Alumni Spotlight

Santa Clara Law is proud of our alumni and the many ways they lead in business, private practice, community service, and other areas. Here we share some recent alumni accomplishments. If you'd like to share some good alumni news, please let us know.

Nicole Aeschleman '05 (www.aeschlemanlaw.com/attorneyProfile.htm) was selected for an attorney spotlight piece on Legalinfo360.com. The article highlights her Muslim faith and devotion to her family law practice. Read more...

Congratulions to The Honorable Eugene Hyman ’77, who was awarded the Angel Award by the Santa Clara County Child Abuse Council. Hyman was honored for his advocacy work on behalf of victims of domestic violence and child abuse. Hyman, who served in the Criminal, Family, Juvenile and Probate divisions of the court during his 20-year career, retired in 2011. Hyman started the first juvenile domestic violence court in the U.S. with the county’s probation department in 1999. He was previously honored with a United Nations Public Service Award in 2008 for his work. Read more about Judge Hyman...

Congratulions to Joanne Pasternak ’99, who made the Silicon Valley Business Journal's 2013 list of Silicon Valley's most influential women. Joanne is executive director of the 49ers Foundation and director of community relations for the San Francisco 49ers.

Congratulations to Michelle Ferreira ’95, managing shareholder at Greenberg Traurig, who was selected to the Daily Journal’s “10 Emerging Law Firm Leaders in California.” The list highlights rising stars within law firms who have demonstrated great leadership over the past year. The article discusses Michelle’s multiple roles in Greenberg Traurig’s San Francisco office and her leadership generally.

Lisa Herrick ’91 was appointed general counsel of Santa Clara County County Superior Court.

Ricky Le ’94, currently deputy chief of staff for Rep Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, has just been appointed chief of staff for Eric Swalwell, the Democratic congressman-elect from the East Bay. Le has formidable credentials, serving as the former director of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation. The new top staffer told the San Jose Mercury News he interviewed with a clutch of incoming representatives before taking the job with Swalwell. He says it didn't hurt that one of his old friends from law school is a prosecutor with Swalwell in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office. Le, who was born in Vietnam and became a U.S. citizen in 2002, will be based in Washington, D.C.

Helen Williams ’85 has been appointed to a judgeship in the Santa Clara Superior Court by California Governor Jerry Brown. Ms. Williams fills a vacancy created by retiring Judge Douglas Southard.
Read more...

Adrienne M. Grover ’90 has been appointed associate justice of the Sixth District Court of Appeal by California Governor Jerry Brown. Ms. Grover has served as a judge for the Monterey County Superior Court since 2002. She served as county counsel for Monterey County from 1999 to 2002 and as deputy county counsel from 1995 to 1999. She worked for Calaveras County from 1992 to 1995, serving first as assistant county counsel and then deputy county counsel. Grover was an associate attorney at Long and Levit LLP from 1990 to 1992. 

Steven Haley ’76, an attorney with Groom & Cave in San Jose, has been elected 2013 President of the Santa Clara County Bar Association.

Dianne Sweeney ’96 will serve as the Santa Clara County Bar Association's president-elect for 2013 and will automatically assume the office of president in 2014. Ms. Sweeney has practiced law in Santa Clara County since she was first admitted to the bar in 1996. She started her career at a small firm in downtown San Jose and now works in Palo Alto at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

Ravi Mohan ’11 is a patent litigation associate with Morrison & Foerster LLP. Ravi spent three months in Tokyo, Japan, where he focused specifically on matters related to the Apple v. Samsung case. Ravi says, “I reviewed significant amounts of prior art, and wrote sections of briefs that were submitted to the Tokyo District Court and Japanese Patent Office. I also did ad-hoc assignments for the U.S. portion of the case. It was thrilling to be one of the very few first year associates on the case. Finally, practicing patent law in Tokyo was a special moment that I won’t soon forget.”

Jessica Jackson ’11 will be a delegate at this year's Democratic National Convention

Abdi Shayesteh ’01 wrote an article which was recently published in Bloomberg BNA Banking Report, titled “The Next Generation of Bank Holding Company Lawyers – This isn’t your father’s bank holding company!” The article focuses on 5 Key Emerging Roles for Bank Holding Company Lawyers resulting from enhanced prudential standards for large banks relating to corporate governance and enterprise-wide risk management under pre-and-post Dodd-Frank.

Phillip Lee ’08 was recently hired as a clerk at the Federal Circuit. After graduation from Santa Clara Law, he practiced in the Valley with Alston & Bird. He left A & B to obtain a Masters in Biotechnology at Columbia. After he graduated from that program, he returned to the legal profession as a clerk in the US District Court for the Central District and is now at the Federal Circuit.

Lori Pegg ’86 was named acting counsel for Santa Clara County. More...

Congratulations to Kate Wilson ’06 of Berliner Cohen, who was selected as Barrister of the Year for 2012 by the Santa Clara County Bar Association.

Two Santa Clara alums, Dorian Daley ’86, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary at Oracle, and Karyn Smith ’91, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Zynga, have made the San Francisco Business Times 2012 Bay Area's Most Influential Women in Business list. An awards ceremony will be held on June 7 at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square.

Viva Harris ’04 writes a blog with tips on saving money. The Daily Citron has as its slogan "save your money - manage it well - spend it happily", and features tips on time management, organizing and parenting as well.

Lisa Tatum ’94 has been selected as President-elect of the State Bar of Texas. Ms. Tatum is the founder and owner of LM Tatum, PLLC (The Tatum Law Practice) in San Antonio with a practice that focuses on corporate, education, employment and public finance law. Tatum serves as outside and general counsel to corporate clients, public and private, as well as individuals. Prior to forming her own firm, Tatum was managing associate at West & Associates L.L.P., an associate with Escamilla & Poneck, Inc., and served as a Bexar County Assistant Criminal District Attorney in San Antonio.

Tatum has served on the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Budget Committee, and Audit & Finance Committee, among others. She has served as co-chair and chair of the Discipline and Client Attorney Assistance Program Committee, and currently serves as vice chair of the Commission for Lawyer Discipline. She has been awarded a State Bar Presidential Citation and Outstanding Third Year Director Award. She is a past president and former director of the San Antonio Black Lawyers Association, past chair, former vice chair and member of the African American Lawyers Section of the State Bar, and a member of the Bexar County Women’s Bar Association. She is a member of the San Antonio Bar Association, American Bar Association and National Bar Association.

Cristina Rubke ’04 hasbe nominated by San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee to the city's Municipal Transportation Agency. Ms. Rubke is of council to Shartsis Friese LLP, where her principal area of practice is business litigation.

Congratulations to Aroma Sharma ’11, on her recent appointment as NYU Law's 2012-2013 Law and Social Enterprise Fellow. NYU only selects one fellow each year for this prestigious and competitive position. Aroma will be working with the Jacobson Leadership Program in Law and Business to research and produce scholarship on legal issues related to entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, and innovation. Her focus will be on securities laws.

The Honorable Risë Jones Pichon ’76 were and Van Dang ’86 were named 2012 Women of Influence by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal. Risë Jones Pichon is a Judge for the Santa Clara County Superior Court. Ms. Dang is vice president of law and deputy general counsel at Cisco Systems Inc.

Nancy Cheng, who received her JD from Santa Clara Law in 2011 and is now a first year patent litigation associate at Perkins Coie in Palo Alto, won the 2011 “Past Presidents Award” from the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). The award was given out at AIPLA’s Mid-Year Institute in Las Vegas on Jan. 25, 2012 where Nancy received a plaque and $2500.

The AIPLA makes two awards for top IP students in the nation: the Jan Jancin award and the Past Presidents Award. For more information about these awards, see www.aiplef.org/scholarships/jan_jancin/. In 2010, Dr. Linda (Wuestehube) Kahl ’10 won the 2010 Jan Jancin Award. Thus, Nancy’s victory represents the second year in a row that AIPLA has recognized a Santa Clara Law student as one of the top IP students in the country. Santa Clara Law remains proud of the extraordinarily talented students in our high tech program. Kudos to Nancy on her success!

U.S. News & World Report’s Best Law Schools guide featured a story with alumnus Carlos Rosario ’11, described as having been “snapped up before graduation by a patent firm.”

Asa Pittman ’09, a Law Foundation of Silicon Valley housing rights attorney, is working on a case that has made the San Jose Mercury News and San Francisco’s CBS local news. Along with attorney Deborah Thrope, Ms. Pittman has been representing multiple tenants in a nightmarish eviction case where the former owner, who was foreclosed on last fall, illegally rented out multiple spaces in the house. Many of the tenants are disabled and otherwise low income individuals who were vulnerable to the former owner’s misrepresentations about the rental situation, taking the tenants’ money despite substandard rental conditions. As in many of these foreclosure situations, the bank completed the foreclosure and has not tended to the property. In this case, the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley's position is that now that the bank is the formal owner, it must comply with applicable tenants' rights laws even through the eviction process.

Santa Clara Law congratulates Dori Rose Inda ’00 and Nick Livak ’59 JD ’62 who will receive awards in April from the SCU Alumni Association.. Ms. Inda will receive the 2012 Ignatian Award, which publicly recognizes alumni who live the SCU ideals of competence, conscience, and compassion and have been a credit to the Alumni Association and the University through outstanding service to humanity. Mr. Livak will receive the 2012 The Louis I. Bannan, S.J. Award, which recognizes a single individual or couple who has given distinguished and outstanding service to the Alumni Association and Santa Clara University. Read more...

From the San Jose Mercury News, 2/27/12: Sylvia Alvarez ’84, a 43-year resident of the Evergreen District of San Jose and Evergreen School board trustee, has been named Woman of the Year for the 13th Senate District. State Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-San Jose, presented the award to Alvarez, who is president of the school board. Alvarez taught school for 26 years and earned a law degree from Santa Clara University while working full time as a teacher. She is also a member of the Evergreen Roundtable for San Jose City Council District 8.

Two Santa Clara Law alums are listed in the 2012 “40 under 40” awards from San Francisco Business Journal. Kristina Daniel Lawson ’02 is Partner, Land, Environment, and Natural Resources Division, at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. Jessica Perry ’97 is Partner at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe. Joanne Pasternack ’99 was listed in the 2012 “40 under 40” awards from Silicon Valley Business Journal. She is the director of 49ers Foundation/Community Relations for the San Francisco 49ers. Congratulations to all three alums!

Littler Mendelson, P.C. (Littler), the nation’s largest employment and labor law firm representing management, has named Eric Bellafronto ’92 office managing shareholder (OMS) of its Silicon Valley office. Bellafronto represents a wide range of employers in a dual role as litigator and counselor. He works with employers to avoid litigation through counseling and the implementation of effective policies and procedures. In addition to his active practice, Bellafronto performs pro bono work for the Catholic Foundation of Santa Clara County and spearheads the San Jose office’s annual holiday charity drive for the Bill Wilson Center, supporting abused, neglected and foster children.

Catherine Bechtel ’99, a partner with McManis Faulkner, has been honored by the YWCA of Silicon Valley with a 2012 Tribute to Women and Industry (TWIN) Award. The TWIN Award program honors the outstanding achievements of female executives who have demonstrated excellence in business leadership positions. Bechtel leads the Family Law Group at McManis.

McManis Faulkner has added Christine Peek ’04 and Pallie Zambrano ’99 to its majority female partnership. Peek practices general civil litigation and Zambrano represents family law clients. A press release with more information is included below and headshots of the two attorneys are available upon request. Please feel free to contact us should you have any questions.

Jill Greiner (formerly Goldwasser) ’89 serves as an Appellate Court Justice for the Inter-Tribal Court of Appeals, is an administrative hearing officer for the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners, a settlement judge for the Nevada Supreme Court Settlement Program, and an arbitrator for the Washoe County District Court Annexed Arbitration Program. Ms. Greiner recently had an article about the Inter-Tribal Court of Appeals published in Nevada Lawyer magazine. Read more...

Michael C. Geraghty ’78 was appointed by Alaska Governor Sean Parnell to be state Attorney General. Geraghty is a partner with DeLisio, Moran, Geraghty and Zobel PC in Anchorage. Read more...

Santa Clara Law Alums at McClymonds High School in Oakland, CA for the 2011 College Awareness Advising Program. The CAAP is a yearly event sponsored by the Charles Houston Bar Association, Alameda County Public Defender’s Office, and the East Bay La Raza Lawyer’s Association. (left to right) Joyce Lewis Barrett ’92, Gemma Daggs ’09, Deborah Moss-West ’94, and Shaylana Cleveland ’09.

Marwa Elzankaly ’99 was profiled in a National Law Journal article about minority lawyers under 40 years of age. Read more...

Three Santa Clara Law alumni were named to the Daily Journal's Top 100 lawyers list for 2011. They are Christopher J. Healey ’81 who is with Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps LLP in San Diego, Niall McCarthy ’'92, Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP in Burlingame and Daniel M Wall ’80, Latham & Watkins LLP, San Francisco.

The National LGBT Bar Association David J. Tsai ’06 one of their 2011 Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40.

Congratulations to Dori Inda ’00, who received the American Constitution Society’s (ACS) David Carliner Public Interest Award for her career as director and founder of the Watsonville Law Center. The award comes with a $10,000 prize.

Dori Inda (in white jacket) with Deborah Carliner (daughter of David Carliner, in whose honor the award was founded), Professor Margaret Russell, and Santa Clara Law students.

Five Santa Clara Law Alumna plus Professor Catherine Sandoval were selected “2011 Women of Influence” by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal:

Shelyna Brown ’96, Deputy Public Defender, Santa Clara County Office of the Public Defender

Susan D. Edwards ’00, Senior Corporate Counsel, Employment Law, Marvell Semiconductor Inc.

Laura Fennell ’86, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, Intuit, Inc.

Sharon Kirsch ’91, Partner, McManis Faulkner

Natasha Parrett ’99, Shareholder, Hoge, Fenton, Jones & Appel, Inc.

Rolanda Pierre Dixon ’80 has been selected as the Woman of the Year (for the 23rd Assembly District) by Assemblywoman Nora Campos.

Dori Rose Inda ’00, executive director of the nonprofit Watsonville Law Center, received a $125,000 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award for her work in helping injured workers. The cash prize will go toward promoting and expanding the programs of the Center. Read more...

Niall McCarthy ’92 is the President-Elect of the Consumer Attorneys of California. Read more...

Henry Bunsow ’74 is one of 45 attorneys named by California Lawyer Magazine in their 15th annual California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year Awards. Award winners’ achievements had a significant impact in 2010, or their work is expected to have such an effect in the coming years. Bunsow’s award is in the area of Intellectual Property Law, and was given for his work at Howrey, San Francisco (he since has moved to Dewy & LaBoeuf). He prevailed in two high-profile patent disputes this year, first ending a long-running case in favor of client Acushnet Co. over its popular Titleist Pro V1 golf ball. After persuading the U.S. Court of Appeals to send the case back for a retrial, Bunsow convinced a Delaware jury that rival golf ball company Callaway Golf Company’s patents were invalid, saving Acushnet a potential $250 million in damages. He also successfully defended DuPont Air Products NanoMaterials in a patent dispute with Cabot Microelectronics Corp. over materials used in making semiconductors.

Autumn Talbott ’10 and Art Gemmell, International Law Scholar in our Center for Global Law and Policy, co-authored an article entitled "The Lex Mercatoria-Redux" that will be published in the upcoming edition of the Transnational Dispute Management Journal.

The Santa Clara County Bar Association (SCCBA) has named Townsend litigator David J. Tsai '06 the 2010 Barrister of the Year. Tsai is an associate working out of the firm's San Francisco and Palo Alto offices, where his practice focuses on trade secret and patent litigation. Read more...

Bradford DeMeo, a civil attorney, has been appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to the Sonoma County Superior Court.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently announced new appointments to California Superior Courts, and four of the twelve are Santa Clara Law alumni. Javier Alcala B.A. ’77, J.D. ’82 and Deborah A. Ryan J.D. ’77 were appointed to judgeships in the Santa Clara County Superior Court. Elisabeth Mineta J.D. ’88 was appointed to the Monterey County Superior Court. Jonathan Skiles J.D. ’95 was appointed to the Fresno County Superior Court. Read more...

JoAnne McCracken J.D. ’86, James L. Stoelker J.D. ’74 and Drew C. Takaichi J.D. ’80 were all appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to judgeships in the Santa Clara County Superior Court. Read more...