USF Lawyer Spring 2016

U N I V E R S I T Y O F SA N F R A N C I S CO S C H O O L O F L AW • S P R I N G 2 01 6

RISING AND SHINING

How six alumni found opportunity right outside our door

INSIDE: Breakthrough Nonprofit Helps Neighbors in Need Peter Toren ’85 Supports Data Privacy at USF

A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN Dear Friends, Amidst the day-to-day responsibilities and challenges of our legal careers, reading USF Lawyer offers an opportunity to reflect upon the deep impact that our law school has on our students, alumni, and communities. Summed up in a word, this edition of USF Lawyer, like this era at the School of Law, is focused on “IMPACT.” For over a century, we have produced as lawyers the leaders of many San Francisco institutions — law firms, governmental agencies, courts, and corporations. In featuring

vast network of USF School of Law alumni who have come before them. Craig Corbitt ’78 has been a tremendous advocate for over three decades and was recently recognized as California Antitrust Attorney of the Year by the California Bar. And our own Academic Support Program (ASP) co-directors Carol Wilson ’88 and Richard Sakai and I received the State Bar’s Education Pipeline Award from California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye last fall for ASP’s critical role in making our law school one of the most diverse in the nation.

these alums, I am reminded of the ever confident

Success at the law school is strengthened by the

trial attorney who had such a strong case that in

foresight and support of alums like Peter Toren ’85.

voir dire he told the judge, “Any 12, your honor. Any

In addition to his high profile work in Washington,

12.” While we have many outstanding graduates,

D.C. and continued pro bono appellate advocacy for

we have chosen these individuals because, taken

a death row defendant in Alabama, his gift to the

together, they blaze a path for local leadership in

law school will enable us to provide meaningful

a changing region today and over the next decades

support and national leadership in data privacy law.

— in government, technology, business, law practice,

His gift, for which we seek a match, will enable us to

and community empowerment.

offer clinical training to our students in this growing

Today’s students and these leaders are advancing forward because of the efforts and support of the

and important area of 21st century law.

As we train 21st century law students, we are adapting our programs and strategies to today’s learning styles and necessities. Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Joshua Davis shares with you, in these pages, some of the immediate and longer term plans to reshape our offerings and significantly improve California bar passage that are emanating from a faculty task force I have asked him to chair.

We hope you will be energized by the accomplishments of our school and our alums and become engaged in the work ahead for our students, school, and legal community. Thank you!

PAUL J. FITZGERALD, S.J. University President DONALD E. HELLER Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs JOHN TRASVIÑA Dean JOSHUA DAVIS Associate Dean for Academic Affairs MICHELLE TRAVIS Associate Dean for Faculty Scholarship ELIZABETH BENHARDT Assistant Dean for Academic Services GRACE HUM Assistant Dean for Student Affairs JOHANNA HARTWIG Assistant Dean for Career Planning and Legal Community Engagement MICHELLE SKLAR Assistant Dean for Development and Alumni Relations ANGIE DAVIS Senior Director of Communications and Marketing TALYA GOULD SANDERS Assistant Director of Communications and Marketing DESIGNED BY USF Office of Marketing Communications

USF LAWYER IS PUBLISHED BY: University of San Francisco School of Law 2130 Fulton Street San Francisco, CA 94117-1080 T (415) 422-4409 F (415) 422-4397 usflawyer@usfca.edu

John Trasviña Dean USF Lawyer is printed on paper and at a printing facility certified by BM Trada Certification North America, Inc. to FSC® standards. From forest management to paper production to printing, FSC certification represents the highest social and environmental standards.

CONTENTS 14

SPRING • 2016 RISING AND SHINING

DEPARTMENTS

How six alumni found opportunity right outside our door.

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IN BRIEF Law Students and Entrepreneurs Benefit From USF Partnership With Impact Hub Street Law Class Empowers High School Students With Legal Tools Immigration Clinic Wins $200,000 Grant

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FACULTY FOCUS On the Record With Professor Maria Ontiveros Professor Joshua Davis Wins CLAY Award

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ALUMNI NEWS

22 BREAKTHROUGH NONPROFIT HELPS NEIGHBORS IN NEED USFers bring universal legal aid to the poor and marginalized in Bayview-Hunters Point

26 PHILANTHROPIST AMONG US Peter Toren ’85 helps expand USF’s data privacy law offerings

32 CLOSING ARGUMENT Alex Gerould ’92 on America’s criminal justice system

Craig Corbitt ’78 Named Cal Bar’s Antitrust Lawyer of the Year Jophiel Philips ’11 Awarded Bronze Star

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IN BRIEF ACADEMIC SUPPORT PROGRAM WINS STATE BAR DIVERSITY AWARD

Assistant Professors and Co-Directors of the Academic Support Program Carol Wilson and Richard Sakai.

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he State Bar of California recognized USF School of Law’s Academic Support Program as a showcase academic assistance program and one of the few focusing on students from underrepresented communities.

Assistant Professors and Co-Directors of the Academic Support Program Carol Wilson ’88 and Richard Sakai, along with Dean John Trasviña, accepted the 2015 State Bar Education Pipeline Award at the State Bar annual meeting Oct. 10. California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye spoke at the event.

“While it was very gratifying for our Academic Support Program to be recognized by the State Bar of California, the real reward in educating USF’s diverse students is what they go on to do as lawyers serving all of California’s communities,” said Trasviña.

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“We are leaders in educational access to the law, and it gives real meaning to our mission of serving others and changing the world from here.”

The Education Pipeline Award recognizes outstanding efforts of law-related educational programs that train and support students who are interested in the judicial system and careers in the law.

USF’s Academic Support Program is designed to help individuals in need of extra support meet the rigorous demands of law school, providing assistance by helping students develop skills that enhance academic readiness and performance. The program includes a three-week summer orientation program, tutorials taught by second- and third-year students, and a special course that focuses on analyzing and writing answers to hypotheticals to develop skills at taking law school exams. n

Student Extern Praised for Work on Murder Prosecution USF law student Megan Grow 2L was publicly praised by San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón for her work on a successful murder prosecution.

Gascón commended Grow for her contributions to the case against Justin Howard, who was convicted by a jury Nov. 2 for killing a man in a drive-by shooting.

Howard, 26, was found guilty of first-degree murder with a firearm enhancement for the June 2014 shooting of 25-year-old Dominic Anderson.

Grow, an extern at the DA’s office, assisted prosecutor John Rowland ’68 during the two-month trial. She wrote motions, reviewed witness testimony, and sat second-chair at trial, among other work.

The firsthand experience prepared her for a future career as a prosecutor in a way few externships could, Grow said.

“Getting to see an attorney with 45 years of experience successfully argue a homicide trial was really amazing,” Grow said. “His demeanor in the courtroom — it was like watching an actor on stage.”

Grow started the externship in September, after interning at the DA’s office over the summer.

“USF students like Megan make a difference in the cases they touch,” said DA spokesman Max Szabo, who is also a part-time student at USF School of Law. “Ultimately she helped us keep a dangerous person off the streets.”

USF alumni played important roles on both sides of this case. Public Defender Vilaska Nguyen ’04 led the defense, and was supported by clerk Harrison Tome 3L. n

Law Students and Entrepreneurs Benefit from USF Partnership with Impact Hub Entrepreneurs have deep expertise in their new company’s product or service, but they often lack the business background and legal skills needed to launch their company with a solid foundation. That’s where the USF School of Law’s new partnership with Impact Hub comes in.

USF’s Entrepreneurial Ventures Legal Services (EVLS) Project, a collaboration of four USF law clinics, launched a partnership last year with Impact Hub San Francisco, a shared coworking and events space for a global community of entrepreneurs, activists, creatives, and professionals taking action to drive positive social and environmental change. Impact Hub refers its Bay Area members to USF’s clinics for legal services, and USF hosts office hours for legal support and will teach workshops on key legal aspects of startup companies.

“Our partnership with Impact Hub is a great fit for USF,” said Professor Robert Talbot, who directs EVLS and the related clinics. “USF has a longstanding commitment to the community, and Impact Hub’s members are starting socially responsible businesses that make money.”

Kari Gray, Impact Hub’s event program manager, said the partnership is already making a difference.

“Impact Hub’s partnership with USF School of Law is win-win,” Gray said. “One of the most highly sought services by startups at Impact Hub is legal advice and support, so connecting the two groups is a huge mutual benefit.”

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Since the fall, the clinic served seven Impact Hub members, and after hosting office hours at Impact Hub in January, five new clients came on board this spring. Clients have received help with intellectual property issues such as trademark clearance and searches, registering, non-disclosure agreements, and assignment of intellectual property rights. Supervised by

“ I HAVE FORMED A STRONG PARTNERSHIP WITH MY CLIENT, WHERE THE RESEARCH AND LEGAL ISSUES I RAISE DIRECTLY INFLUENCE HER BUSINESS DECISIONS.” — Kacee Taylor 2L

USF faculty and adjunct professors, law students also provide support for entity selection and setup, tax matters, management issues, equity issues, and questions about investors, and other topics.

It’s also a great opportunity for USF students, said Talbot. “Students learn more by working with clients than classroom work — from setting up companies, to employment issues, to intellectual property and patents — you need

to know a significant portion of the law school curriculum to support startups. Our graduates will be much more valuable to a law firm or company since they aren’t starting from scratch.”

Kacee Taylor 2L enrolled in the Investor Justice Clinic for a second semester this year because of the connections she enjoyed making with entrepreneurs, in particular one of her clients. “I have formed a strong partnership with my client, where the research and legal issues I raise directly influence her business decisions.”

Taylor said this hands-on experience working with Impact Hub entrepreneurs puts her ahead of the curve when she looks for work after graduation. “In the future, if I work with a maturing startup, I’ll understand the business and legal decisions made at earlier stages and how those decisions have affected the company’s growth.”

She said she came to USF School of Law because she wanted to get practical experience working with startups and emerging companies.

“This clinic is exactly what I had hoped to find in law school. Professor Talbot’s teaching and guidance has helped me co-found a new student organization this year, the Technology, Entrepreneur, and Startup Law Association.

Coupling these two activities has significantly impacted my law school experience giving me the opportunity to pursue my career aspirations.” n

The National Jurist gave USF School of Law an “A” grade for its offerings in intellectual property, tech law, and practical training

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MARCH 2016

FEBRUARY 2016

How do #USFLaw students in the Frank C. Newman International Human Rights Law Clinic spend their spring break? Unlike most other students, they’ve traveled to Geneva to present research at the UN’s Human Rights Council meeting. Pictured here: Cooper Findlay 3L speaking about information and communications technology and child sexual exploitation at the annual meeting on the rights of the child.

#USFLaw LLM students recently visited Juniper Networks in Silicon Valley, thanks to host Sebastian Diaz-Ortiz ‘09 and his colleagues. Our students spoke with Juniper legal and government relations staff about the operations of the corporation, and learned about their varied career paths that landed them at Juniper.

DECEMBER 2015 Alyse Pacheco ‘15 is using her #USFLaw education to increase access to justice. Hear about it in her own words: http://bit.ly/1Qfuie7

MARCH 2016 Fifteen first-year #USFLaw students participated in the second annual Bar Association of San Francisco Open Doors program during spring break. The program began last year at USF, and this year expanded to include other local law schools.

Our students spent the week at law firms, courts, and governmental agencies shadowing practicing attorneys and observing court proceedings. Thank you to BASF for helping make this terrific opportunity possible for our students!

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NOVEMBER 2015 Congrats to Jose Franco ’98 and Nona Klippen ’88, who were appointed judges of the Santa Clara County Superior Court this week and join a long and distinguished line of USF alums to serve on the bench. #USFLaw DECEMBER 2015 What’s a fantastic stress reliever during finals? A visit from Sammie the Yorkie!

Many thanks to the The San Francisco SPCA for bringing him to #USFLaw’s Zief Law Library last week.

SEPTEMBER 2015 Dean John Trasviña received the Government of Mexico’s Ohtli Award for distinguished service to the Mexican community #USFLaw

Phillip Brown 2L teaching street law at Galileo High School in San Francisco.

young people and make a positive impact on their lives.

The course teaches topics that are critical for young people in today’s climate, including what to do if they are stopped by the police in a car or questioned on the street, same-sex marriage rights, immigration issues, and housing law. A police officer often visits the classrooms,

Law Review Symposium Delves into Housing Issues Property lawyers, professors, students, and others explored housing issues locally and nationally at the USF Law Review Symposium “Housing for Vulnerable Populations and the Middle Class: Revisiting Housing Rights and Policies in a Time of Expanding Crisis” on Jan. 29 at USF. San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim, who represents both the lowest and highest income residents in the city, opened the symposium. Alan Mallach, senior fellow at the Center for Community Progress, gave the keynote address, and other speakers included

Occidental University Professor Peter Dreier and Marcia Rosen, executive director at the National Housing Law Project.

“Everyone gained new insights, a sense of fresh possibilities, and a sharpened appreciation for the profound challenges we face.

We left with a renewed commitment to keep working together toward solutions,” said Professor Tim Iglesias, the symposium faculty advisor.

The symposium was presented by the University of San Francisco Law Review and the USF Center for Law and Ethics. n

to break the ice on neutral ground and encourage both the officer and students to learn the other’s perspective.

The theme of prevention rings true for Phillip Brown 2L, who aspires to be a prosecutor. He said he teaches street law at Galileo High School in San Francisco “to do something before a situation reaches the criminal court.”

“I hope that they would think twice before making a bad decision that’s going to bite them later,” he said, such as an arrest for public drinking or a driving under the influence charge.

“The best thing would be if they saw a situation and they remedied it or took action because of something they learned in my class. For example, we were talking about domestic violence, and they learned in class that it’s domestic violence when a father hits a grandfather, not just the more traditional husband-wife conflicts. I want to get them thinking and taking action.”

Nazario finds it exciting to watch the law students enjoy teaching the course and come back to the seminar with memories that will last them a long time. “The best thing about our Street Law class is not so much the information, but it’s the marriage we create between the law and high school students.” n

Supervisor Jane Kim speaking at the USF Law Review Symposium on Jan. 29.

CALEB D’OLEIRE

In 1976, Assistant Professor Tom Nazario ’75 was struck by the the big questions high school students grapple with, despite a lack of understanding of the consequences — and legal implications — of their actions.

“Many kids in San Francisco and across the country graduate from high school with almost no information about practical aspects of law,” he said. “Why not bring law into the classroom through the use of law students?”

Nearly 40 years later, more than 60,000 Bay Area high school students have participated in USF’s Street Law class, the third oldest program of this kind in the country. This semester, nine USF law students are continuing that tradition by teaching practical aspects of the law twice a week at seven Bay Area high schools. The law students also meet weekly with Nazario to prepare for and debrief on their time in the high schools.

Nazario said the program accomplishes three goals for the high school students: delivers legal information, teaches them skills, and changes their attitudes so they have an expectation of justice. On the flip side, the law students gain an in-depth understanding of the laws they teach, and have the opportunity to meet

CALEB D’OLEIRE

STREET LAW CLASS EMPOWERS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH LEGAL TOOLS

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SF’s Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic received a $200,000 grant from the California Department of Social Services, enabling the clinic to take on 40 additional cases this year for clients in the Central Valley.

USF was the only law school clinic to receive a grant, and this amount is significantly larger than all but one of the 15 grantee organizations across the state.

The Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic was established in 2015 to represent unaccompanied alien children and mothers who have arrived at the southern U.S. border and are transferred to Northern California or the Central Valley. Under federal and

unaccompanied children and mothers with children fleeing violence from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala continues. U.S. immigration officials consider the deportation of these individuals a high enforcement priority even though the conditions in those countries have not improved, Hing said.

“The USF Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic is representing dozens of these clients, successfully obtaining asylum and special immigrant juvenile status for those cases that have been completed,” he said. “The new state grant will enable the clinic to focus much of its efforts on the Central Valley, where legal services for these individuals and families are not readily available.”

“ OUR STUDENTS HAVE PREVAILED ON EVERY CASE THUS FAR, WHICH IS A TESTAMENT TO THEIR DEVELOPING KNOWLEDGE OF THE LAW.” — Dean John Trasviña

international law, children in this situation are entitled to a hearing but not to an attorney.

When represented, their likelihood of success on the merits of their case increases from 1 percent to 25 percent.

This fall, students represented approximately 70 clients in immigration proceedings at the asylum office, immigration courts, and adjudication offices of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Students also represented minors in state probate and family law courts to seek guardianships where appropriate to qualify for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.

Professor Bill Ong Hing, director of the clinic, said the surge of forced migration of

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This support is crucial to the law school’s ability to provide students with real courtroom experience while also serving children fleeing persecution and seeking political asylum, said Dean John Trasviña.

“Our students have prevailed on every case thus far, which is a testament to their developing knowledge of the law,” Trasviña said. “As conditions in Central America worsen and the need for representation grows, we are committed to taking on additional cases so that unaccompanied minors have access to quality legal representation. And we are actively seeking additional support to expand the services our students are providing.” n

Sr. Helen Prejean Gives Inaugural Hamill Family Lecture Notable death penalty opponent and activist Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, delivered the inaugural Hamill Family Lecture on March 22 at USF. Sr. Prejean told stories from her three decades of ministry against the death penalty, including her experiences that led her to write two books, Dead Man Walking and The Death of Innocents.

“My heroes are lawyers,” Sr. Prejean said. “I’ve learned the importance of having a lawyer by your side, to be able to access all those constitutional protections promised you, which have no meaning unless you have a lawyer by your side. I always write that public defenders are our true heroes. You have dedicated people who care about justice, and it is a beautiful thing.”

The Hamill Family Lecture is made possible thanks to a gift from USF Board of Trustees Chairman Stephen Hamill ’78, and his wife, Janice, who endowed a faculty chair in the USF School of Law that includes an annual academic lecture. The faculty position is held by Hamill Family Chair in Law and Social Psychology Richard Leo, who moderated a discussion with Sr. Prejean after her lecture. n

CALEB D’OLEIRE

Immigration Clinic Wins $200,000 Grant

ONE TO WATCH: MAX SZABO 2L Max Szabo never envisioned himself in law school, but the value of a legal education became clear to him in his full-time role as communications and legislative affairs manager for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. After graduating from UC Santa Cruz, Max launched a career in public affairs, managing communications and organizing campaigns for some of San Francisco’s most contentious ballot initiatives and land use campaigns, from the sit/lie measure to reforms to city employee pension and health benefits. He is enrolled in the part-time JD program to earn his degree while continuing to advance his career. me, it occurred to me that if I could accomplish something like that piece of legislation, I could probably pull off law school, too.

Which class has challenged you the most?

Property. Professor Alice Kaswan was great, but the rule against perpetuities should die a slow, miserable death.

What advice would you give new law students?

What is one of your most memorable experiences at USF?

What’s the best part of working in the District Attorney’s Office?

My first day of school. It was equal parts apprehension and excitement. Being in the night program I had no idea what to expect, and part of me doubted if I was going to be able to pull off a full-time job and school at night. Earlier that same day, however, Governor Jerry Brown had signed a bill into law that I had helped draft, negotiate, and shepherd through the process to require theft-deterrent technology on smartphones. It was one of the most controversial bills of the session. When that first-day sinking feeling started coming over

I am surrounded by an absolutely brilliant, diverse array of people and I get to go to work every day loving what I do. The DA is an amazing person to work for and I learn from him every day. The work we do here is meaningful, it touches people from all walks of life, and we are having an impact that is being felt far beyond San Francisco. I never saw myself working in law enforcement, but I’m grateful for the odd twist of fate that landed me here. n

CALEB D’OLEIRE

to the private sector, whether as a consultant, for a law firm, or in-house. Honestly, it is difficult to say, but I’m a native San Franciscan and I love it here, so I’ll be in the neighborhood.

Get an outline for your classes from someone who already took the class with the same professor and did well, and then add to it during class. It’s easier to start with most of the doctrine already on paper and then add to it during lecture so you’re able to listen and participate during class discussion. I’ve found that if I don’t, I’m stuck trying to make sure I have everything complete during class and I often miss important insights that can be helpful for the exam.

What most influenced your path to law school?

I used to run political campaigns for a living.

At one point someone I admired pointed out that after we provided our strategic advice, more often than not it was the lawyers who would ultimately make the decisions. Having the opportunity to influence decision-makers has helped me develop both professionally and personally, but I think a law degree will put me in the best position to make sound decisions myself as my career progresses.

How do you plan to use your law degree?

I hope to expand my role at the DA’s office, and experience within our special prosecutions division interests me most. It may be some time off but eventually I imagine I will return

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IN BRIEF

Professor Jack Garvey Designated Fulbright Senior Specialist on Refugee Law Professor Jack Garvey will travel to Croatia this summer as a U.S. State Department-appointed Fulbright Senior Specialist on refugee law, along with Alexander Wiegel 2L. Working in conjunction with the Welcome Initiative, Garvey will be a member of the refugee crisis team on legal and

policy matters, focusing on international humanitarian law and specifically refugee law.

Garvey was selected for his vast experience in refugee law, including field work, projects with governments, and numerous published articles on the pragmatics, strategies, and legal theory for

structuring refugee flow.

“The work is to provide legal structure for meeting the challenge of the European refugee crisis,” Garvey said. “The objective of our legal team is to apply and develop international humanitarian and refugee law, with on-site work with the NGO’s and governments

involved, as the means to reduce the suffering of the refugee populations, while maximizing social stability for Europe.” n

Boosting Bar Exam Preparation In the face of a national decline in bar examination pass rates, Dean John Trasviña has appointed Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Joshua Davis to chair USF’s task force to implement changes focused on better preparing our law students for the exam.

Davis spoke to USF Lawyer magazine about how the law school is responding to the challenge.

The pass rates on bar examinations nationwide fell in 2015. What happened?

There are many reasons. We have looked closely at this issue and have reached some tentative conclusions. One is that there is a generational change in students. The way they are educated and learn — especially when it comes to technology — is not the same as it was in the past. Another explanation has to do with the decrease in the number of students applying to law school. As applications to law schools decrease, law schools are admitting students with lower objective indicators of likely success, including LSAT scores. That may well be contributing to a decrease in bar pass rates.

Did USF’s bar results also decline?

Yes. Typically, our students have done quite well on the bar, passing at a rate higher than the average for ABA-accredited law schools.

However, in the last two summers — particularly this past one — our students have not done as well. We are taking this decrease in the bar pass rate quite seriously. We are dedicated to ensuring that it is a temporary phenomenon, not a trend. Toward that end, the dean has appointed me to chair a task force composed

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of law faculty to study best practices in regard to the bar and to make proposals to improve the performance of our students.

What is the law school doing to better prepare students for the bar?

We have taken various measures to improve our bar pass rate, some of which should come to fruition this summer. First, we hired a nationally recognized expert on bar pass, Assistant Professor Rodney Fong, to work with students and help us develop a program to support bar pass.

This year’s graduating class will be the first one to benefit from some of the programs we put in place, including strengthening the academic support students receive from the beginning of law school and working with classroom professors to provide early feedback to students and to identify students who are struggling early on so that we can intervene and help them as soon as possible.

Second, the dean’s Bar Task Force, which I chair, has taken immediate measures to help the graduating class, including expanding the support students receive for bar pass in their final semester. It will soon propose additional changes for next year. A theme to those changes

is that students need more practice in legal writing and careful legal thinking, and need more feedback so that they can improve over time. The task force is also undertaking a statistical analysis of data from past years to identify the most promising — and least promising — strategies for improving bar pass.

Once that analysis is complete, we will develop a long-term strategy. Meanwhile, we expect to admit a smaller class for this coming fall and to ensure that continuing students have a strong chance of passing the bar.

Any crystal ball predictions for bar results in the coming years, both nationally and at USF? I always hesitate to prognosticate. But I feel confident that we will soon see a significant improvement in our bar pass rate. How soon is hard to say. An improvement may occur as soon as this summer. That will depend in part on the effectiveness of the changes we have already made, and on the students taking full advantage of these new resources. We will continue to take more significant measures and commit additional resources until we are happy with the rate at which our students pass the bar. We owe them that much. n

PRESS CLIPPINGS “He would be very persuasive within the body of nine in contrast to Justice Scalia’s frequent scathing dissents.”

Dean John Trasviña in the San Francisco Chronicle describing Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee, whom Trasviña worked with in the U.S. Department of Justice when Garland and Trasviña were both deputy assistant attorneys general.

“The more you know about yourself, the better off you are. You then can decide how you’re going to act, as opposed to acting out of habit or unconsciously.”

Professor Joshua Rosenberg in an ABA Journal article about how introverts make good lawyers.

“It is not uncommon for a child of a migrant family to go to two or three different schools in a school year. And it makes it incredibly difficult for the child to graduate on time or even to graduate with a high school diploma.”

Professor Maria Ontiveros in a KQED News article on education challenges facing migrant farmworker families.

“They get access to everything.

That’s a significant problem that Congress hasn’t addressed. The law needs to address the fact that we put so much information on these devices.” rofessor Susan Freiwald in a Forbes.com article P about the government’s request for Apple to unlock a terrorism suspect’s iPhone.

“San Francisco appears to be entering into an era in which concern for building affordable housing and preserving the character of San Francisco’s communities is prompting more skepticism of market-rate development.”

Professor Tim Iglesias in a San Francisco Chronicle article about new San Francisco land-use politics and San Francisco supervisors preventing the sale of a city-owned property at Market Street and Van Ness Avenue.

“‘American law enforcement…remains steeped in the use of investigative methods and interrogation techniques that continue’ to produce false confessions.”

One of Professor Richard Leo’s published papers quoted in a Chicago Sun-Times op-ed about Netflix’s hit documentary series “Making a Murderer,” which spotlights false confessions.

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FACULTY FOCUS ON THE RECORD

PROFESSOR MARIA ONTIVEROS

Professor Maria Ontiveros focuses her scholarly work on employment law with an emphasis on immigrant workers’ rights. She is co-author of Employment Discrimination Law: Cases and Materials on Equality in the Workplace, and the author of numerous articles and book chapters, as well as forthcoming articles on the rhetoric of slavery in Michigan State Law Review and Seattle University Law Review.

Why do you focus on employment law and immigrant workers’ rights?

Work is central to a person’s life — it defines their economic well-being, as well as their social mobility and the opportunities for their children and grandchildren.

A person’s place in society and the way others perceive them also depends on their work. Labor and employment law, including anti-discrimination statutes and the worker empowerment made possible through collective bargaining, is essential for immigrant workers to find success in today’s workplace.

What are the key issues voters should consider when evaluating presidential candidates’ positions on immigration policies?

Right now there are approximately 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States. They live in, work in, and form an integral part of our communities. One out of 20 workers in the U.S. is unauthorized, and in California it is closer to one out of every 10 workers. Approximately 7 percent of K-12 students have at least one unauthorized immigrant parent. The next president needs to have a realistic plan for absorbing these individuals into our nation in a way that respects their human rights and their contributions to society.

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Many experts say the “gig” or “sharing” economy is here to stay. What rights should these on-demand workers have?

In February, our Jack Pemberton Lecture on Workplace Justice focused on just this issue. Drivers for Lyft and Uber and the taskers at TaskRabbit are clearly workers making a profit for these companies. Under a traditional employment model, they would be considered employees and be accorded workplace protections including minimum wage, overtime premiums, the right to organize, and protection against employment discrimination.

The argument that they are “independent contractors” exempt from these protections does not make sense because their work is dictated by and controlled by the companies. The evolution of technology has been changing the way that work is done and workers are controlled since the industrial revolution.

The “on-demand” economy is simply the most recent step in that evolution.

How is the growing use of “slavery” rhetoric in the context of unpaid interns and NCAA athletes helping to change workers’ rights?

Are there other places where this rhetoric is being used?

I recently undertook a survey of how public organizations are using the rhetoric of “modern day slavery” to describe oppressive work arrangements. The U.S. government is using it to fight trafficking, while immigrant workers’ advocates are using it to challenge the government’s immigration and labor policies that create oppressive work conditions for visa workers and unauthorized immigrants. One interesting finding was the portrayal of unpaid interns and NCAA athletes as “slaves” because they work for free, while companies and universities benefit from their labor. The use of the rhetoric was offensive to some because college students and interns often come from a privileged class, but the rhetoric was useful in arguing that these individuals should be considered employees, even if they are not paid. As a result, they are starting to receive some of the traditional employment protections, such as the right to organize and to be protected against discrimination. n

Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Joshua Davis Wins CLAY Award

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alifornia Lawyer magazine presented a California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year (CLAY) Award to Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Joshua Davis on March 15. Davis was honored as part of a team that helped secure a unanimous decision from the California Supreme Court in an antitrust case.

In the case, pharmaceutical giant Bayer was accused of paying another drug company, Barr Laboratories Inc., to delay introducing a generic version of a Bayer antibiotic, Cipro. The practice is known as “pay for delay” or a “reverse payment.”

“This case put in place a standard that will deter a lot of reverse payments to the benefit of the consumers and the public good,” said Davis. “The impact is potentially profound. Reverse payments cost consumers many billions of dollars every year. This isn’t just hitting consumers in the pocket book. The reality is that many people who are sick in America have a really hard time paying for drugs, whether they are antibiotics or cancer drugs or others.” n

Professor Manuel Vargas Wins Young Scholar Book Prize

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rofessor Manuel Vargas was awarded the 2015 American Philosophical Association’s (APA) Book Prize for his book Building Better Beings: A Theory of Moral Responsibility (Oxford University Press, 2013).

The APA’s Book Prize is awarded to the best book or article written by a young scholar in the past two years.

To qualify for the award, the author must be under 40 when the book was published, as well as have received their PhD within 10 years of the book being published. n

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FACULTY FOCUS

FACULTY SCHOLARSHIP PROFESSOR AND ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS JOSHUA DAVIS presented “Legal Dualism and Legal Ethics” at the Bay Area Legal Ethics Forum, and was a panelist on “Settlement Ethics: Negotiating Class Action Settlements the Right Way” at the Impact Fund 14th Annual Class Action Conference in San Francisco. He also moderated the American Antitrust Institute’s Private Antitrust Enforcement Conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. PROFESSOR CONNIE DE LA VEGA authored “Using International Human Rights Standards to Affect Criminal Justice Reform in the United States” in the American Bar Association’s Human Rights magazine. Her chapter “Human Rights: International Laws and Policies” will be published in the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Gender and Sexuality.

PROFESSOR REZA DIBADJ authored the chapter “Fashions and Methodology” in the forthcoming book Rethinking Legal Scholarship: A Transatlantic Interchange. His article “Crowdfunding Delusions” was published by Hastings Business Law Journal.

PROFESSOR DAVID FRANKLYN , as director of the McCarthy Institute for Intellectual Property and Technology Law, hosted the institute’s annual symposium, Trademark Law and its Challenges. The event was held at the University of San Francisco and co-sponsored by the International Trademark Association and Microsoft Corporation.

PROFESSOR SUSAN FREIWALD is a 2016 non-resident fellow for the Center for Democracy and Technology. She wrote the op-ed piece “How CalECPA Improves on its Federal Namesake” for Concurring Opinions. She was also a panelist on “How Does Technology Impact Conception of Privacy in Search and Seizure Law” at The Future Frontiers of Online Privacy at the Centre for Innovation Law and Policy at the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada.

PROFESSOR JACK GARVEY authored the article “Targeted Sanctions: Resolving the International Due Process Dilemma” in the forthcoming Texas International Law Journal, which will be a special 50th anniversary edition.

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USF SCHOOL OF LAW

PROFESSOR TRISTIN GREEN co-hosted the 12th Annual Jack Pemberton Lecture for Workplace Justice at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. She presented “Discrimination Laundering: The Rise of Organizational Innocence and the Crisis of Equal Opportunity Law” for the Faculty Colloquium Series at Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law in Philadelphia.

PROFESSOR BILL ONG HING authored “The Pressure is On — Criminal Defense Counsel Strategies After Padilla v. Kentucky,” published in Denver University Law Review. He also authored “Ethics, Morality, and Disruption of U.S. Immigration Laws” in Kansas Law Review. He wrote the chapter “African Migration to the United States: Assigned to the Back of the Bus” in The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965: Legislating a New America.

PROFESSOR PETER HONIGSBERG authored “‘I Still Live in Guantanamo!’ Human Rights Abuses Continue After Detainees Leave Guantanamo” published in the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy. His op-ed piece “Don’t Let Fear Lead Us to Repeat Mistakes of Guantanamo!” was published in the Huffington Post. He appeared on KQED Forum and was interviewed by WUNC-FM regarding the status of Guantanamo.

PROFESSOR TIM IGLESIAS wrote the article “California Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds Inclusionary Zoning as Land Use Regulation and Not an Exaction,” published by the California Real Property Law Reporter. The article will be included in the American Bar Association’s Journal of Affordable Housing and Community Development Law this spring.

PROFESSOR ALICE KASWAN wrote the chapter “Adaptation Justice” in the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Environmental Law: Climate Change Law, and the chapter “Cooperative Federalism and Adaptation” in The Law and Policy of Environmental Federalism: A Comparative Analysis. She authored the article “Climate Adaptation and Theories of Justice” published in the Archives of Law and Social Philosophy.

She also wrote the op-ed pieces “The Paris Agreement and Theories of Justice” and “The Clean Power Plan: Continuing Momentum after the Supreme Court’s Stay” for the Center for Progressive Reform’s CPRBlog.

HAMILL FAMILY CHAIR PROFESSOR OF LAW AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY RICHARD A. LEO co-authored “The Path to Exoneration,” which will be published in the forthcoming Albany Law Review. He was quoted in “Oklahoma Inmate the Focus of Renewed Attention as Execution Date Nears” in The New York Times. He also presented “Has the Innocence Movement Become an Exoneration Movement? The Risks and Rewards of Redefining Innocence” for the Wrongful Convictions and DNA Revolution: 25 Years of Freeing the Innocent Conference at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston.

PROFESSOR RHONDA MAGEE wrote “Life Experience and Cognitive Science Deepen the Case for Mindfulness in the Law” published by the American Bar Association Journal. Her forthcoming article “Mindfulness and Justice: The Heart of the Case for Mindfulness and Law” in the American Bar Association Journal will be the first in her semi-regular series on mindfulness and law. She also co-organized the annual conference of the Center for Contemplative Mind on Higher Education at Howard University in Washington, D.C. where she also gave several presentations.

PROFESSOR MAYA MANIAN authored the chapter “Comment: Geduldig v. Aiello” in the forthcoming book Feminist Judgements: Rewritten Opinions of the United States Supreme Court. She also wrote “Response: Griswold, Geduldig, and Hobby Lobby: The Sex Gap Continues” published in the University of Miami Law Review Caveat, and “Minors, Parents, and Minor Parents” in a forthcoming issue of Missouri Law Review. She wrote the op-ed pieces “Kennedy Likely to Cast Deciding Vote in Abortion Case” for the San Francisco Chronicle and “Undue Burdens on Abortion Rights” for JURIST. SENIOR PROFESSOR J. THOMAS MCCARTHY wrote “Divert All Trademark Appeals to the Federal Circuit? We Think Not,” published in Trademark Reporter. The fourth edition of his book McCarthy on Trademarks and Unfair Competition was published by Thomson Reuters. He also presented “Trademark Law Update in the U.S.: An In-Depth Review of Case Law and TTAB Decisions” at USF School of Law McCarthy Institute’s annual symposium, Trademark Law and its Challenges.

PROFESSOR SHARON MEADOWS presented “Grand Jury Practice and Community Prosecution” at the Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal symposium in San Francisco.

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR THOMAS A. NAZARIO ’s book Living on a Dollar a Day received six awards recently, including winning USA Book News’ International Book Award for nonfiction narrative writing and the International Photography Awards’ best documentary book. A related documentary about the making of the book has also been completed and will be released this spring.

HERBST FOUNDATION PROFESSOR OF LAW JULIE A. NICE authored the chapter “Conjuring ‘Equal Dignity’: Mapping the Constitutional Dialogue To and From Same-Sex Marriage” in Civil Rights Litigation Handbook. She moderated “Beyond Caitlyn: What’s Next for Transgender Rights?” at USF Pride Law in San Francisco, presented “Conjuring Equal Dignity” at USF’s University Ministry Faculty Lecture, and presented “Making Universal Access Real: A Case Study of Bayview/Hunters Point Community Legal” at Advancing Equal Access to Justice Conference at UC Hastings College of the Law. PROFESSOR MARIA ONTIVEROS co-hosted the 12th Annual Jack Pemberton Lecture for Workplace Justice at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Her article “Is Modern Day Slavery a Private Act of a Public System of Oppression?” will be published in the forthcoming Seattle University Law Review. She also wrote “NCAA Athletes, Unpaid Interns and the S-Word: Exploring the Rhetorical Impact of the Language of Slavery,” which will be in the forthcoming Michigan State Law Review symposium issue.

DEAN JOHN TRASVIÑA was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Recorder, KTVU, and other media outlets regarding the nomination of Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court. He also presented at the Legal Services Corporation national quarterly board meeting in San Francisco and on “Responding to the Crises of Our Communities: From Sexual Assault to Black Live Matter, and Beyond” at the American Bar Association’s Annual Deans’ Workshop.

PROFESSOR AND ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR FACULTY SCHOLARSHIP MICHELLE TRAVIS wrote the article “Disqualifying Universality Under the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act,” which will be published in the forthcoming Michigan State Law Review symposium issue. This article was recognized as one of the best works of recent scholarship relating to employment law in a review published by Jotwell: The Journal of Things We Like (Lots). She also co- hosted the 12th Annual Jack Pemberton Lecture for the Workplace Justice at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

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Rising and

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d Shining

How six alumni found opportunity right outside our door

By Samantha Bronson

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2015 2012

Became litigation partner at Nossaman LLP

2008

Joined Perkins Coie LLP as senior litigation attorney

2007

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s litigation counsel for Square, Farschad Farzan ’01 handles matters similar to those he handled when he worked for various law firms, but with one big difference — now he has the opportunity to think through possible legal concerns upfront rather than only after they’ve turned into litigation.

“We are always coming up with new products and improving our products,” Farzan said. “It’s great to be here on the front end to think through the issues. We have engineering issues upfront. We have privacy, security, business, regulatory, and international issues that I get to think through every day. These are innovative products, and it is invigorating to be a part of that.”

After 14 years at law firms, Farzan joined the mobile payments company last year, just months before the San Francisco-based startup went public. The company markets several software and hardware payments products and also has expanded into small business services, such as a finance program and payroll. Farzan advises on privacy and data security issues and works with the business to look for concerns that might lead to litigation. If something does reach the litigation phase, Farzan helps create the overall strategy, reviews and revises briefs, and oversees outside counsel.

“It’s really doing the same strategizing I did before, but now leaving it to outside counsel to do the day-to-day work,” said Farzan, who was most recently a litigation partner at Nossaman LLP prior to joining Square.

During his time at firms, Farzan focused on areas such as antitrust, class action defense, and complex litigation. “I thrive when I’m in the courtroom,” Farzan said. In fact, leaving that part of the process to Square’s outside counsel has been one of Farzan’s toughest transitions to becoming an in-house attorney.

Farzan first began considering a move in-house as a way to find more work-life balance. Square intrigued him because of the company’s way of looking forward and creating new ideas and products that benefit people and smaller companies that were previously overlooked by larger payments companies.

“Even before I came here, I’d heard stories about Square, about changing what I call the way people are able to do business,” Farzan said.

At Square, Farzan plans to continue his dedication to pro bono work — it’s a commitment to helping others that he valued before law school but was reinforced during his time at USF. Farzan also credits USF with providing hands-on training through the clinics he participated in, including the Frank C. Newman International Human Rights Clinic.

“The best part of USF to me is they train you to be a lawyer. At most law schools you’re going to analyze issues and think critically, of course.

But at USF, there’s the extra step of teaching you what you actually do as a lawyer,” Farzan said. “When I started at my first firm, I felt very prepared to be a lawyer. I felt ahead of the game.”

Joined Square as litigation counsel

Became senior associate attorney at Morgan Miller Blair, Inc.

2001

Law meets innovation in the fast-paced world of startups

Joined Bingham McCutchen LLP as senior associate attorney

2001

Getting Ahead of Litigation

Graduated from USF School of Law

Steering the Ship

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Growing up with Sedgwick and helping form its identity

2016

Named managing partner of Sedgwick’s San Francisco office

2015

Joined USF School of Law Board of Governors

2007

Founded the firm’s retail practice group

2004

Helped start the firm’s Women’s Forum

1994

Named partner at Sedgwick

1988

Hired at Sedgwick, LLP

1988

ith 28 years of experience at Sedgwick LLP, Stephanie Sheridan ’88 knows her length of experience at one firm stands out these days. Just as the firm has changed and grown during those years, so too has Sheridan, who was recently named managing partner of the San Francisco office.

Sheridan primarily handles consumer class action defense and is founder and chair of the firm’s retail and fashion industry practice group, representing retailers across the country in all aspects of litigation.

“I really enjoy working with retailers and the issues they have,” Sheridan said. “It’s an industry that is constantly in motion.”

When Sheridan started out at the firm, she had the opportunity to try a lot of cases on her own early on, an experience she describes as “helping you mature very quickly.” Her USF education, Sheridan said, helped her achieve that early success.

“I took courses like Problems in Evidence where Professor Bob Talbot would assign people to play opposing counsel and the class would have to identify and shout out evidentiary objections. There’s really no way like learning on your feet,” she said. “Classes like that and moot court were good training grounds. I also had good working experiences during law school at various firms, so by the time I started at Sedgwick, I felt like I was able to hit the ground running.”

Graduated from USF School of Law

Over the years, Sheridan’s work covered a broad range of topics, from underground storage tanks to airbags to psychological injury. In 2006, as some requirements of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) started taking effect for retailers, Sheridan saw an opportunity.

She began calling companies, some which she had connections with but many of which she didn’t, to see if they needed help with FACTA cases.

“Before I knew it, I represented a lot of retailers across the country,” Sheridan said. “I realized I liked that business and I liked the work.” The firm’s retail practice group was officially born less than a year later.

Her responsibilities at the firm also have broadened considerably since being named managing partner in January. With that not only comes administrative duties, Sheridan said, but also the expectations that come with being a role model for having a successful law career and a family. “It’s good for young associates, both women and men, to see that it is possible to do,” she said. “It’s not always easy, but it is possible.”

The supportive approach Sheridan instills at Sedgwick reflects the spirit she remembers during her law school days and still observes among the alumni network today, notably in her role on the Board of Governors. “People genuinely support each other and want each other to succeed,” she said. “I feel like people are really supportive in this community. USF reaches out and supports one another.”

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mental shift every half hour is a little rough” — but it’s a pace that Kelly manages by drawing on skills she learned in law school, particularly on how to communicate.

“Being an effective communicator is key when you’re in such a busy environment and so much information is coming at you,” Kelly said. “I have to be able to digest complex information and be able to distill it. It is so key to be able to communicate your point quickly.”

Kelly’s initial years with the city — she began in 1996 just after graduating college — were an especially impressive time to work for such a storied institution, when “national leaders and people of notoriety would call on a regular basis to get advice,” Kelly said.

Though the work is less star-studded these days, it is no less important. Kelly regularly hears from people about how the city is doing as she simply goes through her everyday life — at the grocery store, at her children’s school, at soccer games. Kelly easily points to several examples she’s particularly proud of, including leading an ongoing effort to upgrade the city’s public housing as well as opening the county clerk’s office over the weekend when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage last year.

“This is the level of government where the rubber meets the road, where policies directly impact people,” Kelly said. “Decisions you make can have a true impact on people’s lives and that intrigues me the most.”

Appointed city administrator

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Appointed city purchaser and director of the Office of Contract Administration

2004

Graduated from USF School of Law

2001

Appointed deputy city administrator

2012

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an Francisco City Administrator Naomi Kelly ’01 knew when she began law school that she didn’t want to practice law. Instead, Kelly was following the advice of then-San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, who suggested she earn a law degree as a way of advancing her career in government.

“He truly believed that having a law degree and the skill set they teach you in law school would open up so many doors. He was 100 percent right,” said Kelly, who worked as a special assistant for Brown before leaving for law school.

“My time in law school was very valuable in broadening my analytical skills and my approach to public service and trying to better government.”

After law school, Kelly returned to the City and County of San Francisco to serve as executive director of the city’s Taxi Commission. She continued to rise through the ranks, serving as the city purchaser and director of contract management and then as deputy city administrator. In 2012, Kelly was appointed city administrator.

As one of San Francisco’s highest ranking non-elected officials, Kelly now oversees 25 departments, divisions, and programs, including public works, real estate, purchasing, and Treasure Island. She is responsible for more than 2,100 employees and a budget of more than $500 million. The scope of her responsibilities can make for dizzyingly fast-paced days — as Kelly explains, “The

Legal education opens doors at City Hall

2011

Strengthening San Francisco

Practical Makes Perfect

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Focusing on fundamentals and succeeding in Silicon Valley

or Lisa Widup ’01, working at Apple is like coming full circle to her original vision of a legal career.

As a self-described big movie and music fan, Widup began law school with hopes of working in entertainment law. Now, as senior counsel in Apple’s Internet services group, Widup’s primary duty is supporting iTunes and the App Store as product counsel.

“I’d always wanted to work for the content creators, those in the entertainment business,” Widup said. “I wanted to be part of that industry and thought working on the legal side of things was a way into it. Apple is interesting in that it’s got that entertainment aspect.”

Before taking on her current role three years ago, Widup served as senior intellectual property counsel in Apple’s trademark and copyright group for six years. In that position, she managed the iTunes trademark and got to know the company’s App Store and iTunes legal teams. When the opportunity came to switch groups within Apple, Widup saw it as a chance to move closer to her long-held desire to work in entertainment law.

In law school, Widup moved toward that goal by taking all the intellectual property classes offered at USF including Senior Professor J. Thomas McCarthy’s advanced seminar, intellectual property classes, a copyright class, and an entertainment law class. Thanks to a law school professor’s connection, she landed an interview for a summer associate position at Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP (now Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP). Widup didn’t get the position for that

Graduated from USF School of Law 2001

summer, but the connections she made while interviewing helped her land a full-time job at the firm after graduating.

Widup said she felt well prepared joining Townsend as an associate, thanks to the extensive research and writing training she received in law school. USF’s focus on professional skills training, she said, has served her well throughout her career.

“One thing I thought valuable about the USF education was that it was more practically focused and that’s what you need as an attorney,” Widup said. “You need to be able to give clients advice they can use — not simply give a legal opinion, but clients need to be able to understand it and how to apply it and go forward. USF definitely gives you an edge and helps get your head in the right place.”

At Townsend, Widup worked in the trademark group, handling prosecution and enforcement work for several major clients, including Oracle, Charles Schwab, Williams-Sonoma, and Apple. After working with Apple’s in-house attorneys and getting to know the company and the brand, Widup jumped at the chance to work in-house when a position arose.

“I’ve been especially proud of my work in the trademark group and helping protect some of the most important brands in our culture. That was definitely a wonderful experience,” Widup said. “Now to be supporting the largest entertainment store in the world, that’s a great thing to be part of. Having this experience of being an Apple lawyer has been a feather in my cap.”

Joined Apple’s Joined Internet Townsend and Joined Apple services team Townsend and as intellectual as senior Crew LLP as property counsel associate counsel attorney 2001

2007

2013

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2007

Graduated from USF School of Law

Connecting Technology and Law

M

2016

Clerked for former Chief Judge James Ware of the Northern District of California

2007

Joined Morrison & Foerster

2008

Elected partner at Morrison & Foerster

Trading in a lab coat for a suit jacket

atthew Chivvis ’07 had planned to go into science and technology. He started his undergraduate studies in electrical engineering, and later transitioned to the life sciences, obtaining a degree in molecular biology. Using his experience in both fields, he performed research in computer science, bioinformatics, and cell metabolism.

Ultimately, however, Chivvis realized working in a lab wasn’t for him.

Instead, he turned his passion for science and technology into a successful law career in the intellectual property group of San Francisco stalwart Morrison & Foerster.

As a newly elected partner at the firm, Chivvis represents high-tech, Internet, and life sciences companies and focuses primarily on patent litigation. Over the past seven years, he has handled a range of cases covering a diverse set of sciences and technologies, including satellite television, interactive voice response systems, breast cancer drugs, and vaccines against a form of meningitis.

Chivvis began his focus on IP law while at USF, earning the Intellectual Property and Cyberlaw Certificate and participating in the Giles S. Rich Moot Court Competition, which focuses on patent law. While the competition was an extracurricular activity, Chivvis was impressed with how well the law school supported it, including offering faculty time and expertise in reviewing and critiquing briefs and arguments. “The competition certainly helped me learn more about patent law and practice my advocacy skills,” said Chivvis, who won Best Brief and Best Oral Argument for the competition’s western region.

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USF SCHOOL OF LAW

Although some of Chivvis’ clients such as Genentech, Netflix, and Palo Alto Networks are local to the Bay Area, others are scattered around the country and the globe. Yet Morrison & Foerster’s location was a big draw for Chivvis. He knew he wanted to be in San Francisco and he knew he wanted to do IP work. “Morrison & Foerster is a pillar of the San Francisco legal community and they came very early to the technology scene,” he said. “No other firm can really compete with Morrison & Foerster in the city.”

Chivvis spent his first year out of law school working in Silicon Valley as a clerk for former Chief Judge James Ware of the Northern District of California. With a front row seat to the numerous technology cases that came through the court, he solidified his desire to work on IP and patent litigation cases in particular.

Chivvis built on that experience when he joined Morrison & Foerster after his clerkship ended in 2008. He started off with a mixed practice, working on smaller cases for different attorneys in the firm, and felt fully prepared to handle the legal challenges that came his way. USF, he said, provided a great legal education from professors who took the time to provide students with one-on-one attention.

Now fully focused on intellectual property, Chivvis is in his element, skillfully combining his loves of science, technology, and the law.

“In IP litigation, I get to learn about new technologies with some of the world’s leading experts,” he said. “This requires a blend of legal and technical analysis, which allows me to use both my undergraduate education in the sciences and my USF legal training.”

Bridging the Experience Gap A “four-year job interview” that paid off big

M

Became a paralegal at Fenwick & West

Joined Gap as a paralegal

1999

2004

Graduated from USF School of Law

2009

Promoted to corporate counsel and director, global equities Hired as an administration at Gap attorney for Gap

2009

2014

arie Ma ‘09 was in the midst of researching law schools when she began as a corporate paralegal at Gap Inc., and she saw the job as more than a way to work while attending law classes in the evenings. She also viewed it as a way to supplement her education while she earned her law degree.

Over time, Ma realized that Gap was someplace she would love to practice, but she knew that Gap rarely hires attorneys straight out of law school. In hindsight, she realized her time at Gap during law school was a “four-year job interview” for the attorney position she landed after graduation.

Ma has now worked for the company for 11 years, with the last six as an attorney. (She is currently the only attorney at Gap who didn’t come from a law firm.) As corporate counsel and director of global equity administration, Ma provides legal advice on a range of corporate, securities, finance, public communications and disclosure, corporate governance, and compliance issues. She also oversees all reporting and filing obligations with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and oversees the team that administers all equity-based compensation programs throughout the company.

Before starting at Gap, Ma worked as a paralegal for Fenwick & West in Mountain View, an experience that first introduced her to corporate law. “Once exposed to it,” Ma said, “I was immediately drawn in.”

By the time she entered law school, she knew she wanted to work in corporate law as an attorney. By day, she was already working in it as a paralegal; by night, she was studying it.

“USF’s evening program was huge for me,” Ma said. “It played a key role in my career. I wouldn’t be a lawyer today without a night program geared towards people like me, who are not able to pursue a full-time law school program. The other piece is that the experience of working full-time and going to law school tested my work ethic. In some ways, pushing myself that way gave me a lot of confidence in what I was capable of.”

Ma’s efforts include her personal passion for pipeline and pro bono work. She chairs the Mock Trial Committee of the Bar Association of San Francisco, which works with San Francisco public high school students, and at Gap she began the company’s pro bono program for U visa applicants, a limited visa available to victims of certain crimes. The first clients Ma took on through the U visa program were recently granted permanent legal residency in the United States.

The opportunity to take on new professional challenges, whether through her job or outside of it, keeps Ma energized.

“In some ways, you could say that I value a degree of discomfort on the job, with a real possibility of failure, to feel like I’m developing and learning and pushing myself,” she said. “This discomfort pushes me to work harder and to become better and more adept at what I do.” 

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Adrian Tirtanadi ’12 and Virginia Taylor ’12 in Bayview/ USF SCHOOL OF LAW Hunters Point Community Legal’s new office.

Breakthrough Nonprofit Helps Neighbors in Need

By Arvin Temkar

USFers bring universal legal aid to the poor and marginalized in Bayview-Hunters Point Robin Tyree had been sober for years. Even so, a series of nonviolent drug-related felonies and misdemeanors from more than a decade earlier made it tough for the 62-year-old former meth addict to find steady work and affordable housing.

She’d at least managed to step up from living in a tent, to a van, to a motorhome — but a couple of years ago the motorhome was damaged after being rammed by a car fleeing the police. There wasn’t much else to do but stay in the inoperable vehicle and continue selling scrap metal for money.

Then one night she told her story to a Salvation Army social worker.

The social worker said, “I know exactly where you should go.”

Legal Aid With a Twist

Bayview/Hunters Point Community Legal (BHPCL), opened in January 2013 by USF School of Law alumni Adrian Tirtanadi ’12 and Virginia Taylor ’12, is a legal aid nonprofit with a recognizable mission: to provide free civil legal services to the poor and marginalized.

But there’s a radical twist. BHPCL says it’s pioneering the first universal civil legal aid system in the nation, meaning any low- or middle-income person, who meets certain requirments, can walk in and get help for any viable legal problem — from eviction to child custody.

“That’s just unheard of,” says Professor Bill Ong Hing. Though other legal aid organizations provide free services, most specialize in only one or a few areas of law. “The fact that they don’t turn people away is very unique,” Hing says.

Right now aid is available to anyone in three zip codes, including all of Bayview-Hunters Point, one of San Francisco’s roughest and poorest neighborhoods, where the nonprofit is located. The service area encompasses a total of about 70,000 San Franciscans.

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Civil legal aid is the least resourced social need in the United States, getting relatively little attention and funding compared to things like education, food, and job training, says Tirtanadi, the nonprofit’s executive director. But because low- and moderate-income families can’t get help solving their legal problems, inequality and poverty are exacerbated.

“Without legal representation you essentially have no bargaining power,” Tirtanadi says. “Imagine if your employer never paid you — how would you force him to without a lawyer? You could try, but you’d be very ineffective.”

Rebellious Lawyering

Tirtanadi, 30, has a habit of hitting his coffee cup on the table when he makes a point.

“It should be obvious” — CLACK — “that if you can’t enforce substantive legal rights, bad actors in a community can continuously destroy all your other anti-poverty efforts, and nothing’s stopping them,” he says. “The lack of legal services is really trapping people in poverty. Building new houses, creating new jobs isn’t going to solve that problem.”

He was attracted to USF in part for the school’s generous loan forgiveness program for public interest attorneys. (Tirtanadi and Taylor both took advantage of USF’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program after graduation.)

His law school application essay was a summary of a business plan outlining his idea for a universal legal aid nonprofit.

“To me, there was no question of if we’d be helpful or have enough clients. The only question was if we’d be able to raise enough money.” — Adrian Tirtanadi ’12 “I was like, ‘I’m gonna do this,’” says Tirtanadi, who graduated in the top 5 percent of his class. “‘Do you want to help or not?’”

USF does. The university has been a critical supporter, with dozens of USFers on the nonprofit’s team, from undergraduates who earn service-learning credits, to law school alumni who volunteer part-time, to a USF School of Law assistant dean who serves on the board.

In his second year, Tirtanadi met Taylor — who he’d recruit to be his business partner — in Professor Hing’s Rebellious Lawyering class. (Hing is a donor to the nonprofit.)

Rebellious lawyering, says Hing, means practicing law in “partnership” with the client, rather than from the conventional top-down, lawyer-knows-best approach. A rebellious lawyer works closely with the community to help the client address all of his or her needs, not just the legal ones.

This is precisely the model, inspired largely by the class, that BHPCL has adopted.

The nonprofit shares an office with a Salvation Army drop-in center where people can get help on a variety of things from signing up for healthcare to getting credit reports. It’s an ideal collaboration — many of the clients who seek assistance at BHPCL could also benefit from the broader services Salvation Army provides.

The office, on a busy, commercial corridor of Third Street, is fitting in another way: It’s small and scrappy, much like the nonprofit it houses. Sometimes

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doorknobs fall off. The only bathroom is accessed through the meeting room that attorneys use to talk privately with clients. And some days, when work is bustling and there are more than 15 people, there’s nowhere to sit.

When Tirtanadi and Taylor first started the nonprofit, they rented a corner of the 900-square-foot drop-in center for $50 a month. They worked from a couch with their laptops.

“To me, there was no question of if we’d be helpful or have enough clients,” says Tirtanadi. “The only question was if we’d be able to raise enough money.”

The first year, the pair paid themselves minimum wage, and Taylor lived at home with her parents. Four years later — thanks to BHPCL’s relentless appeals to foundations, businesses, and private donors — the nonprofit’s budget has skyrocketed from $30,000 in the first year to $700,000 in its fourth, and full-time staff has grown from two to nine. Last year BHPCL was one of six Bay Area nonprofits to win a $500,000 Google Impact Challenge grant, which helped it increase its service area from one zip code to three.

And the office that’s so fitting is making way for a new one — that will actually fit. The nonprofit is moving with the Salvation Army to a much larger building a few blocks away, allowing it to comfortably accommodate all its clients, staff, and volunteers.

More Than 700 Cases So Far

“I know exactly where you should go,” the social worker told Robin Tyree: Bayview/Hunters Point Community Legal.

At BHPCL a volunteer attorney helped Tyree reduce her three drug felonies to misdemeanors, get a partial reimbursement from the city for the damages to her motorhome, and encouraged her to apply for a job, she says.

“It’s a wonderful thing they’re doing for the community,” says Tyree. “I recommend them to some of my homeless friends who are trying to straighten out their lives.”

She used part of her savings and the money from the city to get another motorhome, and now has a job as a maintenance worker at an RV park.

BHPCL “gave me confidence that I could move forward with my life,” Tyree says. “I was kind of paralyzed — you think nobody’s going to hire you because of the felonies.

And they basically gave me a hand up. They taught me how to have confidence in myself.”

Bayview/Hunters Point Community Legal won a $500,000 Google Impact Challenge grant last fall.

Tyree’s is just one of more than 700 cases taken on

by BHPCL since 2013. The cases vary widely. In one, BHPCL helped a homeless man who’d had his van improperly impounded by the police get his only form of shelter back. In another, the nonprofit stopped the city from evicting a longtime public housing resident who’d just landed a full-time job and whose son was on his way to college.

“We are a struggling community. There’s a lot of homelessness in my neighborhood. There’s a lot of single mothers who have issues with housing, they have issues with being battered,” says Michelle Carrington, who went to BHPCL because of recurring sewage problems in her public housing unit. “And these lawyers, they volunteer and they supply these services that are tremendously needed. I appreciate them to the highest.”

How does a tiny nonprofit manage such an assorted caseload? It works like this: When a client first comes in, he or she fills out a basic screening form. BHPCL accepts any client who makes less than $75,000 a year, can’t afford private representation, and doesn’t have a frivolous case.

Some cases are handed off to contacts at another legal aid nonprofit or to a pro bono attorney at a firm.

The vast majority of cases are taken on by BHPCL staff or volunteers. In all, the nonprofit has a network of around 65 volunteer attorneys.

Carrington, like many of the nonprofit’s clients, dropped into the office after seeing the sign on the street.

“I really think the reason clients come to us is because we are part of the neighborhood and we are trusted,” says Cathy Osgood, the BHPCL staff attorney who worked on Carrington’s case. “We are accessible — we have a storefront that is open from 9 to 5 and people can just walk on in. I think that has been the key to success.”

Laying Groundwork at USF

If Tirtanadi is a visionary, his eye on the big picture, Taylor is the painter filling in the brush strokes. The 29-year-old chose USF School of Law because of its many connections with public service nonprofits in the Bay Area. As a student she interned and externed almost every semester at organizations like Bay Area Legal Aid and Justice Now, racking up about 300 hours of direct aid, as well as a Public Interest Law Certificate. Tirtanadi knew he’d need a partner to provide the legal services while he focused on growing the organization.

But while Tirtanadi was convinced from the beginning that the venture would be a success — “There was no plan B,” he says — Taylor had her doubts.

“I was like, ‘If you can make this happen, I’ll do it,’” Taylor remembers.

The pair started laying the groundwork for the operation while they were still in school. Tirtanadi drafted the nonprofit’s client retainer agreement as a final project in his legal ethics class, and learned about nonprofit governance and liabilities in his corporations law class. Her third year, Taylor took Law Practice Management, which taught practical lessons on entrepreneurship.

“I learned the basics of setting up and running a medium-sized law firm — from marketing to client management,” say Taylor, who is the nonprofit’s legal services director. “I had a basic background when we started to create our own systems.”

Next Step: The Whole City

The pair has come a long way since the early days, when they held meetings sitting on the floor of the supply closet. Soon the nonprofit will be test-running a program to help Bayview-Hunters Point businesses and entrepreneurs who may be ineligible for traditional loans access capital.

“We see ourselves primarily as an anti-poverty nonprofit, and our community development program is another way we want to use the law to address poverty,” says Tirtanadi. “It will act as a catalyst for overall neighborhood growth and development.”

If the nonprofit can accomplish this much in a few years, what’s in store for the future? Tirtanadi already has a vision: universal aid for all of San Francisco.

Taylor is quick to point out that given the complexities of each client and case, the services can never be absolute. But the goal of reaching and helping more San Franciscans remains.

“I think it’s possible and that we can do it,” she says. n

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GIVING Philanthropist Among Us

Peter Toren ’85 Supports Data Privacy at USF Peter Toren ’85 was first exposed to the intricacies of privacy law by chance, when he was one of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section’s first trial attorneys in the early 1990s. Since then, it has remained an undercurrent of much of his work, in addition to litigating patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret cases.

He is currently a partner at Weisbrod Matteis & Copley in Washington, D.C., and was previously a partner with Sidley Austin in New York and with Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman.

While he finds his investigative and detective work fascinating, he most enjoys appearing in court and writing. He is the author of the definitive guide to criminal intellectual property law and computer crimes, Intellectual Property and Computer Crimes, first published in 2003 and updated twice a year since then, as well as over 100 other legal articles. He has represented a number of corporations in economic espionage cases including Hilton Worldwide. He has also successfully litigated a number of patent infringement cases including against

primary federal law, the Electronic Communications and Privacy Act, was originally enacted prior to the creation of the World Wide Web and other important technological advancements. We are using a law that reflects Model T technology when everybody is now driving 200 mph race cars.”

He believes that issues relating to privacy are among the most significant that society will be facing in the future and provides an opportunity for USF and its students to contribute in a meaningful way to this dialogue. Thanks to a generous matching contribution from Toren, USF has created a new data privacy program, which is already off and running.

Students in the Data Privacy hybrid course, launched this spring, combine a seminar with leading cyberlaw expert Professor Susan Freiwald and an externship at a private corporation, public agency, law firm, or nonprofit, where they work on data privacy compliance, advising, or policy. This semester, students have handled substantive assignments at the American Civil Liberties Union, Palantir, AppDynamics, and ZwillGen. Freiwald continues her scholarly writing and

“ T hat is the magic of this alum's gift — combining his excellence and vision in a fast-changing area of the law with the national expertise of our professor.” —Dean John Trasviña Panavision, Inc., in which the court invalidated a patent for a commercial motion picture lens and awarded his client attorney’s fees. He has also represented for almost 10 years, along with his former colleagues at Sidley Austin, a prisoner on death row in Alabama.

“Especially in the last 10 years, technology has created many challenges for privacy,” he said. “The laws have simply not kept up with the changes in technology. For example, the

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USF SCHOOL OF LAW

was recently named a non-resident fellow for the Center for Democracy and Technology.

“Peter’s gift has energized our efforts and enabled us to think beyond where we otherwise would,” said Dean John Trasviña.

“That is the magic of this alum's gift — combining his excellence and vision in a fast-changing area of the law with the national expertise of our professor to establish a set of programs that will provide our students the experiences

and training to be attractive to legal employers.

We are grateful to Peter for his challenge and for providing a foundation we can build on.”

“USF prepared me well in the basics of practicing law and grounded me in how to think as an attorney,” said Toren, who serves on the School of Law Board of Governors.

He hopes that expanding the data privacy offerings at USF will help more students have a similar law school experience — and help them gain the knowledge and practical skills that will make them more attractive to employers.

“I want to help USF foster relationships with more companies in San Francisco and Silicon Valley,” he said. “It’s very important for law students to have a strong understanding of privacy law because it’s one of the few areas of the law that is growing. If they can have these experiences in law school, it will mean more opportunities with employers."  To support the data privacy program, please contact Assistant Dean for Development and Alumni Relations Michelle Sklar at msklar@usfca.edu or (415) 422-2551.

ALUMNI NEWS Getting Loan Repayment Relief USF School of Law is proud of its long history of producing lawyers committed to the common good. We know the challenges that come with a career in public service, and USF’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) provides educational debt relief to alumni pursuing these careers — encouraging them to leverage their skill set for the greater good, live their passion, and serve our communities.  To support the LRAP program, visit usfca.edu/law/giving or call (415) 422-5457. To apply for funding, visit usfca.edu/law/lrap.

“

I went to law school specifically to do public interest work, and I have dedicated my career to working for nonprofit organizations that provide free legal services — and that comes with a low paycheck. LRAP funding has made my work on racial justice and education equity possible. It allows me to repay my obligations while having the joy and privilege to do the work that I feel passionately about.”

Dana Isaac Quinn ’11 Thurgood Marshall Fellow Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights

CLASS NOTES

’71

Paul Speranza ’71 retired from Wegmans after 40 years with the grocery store chain, most recently as its vice chairman and secretary.

’79

Anthony Petru ’79 has been

named coordinator of the designated legal counsel program of SMART Transportation Division, a transportation labor union representing about 125,000 active and retired railroad, bus, and mass transit workers in the United States and Canada.

’80

Karen Goodman ’80 was named a Best of the Bar attorney by the Sacramento Business Journal. She is principal of Goodman and Associates in Sacramento.

Robin Reitzes ’80 was appointed to the National Kidney Foundation’s board of directors, serving Northern California and the Pacific Northwest.

Lawrence A. Strick ’80 has been

elected as the 2016 president of the Marin County Bar Association.

Cheers to the Holidays USF School of Law alumni joined faculty and staff at the first-ever Holiday Mixer on Dec. 14 at The City Club of San Francisco. The event was co-chaired by Molly Lane '90, 2015 Alum of the Year and president of the Board of Counselors; Mert Howard '92, president of the Board of Governors; and Stacy Miller Azcarate '96, Board of Governors emerita. Special thanks to Richard Stratton of Hanson Bridgett for serving as club host.

New Development and Alumni Relations Leadership Michelle Sklar has joined the USF School of Law as assistant dean for development and alumni relations. She comes to the law school with two decades of experience, including her role most recently as USF’s associate vice president for donor engagement and communications. She previously worked at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Second Harvest Food Bank, and St. Nicholas School. Michelle looks forward to getting to know our alumni, and encourages you to reach out to her at msklar@usfca.edu or (415) 422-2551. 

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ALUMNI NEWS

Craig Corbitt ’78 Named Cal Bar’s Antitrust Lawyer of the Year Craig Corbitt ’78 received the State Bar of California’s Antitrust Lawyer of the Year award in October.

An antitrust litigator for more than 35 years, Corbitt has been a partner of Zelle LLP in San Francisco for 15 years, and before that worked for more than 20 years at the former Furth Fahrner & Mason. He has been centrally involved in dozens of the most significant civil antitrust cases in the nation during his career, including representing class plaintiffs in cases involving LCD flat panels, natural gas, De Beers, Microsoft, smokeless tobacco, and brand name prescription drugs.

He is a former chair of the California State Bar Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Section, and a member of the Advisory Board of the American Antitrust Institute (AAI). He is a co-author or contributing author to antitrust treatises of the AAI and the California State Bar, and has authored articles for Competition and other publications.

“While becoming one of the top consumer attorneys in our state, Craig has never forgotten the law school that helped shape and prepare him,” Dean John Trasviña said. “His accomplishments as an attorney, and his commitment to advocacy and giving back, are shining examples for our students.”

Corbitt follows in the footsteps of other USF alumni and faculty who have received this honor, including Eugene Crew ’63, Guido Saveri ’50, former Associate Dean Kathleen E. Foote, and Adjunct Professor Francis Scarpulla. 

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’81

Gregory Rocca ’86 received the

Judy Altura ’81 has published her first volume of poetry, Parking on the Upper Moon.

Rene Lastreto Jr. ’81 has been appointed

judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California

by Chief Judge Sydney R. Thomas of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

’82

Monica Bay ’82 is a fellow at CodeX: The Stanford Center for Legal Informatics. She also is a freelance journalist for Bloomberg Big Law Business, a columnist for Above The Law, and co-host of Law Technology Now (Legal Talk Network).

John C. Callan Jr. ’82 joined Duane

Morris LLP in its San Francisco office as a partner in the firm's real estate practice group.

’83

Jill Sperber ’83 joined Visa

Inc.’s compliance department as program manager with the business conduct office specializing in investigations.

’84

Craig M. Hughes ’84 joined Brouwer & Janachowski, LLC, a wealth management and financial advisory firm in Tiburon, as its chief compliance officer.

Pomeroy Humanitarian Award from the Pomeroy Recreation and Rehabilitation Center to honor his commitment to community service.

Faisal Shah ’86 launched his newest startup, AppDetex, which focuses on brand protection.

’87

Howard Cohl ’87 is a director with Major Lindsey & Africa, a legal search consulting and talent management solutions firm.

’88

Nona L. Klippen ’88 has been appointed judge of the Santa Clara County Superior Court by Gov. Jerry Brown. Since 2004, she served as an assistant public defender in the Santa Clara County Public Defender’s Office.

Sal Torres ’88 was sworn in as

mayor of Daly City. He has spent the past two decades serving on the City Council, including previous terms as mayor.

’89

Thomas R. Burke ’89 wrote the desk book Anti-SLAPP Litigation, published by The Rutter Group.

Kristine A. Eagle ’89 has been

appointed judge of the San Joaquin County Superior Court

by Gov. Jerry Brown.

’85

Alan Wilhelmy ’85 has been

appointed to serve a three-year term on the California State Bar’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee.

He recently wrote “The Decision to Arbitrate” in the Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Guide.

director of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, received the 2015 Peter E. Haas Public Service Award from UC Berkeley for his pro bono service to victims of mortgage fraud and predatory lending and collection practices.

’86

Dominica C. Anderson ’86

’90

Jim Kowalski ’89 , executive

was awarded the Cheryl Bryson Leadership Award by the Duane Morris Women’s Impact Network for Success for her contributions in professional development, leadership, and mentoring to women in the legal profession.

Barbara Moser ’90 was selected by her peers as one of 2016’s Northern California Best Lawyers in family law. She has also been named by Super Lawyers as one of the top 100 Northern California attorneys and one of the top 50 Northern California women attorneys.

’92

Christopher Viadro ’92 was

featured in the San Francisco Daily Journal article "Worker's Advocates," highlighting his boutique personal injury firm, Butler Viadro LLP.

’93

John Orta ’93 has joined Metromile as general counsel, where he oversees legal, human resources, and recruiting. Previously, he was senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary at OpenTable.

’94

Gregory Fishman ’94

has joined Deloitte as senior investment advisor.

Robert Rosenthal ’94 was included in the Best Lawyers in America 2016

for his work in employment and labor law.

’97

Sheri Byrne-Haber ’97

was named global accessibility program manager for McDonald’s.

She has dedicated the last 15 years to assisting people with disabilities in obtaining the goods and services that they are entitled to under the ADA and IDEA. Previously, she was an advocate for the deaf and a compliance consultant at Kaiser insurance focusing on digital accessibility.

Christopher Knowdell ’97 has been appointed a federal administrative law judge with the U.S. Social Security Administration.

’98

Jose S. Franco ’98 has been

appointed judge of the Santa Clara County Superior Court by Gov. Jerry Brown. Since 2011, he served as the supervisor of the juvenile justice unit at the Santa Clara County Public Defender’s Office.

’99

Jennifer Gillon Duffy ’99 has been designated a certified family law specialist by the State Bar of California Board of Specialization.

She has been a partner with Fell,

Marking, Abkin, Montgomery, Granet & Raney, LLP in Santa Barbara since 2008, specializing in family law and employment law.

’01

Richard Pio Roda ’01 was featured on the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center's website for his involvement with the center and his role as auctioneer at its Annual Blue Ribbon Luncheon.

’02

Eugene Gogerman ’02 was appointed Workers' Compensation Judge in the San Francisco district office of the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board.

Meghan M. Melaugh ’02 joined Legal Aid of Sonoma County as staff attorney at the Family Justice Center.

’03

Yesenia Gallegos ’03

was named one of the 25 Most Influential Hispanic Lawyers in the U.S. by Latino Leaders magazine.

Gallegos is currently a partner at Fox Rothschild LLP, and serves as co-chair of its diversity committee.

’04

John Hendricks ’04 recently co-edited the book Out and About: The LGBT Experience in the Legal Profession.

’06

Major Colin P. Eichenberger ’06 wrote “Improving the Toxic

Substances Control Act: A Precautionary Approach to Toxic Chemical Regulation” in the Air Force Law Review.

Ashwin Gokhale ’06 has been promoted to partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, where he is a member of the transactional and corporate practices group.

Rebecca Hoyes ’06 has joined the

Sacramento office of Nossaman LLP as an associate working in healthcare law.

Michael Zaidlin ’06 presented “Social

Security Claiming Strategies and the Estate Plan” at the Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco.

St. Thomas More Society Honors Kevin Ryan ’84 Adjunct Professor Kevin V. Ryan ’84, a retired judge, received the 2015 St. Thomas More Award at the St. Thomas More Society of San Francisco’s annual Red Mass. The award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the legal community, the Catholic community, or society generally.

“For a Catholic lawyer, there can be no greater recognition than being recognized at Red Mass with the St. Thomas More Award,” said Dean John Trasviña, who serves on the board of the San Francisco organization. “I am so pleased we honored Kevin Ryan’s service to the people of San Francisco and to the profession.”

Ryan spent 25 years in public service, with a career that began as a prosecutor and progressed to serving as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California.

In 2008, he was appointed by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to serve as director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, where he drove policies that helped reduce the number of homicides and other violent crimes in the city.

His community service work is extensive, including having served on the board of directors of the Schools of the Sacred Heart, the Board of Governors of the USF School of Law, and the board of the Northern California Chapter of the Special Olympics. He and his wife, Anne, also serve the poor and the sick with the Knights of Malta.

USF School of Law alumni continue a longstanding tradition of a strong presence in the society’s leadership.

Matthew Graham ’80 was recently elected the new president, and Tony Phillips ’08 and Ethan Niedermeyer ’14 join Trasviña as members of the board. 

Join your fellow classmates, faculty, and Dean John Trasviña at the

2016 REUNION GALA The law school’s annual fall reunion will celebrate all our graduates from classes ending in 1's and 6's.

Friday, September 30, at the University of San Francisco 6:00 p.m. Reception with Open Bar 7:00 p.m. Dinner with Open Bar Learn more at usfca.edu/law/alumni/reunion

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ALUMNI NEWS

Nichelle Holmes ’10 Wins BASF Minority Bar Coalition Unity Award Nichelle Holmes ’10, a deputy district attorney in Contra Costa County, won a 2015 Minority Bar Coalition Unity Award from the Bar Association of San Francisco.

Nominated by the Bay Area Black Prosecutors Association, she was honored for inspiring law students, organizing the annual USF fireside chat hosted

by Federal Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong ’77 and Court of Appeal Judge Martin Jenkins ’80, and working with minority high school students through the De Anza High School Law Academy.

“Being a district attorney in the community I was born and raised in is my dream,” Holmes said. “I grew up watching my community deteriorate because of senseless crime. I have a passion to serve my community and ensure that justice is served and the citizens of Contra Costa County have a safe community. I am also extremely committed to encouraging diversity in prosecution and law enforcement and to promote justice and equality in the criminal justice system.”

Holmes said the support and encouragement she received at USF was instrumental in her passion to give back. “USF prepared and shaped me into the attorney that I am today,” she said. “The alumni support has been amazing and is unlike any other support system I have ever experienced.”

In addition to her role in the domestic violence unit of the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office, she serves on the USF School of Law Board of Governors and the Contra Costa District Attorney Association executive board. She was one of the founding members of Bay Area Black Prosecutors Association, where she is currently vice president of planning. 

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USF SCHOOL OF LAW

’07

Ifeoma Ajunwa ’07 wrote the op-ed piece published by The Washington Examiner titled, “A call to 'ban the box' on college applications.”

Stanley Dale Radtke ’07 successfully argued Misael Najarro-Portal v. Loretta E. Lynch before the United States Court

of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit after four years of appeals.

’08

Eric Wiesner '08 co-authored “Mexico’s Energy Reform in Conflict with the Rights of Indigenous and Agrarian Communities” with Alejandra Ancheita, one of the leading human rights lawyers in Mexico, in the Griffith Journal of Law and Human Dignity. He is currently working in the legal department for the transnational justice team at ProDESC, a human rights organization based in Mexico City.

’09

Phillip H. Babich ’09 and Courtney Cornwell ’14 successfully

negotiated a settlement agreement for a client in a pro bono case as part of Reed Smith’s work with the East Bay Community Law Center.

’11

Marisa Catherine Nelson ’11

joined Ropers, Majeski, Kohn & Bentley PC as of counsel and member of its estate planning practice. Previously, she was a solo practitioner in Menlo Park.

’12

Alexis Katibah Binazir ’12

was named a 2015 Outstanding Volunteer by the Justice and Diversity Center of the Bar Association of San Francisco for her work with the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic.

Allison (Malarkey) Etchebehere ’12 and Patrick Etchebehere ’12 cele-

brated the one-year anniversary of their law firm, the Etchebehere Law Group.

’13

Jacqueline Layne ’13 joined Legal Aid of Sonoma County as a staff attorney at the Family Justice Center.

’14

Ronita Bahri ’14 has been hired as an associate attorney by the personal injury law firm of Goodman Acker, P.C. in Southfield, Mich.

’15

Patrick Tuck ’15 wrote “Excerpt from Mastering California's Water: A Call for Reform and Adjudication” in the ABA Water Resources Committee Newsletter.

Calla Yee ’15 joined Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton’s San Francisco office as an associate in the trademark and copyright team in the firm’s intellectual property department.

In Memoriam Hector Anninos ’61, Nov. ’15

Frank O'Barski ’88, Feb. ’16

William “Zeke” Grader Jr. ’75, Sep. ’15

Hoddy Potter ’05, Dec. ’15

What’s New? Share your professional and personal news with your fellow alums! Submit a class note today at lawalumni@usfca.edu or bit.ly/usf-law-classnotes

USF Grad Receives Bronze Star After Afghan Attack If Jophiel Philips ’11 had been five yards closer, he wouldn’t have lived to tell the tale. The U.S. Air Force JAG captain was blown into the air when insurgents killed six soldiers by detonating a car bomb at the entrance to his military base in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 7, 2015.

When Philips regained consciousness, the first thing he did was rush to the rescue of an injured chaplain, shuttling him to safety. Then, he returned to the fight and helped repel the insurgents, who’d proceeded to attack Camp Integrity with machine guns and wearing suicide vests, during a raging two-hour battle.

“I witnessed the best of America’s best that day,” Philips says. “In the midst of extreme danger, they were called upon to do their jobs and they executed without hesitation.”

As a result of the explosion, Philips suffered a traumatic brain injury, a sprained ankle, and a sprained knee, among other injuries. He was evacuated by helicopter. He later received a Bronze Star for bravery and a Purple Heart because he was injured in battle.

At Camp Integrity, Philips was part of the legal JAG team that sifted through intelligence to determine probable cause for military action.

Now recovered, Philip is stationed at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, where he’s a prosecutor and advises commanders on the rules of war in ongoing battles in the Middle East and globally.

“Capt. Philips represents the best of USF,” says Professor Robert Talbot, who taught Philips evidence law. “His talent, perseverance, integrity, and willingness to take on difficult assignments exemplify the type of students that succeed here.”

Philips chose the USF School of Law because it is dedicated to producing lawyers who are good people — an important distinction from schools that just focus on producing lawyers, he says.

Philips’ connection to USF faculty like Julie Nice, Sharon Meadows, and Jack Garvey went beyond a teacher-student relationship. They became mentors, and he’s still in touch with them. Some, like Talbot, even invited Philips and other students to their houses for Thanksgiving and Easter.

“USF is an amazing place,” Philips says. “There is a strong sense of family and love there.”

Philips wasn’t a natural at law to start, and his grades the first semester showed it. When faculty and fellow classmates saw him struggling, they went out of their way to help. “Students in my classes, those I was ‘competing against,’ often stayed after classes and joined study sessions to make sure I understood the material,” Philips says.

The law school’s Academic Support Program (ASP) also contributed to his turnaround. “I’m speaking from personal experience when I say USF doesn’t give up on people and believes in people,” Philips says.

In his second year, Philips decided it was his turn to help and joined ASP as a tutor, guiding first-year students who were struggling like he had.

"USF taught me the importance of understanding the human element and story behind every legal issue. As a JAG, I never lose sight of the people who will be affected by legal action that I take and that has taken me a long way," Philips says. 

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CLOSING ARGUMENT

ALUMNI NEWS

FROM A PERSONAL TRAGEDY, A GLOBAL REMEDY

by Alex Gerould ’92

W

hen I began The Valley of the Shadow of Death, my goal was,

The Alexander murders serve as a tragic reminder of what happens when

to borrow Truman Capote’s phrase, to write a “nonfiction

the law is not respected and violent elements are emboldened. I saw these

novel.” The experience ended up changing my view of the

same consequences on a much worse scale in the slums of Port-au-Prince,

American criminal justice system.

Written with retired San Francisco 49er star defensive back Kermit

Haiti. In some shantytowns, emerging after the 2010 earthquake, U.N. peacekeepers refused to enter for fear of violent gang retribution. Women

Alexander, the book begins with a mystifying unsolved murder, and ends

and children marooned in these criminogenic wastelands state as their

with an unlikely story of personal redemption. Through this odyssey, the

number one fear, the experience of trying to slog their way to the restroom

story takes an unflinching view of African American history, the underlying

after dark where they are subject to wanton sexual assault with little to no

causes of crime, and the devastation inflicted upon crime victims.

access to justice.

The Valley, told through the eyes of Kermit Alexander, is both intimate and

The most at-risk communities are the ones that most need and want the

grand, relying upon an individual story to explore universal themes. It reveals

police. But what I heard repeatedly was that they wanted a certain type of

the emotional toll felt by the Alexander family after a home-invasion homicide

police. Those that were knowledgeable and sympathetic with community

left a grandmother, a young fiancée, and two sleeping children dead.

needs and mores, and those that treated neighborhood residents with

Through the lens of this tragedy, occurring in South Central Los Angeles in

respect, letting them know they mattered. The citizens of South Central

1984, over 75 years of African American history is analyzed. Flashbacks

Los Angeles, like those throughout America and the developing world, are

reveal the Deep South of Kermit’s birth, with its sharecropper society and

entitled to the benefits of the rule of law and the expectation of safe streets.

Jim Crow segregation. Scenes set in 1980s Los Angeles cover the breakdown

While the book dissects a horrible personal tragedy, it prescribes a

of South Central, the momentary renaissance surrounding the ’84 Olympic

global remedy. When citizens and police find themselves largely on the

Games, and the descent into record-setting levels of violent crime as crack

same page, violent crime can be dramatically reduced. When this happens,

cocaine and gang warfare devastated the community. When the killers of the

communities rebound, residents live safer, fuller lives, prison numbers

Alexander family are finally arrested, their trials for capital murder illustrate

fall, and fewer people from disadvantaged communities fall into the

both the childhoods and backgrounds of the defendants as well as our legal

clutches of the criminal justice system.

system. The book’s final sections cover Kermit’s ultimate redemption through the hands of an amazing woman and a life-changing trip to Haiti.

The Alexander case was instrumental in bringing about changes in policing in South Central Los Angeles. I now hope, with the efforts of

From my research — interviewing family members, police officers, prison

people like the Alexanders, that positive change can be brought about — not

guards, gang members, and attorneys — it became clear to me that a justice

only in communities across our country that have been devastated by violent

system’s highest priority must lie with its most vulnerable members. In the 1980s,

crime and a lack of trust and cooperation between the community and

the African American population of South Central was largely abandoned.

police, but also in Haiti and throughout the developing world. 

Residents were afraid to walk their streets, feeling terrorized in their own

3232

neighborhoods. Today, violent gang crime is way down in Los Angeles, and

Alex Gerould ’92 is a professor of criminal justice at San Francisco State

communities have recovered. This is primarily due to focused law enforce-

University. The Valley of the Shadow of Death was published by Atria

ment efforts in concert with ex-gang members and community leaders.

Books in 2015.

USF USFSCHOOL SCHOOLOF OFLAW LAW

Today’s plans secure our students’ future

“ Whatever successes I have had in life can definitely be attributed to my education and experiences at USF.”

Tom Lytle ’61 (1933–2015) and his USF School of Law classmates shared a love of justice that bonded them all. Tom’s love of the law grew stronger each day after he first stepped onto campus in 1958.

Tom was revered for his career dedicated to representing working men and women, many of whom suffered industrial injuries in dangerous occupations. Having practiced in the Sacramento area for more than half a century, he was a respected colleague and leader in the capitol’s legal community.

Tom and Helene, who were high school sweethearts, remembered USF School of Law as a beneficiary of their estate. Their generous contribution continues the tradition of preparing future leaders.

To create your own legacy for the USF School of Law, contact the Office of Gift Planning today.

Elizabeth Hill | (415) 422-4163 | ehill3@usfca.edu giftplanning.usfca.edu

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The Koret Law Center 2130 Fulton Street San Francisco, CA 94117-1080

C H A N G E S E R V I C E R EQ U E S T E D

G A L L E RY NIGHTLIFE IN THE CITY

CALEB D’OLEIRE

As the sun sets over San Francisco, the USF law school community is still going strong. From study groups to evening classes to student organization events, our students make the most of every minute of their law school experience.