Class Notes
1968
Leroy Wilson Jr. took part in a celebration at West Point for a monument honoring the Buffalo Soldiers (a group of Black U.S. Army members who helped protect America’s westward expansion after the Civil War) 50 years after Black cadets protested against President Richard Nixon’s desire to place a monument to Confederate soldiers there. Leroy represented the cadets in resolving any legal issues that surfaced related to a sickle cell anemia benefit concert on May 20, 1972 — the first charity event ever held at a military service academy, which was part of the cadets’ 13 demands for changes at West Point. He also helped bring in Stevie Wonder and The Supremes to perform.
1973
John Burris, preparing to hand off the reins of his longtime civil rights practice, was profiled in an Associated Press feature. John, who has represented over 1,000 police misconduct victims, helped win a $3.8 million jury verdict for Rodney King after his 1991 beating by Los Angeles police was captured on video, and helped negotiate $2.8 million for the family of Oscar Grant, killed by a Bay Area transit officer in 2009 in one of the first police shootings recorded on a cell phone. His work helped spark reforms or new police policies in the use of deadly force, canines, tasers, public strip searching, and treatment of the mentally impaired.
Peter Welch was elected to the U.S. Senate from Vermont. The state’s congressional representative from 2007 to 2023, at age 75 he is the oldest person to become a first-time senator.
Natalie West was elected to the city council of South Portland, Maine. A retired city attorney and a political newcomer, she received the most votes among the four candidates.
1975
Judy Droz Keyes, a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine, was named San Francisco’s Employment Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers and U.S. News & World Report. It is her second time in the past decade receiving this recognition, which goes to one person annually in each of several high-profile practice areas in major legal markets via confidential evaluations by other lawyers.
1977
Emily Vasquez, who recently retired as a Sacramento County Superior Court judge, received the Ohtli Award from the Mexican government in honor of her commitment to justice and public service. The winner of numerous honors for her judicial and community achievements, she also joined Judicate West as a neutral mediator/arbitrator for matters statewide.
1978
Holly Fujie was among six judges representing diversity in the judiciary who were honored with a National Judicial College “Making the World a More Just Place” award at a program featuring diversity pioneers on the bench. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge, Holly was the third woman and first Asian American to serve as State Bar of California president and now co-chairs the Multicultural Bar Alliance of Southern California.
Doug Letter is the new chief legal officer at Brady, where he oversees the organization’s legal work to end America’s gun violence epidemic. He was general counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2019 to 2022 after a 40-year stint as a U.S. Department of Justice attorney, where he ultimately served as director of the Civil Division’s appellate staff. During that time, he also served as associate counsel to President Bill Clinton, deputy associate attorney general, and senior counselor to Attorney General Eric Holder.
1979
Andrew Demetriou joined the Los Angeles office of Husch Blackwell as senior counsel and works in the firm’s Healthcare, Life Sciences & Education industry group and Corporate/M&A practice team. He has been a business and legal advisor to health care organizations for over three decades, and has a long history of leadership service in the American Bar Association.
1982
Kathryn Ma authored the novel The Chinese Groove, named a most anticipated title for 2023 by Goodreads, a “big” literary novel for 2023 by Library Journal, and given a starred review by Kirkus Reviews. Set in San Francisco’s Sunset District, which once had restrictive covenants to keep out non-white buyers, the book focuses on an optimistic immigrant with big dreams, dire prospects, and a fractured extended family in need of his help — even if they don’t know it yet. Kathryn’s interest in housing issues stems from San Francisco’s current housing crisis and her childhood experience of moving every few years as her immigrant parents tried to gain footing in America’s middle class.
1985
Eric Britton, who recently retired after more than 31 years at Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, was included in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law.
1986
George Moore, a scientist-in-residence at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies’ James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, gave multiple presentations at international conferences around the world last year. He also recently took a group of policy master’s degree students to Czech Technical University’s VR-1 research reactor in Prague and to the International Atomic Energy Agency and Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization.
1987
Alison Dundes Renteln (JSP) recently published two books. She co-authored International Human Rights: A Survey, with Cher Weixia Chen of George Mason University and co-edited The Ethical University: Transforming Higher Education with Wanda Teays of Mount St. Mary’s University. A University of Southern California political science professor, Alison also won the school’s Dornsife Raubenheimer Award for outstanding teaching, research, and service.
1988
1991
Julio Esquivel, a partner at Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, was included in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America for corporate governance law as well as mergers and acquisitions law. Working in the firm’s Tampa office, Julio has vast experience representing buyers and sellers in M&A transactions in a wide range of industries.
1993
Kelly Dermody, a partner at Lieff Cabraser, was honored with an Award of Merit by the Bar Association of San Francisco for her work on behalf of Legal Alliance for Reproductive Rights. She helped recruit firms from around the country to join the organization, among other notable contributions.
1994
Cathy Ostiller was appointed to serve as a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge, assigned to the Edelman Children’s Court (Dependency) in Monterey Park. An Assistant U.S. Attorney for nearly 22 years in the Central District of California, Cathy also worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, at Sidley & Austin, and as a federal judicial law clerk.
1996
Marian Gaston was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. A San Diego Superior Court judge since 2015, she spent nearly 20 years before that as a deputy public defender with the San Diego County Public Defender’s Office.
2000
Jennifer Riley joined Duane Morris’ Employment, Labor, Benefits, and Immigration Practice Group in its Chicago office and is vice chair of its newly formed Workplace Class Action Group. A former partner at Seyfarth Shaw who has defended businesses faced with significant complex litigation matters for over 20 years, she has been recognized by JD Supra as one of the top 10 thought leaders in the area of class actions.
2001
Anita Starchman Bryant was appointed as the first woman judge in Mariposa County Superior Court. Previously a sole practitioner since 2018, she was a partner at Starchman & Bryant Attorneys at Law from 2005 to 2018 and an associate at Downey Brand from 2001 to 2004.
Josh Stanbro joined Elemental Excelerator, a leading climate tech nonprofit investor, as deputy director of its Policy Lab. Based in Washington, D.C., he works to help connect federal climate policies and funding opportunities to climate tech projects developed in partnership with local communities.
2003
Paul Marchegiani joined Amazon Studios as senior business affairs executive, where he negotiates talent and rights deals for Amazon television shows. He has also been teaching Presence and Performance Skills for Lawyers as an adjunct professor at UC Berkeley and the University of Chicago.
Mary Beth O’Connor published her memoir, From Junkie to Judge: One Woman’s Triumph Over Trauma and Addiction, describing the child abuse that led to her teenage meth addiction, the chaos it caused, and her eventual recovery that led to becoming an administrative law judge. She has appeared on television, radio, and podcasts regarding the book, and has published several essays including one in the Los Angeles Times.
2004
Jennie Wang VonCannon has joined the Los Angeles office of Crowell & Moring as a partner in its White Collar and Regulatory Enforcement and its Privacy and Cybersecurity practice groups. She also chairs and is a founding member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Privacy and Cybersecurity Section.
2005
Jeffrey Danley joined Bracewell’s intellectual property practice as a partner in the Seattle office. Most recently a partner with Seed IP Law Group, he represents companies in IP enforcement, defense, and litigation matters across a range of technologies, and is a registered patent attorney.
2006
Anna Tsiftsoglou (LL.M.) recently co-edited Democracy After Covid: Challenges in Europe and Beyond. The book provides the first comparative constitutional law and policy analysis of COVID–19–related democratic challenges, assesses cutting-edge topics, and launches an international discussion on future pandemics and global democratic backsliding.
2007
2008
Chris Springer was recently made partner at Keller Rohrback in the firm’s Santa Barbara office. A member of the Complex Litigation Group, he focuses on data privacy and other consumer protection litigation and is experienced in cases involving consumer protection, data security, environmental protection, disability access, employment rights, and ERISA.
2010
Sonia Farber writes that Perkins Coie acquired Kluk Farber Law, a New York–based emerging companies and venture capital (ECVC) firm she co-founded. Kluk Farber’s 11 lawyers and five business professionals will lead Perkins Coie’s New York ECVC practice.
Mallika Kaur authored a recent piece in her Negotiating Trauma and the Law series for the American Bar Association Journal. It’s a Q&A with Abby Abinanti, the first tribal woman admitted to the State Bar of California, who has been a San Francisco Superior Court judicial officer for nearly two decades and a Yurok tribal court judge since 1997.
Joshua Weigensberg was elected partner at Pryor Cashman. A member of the firm’s Litigation and Media + Entertainment groups, he litigates copyright and trademark matters and other complex commercial disputes for clients in industries including music, technology, art, consumer goods, information services, and real estate.
2011
Karlina Paredes, senior counsel at Hoover Krepelka in San Jose, earned the designation of Certified Family Law Specialist. The California State Bar bestows this designation to about 10% of family law attorneys in the state who meet various standards that authenticate expertise and dedication specific to family law practice.
Joseph Rose was promoted to partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. A litigator in the firm’s San Francisco office, he focuses on high-stakes employment disputes, commercial litigation, class actions, antitrust matters, and law firm defense.
Tania Valdez started a tenure-track faculty position at George Washington University School of Law. She also reports that Katharine (Katy) Lum was recently appointed as a judge on the Colorado Court of Appeals.
2012
Hannah Haksgaard (née Alsgaard) has received tenure and been promoted to full professor at the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law.
Britt Lovejoy was elected partner at Latham & Watkins. A member of the firm’s Connectivity, Privacy & Information Practice and Litigation & Trial Department, she represents technology and digital media companies, including software developers, music broadcasters, and internet platforms in matters at the intersection of competition, copyright, and commercial litigation.
Cora Rose was received as a religious sister at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Annual Assembly of the Deaconess Community, becoming the first lawyer Lutheran sister in North America. Her work serves people living in vehicles or outdoors in securing human and civil rights in rural Oregon.
Geoffrey Thorne was named a partner at Higgs Fletcher & Mack. He represents individuals and businesses ranging from local enterprises to Fortune 500 companies, defends clients across California in business and employment disputes, advises employers on best practices, conducts workplace investigations, and trains management and workforces on employment law updates.
2013
Brian Corman was named to the partnership of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll. A member of its Civil Rights & Employment Practice Group, he helps spearhead the firm’s fair housing litigation efforts, representing fair housing organizations, tenant unions, and those unlawfully denied housing or otherwise discriminated against.
Dan Mistak was named a 2023 fellow at the Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity, part of the Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity based at George Washington University. He is among 20 chosen leaders from around the world who are striving to combat health disparities and promote equity. Acting president and director of Health Care Initiatives for Justice-Involved Populations at Community Oriented Correctional Health Services, Dan connects community systems of care to services provided in jails and offers policy guidance to improve care for systems-involved people.
2014
Haley Bavasi has been elected to partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in the firm’s Seattle office. She focuses on advising digital health companies across a range of privacy, transactional, research, and healthcare regulatory issues.
2015
Katie Lynn Joyce was elevated to partner at Keker, Van Nest & Peters. She has handled high-stakes commercial and intellectual property matters in varied industries and litigations, including for Netflix, Crexi, Google, Zscaler, Instacart, and Kitty Hawk.
2020
Diler Cavdar joined Shook, Hardy & Bacon as an associate in its New York office. Experienced in intellectual property litigation and transactional matters, she also maintains an active pro bono caseload.
Samantha Hamilton is the New York Times’ 2022-23 First Amendment Fellow, covering issues relating to the Freedom of Information Act, libel, copyright, court access, and other litigation matters. She‘s been a fellow at the civil rights firm Loevy & Loevy and at the University of Georgia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic.
Jonathan Pai (LL.M.) joined Foran Glennon’s newly established San Francisco and San Jose offices as an associate. He concentrates his practice on casualty defense.
Hunger for Nuance Leads to Rare Podcast Heights
A renowned litigator and former U.S. Attorney, Litman was making the rounds himself on MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News. But with each appearance, he yearned for a new paradigm. Enter the weekly “Talking Feds” podcast, which he launched in 2019 and quickly vaulted to prominence.
“I wanted more authentic, dynamic discussions that better captured the complexity of actual decision-making in a prosecutor’s office,” he says. “But little by little, it broadened into a law and politics survey with the caliber of guests you might see on a Sunday national talk show.”
Senators. Members of Congress. Leading news anchors. Top journalists. Nobel Prize–winning academics. Usually focusing on the week’s events, “Talking Feds” also produces topical episodes, for example on big agriculture (with New Jersey Senator Cory Booker) and economic policy (with Paul Krugman and Larry Summers).
In addition, midway through each episode a celebrity guest explains a basic legal concept. “Sidebar” A-listers have included Robert DeNiro, Frances McDormand, Judd Apatow, and Martina Navratilova, among other big stars.
By independently producing and distributing “Talking Feds,” Litman maintains editorial control. In March 2020, Marie Claire named it America’s second-best political podcast to prepare listeners for that year’s presidential election.
“I’m a little perplexed by how the stars have aligned so well,” Litman says. “I feel ridiculously fortunate, especially because this whole thing was completely new to me when I created the podcast.”
He recently added “Talking Books,” a new franchise where Litman interviews authors of prominent current books such as Adam Schiff, Maggie Haberman, George Will, and Elie Mystal.
A former California Law Review editor-in-chief who clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Thurgood Marshall and Anthony Kennedy, Litman quickly rose as a prosecutor and then as a whistleblower attorney.
“A law school professor I greatly admired, Jan Vetter, told me that the secret to being happy in law practice was to want what your client wants,” he recalls. “When your client is a whistleblower with evidence of widespread fraud that knowingly cheats taxpayers, it’s easy to want what your client wants.”
Litman has worked with prominent whistleblower firms while still maintaining his own practice, writing as a legal analyst for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other top publications, and teaching at several law schools. Now the Los Angeles Times’ legal affairs columnist, he’s listed in Best Lawyers in America for commercial litigation, white collar criminal defense, and qui tam law.
“They didn’t tend to diagnose it when I was a kid, but I think I have ADHD,” Litman says. “It just seems to suit me to be continually moving from one thing to another.”
A Catalyst for Equal Treatment in Taiwan
For Yun-Hsien Diana Lin, the divisive issue comes down to a fundamental premise: Everyone deserves equal treatment under the law.
The main architect of a 2019 bill that made Taiwan Asia’s first nation to legalize same-sex marriage, Lin returned to Berkeley in December to receive the university’s prestigious Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award, which honors a UC Berkeley alum from another country with a distinguished record of service to that nation.
“I’m deeply honored to receive this award and also humbled, especially after viewing the profiles of past recipients,” says Lin, a law professor at National Tsing Hua University since 2005. “To me, it’s a major recognition that what I’ve been doing exemplifies the values of UC Berkeley.”
Lin, who wrote her LL.M. thesis on legalizing same-sex marriage, published leading articles about legal issues faced by lesbian couples in Taiwan who wished to become parents. Consulted by Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice about legal amendments in family law, she was commissioned to study and draft the country’s landmark Same-Sex Partnership Act during 2016-17.
After studying other nations’ laws, interviewing family law professors, holding focus groups with experts, and arranging consensus conferences across Taiwan, Lin drafted a report of more than 500 pages detailing the formation, dissolution, rights, and responsibilities of same-sex partnership. She also answered questions about it before Taiwan’s Congress and Legal Affairs Bureau.
“It was absolutely the most difficult research project I’ve ever accomplished, but very rewarding,” Lin says.
She dedicated the honor of being the bill’s main drafter to the late Herma Hill Kay, Berkeley Law’s first woman dean. Kay taught at the school for 57 years, served as Lin’s faculty advisor, and supervised her LL.M. and J.S.D. theses.
“She was the one who encouraged me to become a professor in pursuit of gender equality,” Lin says. “I would email her my latest draft of an article and she’d send me her comments within a few days.”
An expert in family law, reproductive justice, and gender equality, Lin occupies leading roles in Taiwan to combat human trafficking, racial discrimination, and involuntary sterilization of the mentally disabled. In addition, she advises the Ministries of Justice, Interior, and Health and Welfare, and teaches courses for the Taiwan Judges Academy, Taipei Bar Association, and various government departments.
Lin also takes great joy in seeing steadily growing acceptance of same-sex couples.
“To most Taiwanese people, legalizing same-sex marriage is the right thing to do, even to be proud of,” she says. “When more and more same-sex couples participate in their children’s school activities and voluntary work, other parents and society as a whole will gradually realize that they are just as ‘normal’ as any other parents in their school district.”
New Deal: Adaptability Fuels Tech Triumphs
These days, Mehdi Ansari is a master of the intellectual property-based transaction. A partner in Sullivan & Cromwell’s New York City flagship office and co-head of its IP and technology group, he’s closed deals with clients ranging from Merck to Kodak to the online gaming giant DraftKings.
But when Ansari left Iran to attend UC Berkeley, he had a very different plan: Major in electrical engineering and computer science, get a Ph.D., and become an engineer.
Ansari was also a kid who liked to talk, and a decent writer. One day, a professor suggested law school, introduced him to a friend at Berkeley Law, and encouraged him to sit in on a class or two.
“Very quickly, I realized given both my interests and my background, the intellectual property field made the most sense,” Ansari says. “So when I started applying to law schools, obviously Berkeley topped the list.”
At the time, most offered just one or two IP courses, Ansari recalls. Berkeley had a smorgasbord, and he took many of them. But his 1L Contracts course, taught by Professor Robert Berring ’74, made an outsized impression.
Super smart but also kind, Berring was very clear about the elements of a well-done contract — including clear drafting — which still resonates with Ansari.
“It changed my career,” he says.
IP litigation was hot during his time at Berkeley Law, and many firms wanted to push him in that direction. A summer associate stint after Ansari’s 1L year convinced him that wasn’t the right fit, but a partner doing IP transactions piqued his interest. That partner has been his closest mentor ever since.
Ansari has never looked back: as a young lawyer he moved to Sullivan & Cromwell, which encourages its lawyers to be generalists within their field, an approach he believes makes him a better practitioner.
“It keeps my life interesting — I don’t always do the same thing, I don’t always think about the same issues,” Ansari says. “You can also learn a lot of things from one sector that can be applied to other sectors. You’re not always solving the same problem.”
It’s clearly worked for him: Ansari has been named an “IP Trailblazer” by the National Law Journal and one of the world’s leading patent professionals by IAM Patent 1000. But it’s also a way to avoid burnout.
“The broader you are, the more you’ll learn and the more fun your practice will be,” he says. “This job has a lot of challenges, the hours can be tough, and there are going to be difficult days. What you should do at a minimum is find something you like within the law — it’ll make it a lot easier when you’re dealing with hard people or hard days.”
Mourning Three Major Losses
Babette Barton ’54,
Lauren Edelman ’86,
David Lieberman
In Memoriam
Eleanor Jackson Piel ’43
Babette B. Barton ’54
Coleman A. Blease ’55
Robert J. De Fea ’56
Noel B. Gassett ’56
Harriet W. Lee ’57
Francis A. McEnaney ’57
Spencer W. Strellis ’58
Gordon S. Baca ’59
Charles L. Corman ’60
Miles Snyder ’60
Howard Wiggins ’60
Joseph W. Hagler ’61
Sheldon H. Wolfe ’61
James S. Milch ’62
Laurence D. Kay ’63
Gerald S. Mulder ’63
Gary R. Rinehart ’63
Charles W. Runnette III ’63
James M. Woodside ’63
Verlyn N. Jensen ’64
Frank S. Bayley III ’65
Ross E. Stromberg ’65
Ross A. Phelps ’66
David L. Wilkinson ’66
Robert L. Nolan ’67
William S. Bethard ’68
Stephen C. Johnson ’68
Michael E. Stone ’69
Howard D. Coleman ’70
Gregory L. Gonot ’72
Bruce N. Gray ’72
Howard L. Wu ’73
Susan B. Schapiro ’78
Darolyn Lendio ’83
Barbara M. Cohen ’84
Anthony J. Dragun ’84
David C. Gurnick ’84
Lauren B. Edelman ’86
Elizabeth E. Hunter ’05
———
Sandra B. Allen
Susan Bisgeier
Maria Boone Cranor
Jane Simmons Edginton
Diane Ehrman
Anne W. Gathegi
Gerold M. Grodsky
Richard P. Hafner
Marny Harris
Jennifer C. Hartle
Mildred M. Kennedy
David P. Keyes
Rosanne Levitt
David Lieberman
Alexandra P. Londahl
Lucy N. O’Connor
Jack B. Owens
Ronald C. Peterson
Michael C. Phillips
Sheldon A. Schaffer
George F. Sensabaugh Jr.
Barbara J. Shapiro
Mary K. Sparks
Marjorie Hauck Sproul
Katherine W. Thompson
Herman A. Trutner
Joan N. Williams
Eleanor Jackson Piel ’43
Babette B. Barton ’54
Coleman A. Blease ’55
Robert J. De Fea ’56
Noel B. Gassett ’56
Harriet W. Lee ’57
Francis A. McEnaney ’57
Spencer W. Strellis ’58
Gordon S. Baca ’59
Charles L. Corman ’60
Miles Snyder ’60
Howard Wiggins ’60
Joseph W. Hagler ’61
Sheldon H. Wolfe ’61
James S. Milch ’62
Laurence D. Kay ’63
Gerald S. Mulder ’63
Gary R. Rinehart ’63
Charles W. Runnette III ’63
James M. Woodside ’63
Verlyn N. Jensen ’64
Frank S. Bayley III ’65
Ross E. Stromberg ’65
Ross A. Phelps ’66
David L. Wilkinson ’66
Robert L. Nolan ’67
William S. Bethard ’68
Stephen C. Johnson ’68
Michael E. Stone ’69
Howard D. Coleman ’70
Gregory L. Gonot ’72
Bruce N. Gray ’72
Howard L. Wu ’73
Susan B. Schapiro ’78
Darolyn Lendio ’83
Barbara M. Cohen ’84
Anthony J. Dragun ’84
David C. Gurnick ’84
Lauren B. Edelman ’86
Elizabeth E. Hunter ’05
———
Sandra B. Allen
Susan Bisgeier
Maria Boone Cranor
Jane Simmons Edginton
Diane Ehrman
Anne W. Gathegi
Gerold M. Grodsky
Richard P. Hafner
Marny Harris
Jennifer C. Hartle
Mildred M. Kennedy
David P. Keyes
Rosanne Levitt
David Lieberman
Alexandra P. Londahl
Lucy N. O’Connor
Jack B. Owens
Ronald C. Peterson
Michael C. Phillips
Sheldon A. Schaffer
George F. Sensabaugh Jr.
Barbara J. Shapiro
Mary K. Sparks
Marjorie Hauck Sproul
Katherine W. Thompson
Herman A. Trutner
Joan N. Williams
Correction:
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