Class Notes<\/h3>

Farah Z. Alkayed, JD 2011<\/strong>, joined the Los Angeles office of Carlton Fields as an associate in the firm's National Trial Practice's Business Litigation section. Alkayed represents businesses and individuals in federal and state courts in commercial litigation, including contract disputes, fraud claims, insurance, construction and real estate matters.<\/p>

David M. Almaraz, JD 1998<\/strong>, joined the firm of Alpert, Barr & Grant as Partner. Almaraz's practice focuses on litigating matters involving real estate, business and trade secret laws. He is admitted to practice before all the state courts of California, the U.S. District Court, Central District of California and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is also a member of the State Bar of California, the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the San Fernando Valley Bar Association.<\/p>

Amy Anker JD, 2008<\/strong>, was elevated to partner at Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP. Anker focuses her practice on real estate acquisitions, dispositions and financing involving all types of commercial properties, including multifamily, office, industrial, shopping center, retail and mixed-use developments. She also advises and counsels high-net worth individuals and developer clients acquiring exclusive luxury homes and residential land in Bel Air, Beverly Hills and throughout southern California.<\/p>

Sunita Bali, JD 2010<\/strong>, was elected to partner in the San Francisco office of Perkins Coie. Bali has substantial experience litigating cases in California state and federal courts and has represented technology, food, and retail clients in consumer class action disputes and other commercial litigation matters.<\/p>

Nanette Barragan, JD 2005<\/strong>, received the 2019 Benito Juarez Attorney of the Year Award at the Mexican American Bar Association's 59th Annual Gala in February.<\/p>

Paolo Beconcini, LLM 2018<\/strong>, was highlighted in the\u00a0World Trademark Review (WTR) 1000<\/em>. Beconcini leads a China-based team from Squire Patton Boggs' Los Angeles office. The\u00a0WTR 1000<\/em>\u00a0shines a spotlight on firms and individuals that are deemed outstanding in this critical area of practice.<\/p>

Gov. Jerry Brown appointed the\u00a0Hon. Clifford T. Blakely Jr, JD 1995<\/strong>, the Alameda County Superior Court bench. Judge Blakely served as an Alameda County Deputy Public Defender since 2014. He was in private practice from 2007 to 2014, and previously served as a Deputy Public Defender in the Alameda County Public Defender's Office from 1996 to 2007.<\/p>

Eric Cheng, JD 2010<\/strong>, is serving as Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California. Cheng was previously a Partner at Kirkland & Ellis in the Bay Area.<\/p>

Siobhan Coley-Amin JD 2015<\/strong>, joined Ervin, Cohen & Jessup as an Associate in the Litigation Department. Coley-Amin advises clients in the entertainment, media, music, and real estate industries on all aspects of civil and probate litigation in both state and federal courts, and has substantial experience appearing on behalf of clients, including on case-dispositive motions.<\/p>

Deborah Daniel, JD 1979<\/strong>, was featured in the April 22 issue of the\u00a0Daily Journal<\/em>. Daniel practiced family law for many years before her appointment as the San Bernardino County Commissioner.<\/p>

Alexander DeGood, JD 2006<\/strong>, was elected partner in the Los Angeles office of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP. DeGood joined the firm's land use practice group in 2013 and handles zoning matters, environmental compliance and litigation, with a focus on California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance.<\/p>

E. Carlos Dominguez, JD 2005<\/strong>, will receive the California Attorney General award in January for his contributions to the Los Angeles community, including his dedication to providing legal assistance to victims of domestic violence through the Domestic Violence Project.<\/p>

H. Ronald Domnitz, JD 1967<\/strong>, retired from the Assigned Judges Program (Superior Court) after 11 years of service in addition to his 24 years on the bench in San Diego. He will serve as a Family Law mediator and privately compensated judge with the National Conflict Resolution Center.<\/p>

Steven E. Economou, JD 2012<\/strong>, joined the Los Angeles office of Blank Rome LLP in the Finance, Restructuring, and Bankruptcy group. Economou primarily represents banks, financial institutions, and borrowers in connection with a wide range of transactions, including asset-based lending, secured transactions and commercial financing. He also represents clients in M&A and corporate transactions.<\/p>

The\u00a0Los Angeles Business Journal<\/em>\u00a0named\u00a0Amber Finch, JD 2002<\/strong>, as one of the \u20182019 Most Influential Minority Attorneys in Los Angeles.' Finch is a partner in Reed Smith's Los Angeles office, where she is also the Diversity Chair. A member of the firm's Insurance Recovery Group, Finch helps clients negotiate better insurance coverage on the front end, tender and collect on insurance claims and litigate insurance cases. Finch's environmental experience includes the representation of landowners, tenants, and other operators of property on a variety of environmental impact issues.<\/p>

Fernando Gaytan, JD 2002<\/strong>, was promoted to Deputy Director of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA). In this role, Gaytan will work closely with the Executive Director to provide strategic leadership and management of the organization including program planning, development, budget and financial oversight. Gaytan was the Managing Attorney of the Housing and Communities Workgroup since 2014.<\/p>

Lisa Gilford, JD 1993<\/strong>, was named one of the \u20182019 Most Influential Minority Attorneys in Los Angeles' by the\u00a0Los Angeles Business Journal<\/em>. Gilford, who recently joined the Los Angeles office of Sidley Austin LLP as a partner, focuses her practice on class actions, products liability law and jury trials. She represents several major members of the automotive, pharmaceutical, communications, oil and gas, aerospace and chemical manufacturing industries.<\/p>

Rebecca Goodman JD 1995<\/strong>,\u00a0Alicia Ide JD 1996<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Kyhm Penfil JD 1995<\/strong>, met up in March at the 2019 ALI-CLE Legal Issues in Museum Administration conference in Washington D.C. Goodman is patent counsel at Celgene and has interest in founding a cultural heritage museum. Ide is Director of Business and Administration at the Wende Museum of the Cold War in Los Angeles where she has overseen the museum's construction of its first building. Penfil is Campus Counsel at University of California Irvine and advises the campus's Institute and Museum of California Art.<\/p>

Los Angeles Business Journal<\/em>\u00a0named\u00a0Nicole Gordon, JD 2005<\/strong>, to their list of \u2018Most Influential Women Lawyers in Los Angeles.' Gordon, a partner at The Sohagi Law Group in Los Angeles, advises public agencies on complex environmental and land use planning matters at the administrative, trial and appellate level.<\/p>

Julia A. Gowin, JD 2004<\/strong>, joined the Los Angeles office of Lathrop Gage LLP as a partner. Gowin focuses her practice on all aspects of complex civil litigation including product liability, premises liability, toxic and mass torts, and environmental law. She has over a decade of experience in the areas of asbestos and silica defense, and she currently acts as national coordinating counsel in cosmetic talc litigation.<\/p>

The Daily Journal<\/em>\u00a0profiled\u00a0Judge Kimberley Guillemet, JD 2005<\/strong>, in its April 1 issue. The article highlights the $9 million grant that Judge Guillemet secured to help more than 1,000 newly released inmates find jobs.<\/p>

Steffi Gascon Hafen, JD 2010<\/strong>, was elected to partner at the Los Angeles and Orange County offices of Snell and Wilmer. Hafen is a certified specialist in estate planning and trust and probate law and is a member of the firm's Private Client Services and General Federal Tax practice groups.<\/p>

Jason Karlov JDMA 1995, Richard Kendall JD 1979, Abel Lezcano JD 1992, Michele Mulrooney Jackaway JD 1985<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Chris Perez, JD 2009<\/strong>, were featured in\u00a0Variety's<\/em>\u00a02019 Legal Impact Report in April. The report highlights the world's top entertainment lawyers who have made a major impact on the entertainment industry over the past year.<\/p>

Derek Lazzaro, JD 2009<\/strong>, was promoted to Chief Information Officer at Lewis Brisbois. During 2018, Lazzaro served as Deputy CIO at the firm. He is currently a planning commissioner for the City of Palos Verdes Estates and a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Working Group on Technology and Innovation.<\/p>

Faustina Lee, JD 2010<\/strong>, was promoted to counsel in the Cleveland office of Tucker Ellis LLP. Lee practices in all areas of intellectual property law in areas such as electronics, telecommunications, aerospace, medical devices, academic research, entertainment, apparel, jewelry and the arts. Lee also assists clients with securing and enforcing trademark rights for their brands.<\/p>

Bob Martin JD 1969<\/strong>, became the 56th President of the American Rose Society in October 2018. Founded in 1892, the American Rose is an educational, nonprofit organization that exists to promote the culture, preservation and appreciation of the rose and to improve its standard of excellence for all people, through education and research.<\/p>

Jennifer Martin, JD 2004<\/strong>, joined Winstead's Real Estate Development & Investments Practice Group as Of Counsel in their Austin office. Martin has a niche practice representing homeowner associations (HOAs) with formation and long-term operations, drafting and interpreting governing documents and educating Boards of Directors on compliance issues.<\/p>

Aleen Mayelian, JD 2016<\/strong>, joined the Los Angeles office Fox Rothschild LLP as an associate in the Litigation Department. Mayelian is also an active volunteer with the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Domestic Violence Project.<\/p>

Raymond Nhan, JD 2015<\/strong>, joined the Irvine office of Payne & Fears LLP. Nhan practices within the Employment Law Group, representing clients in a wide range of employment matters in court and before administrative agencies. He also counsels employers on various labor and employment issues-including complying with federal and state laws.<\/p>

Patrick Nolan JD 1975<\/strong>, Director of the Center for Criminal Justice Reform, American Conservative Union Foundation, was honored at the 2019 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). CPAC awarded Nolan with the \u2018Award for Conservative Excellence' and named their Center for Justice in his honor. For over 20 years, Nolan has worked to reform the criminal justice system and has led the effort to build a movement of conservatives to support those reforms.<\/p>

Cynthia Organ, JD 2013<\/strong>, joined Glaser Weil Fink Howard Avchen & Shapiro as an associate in the Litigation Department. She represents clients in state and federal litigation and arbitration in a wide variety of matters, including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, trade secret, labor and employment, products liability, probate and real estate actions.<\/p>

Amy Proctor JD 2011<\/strong>, was elected to partner at Irell & Manella LLP. Proctor helps clients manage and resolve patent infringement disputes across a broad range of technologies, including computer architecture, signal transmission, renewable energy and pharmaceuticals. Her expertise includes patent litigation and contested patent office proceedings, particularly\u00a0inter partes<\/em>\u00a0reviews, at all stages from pre-litigation through trial and appeal.<\/p>

Peter K. Rosen, JD 1978<\/strong>, joined JAMS in Los Angeles as an arbitrator, mediator, special master and neutral evaluator in a variety of practice areas, including business\/commercial, construction, cybersecurity and privacy, entertainment and sports, insurance, international, natural\/mass disaster relief, professional liability and securities. Rosen has expertise in handling high-profile insurance matters covering a wide range of commercial issues and policies.<\/p>

Carolina Schwalbach, JD 2011<\/strong>, was elected to partner in the Los Angeles office of Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger LLP. Schwalbach practices employment litigation, defending employers against a wide scope of claims before California state and federal courts and administrative agencies. She also advises clients on compliance with California and federal wage and hour laws.<\/p>

Christopher Stark, JD 2001<\/strong>, was elected partner in the Los Angeles office of Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP. As a transactional attorney in the firm's joint venture team, Stark leverages more than two decades of experience to champion acquisitions, dispositions and sophisticated development work for institutional developers and homebuilders.<\/p>

Steve Werth JD 1999<\/strong>, has been elevated to Senior Counsel at SulmeyerKupetz. Werth, who has been with the firm for 10 years, will continue his representation of debtors, creditors, trustees and asset purchasers in Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases and out-of-court restructurings.<\/p>

Carolyn Woodson, JD 2006<\/strong>, was elected partner at in the Los Angeles office of Jones Day. Woodson is an experienced litigator who represents clients in high-stakes litigation pending in federal and state courts and ADR forums. She advises clients from a broad spectrum of industries including consumer products, pharmaceuticals, credit reporting, railroad, telecommunications, financial services and entertainment. Woodson's practice focuses on business disputes, class action defense and insurance coverage.<\/p>

Nancy Yaffe JD 1995 and Emily Yukich Jd 1999<\/strong>, partners in the Los Angeles office of Fox Rothschild LLP, were recognized in the 2019 class of \u2018Most Influential Women Lawyers' by the\u00a0Los Angeles Business Journal<\/em>.<\/p>