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Alumni News

USC Gould School of Law

USC Gould Announces Newest Additions to Board of Councilors

The USC Gould Board of Councilors is composed of professional, business and community leaders, and provides counsel to the deans and faculty as well as the provost and president. Councilors are appointed by the president of the university for three-year terms.

Dean Andrew Guzman announced that the following new board members have been appointed to the Board of Councilors for 2018-2021:

Amy Alderfer, JD 1999, will serve a two year term on the Gould Board of Councilors as she performs her duties as President of the Gould Alumni Association. She is a member of Cozen O'Connor's products liability practice specializing in class action & mass tort, commercial litigation, litigation and products liability. She is a past president of the Century City Bar Association, and is actively involved with the charity Every Mother Counts. Amy was previously Of Counsel with Greenberg Traurig LLP prior to Cozen. She graduated from Loyola Marymount University, B.A. 1996 and Gould, J.D., 1999.

Michael “Mike” Kelley, has been a partner at Sidley Austin, LLP since 1987, specializing in commercial litigation, securities litigation and SEC enforcement. He previously served as the managing partner of the Los Angeles office and as a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Mike serves on the Board of Directors of the Library Foundation of Los Angeles, where he is the Chair of the Governance Committee and member of the Executive Committee. He also is on the Board of Governors of the USC/Los Angeles County Bar Association Institute for Corporate Counsel, and in 2016 he was the Institute Chair. He also serves as a Fellow of the American Bar Association and is a former member of the Board of Governors of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers. He graduated from USC, B.A., Dornsife, 1976, and Yale Law School J.D., 1979.

Susan Kigawa, JD 1989, is the Assistant Chief Counsel, New Technologies and Distribution, The Walt Disney Studios. Susan was promoted to work directly with Jeff Miller, President of Studio Operations at Disney. Previously, Susan was Vice President, Worldwide Digital Distribution, Business and Legal Affairs working frequently with Disney consumer products and home media. Susan’s background also includes Associate Counsel at Amazon and Senior Corporate Counsel at Microsoft. She often volunteers her time at USC Gould mock job interviews and mentors students who are interested in the entertainment industry. Susan, who grew up in the Los Angeles area, graduated from University of California, Berkley B.A. in Economics, 1984, and Gould J.D., 1989.

Michele Mulrooney Jackoway, JD 1985, known professionally as Michele M. Mulrooney, is a partner and chair of Venable LLP's west coast trust and estates practice. She focuses her practice on estate planning for high net worth individuals, including actors, directors, writers, producers and artists. Early in her career, she was an attorney at Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer Austen Mandelbaum Morris & Klein and its predecessor, Armstrong Hirsch Jackoway. Michele currently serves on the Law School Building Committee and she hosts annual admitted student’s events at her firm, Venable. She is a double Trojan - B.S., Marshall, magna cum laude, 1982 and Gould J.D., Order of the Coif, 1985.

Arsine Phillips, JD 1986, is a shareholder and Of Counsel at Parker Milliken, where she has practiced since graduating from Gould in 1986. She has developed an expertise in general business litigation, including representation of corporate and individual clients in actions involving unfair competition, misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract, fraud, misrepresentation, and in partnership and real estate disputes. Arsine is on the board of the Armenian International Women’s Association, Los Angeles Affiliate. She and her husband Gary (Gould J.D. 1985) host annual admitted student’s event in their home. She graduated from UCLA B.A. in Economics, summa cum laude, 1983 - Phi Beta Kappa – Gould J.D., 1986 - Member, Moot Court Competition.

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