Class Notes

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Paul Karl Lukacs and Daniel M. Hattis ’99 have been prosecuting consumer class actions at their Seattle-area boutique firm, Hattis & Lukacs, since 2017.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.