve,” he says. “I was surprised at the breadth and depth of the legal issues confronting Hawaii, but I really enjoyed the challenge of handling them — especially those with significant implications.”
Now a partner at Kobayashi Sugita & Goda in Honolulu, Louie handles complex commercial litigation, construction defect litigation, general liability insurance defense, and lobbying matters. With a dizzying list of past and present civic volunteer roles and organizational affiliations, he has also been a faculty member and lecturer for many continuing legal education seminars.
Even now, more than four decades after graduating, Louie regularly harkens back to his time at Berkeley Law.
“There were so many students who wanted to help change the world for the better,” he says. “Social justice, environmentalism, and reform of institutions were frequently discussed, all within the tradition of excellence of thought promoted by Berkeley. It was a time of great optimism and hope … I’ve been inspired by people like my parents and many friends in law school who made significant contributions in public service.”
— Andrew Cohen
Lawyering Outside the Lines
When James Abrams ’91 arrived at Berkeley Law, he was a decade older than many of his classmates and had already built a career in real estate and banking. He knew what he wanted out of law school — in fact, many of his earlier colleagues were surprised to hear he wasn’t already a lawyer.
What Abrams, who already had a master’s degree from UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, found at the law school was an amazing group of students.
“There were scientists, people who had been in business and government, and other really smart people who had come straight through from undergrad,” he says. “It wasn’t a cookie-cutter type of thing.
“I learned a lot from my colleagues, and I stay in touch with a lot of them today.”
Abrams also appreciated the pairing of practical teaching with the theoretical underpinnings of the law. He recalls one semester in which he took Securities Regulation from Silicon Valley guru Larry Sonsini ’66 (see Two Valley Titans Reflect) and a business law class from legendary Professor Richard Buxbaum LL.M. ’53 “to give you the underlying theory, and you need both.”
He’s drawn on all of it over a blockbuster real estate finance career, for many years at a boutique firm and at Fox Rothschild since it absorbed that firm in early 2021. Abrams delights in the intricacies of deals and the unexpected challenges, and is full of fun tales about solving tricky problems.
There was the creation of an easement to make possible the rooftop sculpture garden at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Another easement (which dated to the early 20th century), over a part of what is now the Hetch Hetchy water system, was discovered during negotiations for renewal of a parking and access ground lease, and had to be brought current.
Abrams has helped Napa and Sonoma Valley vintners navigate their financing and deals with adjacent property owners when different operations might otherwise collide. He also represented the lender on the first secured loans for the private development of the former Presidio military post and for the SFJAZZ Center.
“In my practice, you need a broad knowledge: real estate, finance, a little bit of environmental law — I have to be cognizant of all of it, but that’s what makes it interesting,” he says. “I’ve been blessed by having a lot of very interesting clients, and working on some prominent things where there was no form that you could pull off the shelf and fill out. You had to think and find a new way to do things.”
As a former hiring partner at his last firm, Abrams saw how Berkeley Law relishes and cultivates that skill in its students.
“They were the ones I liked to interview most, and who worked out the best as associates,” he says. “Berkeley grads really stood out for being more well-rounded, more mature, more inquisitive. I think that was part of the admissions process, then and now.”
— Gwyneth K. Shaw
In Memoriam
Byron F. White ’51
Frederic L. Harvey ’53
Richard H. Hoffelt ’55
Harry W. Low ’55
Robert D. Parmalee ’56
Clarence W. Brizee Jr. ’57
George L. Schroeder ’58
Judge John D. Harris ’59
Theodore B. Lee ’59
James A. Callaway Jr. ’60
John C. Porter ’60
Phil Hammer ’61
Thomas J. Klitgaard ’61
Richard D. Lamm ’61
Frank H. Lang Jr. ’61
Geoff Van Loucks ’61
Donald W. Jordan Jr. ’62
W. Jackson Willoughby ’62
Thornton C. Bunch Jr. ’63
Anthony J. Klein ’63
Thomas P. O’Donnell ’63
Janet McMillan Otterman ’63
Clyde M. Blackmon ’64
Joel Carey ’64
Donald O. Germino ’64
E. M. Risse ’65
Harvey I. Wittenberg ’65
John L. Afton ’66
John W. McTigue ’66
Peter A. Haberfeld ’67
Alden B. Tueller ’67
Kenneth K. Summers ’68
Michael K. Tandy ’69
David S. Weissbrodt ’69
Peter A. Lee ’70
Frank Sieh ’70
Gregory J. Hobbs Jr. ’71
Thomas G. Smith ’71
Donald J. Weintraub ’71
David M. Hellman ’72
Mark A. Tenenbaum ’72
Isabel Marcus ’75
Shelley H. Surpin ’76
Paul R. Trudell ’76
Clyde M. Blackmon ’64
Joel Carey ’64
Donald O. Germino ’64
E. M. Risse ’65
Harvey I. Wittenberg ’65
John L. Afton ’66
John W. McTigue ’66
Peter A. Haberfeld ’67
Alden B. Tueller ’67
Kenneth K. Summers ’68
Michael K. Tandy ’69
David S. Weissbrodt ’69
Peter A. Lee ’70
Frank Sieh ’70
Gregory J. Hobbs Jr. ’71
Thomas G. Smith ’71
Donald J. Weintraub ’71
David M. Hellman ’72
Mark A. Tenenbaum ’72
Isabel Marcus ’75
Shelley H. Surpin ’76
Paul R. Trudell ’76
Kevin M. Harris ’84
Eleanor M. Herberg ’84
Jeffrey D. Dillman ’89
Marcia H. Rioux ’93
Dirk Tillotson ’95
Jason Temple ’10
———
Lillian Alex
Rex D. Andrews
Marion P. Avery
Marilynn S. Bartlett
Laurie Becklund
Alberta D. Benson
Lynn J. Besser
Russell T. Bigelow
Barbara S. Bryant
Nell Senson Cliff
John E. Costain
Ruth M. Cowan
Joseph Ehrman
Sharon L. Fine
Theodore H. Geballe
Richard Harris
Marian Lind Hayashi
Susan F. Hunt
R. Elizabeth Kanowitz
Mary A. Knox
Kenneth A. Kragen
June L. Kripp
Helen B. Landers
Lila J. Marvin
Alan C. Mendelson
Gwynee Reed Moffitt
Mervin Morris
Harold H. Mumby
Samuel Reece
Thomas H. Reynolds
Robert D. Shaner
Lucinda Sikes
Dorothy M. Snodgrass
Stephen D. Sugarman
William R. Timken
Marjorie Traub
Elizabeth M. Wied
Margaret A. York
Kevin M. Harris ’84
Eleanor M. Herberg ’84
Jeffrey D. Dillman ’89
Marcia H. Rioux ’93
Dirk Tillotson ’95
Jason Temple ’10
———
Lillian Alex
Rex D. Andrews
Marion P. Avery
Marilynn S. Bartlett
Laurie Becklund
Alberta D. Benson
Lynn J. Besser
Russell T. Bigelow
Barbara S. Bryant
Nell Senson Cliff
John E. Costain
Ruth M. Cowan
Joseph Ehrman
Sharon L. Fine
Theodore H. Geballe
Richard Harris
Marian Lind Hayashi
Susan F. Hunt
R. Elizabeth Kanowitz
Mary A. Knox
Kenneth A. Kragen
June L. Kripp
Helen B. Landers
Lila J. Marvin
Alan C. Mendelson
Gwynee Reed Moffitt
Mervin Morris
Harold H. Mumby
Samuel Reece
Thomas H. Reynolds
Robert D. Shaner
Lucinda Sikes
Dorothy M. Snodgrass
Stephen D. Sugarman
William R. Timken
Marjorie Traub
Elizabeth M. Wied
Margaret A. York
Byron F. White ’51
Frederic L. Harvey ’53
Richard H. Hoffelt ’55
Harry W. Low ’55
Robert D. Parmalee ’56
Clarence W. Brizee Jr. ’57
George L. Schroeder ’58
Judge John D. Harris ’59
Theodore B. Lee ’59
James A. Callaway Jr. ’60
John C. Porter ’60
Phil Hammer ’61
Thomas J. Klitgaard ’61
Richard D. Lamm ’61
Frank H. Lang Jr. ’61
Geoff Van Loucks ’61
Donald W. Jordan Jr. ’62
W. Jackson Willoughby ’62
Thornton C. Bunch Jr. ’63
Anthony J. Klein ’63
Thomas P. O’Donnell ’63
Janet McMillan Otterman ’63
Thomas Silk Jr. ’63
Clyde M. Blackmon ’64
Joel Carey ’64
Donald O. Germino ’64
E. M. Risse ’65
Harvey I. Wittenberg ’65
John L. Afton ’66
John W. McTigue ’66
Peter A. Haberfeld ’67
Alden B. Tueller ’67
Kenneth K. Summers ’68
Michael K. Tandy ’69
David S. Weissbrodt ’69
Peter A. Lee ’70
Frank Sieh ’70
Gregory J. Hobbs Jr. ’71
Thomas G. Smith ’71
Donald J. Weintraub ’71
David M. Hellman ’72
Mark A. Tenenbaum ’72
Isabel Marcus ’75
Shelley H. Surpin ’76
Paul R. Trudell ’76
Lawrence A. Cox ’77
Kevin M. Harris ’84
Eleanor M. Herberg ’84
Jeffrey D. Dillman ’89
Marcia H. Rioux ’93
Dirk Tillotson ’95
Jason Temple ’10
———
Lillian Alex
Rex D. Andrews
Marion P. Avery
Marilynn S. Bartlett
Laurie Becklund
Alberta D. Benson
Lynn J. Besser
Russell T. Bigelow
Barbara S. Bryant
Nell Senson Cliff
John E. Costain
Ruth M. Cowan
Joseph Ehrman
Sharon L. Fine
Theodore H. Geballe
Robert Hamilton
Richard Harris
Marian Lind Hayashi
Susan F. Hunt
R. Elizabeth Kanowitz
Mary A. Knox
Kenneth A. Kragen
June L. Kripp
Helen B. Landers
Lila J. Marvin
Alan C. Mendelson
Gwynee Reed Moffitt
Mervin Morris
Harold H. Mumby
Samuel Reece
Thomas H. Reynolds
Robert D. Shaner
Lucinda Sikes
Dorothy M. Snodgrass
Stephen D. Sugarman
William R. Timken
Marjorie Traub
Elizabeth M. Wied
Margaret A. York
Shining Lights Who Educated and Enriched Our Community
Stephen Sugarman
A prolific scholar and influential figure in education, tort, and insurance law, he played a major role in litigating the case that equalized public education funding among California school districts.
Last spring, the California Law Review published a special issue to commemorate Sugarman’s brilliant career, which includes more than a dozen books and countless articles. Soon after, colleagues, family, friends, and students gathered virtually for a salute.
Dean Erwin Chemerinsky said no one was more influential in education law over the last half century. Professor and former dean Christopher Edley Jr. said Sugarman’s school funding work benefited “literally millions of lives.”
A relentless Berkeley Law community builder, Sugarman served two stints as associate dean and was a tireless participant in committee and other work.
Those wishing to make a donation in his name can contribute to the Stephen Sugarman Memorial Public Interest Endowed Fellowship at Berkeley Law.
Lucinda Sikes
Described by Dean Chemerinsky as “the heart and soul of our legal writing program,” Sikes died unexpectedly on Sept. 19, 2021. She spent 20 years teaching in the program, mentoring scores of students over that time.
A UC Berkeley graduate, Sikes worked at CALPIRG, went to Harvard Law School, then became a lawyer at U.S. PIRG. She lobbied for consumer safety legislation, and her testimony in Congress about toy-related injuries helped pass the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 1990.
Sikes worked for eight years at the Public Citizen Litigation Group as an appellate litigator, fueling key legal precedents on government transparency, before joining Berkeley Law in 2001.
Dirk Tillotson ’95
Killed during a home invasion on Oct. 1, 2021, Tillotson was a noted education activist and a fierce advocate for students of color. Leading an organization called Great School Choices, and writing on his blog Great School Voices, he championed education equity in Oakland.
Tillotson worked to improve Black students’ literacy rates, standardized test scores, and graduation figures — and to give them more school choice. He also served on the board of a charter school network operating six Oakland schools, and led its student outcomes committee.
During the pandemic, Tillotson hosted “Access Denied,” a web series on the digital divide and how to ensure that all youth get internet access at home.
Serendipity Knocks
Most general counsel roles come later in a law career. New attorneys often get assigned to low hanging fruit like document review and due diligence. Young Black women rarely lead a startup legal team.
So exactly how did Galbreath become general counsel at Bitwise Industries — which builds tech economies in underestimated cities and helps marginalized people access opportunities in the tech industry — less than three years out of law school?
As a corporate associate at Gunderson Dettmer, Galbreath worked with Bitwise as a client and became a legal advisor to the company, which a few months later invited investors and others to “A Day at Bitwise.”
“I went and it was the best decision I made,” she says. “I actually got to see the company behind the deal papers in person. I landed at honestly the most welcoming, inclusive space. All of it blew my mind.”
After more transactions together, Bitwise’s CEO reached out to discuss the company’s first legal hire. For Galbreath, it reflected the same nontraditional approach tech startups are using more throughout their operation.
“It’s an environment for someone looking to be innovative and gritty across the company,” she says. “This tends to be young lawyers looking to find their stride while developing their skills.”
Bitwise has developed and leased over 100,000 square feet of space in downtown Fresno. The city’s first rooftop conference center is underway, moving closer to a campus for housing hundreds of companies and thousands of new tech jobs. Similar plans are afoot in Bakersfield, Merced, Oakland, and Toledo, Ohio.
In addition to real estate, Bitwise focuses on technology consulting and workforce training, expanding businesses’ knowledge of diverse talent, and training people to develop real-world tech skills while building on-ramps for those who are traditionally left out of the industry.
“I’m able to be a leader to so many people throughout the company,” Galbreath says. “I didn’t realize on this journey how many people I’d impact and how many colleagues I can provide advice for, be it translating things to laymen’s terms or closing a deal.”
Last semester, she shared insights with Berkeley Law students through the school’s Leadership Lunch Series. During her own student days, Galbreath was president of Law Students of African Descent and active with the Startup@BerkeleyLaw program.
While the tech world’s lack of diversity remains a frustration, Galbreath does see progress.
“When you’re given a seat at the table, you have to ensure that first you speak up and that others are listening to what you’re saying,” she says. “Part of that comes with confidence. I think if we keep pushing the status quo, we’ll be able to keep moving forward.”
— Andrew Cohen
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