Santa Clara University School of Law and the Heafey Center for Trial and Appellate Advocacy welcome M. Gerald Schwartzbach for a visit as Distinguished Advocate on Tuesday, October 27, 2009. During his visit, Schwartzbach will give a career retrospective from noon – 1 p.m., attend a reception in his honor, and give a talk, "Myths About the Criminal Justice System,” from 7-8 p.m. in the Panelli Moot Court Room, Bergin Hall, Santa Clara University.
M. Gerald Schwartzbach has been a California trial lawyer for 40 years. He is a graduate of Washington & Jefferson College and the law school of George Washington University. In a long series of nationally publicized trials, he has won the acquittals of:
- Transplant Surgeon Dr. Hootan Roozrokh, accused of accelerating the death of a patient to harvest his organs for transplants in San Luis Obispo;
- Actor Robert Blake, accused of the murder of his wife in Los Angeles;
- Civil Rights Lawyer Stephen Bingham, accused of smuggling a gun to facilitate a client’s escape from prison;
- Richard Bandler, the co-founder of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, accused of murder in Santa Cruz; and
- Brown Beret Ruben Vizcarra, accused of masterminding the murder of the Police Chief of Union City.
His achievements also include the exoneration of Buddy Nickerson, wrongfully imprisoned for 19 years, and the dismissal of charges against NFL All-Pro Running Back Marshawn Lynch. He pioneered the Battered Woman’s Syndrome defense, and won important rulings expanding the rights of criminal defendants in the California Supreme Court rulings in Hawkins v. Superior Court and Keenan v. Superior Court. Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Mr. Schwartzbach was previously honored with the Skip Glen Award by California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, for outstanding service in defense of a client.
For more information or to RSVP for reception, contact jschuller@scu.edu or call 408-554-5473 by October 21, 2009.
CLE NOTE: This activity has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of California for 1.0 hour of General Substantive credit. Santa Clara University School of Law certifies that this activity conforms to the standards for approved educational activities as prescribed by the rules and regulations of the State Bar of California governing Minimum Continuing Legal Education.
ABOUT SANTA CLARA LAW Santa Clara University School of Law, founded in 1911 on the site of California’s oldest operating higher-education institution, is dedicated to educating lawyers who lead with a commitment to excellence, ethics, and social justice. One of the nation’s most diverse law schools, Santa Clara Law offers its 975 students an academically rigorous program, including graduate degrees in international law and intellectual property law; combined J.D./MBA and J.D./MSIS degrees; and certificates in intellectual property law, international law, and public interest and social justice law. Santa Clara Law is located in the world-class business center of Silicon Valley, and is distinguished nationally for our top-ranked program in intellectual property. For more information, see law.scu.edu
