Santa Clara Law Magazine Spring, 2014 issue

T h e M a g a z i n e o f S a n ta C l a r a U n i v e r s i t y S c h o o l o f L aw | s p r i n g 2 0 1 4 | v o l 2 0 n o 2

magazine

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM Through a host of programs, including externships, clinics, simulations, and moot court, Santa Clara Law enables students to develop practical legal skills.

8 Developing Our Students: A Competency Model Approach 12 Moot Court at Santa Clara Law 16 Going Solo 20 The GC Every CEO Dreams Of

F RO M T H E D E A N Dear Friends, magazine

JULIA YAFFEE M.A. ’88, M.A. ’97 Senior Assistant Dean for External Affairs Elizabeth Kelley Gillogly b.a. ’93 Editor LARRY SOKOLOFF J.D. ’92 Assistant Editor Michelle Waters Web Marketing Manager JOHN DEEVER Copy Editor Amy Kremer Gomersall b.a. ’88 Art in Motion Art Director, Designer Charles Barry Santa Clara University Photographer Law Alumni Relations & Development Assistant Dean Trevin Hartwell Karen Bernosky B.S. ’81 Ellen Lynch Susan Moore B.S. ’86 Stephanie (Alonzo) Rosas B.S.C. ’96 Marjorie Short Santa Clara Law, founded in 1911 on the site of Santa Clara University, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution, is dedicated to educating lawyers who lead, with a commitment to excellence, ethics, and social justice. One of the nation’s most diverse law schools, Santa Clara Law offers its 875 students an academically rigorous program, including graduate degrees in international law and intellectual property law; a combined J.D./MBA degree; a combined J.D./MSIS degree; and certificates in high tech law, international law, and public interest and social justice law. Santa Clara Law is located in the world-class business center of Silicon Valley, and is distinguished nationally for its top-ranked program in intellectual property. For more information, see law.scu.edu.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact the Law Alumni Office by phone at 408-551-1748; fax 408-554-5201; email lawalumni@scu.edu or visit law. scu.edu/alumni. Or write Law Alumni Office, Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053.

The diverse opinions expressed in Santa Clara Law magazine do not necessarily represent the views of the editor or the official policy of Santa Clara University.

Copyright 2014 by Santa Clara University. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

A

s my first academic year at Santa Clara Law rapidly comes to a close, I have been reflecting on the many wonderful qualities of our school. We have incredible assets and opportunities, building on our Jesuit tradition and our location in the heart of Silicon Valley. Our intellectual property and high tech law program is ranked fourth in the nation, and our new Entrepreneurs’ Law Clinic is working with the School of Business and the Global Social Benefit Institute to help start-ups in the Valley that will impact the world. Our prominent social justice and global law programs also align with the University’s mission. The Northern California Innocence Project has educated more than 700 students since 2001, attaining exoneration for 17 innocent people who had collectively served over 215 years in prison. Through our clinics and social justice summer grants, our students donated more than 20,000 hours to low-income individuals and communities last year alone. At even a modest legal rate of $150 per hour, that amounts to more than $3 million in free legal services, much of it assisting the University’s most vulnerable neighbors. The Law School is among the most diverse law schools in the country, and our alumni are highly placed in the Valley and around the globe. We want to build on these significant strengths as we define a distinctive future for Santa Clara Law. We also share the challenges facing legal education: The national pool of applicants has declined by more than 50 percent in the last five years.

At Santa Clara, we’ve assessed this national landscape and made some significant decisions aimed at maintaining our strong reputation. We are already streamlining the School, becoming smaller, more selective and more connected to the Valley. By next fall, our community will be about 30 percent smaller than our peak size. With a smaller student body, we will: • Ensure that Santa Clara graduates can compete more effectively in a changing job market; • Strengthen experiential learning to provide students more opportunities to prepare for practice and hone lawyering skills; and • Foster stronger mentoring between students and faculty, and between students and our alumni and friends in the Valley.

I am pleased to report that the University is supporting this vision wholeheartedly. Indeed, a new Law School building is one of the top priorities in the University’s strategic plan as it seeks to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in service of humanity.

The articles in this issue highlight some of the other substantive ways we are responding to the changes taking place in legal education and in our profession. We are moving to a competency-based curriculum, providing more opportunities for experiential learning and developing practical lawyering skills. Santa Clara Law graduates will continue to enter the profession prepared to be lawyers of competence, conscience, and compassion—and be ready to make a difference in the world!

This is an exciting time to be a part of Santa Clara Law. Thank you for all your support.

God bless,

Cert no. XXX-XXX-000

AIM 04/14 11,275

Santa Clara Law is printed on paper and at a printing facility certified by Scientific Certification Systems to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards. From forest management to paper production to printing, FSC certification represents the highest social and environmental standards. The paper contains 10 percent postconsumer recovered fiber.

A Lisa Kloppenberg Dean & Professor of Law Santa Clara Law

S PRING 2014 | vo l 20 n o 2

CONTENTS

F J GAY LO R

FEATURES

8

Developing Our Students: A Competency Model Approach

20

By Timothy Harper

In her role as general counsel for Charles Schwab, Carrie Dwyer B.A. ’73, J.D. ’76 manages a team of nearly 500 and is in charge of all the firm’s legal functions, including the far-ranging compliance and regulatory oversight required of the firm.

By Sandee Magliozzi

Santa Clara Law is among a small group of law schools at the forefront of creating and shaping law school curriculum around the necessary skills and abilities law students need to succeed as lawyers.

12

Santa Clara Moot Court

By Karin Carter

16

The First Filter

28

Serving in State

By Beth Van Schaack

Santa Clara Law’s External Moot Court program enables our students to develop and practice legal skills and provides experience that they will need when they graduate.

Reflections from Van Schaack’s service as deputy to Stephen J. Rapp, the Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues in the United States State Department’s Office of Global Criminal Justice.

Going Solo

DEPARTMENTS

By Andrea Shaheen B.S. ’98, J.D. ’01

2 Law Briefs

Meet panelists from Santa Clara Law’s annual Solo Practice Seminar, which presents information to help attorneys navigate the challenges of solo practice.

6 faculty news 22 class action

read THIS MAGAZINE ON THE WEB Santa Clara Law students Nellie Amjadi and Steve Chao practice their legal skills in the Panelli Moot Court Room. Last November, this moot court team advanced to the National IP LawMeet final rounds. See Page 12.

Visit us online for links to additional content, including the very latest news about our faculty, students, and alumni. Our magazine website also makes it easy to share articles from this issue (or previous issues) with friends and colleagues.

law.scu.edu/sclaw Cover photo by Charles Barry.

L AW B RIE FS

NA NCY MA RT IN

Dean Lisa Kloppenberg, Michelle Banks, Karla De La Torre, Rebecca Slutzky, Luis Rodriguez, and Mark Zemelman celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Diversity Gala at Santa Clara Law.

The Tenth Annual Diversity Gala The Tenth Annual Diversity Gala of the Santa Clara Law School was held at Santa Clara University on February 27. For the first time, the event hosted a diversity and inclusion summit that had several speakers, including The Honorable Risë Pichon J.D. ’76, a judge on the Superior Court of Santa Clara County; Cristina Rubke J.D. ’74, counsel at Shartsis Friese; Tony Estremera B.A. ’72, directing attorney of the Legal Aid Society of Santa Clara County; and Karen Robinson, director of litigation at Adobe Systems.

Honorees at this year’s event were Michelle Banks, executive vice president and general counsel at the Gap, and Luis Rodriguez B.S. ’89, J.D. ’92, president of the State Bar of California and a division chief at the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office. The Diversity Gala Organization of the Year Award was presented to the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan.

For more information, see: law.scu.edu/careers/diversity-gala.

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“It’s been amazing to see the impact of the Diversity Gala over the past 10 years on minority law students and see many of these students rise to powerful positions in law.”

—David Tsai J.D. ’06, who founded the Diversity Gala as a law student

Santa Clara Law Alumnus Named to Top Department of Justice Post Law School alumnus John Cruden J.D. ’74 has been nominated to be one of the nation’s top enforcers of environmental law. In December 2013, President Obama nominated Cruden as assistant attorney general of the Environment and Natural Resources Division in the U.S. Department of Justice. A U.S. Senate hearing to confirm his nomination was held on February 25.

Cruden has served as president of the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) in Washington, D.C. since 2011.

He previously worked on environmental issues at the John Cruden Department of Justice from 1991 to 2011, as chief of the Environmental Enforcement Section from 1991 to 1995, and as deputy assistant attorney general from 1995 to 2011. Cruden received an Alumni Achievement Award from Santa Clara Law in 2006.

ELI Board Chair Edward L. Strohbehn, Jr. had high praise for Cruden. “John Cruden’s lifetime commitment to public service, his decades devoted to environmental law, and his outstanding record at the Justice Department make him an unparalleled choice to lead the Environment and Natural Resources Division. We at ELI can attest to the great qualities he will bring to the work—his knowledge and judgment to make good decisions and his spirit and energy to bring others together and get the job done.”

Cruden says he is grateful for his education at Santa Clara Law. “I strongly believe that the legal education that I received at Santa Clara Law School has helped prepare me for each of the legal positions that I have had in my career. And, I continue to believe that Santa Clara Law is a superb school in all respects. The legal areas of environment, energy, and natural resources law continue to be dynamic, challenging, and rewarding with enormous job potential in the future.”

Northern California Innocence Project Helps San Francisco Man Get Conviction Overturned The Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP) at Santa Clara Law helped reverse the conviction of a San Francisco man, Jamal Trulove. A single eyewitness had implicated him, and prosecutors had claimed that the eyewitness had risked her life to testify.

On appeal, the court disagreed that her life was endangered and said the information about the witness could have prejudiced or influenced the jury.

A team of students and attorney mentors at the NCIP acted as amicus in the case, assisting attorney Marc Zilversmit in reversing the conviction before the California Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District. The matter may still be appealed to the California Supreme Court by the California Attorney General’s office. For more information, see: law.scu.edu/ncip.

Center for Social Justice Receives $25,000 Grant to Fund Law Student Summer Work The Santa Clara Jesuit Community has provided a $25,000 matching grant to the Center for Social Justice to fund law student summer work. The grant honors Fr. Paul Goda and the memory of Associate Dean Mary Emery, offering law students the opportunity to serve community needs for social justice while studying law. During summer 2013 the Center funded 22 grant recipients who provided over 8,800 hours of free legal service for low-income communities and families. With this significant Jesuit Community gift, the Center will be able to maintain or hopefully to increase this service to the community.

The grants offer a life-changing experience to the student recipients as well. As Diego Aviles ’15, who worked at Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, said: “Being able to work with individuals from my community while learning practical experience in my desired field was fantastic. I was able to assist low-income individuals with their immigration needs and make connections with experienced attorneys dedicated to their clients.”

The late Mary Emery with Fr. Paul Goda

spring 2014 | santa clara law 3

Santa Clara Law By the Numbers

44

Santa Clara Law’s rank in the National Law Journal’s list of the top 50 law schools by the percentage of 2013 law school graduates who took jobs at NLJ 250 firms.

4th

Ranking in the U.S. of our Intellectual Property Law Program by U.S. News in 2013.

700

Number of law students who have been educated through working with the Northern California Innocence Project at Santa Clara Law since its founding in 2001. In this clinic, students working with attorney mentors have helped exonerate 17 innocent people who had collectively served over 215 years in prison.

20,000

Number of student volunteer hours donated to low-income individuals and communities through Santa Clara Law’s Katharine and George Alexander Community Law Center and social justice summer grants in 2012-13.

At even a modest legal rate of $150 per hour that amounts to more than $3 million in free legal services, much of which assists SCU’s poorest neighborhoods.

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$500,000+

Amount clients of the Katharine and George Alexander Community Law Center Consumer Clinic saved last year because of consultations with students and attorney mentors.

Workers’ Rights clients recovered $144,385 in unpaid wages and received a total compensation of $327,000.

138

Number of clients who received legal services and advice from the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic in the 2013 calendar year.

40

Number of cases and projects undertaken by the Santa Clara International Human Rights Clinic since its founding in fall 2012.

This clinic provides students with the opportunity to learn substantive human rights law and practical legal skills while working with victims of human rights violations. More than 40 students have logged more than 7,500 hours of legal work on behalf of vulnerable communities at home and abroad.

272

Number of students who serve as leaders in the 45 active student organizations at Santa Clara Law (law.scu.edu/ life/student-organizations). Student organizations host events including alumni panels, prominent speakers, career development assistance, employer panels, and discussions by professors.

80

Number of international internship student placements in summer 2013 by the Center for Global Law. Students worked in 17 different locations, including Paris, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Tokyo, Shanghai, Cambodia, Singapore, Munich, Seoul, Ghana, Budapest, Ireland, Sydney, Melbourne, Kuwait, and Dubai. Students worked at large multinational law firms, large regional law firms, medium and small law firms dealing with international business transactions, in-house with large corporations, United Nations (UN) organizations, human rights non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and local and international courts.

7,000

Members of Santa Clara Law’s Alumni Network who reside in the Greater Bay Area. This robust alumni network enhances our students’ education through volunteer mentoring and networking.

300+

Number of alumni who volunteer yearly with the Law Career Services office to assist students in developing their careers.

Four Honored at Alumni Gala At its Celebration of Achievement in April, the Santa Clara Law community gathered at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose to celebrate the 2014 Honorees.

N A N C Y M ART I N

From left, Dean Lisa Kloppenberg, The Honorable James C. Emerson, Howard Charney, Karin Cogbill, Joseph Cotchett, and SCU President Michael Engh, S.J.

The Alumni Special Achievement Award Howard Charney J.D. ’77, MBA ’73, is a senior vice president at Cisco. He joined Cisco after it acquired Grand Junction Networks, which he founded in 1992. In 1980, Charney co-founded 3Com, the progenitor of Ethernet and local area networking. He is a licensed patent attorney, and sits on the boards of several technology companies.

The Santa Clara Amicus Award Joseph Cotchett is considered one of the foremost trial lawyers in the country. His firm, Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, is based in Burlingame. In recent years, he has been involved in litigation resulting from every major corporate scandal, including Enron, Global Crossing, and Worldcom, on behalf of private investors and public pensions.

The Edwin J. Owens Lawyer of the Year Award The Honorable James C. Emerson J.D. ’73 served for 20 years on the Santa Clara County Superior Courts and was supervising criminal judge from 2005-06. He was recognized as Judge of the Year by the Trial Lawyers in 2010. He has been a fulltime neutral since 2010, conducting mediations and arbitrations on a wide range of subjects, ranging from foreclosure to personal injury law.

Young Alumni Rising Star Award Karin Frenza Cogbill J.D. ’06 is a shareholder at the San Jose office of Littler. She represents employers against claims of harassment, employment discrimination, retaliation, and on wage issues. She is a member of the Santa Clara Law Alumni Board of Directors. She has served as vice president and on the board of directors for Christmas in the Park in downtown San Jose.

For more information on the history of each award, and photos from the event, see: law.scu.edu/alumni.

spring 2014 | santa clara law 5

LAWB RIE FS

Faculty News Following are some highlights of faculty news and activities. For links to articles and monthly updates, see law.scu.edu/faculty/faculty-news.

Ellen Kreitzberg was interviewed on the live public affairs program “Forum,” produced by NPR affiliate

Ellen Kreitzberg

KQED and broadcast in the San Francisco Bay Area and throughout Northern California, about a proposed ballot initiative to streamline the death penalty process in California.

Sandee Magliozzi (with co-author Terri Mottershead) presented a paper— “Can Competencies Drive Change in the Legal Profession?”—at the University of St. Thomas Law Journal Fall Symposium, entitled “What Legal Employers and Clients Want—The Competency-Model Approach to Legal Success.” Her article will be published in the Law Journal’s upcoming symposium volume. Magliozzi also was a panelist in December at the 2013 Professional Development Institute in

6 santa clara law | spring 2014

Washington, D.C., on “How Legal Educators Are Shaping the Future of the Profession: Challenges, Triumphs, and Reflections from Around the World.” See her article on Santa Clara Law’s competency model on page 8.

Bob Peterson spoke to the National Conference of Insurance Legislators on subrogation. He took part in two panel discussions at a Casualty Actuarial Society meeting on insurance issues related to self-driving cars.

John Schunk

David Sloss

John Schunk, associate clinical professor, authored an article, “Simultaneous Catches and Infield Flies: Legal Writing Techniques in Sportswriting,” in Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research and Writing 42 (2013).

“The Constitutionalization of American Public Law,” at faculty workshops at law schools at Washington & Lee University and American University. He presented a different version of the same paper at a meeting at Yale.

Stephen Smith, associate clinical professor, authored an article, “Defendant Silence and Rhetorical Stasis,” in the Connecticut Law Review (vol.

46, Nov., 2013).

Beth Van Schaack stepped down from her position as Deputy in the Office of Global Criminal Justice at the U.S. State Department in 2013 (see her essay about her experience on page 28).

She is a Visiting Scholar at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University and will return to teaching at Santa Clara in fall 2015. She is executive editor of the new blog Just Security on law, rights, and national security.

David Sloss participated in the first meeting of the American Law Institute’s Members Consultative Group, which is working on a new Restatement of U.S. Foreign Relations Law. He also presented a draft article, Bob Peterson

Margaret Russell was on a panel on the declining presence of African American judges at an event sponsored by the San Francisco Bar Association. A fellow panelist was Honorary Phyllis Hamilton ’76, a U.S. district court judge. Russell is spending the spring 2014 semester as a Fulbright scholar in Tanzania.

“My project draws upon my knowledge of the U.S. federal judiciary, civil procedure, and constitutional law, but I am thrilled to delve into fields entirely new and fresh to me: international human rights and the rule of law…

It is my goal to assist the women judges’ associations in producing a volume of edited cases and papers about international gender rights jurisprudence, as well as to publish papers on the broader topic of the impact of international human rights law on the development of domestic gender rights jurisprudence.”

—Professor Margaret Russell, who is spending the spring 2014 semester as a Fulbright scholar in Tanzania.

Red Cross Honors Jiri Toman for 45 Years of Service

Tseming Yang

For more faculty news, visit law.scu.edu/faculty/ faculty-news.cfm.

charles barry

Tseming Yang was appointed to the board of Earthjustice, one of the largest public interest environmental law firms in the world. He also wrote an op-ed article about the tactic of “sue and settle” in environmental regulation, which appeared in more than 85 newspapers worldwide, including The Denver Post and the Orange County Register.

In May, the Red Cross named its International Humanitarian Service Award the Jiri Toman Award in recognition of Professor Toman’s 45 years of dedicated service to the International Humanitarian Law program (IHL). IHL’s goal is to raise awareness about the rights guaranteed to all peoples of the world during armed conflict. Professor Toman was one of the chief architects of the IHL program during his 29-year career with the International Committee of the Red Cross at the Henri Dunant Institute in Geneva.

In October, Karl von Habsburg, head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, came to Santa Clara in his role as president of the Association of National Societies for the Protection of Cultural Property to present Professor Toman with the highest award of the International Committee of the Blue Shield (ICBC) (pictured, at left). The ICBC has been described as the “Cultural Red Cross” with its mission to protect the world’s cultural heritage threatened by wars and natural disasters.

Last fall, Santa Clara Law Professor Philip Jimenez and Mitsuo Matsushita—professor emeritus of Tokyo University—traveled to Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia, to present a two-day seminar called “Negotiating Free Trade Agreements Between Transitional Economies and Fully Developed Economies.” Other presenters included professors Yasuhei Taniguchi and Seung Hoon Lee. Both Matsushita and Taniguchi have served on the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization. Seung Hoon Lee, professor emeritus at Seoul National University and an economist, has played a major role in the Korean “economic miracle.” The seminar was organized by Professor Jimenez; Dr. Idesh Ivshen, director of research at the National Legal Institute; Dr. Amarsanaa Batbold, associate director at the National Legal Institute; and Dr. Nomingerel Khuyag, director at the National Legal Institute. Professor Jimenez and his team

photo courtesy of Philip Jimenez

Law Professors Present Seminar in Mongolia

From left, Dr. Amarsanaa Batbold, Prof. Mitsuo Matsushita, Prof. Philip Jimenez, Dr. Nomingerel Khuyag, Prof. Yasuhei Taniguchi, and J. Philip Jimenez, consultant.

were able to meet and talk with many people in high-level positions, such as Dr. Oyungerel Tsedevdamba, member of the Parliament of Mongolia and Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Mongolia; the Dean of the Faculty of Law, National University of Mongolia; and the president of the local Mongolian Bar Association.

spring 2014 | santa clara law 7

Developing OUR STUDENTS A Competency Model Approach

8 santa clara law | spring 2014

By Sandee Magliozzi, Associate Clinical Professor and Director of Professional Development and Externships

I

n a climate of industry changes and client demands to deliver value faster, better, and cheaper, a competency model approach has emerged as a valuable tool for developing legal talent. Although competency development is not new, a competency model approach to law practice and particularly legal education has only recently gained traction. Santa Clara Law is among a small group of law schools leading the way by articulating competencies and adopting a model to guide students in preparing for practice.

“Today’s lawyers need to be problem solvers, team builders, and strong communicators,” says Julia Yaffee, Senior Assistant Dean for External Affairs and member of the Santa Clara Law Curriculum Committee that has created the Law School’s competency model. “We are focusing on enabling our students to develop these key skills while in law school through a variety of means, including classroom instruction, experiential learning—such as moot court and externships—and community service— such as our legal clinics.”

Simply, competencies are observable knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors critical to successful performance. A competency model is a collection of competencies that together define the elements of that performance. It is an effective approach because it articulates and makes transparent how students need to prepare for rapidly changing practice settings as employers seek graduates who are efficient, productive, cost effective, and capable. By providing an overarching frame for success, a competency model creates links between the components of the curriculum and law practice, and perhaps most importantly, creates a foundation and a road map for students.

Santa Clara Law’s Competency Model Santa Clara Law’s Curriculum Committee undertook a process to create a competency model that includes competencies covered in doctrinal class and additional competencies identified as those necessary to be a good lawyer by the California State Bar and alumni practitioners. A well designed competency model will: assist Santa Clara Law in articulating learning outcomes for students; provide a way to systematically review curricula; support and guide students in tracking their skills development; identify clearly for each student the importance of individual professional development; and • provide a basis for ongoing conversations and communication with prospective employers regarding their expectations of graduates.

K EIT H S UTT E R

• • • •

spring 2014 | santa clara law 9

Santa Clara Law Competencies • • • • • • • • •

Research Writing Legal Knowledge Legal Analysis Professional Responsibility Creative Problem Solving Interpersonal Skills Initiative Conscience and Compassion

Santa Clara Law Curriculum Committee Pat Cain, Chair Evangeline Abriel Angelo Ancheta Susan Erwin Eric Goldman Anna Han Brad Joondeph Sandee Magliozzi David Sloss Stephanie Wildman Julia Yaffee David Yosifon

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The Santa Clara Law competency model emphasizes foundational competencies that are important to everyone in the field and yet also align with the Santa Clara Law School’s mission and highlight what we believe distinguishes Santa Clara Law students.

“The Law School’s competency model is a critical step in ensuring, systematically, that our curriculum meets the needs of today’s students and the evolving practice environment,” says Brad Joondeph, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Inez Mabie Distinguished Professor of Law. “The creation of the model drew on the faculty’s wide-ranging expertise and creativity, across different subject matters and different ways of teaching, from traditional doctrinal professors to clinicians,” says Joondeph. “Our model, while reflecting the changing employment settings for our students, is also distinctive to Santa Clara and our mission. At bottom, its goal is to support the education of the whole person—a competent, moral being who uses her professional skills ultimately to serve humanity.”

The model also allows us to more easily create and incorporate the student learning outcomes that the proposed revisions to the ABA Standards for Approval of Law Schools will require. Many use competencies and student learning outcomes interchangeably, but they are different. Competencies function at a higher level. Learning outcomes are about acquiring skills and knowledge. Competency requires students to process learning in a way that enables them to apply that skill and knowledge in a variety of situations and to a variety of tasks.

Alumni Involvement Dean Lisa Kloppenberg says that alumni are a key component of Santa Clara Law’s focus on these competencies. “The Law School is working to connect our students with our alumni to learn how SCU alumni use these competencies in their work as lawyers,” she says.

Alumni connected with students at the Santa Clara Law Student Leadership Workshop held in November 2013. At the event, recent alumni shared with current student leaders how they used one or more of the “SCU competencies” in their experience as a student leader and explained how they also connected that skill to their work today.

Caitlin Robinett Jachimowicz ’10 (who held many leadership roles in law school including the Student Bar Association (SBA) president, SBA print editor, editor-in-chief of the The Advocate, and co-president of the Environmental Law Society), shared some reflections on initiative. “Every single person who is involved with a law student organization has initiative because of the way the organizations are set up at Santa Clara,” she told the student gathering. “The administration does not tell you how to run your organization.

They do not tell you…whether to do events, and they don’t tell you how much money you should ask for.”

The “Competencies Movement” The “competencies movement” has been well established in other professions. Competency development in higher education was spearheaded by medicine and accounting. The legal profession did not get onboard until the new millennium. Even then, firms that developed competencies for their attorneys were at the forefront of the movement. Legal education in the United States has been slower to respond to competency development when compared with Australia, Canada, England, and Wales, but the U.S. is now beginning to understand how using a competency model approach to develop professionals can also help frame the curriculum and assist in the articulation of learning outcomes. Providing such a framework helps law schools develop each student and allows students to understand and demonstrate the mastery of the knowledge, skills, and behaviors that legal employers expect as they enter practice, which adds to their recruitability and future competence as practitioners.

A Competency Model Approach Competency modeling began as a corporate initiative designed to align the skills, knowledge, and abilities of employees with the company’s strategic goals and objectives. A competency model framework is a structure that sets out core competencies and defines each individual competency (such as legal writing or problem-solving) required for entrylevel professional practice in terms of performance factors and observable behavioral elements. Performance factors are the specific skills and behaviors that together describe the full dimensions of a core competency. Behavioral elements are simply descriptions of the observable behaviors that would be exhibited by new lawyers who have mastered a performance factor.

Competency

Initiative: Takes responsibility and proactively manages work

Performance Factors

Leadership

Ownership and Accountability

Professional Development

Behavioral Elements

Works with drive and determination

Takes personal responsibility for getting things done

Is innovative and entrepreneurial

Knows how and when to delegate and engage others

Demonstrates intellectual curiosity and commitment to life-long learning

Establishes credibility and integrity Builds relationships Thinks strategically

Takes pride in his or her work Manages time efficiently and meets deadlines

Fully developed competency models also include proficiency levels that describe mastery of each performance factor for the specific level of development from novice to expert. They also include practice-specific benchmark experiences that developing lawyers should be accumulating as they progress. For a litigator, that might be filing your first complaint, arguing your first motion, taking your first deposition, and conducting your first trial. These elements—core competencies, performance factors, behavioral elements, levels, and benchmarks—of a competency model provide a framework to map the curriculum and other learning opportunities with individual development goals of students, allowing them to focus both on current and future development.

Moving Forward Working with the faculty, the Curriculum Committee will use this model in evaluating potential curricular changes with the goal of developing a curriculum designed to ensure that there are sufficient courses that address these competencies and that all students have the opportunity to develop each competency at appropriate levels. The competency model can be used in Santa Clara Law’s traditional course-based curriculum, and it can also be used as a tool to help us revise and streamline the curriculum in new and innovative ways. The primary vision for the model is the graduation of law students who are more fully prepared for the many challenges and opportunities they face as they enter the profession.

Honor Roll for Practical Training In 2014, Santa Clara was recognized by the National Jurist as one of 60 schools named to its honor roll of schools that deliver practical training.

The magazine based the ranking on four factors—three objective and one subjective. The three objective factors included the number of clinic positions per enrollment, the number of field placements or externships per enrollment, and the number of simulation courses per enrollment.

The magazine pulled data from each school’s required ABA information.

Professional Development by the Numbers Santa Clara Law is a leader in its number of professional development offerings for students. In the 2012-13 academic year at Santa Clara Law, there were: 474 students enrolled in

simulation courses 267 students enrolled in field work 257 students enrolled in

clinical courses 122 students participated in

interscholastic moot court competitions

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By Karin Carter, Associate Clinical Professor, Santa Clara Legal Writing Faculty, and External Moot Court Advisor

Santa Clara Moot Court Putting Legal Skills into Practice

Simulated Law Practice In Santa Clara Law’s External Moot Court program, students are put in the role of lawyers, learning to effectively use skills needed in law practice. To succeed, Santa Clara Law’s moot court students have to use every academic skill they have learned in law school, in addition to a range of real practice skills. As in actual law practice, they work in teams and under pressure.

Santa Clara’s Honors Moot Court students work in teams, simulating practice groups in a law firm; they are held to professional standards of practice. This experience enables students to develop and use the professional skills needed in the real day-to-day practice of law: cooperative teamwork to achieve a common goal; learning to manage projects and schedules; using interpersonal communication and advocacy skills; and working effectively with colleagues and supervisors.

“The Honors Moot Court External ABA Negotiation Competition will definitely be one of the most rewarding experiences that I will have at Santa Clara University School of Law,” says law student Michael Manoukian.

“The practical aspect of the preparation and execution of the negotiation is a process that cannot be replicated in the classroom…I am forever grateful for being part of [External Moot Court] because the knowledge and growth that I experienced were, in my opinion, unattainable in a traditional classroom setting.”

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Representing Santa Clara Near and Far: Networking Opportunities Abound Moot court students have a rare opportunity to work closely with professors and practitioners who coach our teams in a way that is not as available in a classroom setting.

These experiences lay the groundwork for the students to build a professional network and expand their horizons.

Santa Clara Law students participate in a variety of competitions that also complement the practice areas represented by our Centers and Institutes. We send teams to competitions with a focus on one or more areas of intellectual property law, public and private aspects of international law, and a variety of social justice issues, such as environmental law, constitutional rights, asylum and immigration, and juvenile law, among others.

These opportunities for experiential learning are not limited to the typical appellate moot court competitions that have long been a staple for law schools. Santa Clara’s External Moot Court program offers a variety of experiences, including the traditional appellate moot court competitions, but we also compete in competitions that hone other skills such as negotiation, transactional drafting, interviewing and counseling, humanitarian law simulations, and arbitration.

“The Sports Law Negotiation Competition gave me invaluable lawyering skills that I will undoubtedly use in my

From left, Eric Goldman, professor of law and director, High Tech Law Institute; IP LawMeet team members Steven Chao and Nellie Amjadi; and Karin Carter, associate clinical professor and External Moot Court advisor.

M aria Q uinonez

“The Sports Law Negotiation Competition gave me invaluable lawyering skills that I will undoubtedly use in my career...not only did I learn how to work under high pressure situations, I also learned how to collaborate with my teammates to produce the highest quality work product. [External Moot Court] presents an opportunity to law students that I think they should capitalize upon.” —Kyle Cakebread, law student career,” says law student Kyle Cakebread. “Not only did I learn how to work under high pressure situations, I also learned how to collaborate with my teammates to produce the highest quality work product. [External Moot Court] presents an opportunity to law students that I think they should capitalize upon.”

Each year our students represent Santa Clara Law in the local, national, and international legal community. We have teams competing close by in Palo Alto, such as the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) patent law regional rounds at Morrison & Foerster, across the country at the Pace Law School National Environmental Law Competition in New York state, and even on another continent, such as our Pictet team who will travel overseas to attend the International Humanitarian Law competition at a world heritage site in Portugal.

Moot court is a way for Santa Clara students to encounter the outside world, and where the world can see them performing at their best: in the role of lawyers who lead.

Moot Court in Short: Skills and Networking Students can:

• become practice-ready using legal skills outside the classroom;

• take on the role of a lawyer in simulated practice settings;

• pit their legal research, writing, and oral advocacy skills against the best teams from other law schools;

• build a professional network with practitioners who have the opportunity to see them in action; and

• enhance their resumes with the distinction and experience that employers seek.

spring 2014 | santa clara law 13

“Being able to represent SCU at the IP Regional LawMeet has been the most exhilarating and engaging experience that I’ve had so far at Santa Clara Law....

I’ve learned so much about my communication style and how to use it effectively while negotiating, how to draft a joint development agreement, and at the same time receive feedback from practicing attorneys to refine my skills.”

From left, IP LawMeet team Christopher Placencia, Erika Ilanan, and coach Tom Jevens.

—ERIKA ILANAN, law student

Santa Clara’s Teams Shine This year’s competitions have already given Santa Clara students the opportunity to demonstrate their excellence in legal skills and substance. Here are some highlights from this year’s competitions.

Alumni Volunteer Opportunities Volunteering with moot court is a great way to share your skills and experience, give back to the Santa Clara Law community, and help develop the next generation of lawyers. To get involved as a competition judge, mooting judge, or team coach, contact Assistant Clinical Professor Michael Flynn, mwflynn@scu.edu. For more information on our moot court programs, visit law.scu.edu/mootcourt.

14 santa clara law | spring 2014

IP LawMeet Teams Take Top West Coast Honors Both Santa Clara teams came away with prestigious awards last November. Nellie Amjadi, 2L, and Steve Chao, 2L, advanced to the National IP LawMeet final rounds, held by teleconference. Erika Ilanan, 2L, and Christopher Placencia, 3L, received best drafting award. Tom Jevens, in-house counsel at Google, served as Santa Clara teams’ coach.

Michelle Ton, 3L, was the Honors Moot Court Board team manager.

Described as “moot court for transactional lawyers,” IP LawMeet is where students represent a party in an IP licensing deal, interview their virtual client, and draft a term sheet to reflect the client’s goals and interests. Next, teams exchange term sheets and markups, and at the competition, they sit face-to-face to negotiate the remaining terms of the deal. The students are evaluated by a panel of IP LawMeet transactional practitioners who give each competitor personal feedback.

“Being able to represent SCU at the IP Regional LawMeet has been the most exhilarating and engaging experience that I’ve had so far at Santa Clara Law,” says Ilanan. “I’ve learned so much about my communication style and how to use it effectively while negotiating, how to draft a joint development agreement, and at the same time receive feedback from practicing attorneys to refine my skills.”

Competing Across California And Around the World Moot Court Team Advances to NYC Final Rounds Also in November, Santa Clara sent two teams to argue at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco for the regional rounds of the prestigious National Moot Court Competition, sponsored by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. Team members Clay LaPoint and Sara Rose, 3Ls, both received a best oralist in a preliminary round. They went on to compete in the finals at the 64th Annual New York City Bar National Moot Court Competition in New York in February, along with their brief writer, 2L Curtis Wheaton. This year’s topics were Dormant Commerce Clause and First Amendment issues. The team’s coach is Associate Clinical Professor Yvonne Ekern, Santa Clara Law Legal Research and Writing faculty. Natalie Kirkish, 3L, was the Moot Court Board team manager for both teams. This is the first Santa Clara Law team in recent years to advance to the national rounds of this prestigious competition.

“Moot Court enhanced my legal education by allowing me to critically evaluate key legal issues and apply that analysis in a competitive and exciting format,” says Wheaton. “It served as a great practical addition to my substantive legal education.”

Our other team also performed with distinction.

Melissa Hoff and Joe Tursi, 3Ls, made a strong showing in the preliminary rounds—Melissa received a best oralist award in one round. Their brief writer was 3L Anne Boyer, and the team’s coach was Eric Hutchins J.D. ’06, in-house counsel at Oracle.

“The [External Moot Court] program gave me the opportunity to collaborate with my colleagues while also presenting us with challenges we wouldn’t be exposed to in other aspects of legal education,” says law student Joseph Tursi. “In sum, we were able to put our legal training to the test.”

Professor Karin Carter competed as a member of her law school’s Cardozo copyright team; she then went on to coach other moot court teams as a student moot court board member.

As a second-career law student, she also recognized from prior work experience how moot court could serve as an introduction for students to the realities of law practice. She began teaching legal writing at Santa Clara in 2005 and coached several teams before becoming the faculty advisor to the external moot court program in 2008.

• ABA Client Counseling Competition Region 9 Rounds was hosted by Santa Clara Law in February. Jessica Mawrence and Rebecca Sullivan placed second out of 12 teams; Nnennaya Amuchie and Randy Reyes tied for sixth place.

Their coach is Professor Scott Maurer.

• Pepperdine Copyright and Entertainment Law National Moot Court Competition, Malibu, Calif.

• Philip C. Jessup Moot Court Competition, sponsored by the International Law Students Association (ILSA). Regional Rounds at Lewis & Clark Law, Portland, Ore. Topic is International Public Law. • Jean-Pictet Competition, International Humanitarian Law, held this year in Sintra, Portugal.

• Saul Lefkowitz Trademark Competition, sponsored by the International Trademark Association (INTA).

Regional Rounds held at the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco, Calif.

• AIPLA (American Intellectual Property Law Association) Giles Sutherland Rich Moot Court Competition, Regional Rounds held at Morrison & Foerster, Palo Alto, Calif. Topic is Patent Law. • Pace Law School National Competition in Environmental Law, White Plains, N.Y. Team of Lara Graham, Alex Balzer Carr, and Tarisha Bal made it to quarterfinals, competing among 72 teams. Coach is Professor Ken Manaster.

• Jerome Prince Memorial Moot Court Competition at Brooklyn Law School, Brooklyn, N.Y. Topic is Evidence Law. • National Asylum and Refugee Law Competition at UC Davis School of Law, Davis, Calif.

• Whittier National Juvenile Law Competition at Whittier Law School, Costa Mesa, Calif. Team of Hugo Meza and Lauren Rios made it to quarterfinals, competing among 24 teams. Coach is Roxanna Alavi, Law Foundation of Silicon Valley.

• Clara Barton International Humanitarian Law Competition, sponsored by the American Red Cross, held in Washington, D.C. • California Bar Association Environmental Law Section Student Negotiation Competition, held this year at UCLA Law, Los Angeles, Calif.

spring 2014 | santa clara law 15

By Andrea Shaheen B.S. ’98, J.D. ’01

The Santa Clara Law

SOLO PRACTICE SEMINAR

The term “entrepreneur” tends to be associated with the techies of the Silicon Valley start-up scene rather than an attorney preparing to start a solo law practice.

However, solo practitioners, by definition, are entrepreneurs. They have to be risk-takers, driven, innovative, creative, and fearless— from hanging a shingle to generating a steady stream of clients in order to sustain a business with no angel funding.

Entrepreneurs from all backgrounds and experience levels convened at Santa Clara Law’s Fourth Annual Solo Practice Seminar in December 2013, a collaboration between Law Career Services and Law Alumni and Development. “The Solo Practice Seminar was created to fill student and graduate demand for specific programming to help them build their business,” says Vicki Huebner, Assistant Dean, Law Career Services. “This seminar is designed to present practical information to help attorneys make informed decisions about going solo, build their book of business, and steer clear of ethical pitfalls.”

Participants included speakers with expertise in a variety of practice areas as well as more than 80 attendees, including law students, recent law school graduates, and experienced attorneys. Some attendees came to explore the idea of starting a practice. Others had recently established a solo practice or small firm and were seeking resources, support, and ideas that they could implement 16 santa clara law | spring 2014

immediately. Session topics included making the decision to go solo, legal ethics of a solo practice and social media, the logistics of starting a practice, marketing a practice, and evolving beyond a solo practice. The 2013 Seminar was sponsored by the California State Bar Solo and Small Firm Section, Thomson Reuters Westlaw, Sites for Law Firms, and several other organizations that offer support and education for small firms and solo practitioners.

“The Solo Practice Seminar reinforced the idea that success in the new economy will require attorneys to continuously learn, innovate, and act entrepreneurially,” says Robert Cullen, who moderated a panel, “Marketing Your Solo Practice,” at the 2013 seminar. Cullen, who is general counsel at JSI Logistics and an adjunct professor at Santa Clara Law, developed and currently teaches the nation’s first law course on leadership and is the author of The Leading Lawyer: A Guide to Practicing Law and Leadership.

Craig Rashkis B.A. ’93, J.D. ’00 Craig Rashkis B.A. ’93, J.D. ’00 has served as a speaker at the Solo Practice Seminar in the past, and this year he was a speaker on the “Logistics of Starting a Solo Practice” panel. His firm, Farwell Rashkis, represents clients in a wide array of business, real estate, and estate planning matters, with an emphasis on alcohol beverage and construction law. “Starting a law practice is a significant step, and there simply are not many forums in which lawyers thinking about starting their own practice can talk with each other much less learn the ABCs of starting a law practice,” explains Rashkis. “Through my attendance

“Starting your own practice means you are going to be a business owner, not just a lawyer. It is an important distinction with its own required skill set.”

—Craig Rashkis B.A. ’93, J.D. ’00

at the seminar, I experienced an unexpected reconnection with the Law School, fellow alumni, and the University community as a whole. This reconnection has encouraged me to become more involved, not just as a contributor to the seminar but as a mentor to students and recent graduates.”

“Starting your own practice means you are going to be a business owner, not just a lawyer. It is an important distinction with its own required skill set,” he adds. “No matter whether you are actually a solo practitioner or in a small, medium, or large firm, a lawyer’s ultimate success depends on the ability to attract and maintain a book of business. The Solo Practice Seminar goes in depth on subjects related to this important truth—how to market yourself, the importance of networking (and how to get better at it), client relations, recognizing and addressing conflicts of interest, and more.”

Rashkis, who has been both an attendee and contributor to the Solo Practice Seminar, says it has reminded him of the importance of inspiring and encouraging other lawyers. “Having experienced the support and encouragement of other lawyers who took the leap before me, I am inspired to do the same for others,” he says.

Tom Lavelle J.D. ’76 A growing number of attorneys are developing law practices that are more efficient and flexible than the older model of law firms. These solo practices or small firms specialize in areas of the law typically associated with larger firms. As a result, these practices are able to service clients

nancy martin

ellen lynch

Tom Lavelle J.D. ’76

that would otherwise not be able to afford big firm rates.

This is true of experienced attorney Tom Lavelle J.D. ’76, who opened a solo practice, Thomas R. Lavelle Law Offices, where he represents and provides legal support to smaller Silicon Valley companies that cannot yet afford to hire an in-house general counsel.

“After many years of practicing high-tech law in-house for large local companies, I decided to start my own firm, going solo,” he says. “The SCU Solo Practice Seminar… has paid handsome dividends. The presentations provided a lot of practical advice on a variety of issues I had been contemplating. The practical and administrative issues in setting up a private practice are just not something I had been prepared for, and this seminar came at the right time to help in a big way. It is great to know that many years after graduating, the Law School is still there for me.” spring 2014 | santa clara law 17

“Opening our own practice was appealing to us not only because of the flexibility, but also because it was an opportunity to learn how to run a business.”

Danella Rugile J.D. ’11 and Stephanie Whiting J.D. ’11 Many recent law school graduates have decided to serve individual clients and have opted to go solo, or duo, in this case. Danella Rugile J.D. ’11 and Stephanie Whiting J.D. ’11 recently opened a family law practice, the Law Offices of Whiting and Rugile, and attended the 2013 Solo Practice Seminar.

“Opening our own practice was appealing to us not only because of the flexibility, but also because it was an opportunity to learn how to run a business,” says Whiting. “Family law intrigued us because it offered us the chance to work on a broad array of complex legal issues. We get to work closely with our clients and find it extremely rewarding to be able to help people work through what may be one of the most stressful times of their life. We have enjoyed building a practice that represents what we stand for and believe in as attorneys.”

Rugile adds, “My partner and I found the Solo Practice Seminar discussion on building a digital social media platform especially useful.”

18 santa clara law | spring 2014

Courtesy of the Law Offices of Whiting and Rugile

—Stephanie Whiting J.D. ’11 (at right)

C ourtesy Camelia M ahmoudi C ourtesy C hristopher F. M orales

Christopher F. Morales J.D. ’90 A criminal trial attorney in private practice based in San Francisco, Christopher F. Morales J.D. ’90 handles all types of criminal cases including murder and complex white-collar crimes. A board-certified specialist in criminal law, Morales was a speaker on the “Marketing Your Solo Practice” panel at the 2013 seminar. He shared a networking story from his experience. “I met a former public defender from the Central Valley, and she just moved up here. She needed office space, so I introduced her to a friend in Redwood City, and she now has office space. I have a jury trial next week, and she’s going to tag along with me, and I’ll introduce her to the judges and prosecutors. The networking is invaluable for the recent graduates,” he says. “If the attendees just make one connection or get one or two ideas that they implement, it can make a big difference in their first few years of practice.”

Camelia Mahmoudi J.D. ’03 Camelia Mahmoudi J.D. ’03 has been involved in the Solo Practice Seminar as a speaker for the past three years, sharing her experience of starting her own solo law practice. She is also active in the planning of the annual Kasner Symposium with the Law Alumni and Development office. Her firm, the Law Office of Camelia Mahmoudi, focuses on estate planning, taxation, and family law.

“I am proud to be an alumna of Santa Clara University School of Law,” says Mahmoudi. “The relationships I made as a law student still make a positive impact on my law practice today. Santa Clara Law Career Services helps me stay connected with other alumni and the law school. I have received excellent education at Santa Clara Law, and currently, I am enjoying the benefits of that education by having my own practice.”

After more than ten years of law practice in the Bay Area and volunteering at Santa Clara Law, Andrea Shaheen B.A. ’98, J.D. ’01 spent two years as assistant director for graduate employment in Santa Clara Law Career Services. She is now national law school recruiting manager for Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

To volunteer at or learn more about The Solo Practice Seminar, contact Santa Clara Law Career Services at: LCS@scu.edu.

For more information on membership and the services offered by the California State Bar Solo and Small Firm Committee visit their website, solo.calbar.ca.gov, or contact Santa Clara Law Career Services for more information on how to get involved.

spring 2014 | santa clara law 19

By T I M OTH Y H A R P E R

THE FIRST FILTER That’s what Charles Schwab calls his General Counsel Carrie Dwyer B.A. ’73, J.D. ’76

Carrie Dwyer has had a remarkable career, which includes work at government and stock exchange regulatory agencies, a major law firm and, ultimately, as the general counsel seat for Charles Schwab, the financial services behemoth. Charles Schwab has nearly 14,000 employees and $5 billion in annual net revenue, providing brokerage, banking, and investment services to institutional clients and millions of individuals. “She’s always been my first filter for anything of business importance,” says Charles Schwab, founder of the firm more than 40 years ago. “Carrie has always been the first person I would go to with my crazy ideas about new services for investors…She could tell me in a second whether I should pursue it as a business idea or if it wouldn’t meet the regulatory tests.”

After graduating from Santa Clara Law, Dwyer landed a job at the American Stock Exchange. The most junior lawyer on a 15-attorney team, she handled whatever the general counsel threw at her, including basic regulatory work and dealings with exchange members. Dwyer rose through the ranks, and by the time she departed the Exchange after 12 years, she was general counsel and senior vice president. “I had a 2-year-old, and I decided to take a few years off to be with her,” Dwyer says. She and her husband added a son, and two years turned into five as the growing family moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn to the leafy Westchester suburbs.

Re-entry into the corporate world wasn’t easy. “Many of the people who always told me how great I was wouldn’t even take my phone calls,” she says. She finally landed a part-time assignment at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy in New York. Soon after, Arthur Levitt, who had been her boss at AMEX, was appointed chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He asked her to come to Washington as his chief counsel in 1993 to help move forward his ambitious agenda for the SEC. “Arthur was really committed at the SEC to being an advocate for

20 santa clara law | spring 2014

investors,” Dwyer says. “It was something that resonated with me.”

One of her biggest enforcement cases involved price fixing against NASDAQ and the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD); several big-capital markets firms, including Charles Schwab & Co., were implicated for going along with the price fixing. The rest of the implicated firms denied wrongdoing, or assured Dwyer that their conduct was standard for the industry. “Chuck Schwab kept coming in and talking to us,” Dwyer says.

“Schwab was advocating for reform.” She was impressed with Schwab, and Schwab was impressed with her. When the case ended, Dwyer was invited out to the firm’s San Francisco headquarters to talk about a job.

Schwab’s history of a customer-first culture, along with Dwyer’s long-simmering desire to move back to the San Francisco Bay Area, led her to leave the SEC after three and a half years. In late 1996, Schwab created a top-tier position for her, combining all the firm’s legal oversight into one role. Technically, her title was executive vice president for corporate oversight, but she soon took on the general counsel title, too.

G R EG O RY C O WL EY

If the classic financial-services lawyer tends to deny wrongdoing, avoid responsibility, and resist consumerprotection regulations—all the while brimming with an overabundance of confidence—Dwyer breaks the mold. She even admits to bouts of misgivings and doubt. “It’s always really scary to take on something big that you’ve never done before,” Dwyer says. “I kept telling myself, ‘I think I can do this,’ but you never really know.”

Initially, she managed about 75 people. Now it is almost 500. She is in charge of all the firm’s legal functions and the far-ranging compliance and regulatory oversight required of the firm. One group of her lawyers is in charge of contracts, employment, litigation, arbitration, mergers and acquisitions, and other corporate transactions. Another group covers the core investment business, including retail, advisory, banking, and retirement-planning services. She is also in charge of Schwab’s lobbying effort and oversees internal information security and internal audits, along with compliance units that ferret out fraud and money laundering, and a unit that monitors dealings with the Federal Reserve. “It’s a pretty tough job if you’re doing it right,” she says. “You have to think strategically all the time, about how day-to-day transactions can affect the long-term business of the company.”

“Carrie Dwyer is the GC that every CEO and outside counsel dreams of,” says one of her outside counsels, Faith Gay, co-chair of the national trial practice group at Los Angeles-based Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. “She is perfectly attuned to Schwab’s needs while being open to new approaches to thorny issues. She is unafraid of risk without being reckless. She goes deep on every issue without being inefficient. Above all, she knows how to make a decision without dithering. What more could a well-run business ask for?”

“Carrie’s mastery of corporate and securities law is extraordinarily impressive, as is her deft handling of interpersonal relationships,” says Stephen J. Senderowitz, partner at the Chicago-based firm Winston & Strawn, who has worked as an outside litigator on several major Schwab cases. “She creates a culture of encouragement among her staff and outside counsel.”

One of the worst experiences of her career came during the fallout from the housing market crash, when a

Carrie Dwyer, the “GC that every CEO ... dreams of.”

Schwab short-term bond fund did poorly and the firm was hit by an SEC case. State regulators and several class action lawsuits claimed that investors were not warned about risks in the fund’s mortgage-backed securities. “I lost a lot of sleep over it,” Dwyer says. “Occasionally during that [time], I wondered if I was the right person for this job. I’m sure other people wondered that, too.”

Ultimately, she helped guide Schwab to $350 million in settlements and a raft of new internal safeguards. “I’d be very uncomfortable working in a firm that was just about maximizing profits and didn’t care about the business it was in,” Dwyer says. “I really like working for a place that wants to do the right thing.”

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared, in a longer form, in the September 2013 issue of Super Lawyers Business Edition, published by Thomson Reuters.

Visit: law.scu.edu/sclaw for the full profile.

spring 2014 | santa clara law 21

SPRING 2014

CLASS ACTION

Welcoming the Dean to Los Angeles were (l to r): Tony Oliver B.A. ’51, J.D. ’53, Bob Schuchard J.D. ’77, and Kara Koerner J.D. ’03.

E LLE N LY NCH

22 santa clara law | spring 2014

Alumni 1969 Daniel Kelly

received the Don E. Bailey Civility and Professionalism award from the San Francisco Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates.

1972 G. Edward Rudloff, Jr. was recently elected president of the law firm of Foran Glennon Palandech Ponzi & Rudloff. Based in San Francisco, his practice focuses on first and third party insurance coverage disputes and the defense of insurance companies in bad faith litigation. He is also a fellow of the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel.

1974 Andrew Swartz is

a partner at Spiering, Swartz & Kennedy, in Monterey. He and his wife, Kiane, have two grown sons.

1975 Timothy Dixon is

Michael D. Torpey was named Managing Partner of global law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. He is on the Management Committee and works closely with the firm's Chairman to implement firm strategy. He previously served for many years as leader of the firm's Securities Litigation practice.

1978 James Martin is president of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. The organization, founded in 1990, has 244 members. He is a partner at Reed Smith and a member of the firm’s appellate practice group. Patti White is vice chair of the California Committee of Bar Examiners. She is a semiretired shareholder with Littler Mendelson in San Jose.

1982 Dennis M. Walsh

has written Nobody Walks, a book about seeking justice after the 2003 murder of his brother, Christopher.

an associate professor and coordinator of history and politics at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He has been at the school since 2000. He has a master’s degree in history from the University of Alabama.

1983 Lisa Almasy Miller

1976 Carrie Dwyer was

1984 Timothy McMahon was named as one of the top 100 trial lawyers in California by the National Trial Lawyers Association and one of the top 100 Irish-American attorneys in the U.S. by Irish Voice. He was named 2013 Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Santa Clara County Trial

featured in the September 2013 Super Lawyers Business Edition. See page 20.

1977 Honorable Eugene

Hyman received the Angel Award from the Santa Clara County Child Abuse Council.

is president of the Clackamas County Bar Association in Oregon. She is a reference judge for the Fifth Judicial District of Oregon and is secretary of the Oregon State Bar’s Client Security Fund Committee.

Lawyers Association. He lives in Los Gatos with his wife, Lisa Twomey B.S. ’83, and their three children.

resources at Groupon, and as chair of the Board of Directors of the Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA.

1986 Andy Stroud is a

1993 Sarah Bonini is a

partner at Hanson Bridgett in Sacramento. Over the course of his career, he has served as outside litigation counsel to California’s three most recent governors. He was named Best of the Bar by the Sacramento Business Journal in 2013.

1987 Peter Califano is

president of the California Bankruptcy Forum. Governor Jerry Brown appointed Leslie Lopez as general counsel of the California Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency.

1991 Karyn Smith is chief operating officer and general counsel for Peek Kids.

Previously, she was deputy general counsel at Zynga, where she oversaw the corporate legal team and led the company’s $1 billion IPO in December 2011.

1992 Robert J. Higgins

B.A. ’80 received SCU’s Ignatian Award in April 2013 for his community activities in Pinetop-Lakeside, Ariz.

He founded St. Anthony’s Catholic School in 1996 to help educate children living near the White Mountain Apache Reservation. Kirsten Komoroske is the executive director of the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. She has served as general counsel and vice president of human resources for Tyco Electronics, interim vice president of human

senior administrative assistant for SCU Campus Ministry.

She previously worked as a project manager with the Northern California Innocence Project at Santa Clara Law. Ricardo Echeverria was recognized by the National Law Journal for his verdict in Edwards v. Perez in its “Big Money Wins of 2013.”

1994 Kelly O’Brien and

R.J. Sebrasky welcomed their third baby boy, Rocco, born on May 17, 2013.

1995 Alison Brunner is

the chief executive officer of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, a provider of free legal services in Silicon Valley.

Send us your news!

Keep your fellow law alumni posted on what's happening.

Email your news to lawalumni@scu.edu or send to Law Alumni Office Santa Clara University 500 El Camino Real Santa Clara, CA 95053

spring 2014 | santa clara law 23

1996 Dianne Sweeney is a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in Palo Alto, and she also serves as president of the Santa Clara County Bar Association.

1997 Thomas F.

Fitzpatrick is a partner and co-chair of the intellectual property litigation practice group at Pepper Hamilton.

1998 Josh Hicks is a

shareholder at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck in its Las Vegas office, where he focuses on government relations and taxation.

2001 Jacey Prupas

has been appointed to the Nevada Board of Bar Examiners. An associate in the Reno office of Snell & Wilmer, she has been recognized for several years

as a Nevada Super Lawyers Rising Star. Christine Williams is a partner at Perkins Coie in Anchorage, Alaska. She works in government contracts, litigation, and construction practices. Her subspecialty is the Small Business Administration’s Section 8(a) program. She also teaches at Alaska Pacific University.

2002 Christine Donovan,

a senior staff attorney for the Solano County Superior Court, has been appointed to the Judicial Council’s Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee. Kristina Lawson is mayor of the city of Walnut Creek. Paula Moreno received the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 award. She is on the executive board of THINK Together, and is Council Chair for THINK Together

Bay Area. Amanda Murray married Andrew Nowakowski on Sept. 21, 2013. She is a deputy attorney general at the California Attorney General’s Office in San Francisco.

2003 Jason

Schneiderman is a partner at Perkins Coie in Palo Alto. He works in the firm’s emerging companies and venture capital practice and also represents more than 35 active search funds.

Pouya Shahbazian was profiled in the Hollywood Reporter. He is a manager and producer at New Leaf Literary and Media. His high profile sales include Patrick Lee’s Runner to Warner Bros.

2004 Jon Swenson is a partner at Baker Botts in Houston, Texas. He practices in intellectual property. Karen

Webb is a partner at Fenwick West, where she is a member of the trademark group.

2005 Donald Choi

was named a Rising Star in the 2013 Southern California Super Lawyers for employment litigation defense. He is associate corporate counsel at Aderans America Holdings and Bosley.

Previously, he practiced with Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart. Dan Dow received the John Seitz Community Service Award in San Luis Obispo. The award is named after the late John Seitz ’51. Kevin Grange is a partner at Lowenstein Sandler in Palo Alto. He is a registered patent attorney in the firm’s tech group. Brandon Reeves is a partner at Ellis Law Group, a litigation firm in Sacramento.

He serves as defense counsel on class actions involving

ALUMNI PROFILE

Law Alumna Co-writes Energy Department Grant

24 santa clara law | spring 2014

Courtesy of S ita K uteira

S

ita Kuteira ’13 is doing exciting work at a solar energy start-up called Solar Census in Walnut Creek. The company was awarded a $735,000 federal grant that Kuteira co-wrote while she was in law school. The grant is for the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative Incubator Program.

The company is producing the first online commercial-grade rooftop shade analysis tool that will streamline the sales and design process. “Right now solar installers drive out to the house and go on the roof with a hand held tool to determine the shading. But with this software they will design the entire system from their computer,” said Kuteira.

Kuteira still works for Solar Census, where she focuses on general business development and manages the award. She also wrote a grant to the state for funding under the California Solar Initiative, and a decision is pending.

For more information on the federal grant see: eere.energy.gov/solar/ sunshot.

Sita Kuteira ’13

Connections Santa Clara Law Alumni and friends gathered at various events this winter to celebrate the spirit of the community and to acknowledge the generosity and commitment of our alumni. Gatherings have presented terrific opportunities for alumni, students, and the Law School to connect, network, and enhance the many relationships that continue to make Santa Clara Law great.

1

1. Welcoming the Dean to Visalia were (l to r) host Richard Watters J.D. ’73, Dean Kloppenberg, and MCLE presenter David Sandino J.D. ’84.

2. Host Committee members welcoming the Dean to Los Angeles were (l to r) John Schaeffer J.D. ’88, Naomi Young J.D. ’74, Dean Kloppenberg, and Trevin Hartwell, Asst. Dean for Alumni & Development.

3. San Francisco welcomed Dean Kloppenberg with a reception at Keesal, Young & Logan. Host Committee included (l to r): Suzanne Boutin J.D. ’75, Greg Vaisberg J.D. ’05, Peter Boutin J.D. ’75, Dean Kloppenberg, Chris Bruni J.D. ’84, Dominic Campodonico J.D. ’96, Kristina Lawson J.D. ’02, The Honorable Phyllis Hamilton J.D. ’76, and Manny Fishman J.D. ’82.

2

PHOTOS BY ELLEN LYNCH

3

CL A S S A CT IO N

legal malpractice and alleged violations by creditors and creditor attorneys of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the California Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act. Prior to joining the Ellis Law Group in 2008, he worked at a law firm in San Mateo.

2013 Wes Helmholz is an attorney in the Los Angeles office of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

2007 Val and Hans

1949 Howard S. Dattan,

Christian Ruschke are the proud parents of a son, Maximilian Michael, born on Nov. 4, 2013.

2008 Kevin Albanese

B.S. ’96 was appointed to the Contractors State License Board by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Kristin (Love) BSC ’03 and Chris Boscia welcomed their second child, Evelyn, on July 26, 2013.

2009 Irina Raicu is

Internet ethics program manager at SCU’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.

Matthew Wendt, and his wife, Marilyn, welcomed a son, Gavin Bannon, on Nov. 15, 2013.

2010 Natalia Nahra

works on refugee protection for the United Nations in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq.

2011 Jessica Jackson

and the Board of Directors of the ACLU of Southern California.

In Memoriam Sept. 6, 2013. He served in the Army Air Corps in North Africa and Italy during World War II and studied at the University of Southern California. He practiced law in California for many years and was the first dean of the University of San Diego School of Law. Survivors include two sons.

1951 Anthony J.

Mercant, Dec. 7, 2013.

He was born in Hollister to parents who were farm workers. During World War II, he served in the Navy. He entered law school after two years of junior college. He was an attorney at Mercant & O’Brien for more than 40 years. He was a founder and first president of the Almaden Country Club and served as president of the San Jose Civic Light Opera. Survivors include his wife, Margie, two children, and a sister.

was elected to the Mill Valley City Council. She represents death row inmates as a human rights attorney at the Habeas Corpus Resource Center. Stephanie Whiting practices law at Whiting and Rugile in San Jose (see page 18).

1956 Robert Viviano, July 3, 2013. He served in the Marine Corps after law school. He served on the Orange Unified School Board for fifteen years.

Survivors include his wife, Helen, two children, and six grandchildren.

2012 Christina Fialho is

1966 Daniel Skemp, Jan.

on the Steering Committee of the Detention Watch Network 26 santa clara law | spring 2014

8, 2014. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, he

practiced law in San Jose until 1980, when his family returned to his hometown of La Crosse, Wis., where he practiced law for many years.

He is survived by four children and six grandchildren.

1967 Henry Talifer,

Aug. 5, 2013. A graduate of Los Angeles High School and UCLA, he served in the U.S. Army. He earned two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. from USC. He was an attorney with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office. He also taught college courses and received the Professor of the Year Award at California State University, Northridge.

Survivors include his wife, Lucille, and two children.

1973 Judge Thomas

Cain B.A. ’70, Jan. 11, 2014. He was a judge for 24 years on the Santa Clara County Superior Court, presiding over high-profile probate cases in recent years. He was appointed to the bench in 1989 after working as a lawyer in the Santa Clara County Counsel’s Office. He also served as an instructor at Lincoln University School of Law. An avid cook, he won a recipe award from Sunset magazine. Survivors include his wife, Terri, two children, two sisters, and his mother, Mary Jane.

1974 Daniel Hanley BSC

’67, MBA ’69, Sept. 14, 2013. He practiced law in the San Jose area for 39 years.

He is survived by his wife, Judi, two sons, and seven siblings. Robert Maloney MSEE ’69, Nov. 19, 2013.

A New York native, he graduated from the University of Texas and worked as an engineer in Mountain View

until 1974. He had his own law practice. He is survived by his wife, Nina, two children, four grandchildren, and a sister.

1980 Margaret Saal

Blatner MBA ’79, January, 2013.

1989 Eugene Akio

Yuasa, March 7, 2013. He was an attorney in Honolulu.

Survivors include his parents and three siblings.

1991 Elsie Frost, May 19, 2013. She was a resident of Gaithersburg, Md.

1993 Laura Guzman

Magill, Dec. 27, 2013.

She was a criminal defense attorney in Fresno, where she practiced with her husband, Charles. She earned a political science degree from Pepperdine University. She made many of her own clothes and loved fashion. Survivors include her husband, five children, her mother, and two sisters.

2005 Walter Scott Binns, Sept. 27, 2013. He earned a degree in agribusiness from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and worked in produce sales. He had his own law office. Survivors include his wife, Betsy, a daughter, his parents, and five siblings.

2014 Roxanne “Roxy”

Roknian, Nov. 24, 2013.

She was a vibrant and enthusiastic third-year student from Santa Monica who was active in many student organizations and causes. She planned to use her law degree to improve the lives of others.

ALUMNI

For complete details and registration, visit law.scu.edu/alumni/alumni-events/, email lawalumni@scu.edu, or call (408) 551-1748.

2014 UPCOMING EVENTS

MAY 2014

SEPTEMBER 2014

24

6-7 Santa Clara Law Reunion Weekend

Santa Clara Law School Commencement

11

JUNE 2014 23

San Jose Justice Edward A. Panelli Scholarship Golf Classic

Santa Clara Sports Law Symposium

OCTOBER 2014 24-25 Santa Clara Jerry A. Kasner Estate Planning Symposium NOVEMBER 2014 13

Santa Clara Dean’s Circle Appreciation Event

SANTA CLARA LAw

reUNION weekend September 6-7, 2014 Return to campus for a wonderful weekend! Reminisce with your classmates and reconnect with faculty and staff.

www.scu.edu/lawreunionweekend Questions? Contact Susan Moore in the Law Alumni Office: 408-551-1763 or samoore@scu.edu.

Law Reunion Classes 1964 | 1969 | 1974 | 1979 | 1984 | 1989 | 1994 | 1999 | 2004 | 2009

spring 2014 | santa clara law 27

CL OS I NG AR G U M E N TS

Serving in State

By Beth Van Schaack, Professor, Santa Clara Law

F

rom March 2012 to October 2013, I had the privilege of serving as deputy to Stephen J. Rapp, the Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues in the U.S. State Department’s Office of Global Criminal Justice (J/GCJ). J/GCJ was formed in the mid-1990s as the “Office of War Crimes Issues” to serve as the point of contact in the U.S. government for the ad hoc tribunals established by the United Nations to prosecute international crimes committed in Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and elsewhere. As part of Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review—a 17-month review of U.S. development and diplomacy policies—the office became J/GCJ and joined a suite

We may never know if [our] reward played a role in Ntaganda’s decision to turn himself in on his own terms ... [he] obviously decided that facing charges before the ICC was a safer bet than the fate that might befall him were he to remain on the run, go undercover in Rwanda, or linger embedded within forces of dubious loyalty.

of offices and bureaus under the new Under-Secretariat for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights.

As part of this departmental reorganization, the mandate of the office expanded to encompass the formulation of U.S. policy more broadly on the prevention of, responses to, and accountability for mass atrocities. Our office now coordinates the deployment of a range of diplomatic, legal, economic, military, and intelligence tools to help expose the truth, capture and judge those responsible, protect and assist victims, enable reconciliation, deter atrocities, and build the

28 santa clara law | spring 2014

rule of law. The office also advises foreign governments and non-governmental organizations on the appropriate use of a wide range of transitional justice mechanisms, including truth and reconciliation commissions, lustrations, and reparations in addition to judicial processes. Finally, J/GCJ administers the State Department’s War Crimes Rewards Program (WCRP), which pays rewards for information leading to the arrest or conviction of individuals accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

Almost exactly a year into my term as deputy, my Blackberry rang at about 4:00 in the morning. It was my boss. Because he takes his title very seriously, the Ambassador-at-Large is on the road almost constantly —visiting the tribunals, interfacing with his foreign counterparts, consulting on international and transitional justice efforts, conducting diplomacy in support of U.S. foreign policy, and attending multilateral gatherings devoted to J/GCJ issues. Therefore, I generally managed our Washington D.C.-based policy work and became used to him calling at odd hours from around the globe. This call, however, came at a particularly ungodly time. “I know this is going to be good,” I said as I answered the phone. Sure enough, it turned out that Bosco Ntaganda—a Congolese rebel leader known as “The Terminator” who had been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity—had arrived at the U.S. embassy in Kigali, Rwanda. Ntaganda had apparently slipped across the border after his forces were routed in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by a rival rebel faction. He wanted to turn himself in to the ICC. I spent the next week working with the interagency, ICC personnel, and the governments of the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands to successfully transfer Ntaganda to The Hague via a plane specially chartered for this purpose. Interestingly, only weeks before and on J/GCJ’s recommendation, Secretary John Kerry had authorized the payment of a reward for information leading to Ntaganda’s capture under the

PH O T O C O U RT ESY B ET H VA N SC H A A C K

WCRP. This development had not yet been formally announced, but it had been made public in a well-read blog devoted to the conflict in the DRC. We may never know if this reward played a role in Ntaganda’s decision to turn himself in on his own terms, rather than on the terms of a potential reward-seeker. Ntaganda obviously decided that facing charges before the ICC was a safer bet than the fate that might befall him were he to remain on the run, go undercover in Rwanda, or linger embedded within forces of dubious loyalty. He was asked why he turned himself in to the embassy of a government that is not a yet party to the ICC treaty.

His answer: he knew we would treat him fairly. I never felt prouder to work for our government than at that moment. Ntaganda is now in pre-trial proceedings in The Hague; his rebel group disintegrated after government troops launched a decisive offensive against it with crucial assistance from a UN Intervention Brigade.

This was just one of many fascinating and transformative experiences during my time in the State Department. But, what I value most was the opportunity to work with incredibly dedicated, smart, and creative colleagues across the interagency. I learned something from them every day, and every day I left the office feeling as if my contributions had been decisive. Who knew that such wonderful friendships could develop in the crucible of interagency negotiations, diplomatic crises, and multilateral machinations? While in Washington, I also had the pleasure of working and socializing with many Santa Clara graduates, including my former students Ann Marie Ursini J.D. ’09, who recently joined the Department of Justice’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Unit; Esmeralda López J.D. ’06, at the Committee for Refugees and Immigrants; and Jeffrey Larson B.A. ’05, J.D. ’08, also in the State Department. In short, this was an incredible experience, and I look forward to integrating all that I learned about the formation of foreign policy, international and domestic law, and international affairs into my teaching and scholarship next year.

Beth Van Schaack

Professor Beth Van Schaack has taught at Santa Clara Law since 2003. She is currently a Visiting Scholar at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University and will return to Santa Clara Law in fall 2015. She was formerly the deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues in the Office of Global Criminal Justice of the U.S. Department of State. She has been a member of the U.S. Department of State’s Advisory Council on International Law and has served on the United States interagency delegation to the International Criminal Court Review Conference in Kampala, Uganda. Van Schaack was formerly an associate at Morrison & Foerster LLP. She has also served as acting executive director of The Center for Justice and Accountability and as a law clerk with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. She is a graduate of Stanford University and Yale Law School.

She is a contributor to JustSecurity.org (see: justsecurity.org/ author/vanschaackbeth/).

spring 2014 | santa clara law 29

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2014 Katharine and George Alexander Law Prize Awarded to Hossam Bahgat “As human rights activists, our duty is not always to work on the popular issues, but also to work on issues that might not be popular for the majority. And that, in fact, is where we are most needed,” said Hossam Bahgat, in a 2009 interview with the New Internationalist magazine. Bahgat, age 34, is the founder and, for eleven years the executive director, of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), a Cairo-based independent organization defending human rights in Egypt. He was honored at a reception at Santa Clara Law on March 20.

law.scu.edu/alexanderprize P hotograph © Platon