USC Gould appoints distinguished JD, LLM alumni to Board of Councilors

Andrew Elken, Tamerlin Godley, Phillip Lee, Ted Russell and Nicolai Schwarz-Gondek bring extensive leadership experience to the Gould board.

The USC Gould School of Law has announced the appointment five accomplished new members to its Board of Councilors.

Andrew Elken JD ’09, Tamerlin Godley JD ’96, Phillip Lee JD ’12, Ted Russell JD ’94 and Nicolai Schwarz-Gondek LLM ’05 will each serve on the board, as they contribute to guiding and shaping the future of the law school.

“Each brings unique expertise, accomplishments and a deep commitment to our mission,” noted Dean Franita Tolson. “Their leadership and passion will further strengthen our efforts to advance Gould’s excellence in legal education, scholarship and service.”

The USC Gould Board of Councilors, led by Chair Dave Walsh and Vice Chair Liz Atlee, is composed of distinguished professional and community leaders who support the law school’s academic mission and help extend the reach of its research, education and public service programs.

Andrew Elken JD ’09

Andrew C. Elken is the global vice chair of the public company and board representation practice and a corporate partner of Latham & Watkins in New York, with a focus on complex mergers and acquisitions. Elken also regularly advises officers and boards of directors on activist defense matters, corporate governance, securities law, and other significant corporate matters.  Previously, he was a partner at Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP in New York City. He is a member of the International Bar Association. He earned a JD, Order of the Coif, from USC Gould in 2009 and an AB from Princeton University in 2004.

Tamerlin Godley JD ‘96

Tamerlin “Tammy” Godley is a partner in the litigation department of Paul Hastings in Los Angeles. She handles business litigation disputes and sensitive company investigations, specializing in resolving issues before they become public knowledge. She joined the firm in 2021 after spending 23 years at Munger Tolles & Olson, where she practiced. Experienced in the media and entertainment industry, she has been a longtime adviser to leading content producers and owners, including WarnerMedia, Warner Bros., HBO, and NBCUniversal.  While attending Gould, she was the Order of the Coif and the Southern California Law Review notes editor. She holds an undergraduate degree from UCLA and a master’s in English literature from California State University, Northridge.

Phillip Lee JD ’12

Phillip D. Lee is president and chief executive of Jamison Services, Inc., guiding asset and property management, for the privately held, full-service commercial and residential real estate firm, which was founded by his father, Dr. David Y. Lee.  Actively engaged in the USC community, Lee (BA ’07, Marshall, JD ’12, Gould) is a member of the USC Alumni Association Board of Governors and president-elect for USC Asian Pacific Alumni Association Board of Directors. His community leadership includes: vice-chair for Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California Board of Directors; KHEIR Clinic Board of Directors; and Harvard-Westlake Real Estate Alumni Network Committee Lead. In addition, his three siblings are also USC alumni: sister Jaime, a USC trustee (BA ’06, Dornsife; JD ’09, Gould), Brian (BA ’09, Dornsife; MBA ’14, Marshall), and Garrett (BA ’11, Cinematic Arts; JD ’14, Gould).

Ted Russell JD ’94

Theodore “Ted” A. Russell is the founder and president of Russell, PC. Previously, he was executive vice president of business affairs for digital, home entertainment, and television distribution at Twentieth Century Fox. He served as vice president of legal affairs at Fox Entertainment Group (2004-2010), a lecturer in law, negotiation, and ethics at the USC Gould School (2006-2009), and an associate attorney at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP (1994-1997). Russell is a member of various boards, including Phoenix Global, SUP3R and Capacitor Studios. He earned a BA in government from Cornell University, a JD from USC Gould – Order of the Coif, and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he was in the Dean’s Honor Society.

Nicolai Schwarz-Gondek LLM ’05

Nicolai Schwarz-Gondek is a partner at Sidley Austin, where he focuses his practice on private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and other complex corporate transactions. He serves as co-chair of Sidley’s Greater Los Angeles Pro Bono Committee. In addition to his practice, Schwarz-Gondek is a lecturer in law at the Gould School of Law, where he teaches “Contract Drafting, Analysis and Negotiation.”  Schwarz-Gondek holds a Master of Laws (LLM) from USC Gould, where he graduated first in his class, and received a PhD, summa cum laude, from the University of Augsburg with a doctoral thesis on German tax law. Schwarz-Gondek is also a graduate of Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, where he earned his JD and Diplom-Jurist (University). In addition, Schwarz-Gondek spent one year as a visiting scholar at the University of Geneva in Switzerland with a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service.