10th Annual Networking and Informational Event
Succeeding in Law: Guidance from Mentors Who Have Walked in Your Shoes
February 27, 2021 | 10:00 a.m.
Co-Sponsored by: Armenian Bar Association Iranian-American Bar Association, Los Angeles Chapter
Program 10:00 a.m. Welcome Remarks 10:15 a.m. Speaker Panel 11:10 a.m. Speed Networking 12:00 p.m. Conclusion with Q&A
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Welcome Remarks Anahid Gharakhanian Vice Dean Director, Externship Program Chair, Admissions Committee Professor of Legal Analysis, Writing, and Skills Southwestern Law School Susan Westerberg Prager Dean and President Southwestern Law School
Speaker Panel Our panel of attorneys will speak in the following order. You’ll learn about the many opportunities a J.D. degree presents and receive tips on how to realize your goals. Review the brief professional biographies included on the following pages and keep notes on any questions that arise so you can ask them of the panelists during the Speed Networking session. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Lucy Varpetian, ‘96 Ally Bolour, ‘96 Sally Avitsian, ‘03 Christopher Ghazarian, ‘14 Armen Akaragian, ‘05 Zepur Simonian, ‘13
7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
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Anet Badali, ‘12 Marina Z. Beck, ‘11 Michelle Eshaghian Bokhour, ‘13 John Tehranian Parisa Saleki, ‘18 Shahrzad Poormosleh
Speed Networking Speaker Panel participants and additional guests will be available for you to speak with during a 50-minute speed networking session. You are free to move around the breakout rooms and introduce yourself to the guests and Southwestern staff. Ask them questions about their paths to law school, how they got to their current positions, or where they see their careers headed in the future. No question is too small! We encourage you to take this opportunity to learn how you can find success and satisfaction in law.
Guest Biographies Arranged alphabetically by last name Armen Akaragian, ‘05 Partner, Mardirossian Akaragian, LLP armen@akaragianlaw.com Armen Akaragian is a partner at Mardirossian Akaragian, LLP, a plaintiff’s personal injury law firm in Los Angeles. He has arbitrated, tried, and settled dozens of cases that have resulted in multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements. In 2009, Mr. Akaragian was nominated for the coveted Consumer Trial Attorney of the Year Award by the Consumer Attorneys of California, following his involvement in the precedentsetting case of Pannu vs. Land Rover, which resulted in a $25 million dollar judgment for his client. This is just one example of Mr. Akaragian’s numerous successful trial outcomes. In 2011, he was also recognized by the Armenian Bar Association as one of the top 20 lawyers under 40, the first time this award had been given out by the Bar Association. Mr. Akaragian serves on numerous committees, including the Executive Committee for the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Litigation Section. He is a graduate of California State University, Northridge, where in 2002 he earned a B.S. in Business Administration, and a graduate of Southwestern Law School, where in 2005 he earned his J.D.
Sally Avitsian, ‘03 Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs, Global Distribution and International, NBCUniversal, Inc. In her role at NBCUniversal, Sally Avitsian is responsible for all legal aspects of the international distribution of the NBCUniversal brands through various legal arrangements, including providing ongoing advice to management and business clients on international distribution matters and the strategic planning and development of international businesses while managing junior lawyers. She is also responsible for negotiating and drafting international distribution agreements, joint venture/output agreements, and various other legal agreements to address the business needs of the NBCUniversal brands. Finally, she oversees regulatory and compliance matters affecting the international businesses. 4
Prior to this role, Ms. Avitsian was the Director of Business and Legal Affairs at E! Entertainment and an Associate Attorney at Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher. She is a graduate of Southwestern Law School and received her B.A. in Economics/International Affairs from UCLA. Ms. Avitsian notes that her proudest accomplishment is being a mother to two beautiful children.
Anet Badali, ‘12 Deputy District Attorney, Los Angeles County Anet Badali is a Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles County. She is currently assigned as a Felony Trial Deputy in the Central Trials unit, where she prosecutes a wide variety of felony cases ranging from property crimes to special circumstances murder. Prior to working as a prosecutor, Ms. Badali practiced in the area of medical malpractice defense representing the interests of physicians, nurses and hospitals. Ms. Badali earned her Juris Doctor degree from Southwestern Law School in 2012 and her Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude, in Criminology, Law and Society from the University of California, Irvine. While in law school, Ms. Badali was the recipient of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) Excellence in Trial Preparation Award. In addition, she was unanimously voted as the Best Advocate in the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice National Criminal Trial Advocacy Competition. Currently, Ms. Badali serves as an assistant coach for Southwestern’s Trial Advocacy Honors Program. Her training ability has resulted in a mock trial national championship for Southwestern. She has also served as an adjunct Associate Professor for the academic component of criminal law related student externships for the Externship Office. She maintains memberships in the California Bar Association and the Armenian Bar Association.
Marina Z. Beck, ‘11 Partner, Elkins Kalt mbeck@elkinskalt.com | (310) 746-4432 Marina Beck began her family law training in law school, during a two year externship at the Los Angeles Superior Court. Ms. Beck has practiced family law exclusively since passing the bar in 2011, becoming the youngest partner at Kolodny Law Group in 2018. Ms. Beck’s practice focuses on sophisticated marital dissolution issues, including complex financial and property issues, high income support issues and complex custody matters, including international custody disputes (Hague Convention). She has also represented numerous clients in paternity and Domestic Violence Prevention Act matters. Ms. Beck has handled high profile cases with national and international issues and consequences, representing high net worth individuals in many different fields, including entertainment and sports figures, tech and business executives, philanthropists, doctors, attorneys, and their spouses. These matters often encompass business/commercial contracts, entertainment, intellectual property and trade secrets disputes, entertainment and complex business matters and division of assets covered therein. Ms. Beck is on the faculty of the National Family Law Trial Institute, which includes the top family law litigators, jurists and forensic experts from across the country, focused on development of an advanced litigation skills course dedicated exclusively to family law. She holds memberships in the LA County Bar Association, Family Law Section and the Beverly Hills Bar Association, Family Law Section. She is fluent in Russian and has been recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyer’s Rising Star in 2018-2020. 5
Ally Bolour, ‘96 Founding & Managing Partner, Bolour/Carl Immigration Group ally@americanvisas.net | (323) 857-0034 Ally Bolour has been practicing immigration law since 1996. He is the Founding and Managing Partner at Bolour/Carl Immigration Group, a full-service immigration law firm in Los Angeles. Mr. Bolour is currently an Elected Director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and has previously served on the Board of Trustees at the American Immigration Council. He also holds memberships in the LA County Bar Association and LGBT Bar Association. Mr. Bolour frequently speaks publicly on immigration issues for local, national, and international organizations. Mr. Bolour received his J.D. in 1996 from Southwestern Law School, where he was on the Dean’s List and received academic honors recognitions. He holds an M.B.A. and a B.A. in Business Administration from California State University, Fresno and has studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, France. Mr. Bolour is fluent in Persian.
Michelle Eshaghian Bokhour, ‘13 Founder, Eshaghian Law, PC michelle@eshlegal.com | (310) 531-8090 Michelle Eshaghian Bokhour is the founder of Eshaghian Law, PC, a boutique litigation practice committed to helping employees explore and enforce their employment and labor rights. A graduate of the University of California, Irvine and Southwestern Law School, Ms. Eshaghian Bokhour was admitted to practice law in California in 2013. While in law school, she completed an internship in NBCUniversal’s labor relations and employment law department and an externship at the United States District Court for the Honorable Dean D. Pregerson. Ms. Eshaghian Bokhour has dedicated her entire career to exclusively representing employees who have been wronged in the workplace. She vigorously litigates wage and hour class actions, and passionately represents individuals in cases involving sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination. She particularly enjoys pursuing wage disparity cases and vindicating the rights of transgender employees. In 2020 and 2021, Michelle was selected as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers magazine, an honor given to no more than 2.5 percent of attorneys that are under the age of 40.
Christopher Ghazarian, ‘14 General Counsel, DreamHost chris@dreamhost.com | chris.law | (213) 787-4401 Chris Ghazarian is the General Counsel of DreamHost, a Los Angeles-based website, domain, and cloud company. He heads all legal, M&A, and international expansion activity, and now helps shape the company’s long-term strategy and goals. His work centers on protecting customer privacy in the age of big data. For instance, DreamHost publicly opposed a search warrant from the Department of Justice that demanded, among other things, 1.3 million IP addresses of internet users who visited a website organizing protests against President Trump's inauguration. The story gained international attention, and Mr. Ghazarian and his team successfully argued in D.C. Superior Court against the overbroad nature of the demand and its effect on 1st Amendment protections. More recently, he spends his time leading joint defense groups with Fortune 500 tech companies that band together against well-known patent trolls, choosing to publicly fight back and prevail in court instead of privately settling. 6
Mr. Ghazarian graduated from USC as an undergraduate in 2010, and then attended Southwestern Law School where he externed at DreamHost as a second-year law student. In less than three years since first joining the company as an extern, he was named DreamHost's General Counsel by the company’s board of directors in 2016. Mr. Ghazarian has been honored as a member of the GC Powerlist by Legal 500, a Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Trailblazer by the National Law Journal, and a Digital Age Fighter by the LA Daily Journal.
David S. Levaton, ‘88 Lead Attorney, Franchise Legal Support, APC david@franchiselegalsupport.com | (747) 220-6730 David Scott Levaton is one of the nation’s leading franchise attorneys and has been representing franchisees and franchisee associations for more than 30 years; his family has been in franchising for more than 45 years. Mr. Levaton fully understands the legal needs of franchisees and is dedicated to meeting those needs with affordable and effective legal representation. His experience and training in franchise law, and skill in negotiation and dispute resolution, have provided him the skill set to be an exceptional advocate, problem solver, and negotiator. He holds his J.D. from Southwestern Law School, received his undergraduate business degree from USC, and holds a postgraduate law degree from Pepperdine University’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution.
Shahrzad Poormosleh Associate Dean of Career Services, Southwestern Law School spoormosleh@swlaw.edu | (213) 738-6794 Shahrzad Poormosleh, Esq. is the Associate Dean of Career Services at Southwestern Law School. She oversees and manages all aspects of the Career Services Office, conducts outreach to and builds relationships with employers, actively networks within the alumni and general legal community, implements strategic initiatives, and engages in proactive career counseling and targeted placement efforts. Dean Poormosleh is responsible for setting and developing strategic initiatives, programming, and goals in connection with recruitment, placement, and career education for students and alumni. She oversees such recruitment efforts as on-campus recruitment programs, judicial law clerk placement, and post-graduate legal training/recruitment. In addition, she provides guidance in career development, interviewing, and networking skills to Southwestern students and alumni. She also serves on Southwestern’s Committee on Diversity Initiatives, the Externship Committee, and the Placement Committee. Prior to joining Southwestern, Dean Poormosleh was an attorney in the private sector for thirteen years, working at global law firms in Washington DC and Los Angeles with a focus on intellectual property law matters. She received her B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her J.D. from American University Washington College of Law. She is a member of the District of Columbia and California State Bars and is an active member of the National Association for Law Placement (NALP). She serves as the 2020-2021 Vice Chair for the NALP Law Student and Lawyer Professional Development Sections Collaboration Group, is a member of NALP Professional Development Quarterly Advisory Group, and is the incoming 2021-2022 Co-Chair of the NALP Law Student Professional Development Section.
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Parisa Saleki, ‘18 Counsel, Freeman Mathis & Gary psaleki@fmglaw.com | (213) 615-7062 Parisa Saleki is counsel at Freeman Mathis & Gary. Her area of practice includes insurance defense, employment and labor law, and mass tort litigation. Ms. Saleki graduated from UCLA with a major in Political Science and an emphasis on International Relations and Political Theory. She then earned her J.D. at Southwestern Law School. In law school, she was a board member for the Trial Advocacy Honors Program, a Writing Fellow, a Student Research Associate for LexisNexis, a Street Law Clinic StudentTeacher, the Treasurer of the Middle Eastern Law Student Association, a Teen Court volunteer, and the cofounder and Vice President of the Persian Law Student Association. Off campus, she externed for the District Attorney’s Office in the Hardcore Gang Unit and clerked at a local civil litigation defense firm. After the bar exam, she was a Fellow for a competitive litigation attorneys fellowship through the Los Angeles division of the American Board of Trial Advocates. She spent her first year as an attorney practicing civil rights law at a local civil litigation defense firm before transitioning to FMG.
Zepur Simonian, ‘13 Supervising Research Attorney, Los Angeles County Superior Court zsimonian@lacourt.org Zepur Simonian graduated magna cum laude from Southwestern Law School in 2013 and from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2009, with a B.A. in Political Science. After graduating from Southwestern, Ms. Simonian clerked for the Honorable Daniel M. Taubman at the Colorado Court of Appeal, where she drafted appellate opinions concerning civil and criminal cases, and drafted or edited books, articles, or reports related to child welfare. Following her first clerkship, Ms. Simonian then clerked for the Honorable Michael Nash and Michael I. Levanas at the Los Angeles Superior Court, Juvenile Division. In 2018, Ms. Simonian became a Supervising Research Attorney for the Los Angeles Superior Court, where she currently oversees the judicial externship program and the juvenile division of research attorneys and law clerks. Since 2014, Ms. Simonian has also served as an adjunct professor at Southwestern Law School, where she has taught several courses related to the bar, law school academic skills, and judicial externships. In addition, she has taught a course titled “Succeeding in Law School,” for the Armenian Bar Association and has served as a panelist for several organizations, discussing her path to law school and the skills required to do well in law school and to pass the bar.
John Tehranian Paul. W. Wildman Chair and Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School jtehranian@swlaw.edu | (213) 738-6823 John Tehranian is an academic, attorney, and author. He currently serves as the Paul W. Wildman Chair and Professor of Law at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, California. He has previously served as a tenured Professor of Law at the University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law, and as a Visiting Professor of Law at Loyola Law School.
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Professor Tehranian is also a founding partner of One LLP, a 30-attorney intellectual property and entertainment firm with offices in Beverly Hills and Newport Beach. In his practice, he has litigated numerous high-profile lawsuits, including copyright, trademark and right of publicity disputes involving Madonna, Don Henley, B.B. King, Bettie Page, Jimi Hendrix, Winston Churchill and Perez Hilton, among others. Variety’s Legal Impact Report has recognized Professor Tehranian as one of the world’s top 50 entertainment lawyers, Billboard Magazine has identified him as one of the top music lawyers in the business, and he has been repeatedly honored as a Southern California Super Lawyer. Active in a variety of pro bono legal work, Professor Tehranian has regularly represented immigrants, civil rights plaintiffs and indigent criminal defendants. A graduate of Harvard University and Yale Law School, Professor Tehranian began his legal career at O’Melveny & Myers LLP. He is the author of dozens of articles and two books: Whitewashed: America’s Invisible Middle-Eastern Minority and Whitewashed: America’s Invisible Middle-Eastern Minority Minority and Infringement Nation: Copyright 2.0 and You. His work has also appeared in numerous esteemed law reviews and journals and is widely cited in a variety of legal spheres.
Lucy Varpetian, ‘96 Principal Assistant City Attorney, Glendale City Attorney’s Office lvarpetian@glendaleca.gov | (818) 548-2080 Lucy Varpetian is a Principal Assistant City Attorney in the Glendale City Attorney’s Office – Transactional Section, primarily advising the Fire Department, the Department of Information Services, the Office of the City Clerk, Human Resources and the Finance Department. She has extensive experience in all aspects of city government including advising the Civil Service Commission, the Commission on the Status of Women, and the Interagency Communications Interoperability Systems Joint Powers Authority. She also oversees the City’s legal externship program. Prior to joining the City of Glendale, Ms. Varpetian was an associate at Meserve, Mumper and Hughes, LLP. Ms. Varpetian is the Chairperson of the Armenian Bar Association, where she has been a member since she was a law student. She also serves on the Boards of the Glendale YMCA and the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Judicial Election Evaluation Committee. She is a graduate of Southwestern Law School and USC.
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Thank you for attending Succeeding in Law 2021! For questions about Southwestern Law School and our application process, please contact the Admissions Office. Admissions Office admissions@swlaw.edu (213) 738-6834
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