Class Notes updated August, 2009
Sadly, on December 30, 2007, we lost a classmate and dear friend,
Steve Jimenez, who passed away unexpectedly of natural causes. Steve was 52. He lived in Oakland and was a partner in the firm of Adelson, Testan, Brundo & Jimenez, which specializes in workmen's compensation. Steve was the managing partner of the firm's Oakland office. Steve was active in the Workers' Compensation Section of the State Bar of California, the Jack London District Association, and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Alameda County. Steve is survived by his mother and three children, Dylan, Clayton, and Courtney. On January 7, 2008, the Board of Governors of the State Bar of California adopted a
memorial resolution in tribute to Steven J. Jimenez. Further, in his honor, the Workers' Compensation Section of The State Bar of California renamed its Special Recognition Awards to the "Steve Jimenez Memorial Special Recognition Awards", which are awarded annually to outstanding attorneys and judges who have made significant recent or lifetime contributions to the workers' compensation community.
Maureen Burns reports "I was able to keep in touch with Steve over the years and know how proud he was to be an attorney and to have graduated from King Hall. When I received the solicitation for the King Hall Building Fund, one of the options was to purchase various items, paver, seat plaque etc. in honor or memory of someone. There are a number of benches which include a personalized inscription. Some classes have pulled together making contributions towards a bench in memory of one of their own classmates. I thought this would be a fitting memorial to Steve. The cost to inscribed a bench in memory of Steve is $5,000. Anyone interested in making a contributing, please e-mail me at
m_burns@abramsonandburns.com and reference Steve Jimenez in your message. You can also make a direct contribution on the UC Davis website:
https://give.ucdavis.edu/llaw. In the note section make reference that the contribution is to go towards Steve Jimenez bench. Thanks in advance for your contribution." And thank you Maureen for the thoughtful way of remembering Steve.
Joan Worrell sends a "warm hello" to all of her classmates. Joan writes: "The ‘life celebration' I have going on is of my life. I'm 19 months out from the end of intensive cancer treatment (surgery, chemo, radiation), and so far all tests and exams are clear as crystal. After our unforgettable reunion, I've also had two surgeries on my left knee, one in December and one in February. . . To those of you to whom I said I would send photos (of our reunion)--I still SHALL. May all of you enjoy a splendid autumn and the holiday season to follow. Again, it was absolutely soul-satisfying to see those in our class who were able to attend our 25th reunion--every one of you!" Joan is thinking of writing one or more nonfiction books. She lives in Bend, Oregon.
Daniel Ichinaga is still doing kendo (Japanese fencing), enjoying marital bliss, and practicing at Ellis, Li & McKinstry PLLC in Seattle. "Maybe it is age, but I'm finding a comfort in quiet dinners at home and the immediate and longer term satisfaction of work in the garden."
Scott Zimmerman is a partner with Zimmerman, Walker & Monitz LLP in Calabasas, California. Scott reports that he is "still fighting injustice (which somehow consistently resides with the other side) in our business litigation firm." Scott and his wife started a high school, for which he was honored at a shindig and Beach Boys concert. The "real interesting stuff is emerging with the next generation," says Scott. One daughter is a professional actor and medical clown, who accompanied a group of doctors on a medical mission to Ethiopia. The middle daughter is starting Berkeley in the fall of 2009. The youngest is starting to drive, "further imperiling California", according to Scott.
Jake Dear reports that he's still enjoying his position as Chief Supervising Attorney of the California Supreme Court, but on some weekends lately he's dabbled in travel writing about Paris and France. See: http://parisandbeyondinfrance.blogspot.com/.
Rich Orr writes that he enjoyed the 25th class reunion and says "this has been a good time in my life! Turned 50 this year, got engaged, started a new business (in the convention services industry), bought a new home (in Woodland), my kids are doing great, and we are all healthy and happy. Life is good!"
Congratulations to Louann (Nosaka) Igasaki! The Social Security Administration named Louann as an Administrative Appeals Judge, the first Asian American to hold that position. Louann was sworn in on May 28, 2009.
Alan Ciamporcero reports that he retired as president of the southwest region of Verizon last year and is pursuing his dream-a little belatedly perhaps-of writing fiction. Alan says he leaves Verizon "in the more than capable hands" of Steve Zipperstein, who is general counsel of the largest wireless company in the country. Alan is married to Carolyn Sachs. They have one daughter, Anna, who is in her sophomore year at Northwestern University in the theater department. Alan and his family still live in Florida but are building a house in Breckenridge, Colorado and plan to move there in the fall of 2009.
The aforementioned Steve Zipperstein checks in with the following. "Our oldest daughter is starting her second year at Hastings, and hopes to work in the entertainment biz. Our middle daughter is a junior in college and our youngest daughter is a college freshman, so our nest is suddenly quite empty. We can't believe how fast the time flew by, but at the same time we're looking forward to this next phase of life. I'm still the General Counsel of Verizon Wireless and Diane is very involved in lots of activities in Princeton, NJ, where we've lived for the past nine years. Next June we'll celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary with a family trip to South Africa."
Tony Trembley writes "I'm in my 25th year (ouch) with Nordman Cormany Hair & Compton LLP in Oxnard (37-attorney general civil practice), and in my fifth year as Managing Partner (double ouch. Yes, it's true; it is like herding cats.) I represent several Ventura and Santa Barbara public agencies (special districts and school districts) in general counsel matters, and several clients in environmental issues. Kathy (B.A. and teaching credential from UCD) is in her 29th year as a public school elementary teacher (last 10-plus years in kindergarten). Three children: Chris is in his first year at Pepperdine Law School (yikes, deja vu all over again); Alison is a junior at Cal Poly SLO (studying to be an elementary school teacher, like Kathy); and Steve (junior at Camarillo High School). We currently have all of the post-elementary education bases covered. Where does the time go?!? (Please don't answer)."
David Potts-Dupre's big news in the last year is that he recorded a CD of his own music and some covers. "Continuing the King Hall Pebblehead tradition and my acoustic ventures with John Halley, I have kept up with my music, particularly in the past 6-7 years. I finally got up the nerve to record and found a great studio in my hometown of Takoma Park, Maryland. I am ecstatic with the result. The CD is called ‘The Preacher and the Teacher' and the songs can be accessed on iTunes under David Potts-Dupre, or you can go to my website. I've actually had a fair amount of radio play, including plays in California, Macedonia, New Zealand, Australia, Germany and Israel. My other achievement over the past year has been to build a wood fired pizza oven in my side yard. Both ventures were very satisfying because, unlike my law career, I could actually see and hear the results of my efforts." David reports his family is still doing great. His oldest daughter, Katharine, graduated from Middlebury College a couple years ago and is gearing up for a doctoral program in Classics. Youngest daughter, Rebecca, will be entering her final year at Scripps College (one of the Claremont Colleges). Lori is doing well and is an independent college counselor in the DC area. David is the senior partner in his firm of 7 lawyers-Potts-Dupre, Difede and Hawkins-and works with labor unions and their employee benefit funds.
Paul Ramshaw continues as an appellate lawyer at the EEOC and wife, Sandra Sands ('84), continues as senior counsel to the inspector general at Health and Human Services. Both are hoping for more Obama nominations sometime soon. Recent issues handled by Paul include how bad racial or sexual harassment has to be before an employee who complains to her employer about the harassment is protected against retaliation; whether a public employer violates the ADEA if it requires employees who are hired when they are older to pay a higher percentage of their salary as their "member contribution" toward the employer's retirement system; and, whether it is lawful for an employer to fire all its employees and then allow only those who sign a release of all claims to continue their careers with the employer. His office frequently files amicus briefs in cases raising legal issues on appeal. Paul says if you have an employment-discrimination issue you would like to discuss, feel free to call him at 202-663-4737. On the family front, Paul says "our nest empties (for the time being) as our daughter Sidney goes off to Dartmouth this fall for her first year, where she will join our son Loren, who finishes next year (as a computer science major)."
Kathy Scott has been living in Vancouver, Washington since 1993, having left the practice of law shortly before moving there. ("Didn't want to take another bar exam, among other things.") Having spent a number or years as a "professional" volunteer, she is now working as the executive director of a community leadership program. She says it's a great way to learn about the community, meet many interesting folks, and help encourage numerous community service projects. Kathy's oldest daughter graduated from college in May 2009 and her youngest will be a senior in high school and hopes to graduate from high school with her AA. "I hope she does, too, as that means a savings of two years of college tuition!" Divorced a year or so ago, her new love is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy. Kathy also co-owns a horse stables/blueberry ranch, and unfortunately gets to experience being a defendant in a lawsuit where a horse bit someone. "That's as close as I get to practicing law-I remembered to suggest to the insurance attorney to add assumption of the risk in the answer, along with a state statute that protects horse owners." Kathy says she "would love to hear from folks and has a spare room if anyone is in the Portland vicinity."
Catherine J. Johnson (Golden) writes that she married "the most wonderful man in 2001," Jerry, who is a general contractor. Cathy and Jerry have two children-two 2-year olds, who will be 3 in November and December. "We adopted them as babies from Guatemala-they are two weeks apart in age." Cathy went to Guatemala for 4 months to care for the children until the adoption was final, but has home with them since June 2006. Cathy has not been practicing law since she married Jerry in 2001. Instead, she works with him in his construction business and then stays home with the kids. "I am having the time of my life!" Cathy currently lives in the Somerset area, east of Placerville.
Jerry Hobrecht remains the City Attorney of Vacaville and a resident of Davis. In the spring of 2009, Jerry assembled a group of city attorneys to entertain at the annual League of California Cities City Attorneys conference at Squaw Valley. "Furlough" played its one (and only) gig to a roomful of dancing attorneys, featuring songs of the 60's, 70's, and 80's. Classmate, Debbie Margolis, and husband Craig Labadie ('81) were in attendance. Debbie remains the City Attorney of Pleasant Hill; Craig the City Attorney of Concord. Debbie is the 2nd Vice President of the League's City Attorneys Department and is scheduled to serve as Department President in 2011. Debbie and Craig recently purchased a vacation home in Tahoe Donner and are now neighbors of Jerry, who in 2008 purchased a vacation home at Lake Tahoe.
Debbie was instrumental in organizing our 25th class reunion dinner, which was held at Bistro 33 last fall in Davis. Thank you so much Debbie for all your hard work! And thanks to all of you who attended the event! Attendees included Tony Trembley, Terry (Lai) James, Richard Ekimoto, Amy Morton, Peter Chen, Anna Chaput, Don Lesser, Nancy Newman, Dan Payne, Mary Olden, Rich Orr, Pat Elliot, Joel Davis, Marci Coglianese, Eris (Slack) Wagner, Mollie Baier, Joan Worrell, Doc Miller, Pete Racobs, Cindy Monroe, Brian Unitt, Deanna Jang, Susan Townsend, Catherine (Goldman) Johnson, Bob Shipley, Debbie Margolis, and Jerry Hobrecht. My apologies if I overlooked anybody! Thanks for attending! It was great seeing everybody!
By Jerry Hobrecht
I hope this finds you well during our twentieth-fifth year as proud alums of the School of Law. I also hope you are planning to attend our upcoming reunion this fall. More about that later. But first, here’s the latest.
ANN DAVIS checks in with the following update. “After practicing general business and probate law for about 15 years -- briefly in Bakersfield and then for 10+ years in Santa Rosa -- I switched to legal publishing shortly after my 2nd child was born, primarily for the flexibility of working from home. While the kids were young, I worked half-time as a legal writer and editor for CEB, writing all the case summaries for the Real Property Law Reporter. When the kids were old enough to help make their lunches and tie their shoes by themselves, I accepted a full-time managerial appointment as a project manager ("Publications Attorney") for CEB's Real Property Practice Group. I'm responsible for the annual updates and several new editions for about 10 CEB books on land use, CEQA, condemnation, the Subdivision Map Act, common interest developments, construction contracts and defects, ground leases, and similar real property law topics. I also serve as CEB's liason to the Environmental Law Section of the State Bar, one of the perks of which is to attend for free their annual conference in Yosemite every October. Great job, dedicated colleagues, great benefits, priceless flexibility (I work from my Santa Rosa home 3 days/week and in CEB's Oakland office 2 days/week).”
CLANCY NIXON is loving life in Ashburn, Virginia, where he is Lead Pastor of an Anglican church he planted in 2001 called Church of the Holy Spirit. He likes to say, “I used to practice law, but now I practice grace.” He hasn’t practiced law since 1996, when he left his securities practice with Freddie Mac. He spends his time writing, teaching, giving counsel, praying for people and just hanging out with them. His wife Ginger is on staff as a pastoral associate. Their eldest son, Will, is graduating this year from Randolph Macon Military Academy and will attend Old Dominion University to study marine biology. Will loves all things Ireland and all things beach. Their second son, Sam, is a freshman in high school, who keeps his parents entertained with his many football, basketball and soccer games. Sam will be joining dad on a mission trip this summer to repair homes of elderly poor people in Ohio with Reach Workcamps. If you’d like to listen to or read one of Clancy’s sermons, go to www.HolySpiritAnglican.org.
JULIE LEFTWICH is senior counsel with a non-profit, Legal Community Against Violence (LCAV) in San Francisco, which does gun violence prevention work. “We provide free research and drafting assistance to state and local governments in California and across the country, and work closely with city attorneys and other government lawyers. To learn more about LCAV, check out our website, www.lcav.org.”
ERNIE FAITOS is with the San Francisco law firm of Selman Breitman, LLP. Ernie specializes in personal injury and toxic tort matters. “I've done some interesting trials, including a recent one where I put on a surprise witness to show that opposing parties' documentary evidence were forgeries. They did not see that coming.” Ernie says he still runs and swims, “but not as much as I used to, and it is not uncommon for me to be the oldest person at a swim workout!”
RYAN WERNER reports that he and JULIE PARR “just picked up visas for our fourth year in France. Not bad for a one-year sabbatical, though the steady downward slide of the dollar has not helped much. Fortunately good wine is still inexpensive here. As part of our portfolio diversification program last winter and spring we renovated part of our farmhouse into a vacation apartment that earns euros. We were fully booked (last) summer with Canadian and British renters, all of whom were excellent guests.” You can check out Ryan and Julie’s French digs at www.lescarries.com.
Speaking of Ryan, Ryan and JERRY HOBRECHT’s former roommate (and King Hall alum) DEAN BRETNEY earns the “good hands” award for snagging a home run ball last June in San Francisco. As reported by KNVN.COM, “A Chico man owns a piece of baseball history. Dean Bretney caught Barry Bonds's 750th career home run Friday night at AT&T Park… Bretney used a Bobby Bonds glove to snag it. He gave the ball to his son, Douglas, who was celebrating his 13th birthday.” Nice grab by the former “Big Sticks” softball player!
Another baseball enthusiast, Hammerin’ MIKE DYER of the Law School’s 1981 softball champs, “Hogan’s Zeroes”, reports he is “still chugging away at the Law Offices of Michael J. Dyer. Amanda (my daughter, a Davis grad) is a reporter for the Lodi News Sentinel. In August she begins the Masters Journalism program at UC Berkeley. Dustin is finishing his first year of law school at McGeorge. Christopher is a junior at UC Santa Barbara and is still pitching.” Mike’s office is located in Stockton.
ALAN TITUS lives in Piedmont with his wife Meg and two sons, Avram and Micha. He works in Mill Valley at Robb & Ross, where he has practiced for nineteen years. Alan does business and estate planning but spends most of his time with one client, a card room. “The gaming business is fascinating. Truth is wilder than fiction, believe me”, writes Alan. Alan says he occasionally gets to work with classmate, MIKE FUTTERMAN, and MAUREEN (BERTORELLI) DEAR (’84). Alan’s sons will be high school students next year, in the 9th and 11th grades at College Preparatory School. Alan and his wife are both active with the school. She is the incoming President of the school’s Parents Association; he is one of the incoming heads of the Diversity Committee. Alan and his wife are also actively involved with their synagogue.
Former Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review, JAKE DEAR, recently co-wrote an Essay in the U.C. Davis Law Review, which has been profiled in extensive articles in the New York Times, National Law Journal, and Minnesota Public Radio. The Essay has also been mentioned in the Wall Street Journal and has created controversy in the legal blogs—especially in the State of Texas. The article, entitled “Followed Rates and Leading State Cases, 1940-2005”, was published in the December 2007 issue. It can be viewed at: http://lawreview.law.ucdavis.edu/home.php?page=issue&group=issues&issue=41-2. A follow up addendum responding to the controversy was published in the April 2008 issue, which can be viewed at: http://lawreview.law.ucdavis.edu/home.php?page=issues_current&group=issues.
Lastly, as mentioned above, save the date! The Class of ’83 will celebrate its twenty-fifth reunion on Saturday, October 4, 2008 in Davis. The festivities will kick off with a barbeque lunch at the Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center from noon to 2 p.m. Tours of the Law School and its expansion plans will be available in the afternoon. We are also currently in the planning stage for a dinner in the Davis area that evening. If interested in helping or providing input on the event, please contact Pleasant Hill City Attorney, DEBBIE MARGOLIS, at (925) 671-5239/ dmargolis@ci.pleasant-hill.ca.us or me, at 707-449-5105/ jhobrecht@hotmail.com. Also, if you have not already responded to Debbie’s
For additional information about the reunion, visit the Law School's web site at https://law.ucdavis.edu/alumni/class-of-1983/.
We hope to see you all in October! Until then, all the best!
Past Notes:
CLASS OF 1983
Submitted by JERRY HOBRECHT '83
Best wishes to all! Here's the latest.
Congratulations to BRIAN UNITT, recipient of the San Bernardino County Bar Association's "Florentino Garza Fortitude Award". The Award is given to legal professionals who have had to overcome significant obstacles to achieve success in the legal field. The Award is name in honor of Redlands attorney, Florentino Garza, who was an orphan and labored as a migrant farm worker before attending college and law school and achieving a successful legal career. Garza was elated at Brian's selection, stating that Brian "richly deserves it" and is "one of the finest human beings I have ever met." Brian is only the second recipient of the award, which was established in 2002. An excellent article about Brian and the obstacles he confronted in becoming a lawyer are described in the September 2006 issue of the Bulletin of the San Bernardino County Bar Association, which, at the time of this writing, could be found at http://sbcba.org/awards/unitt.pdf. The article includes comments by classmate PETE RACOBS. Brian remains a partner with the Riverside firm of Holstein, Taylor, Unitt & Law.
Also check out the Zephyr Rhoades Press web site at http://www.zrpress.com/ for several books written by DUFFY LITTLEJOHN on hoboing. Duffy is practicing law in Silver City, New Mexico. Duffy had an acting part in the 2003 movie "Catching Out", a documentary about hopping trains and riding the rails, which has aired on the Sundance Channel and can be rented from Netflix.
STEVE and DIANE ZIPPERSTEIN are living in Princeton, New Jersey, with their three talented daughters. The eldest is a junior at Davidson College in North Carolina, who interned for a U.S. Senator this past summer and is spending the Fall semester in Buenos Aires, to be followed by a Spring in Paris. "Nice life", says Steve. Their middle daughter is a high school senior and captain of the three-time defending state champion girls' field hockey team. Their youngest daughter is a high school sophomore and an accomplished stage actress. Diane retired from the practice of law nine years ago and keeps busy with their daughters' school activities and taking "useful" classes at Princeton, such as "Debauchery in Ancient Rome" and "Stars of Indian Cinema". Steve remains as General Counsel of Verizon Wireless in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, where he oversees the company's legal, regulatory, government affairs, compliance, and corporate security departments.
JAKE DEAR is the Chief Supervising Attorney of the California Supreme Court. He greatly enjoys his work and the challenges it presents. Jake and his wife, MAUREEN (BERTORELLI) DEAR ('84), and their son, Adam, make it a point to travel annually to France. Adam is a freshman in high school and, to Jake’s chagrin, will be driving soon. Next time you're in France, Jake, look up classmates RYAN WERNER and JULIE PARR, who are happily living in the south of France.
Fellow Davisite, RICH ORR, says his children are growing up quickly. His oldest daughter is now 14 and the twins, a boy and a girl, are 11. As you may recall, Rich sold his Woodland-based business, "Marie's" salad dressings, and started up a new company, "Orr Food Company". Look for Rich's products in your local supermarket, which includes refrigerated salad dressings, marinades, sauces, etc. under the "Orr Brothers" and "Marina" brand names. A nice article about Rich and his new company (including a current photograph of Rich) can be found in the April/May issue of "Fresh Digest".
DANIEL ICHINAGA, who reported last year that he had met the "love of his life", was married in September of 2005. Congratulations Daniel! The pleasant summertime weather in Seattle prompted Daniel to dust off his bicycle this year and take it for a spin, which he hasn't done since his days at King Hall. He now rides regularly and bikes to and from work each day, which, he says, serves as a great stress reliever. In addition to bicycle riding, Dan continues to practice kendo, which is the Japanese martial art of fencing with bamboo swords.
In 2000, IRENE YESOWITCH returned to Long & Levitt as a partner, after spending seven years as in-house counsel for Fireman's Fund Insurance Company. Irene specializes in insurance coverage and bad faith, but also does "a ton of other business litigation". Irene lives in Alameda in a wonderful house (nicknamed "Casa 401K") with the "man of my dreams", who she married in 1998, together with her daughter and step daughter, who are both high school seniors. Irene reports that her daughters view Irene and her husband as "complete losers, although tolerable when it comes to needing money". Some things never change.
ERIS WAGNER and husband, Phil, live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which they love very much and the time they spend with their nearby children and grandchildren. Phil tired of retirement and rejoined the work force as a Professor of Medicine at the New Mexico Medical School. Eris devotes her time to writing, gardening, making art, and playing with her grandchildren, Isabella (7), Tulah (2), Nicolas (19 months), and Zoe (17 months). Classmate, AMY MORTON, and her children, Will, a freshman at UCSB, and Teru, a high school sophomore, will join Eris and her family in Albuquerque for Thanksgiving. Eris was disappointed to miss classmate, MARCI COGLIANESE and her husband, Al, as they cruised through Albuquerque on their Route 66 trek while Eris was away attending her 40th high school reunion. Eris doesn't miss the practice of law. She says her stepson, KEITH WAGNER ('00), is now the lawyer in the family, who practices environmental law in Sacramento.
JERRY HOBRECHT was a bit more successful in his classmate sighting of MARCI COGLIANESE, when the former Rio Vista mayor strolled by Jerry and his band as they played at the Rio Vista Farmer's Market in August. In September, Jerry presented a paper to the City Attorneys Department of the League of California Cities on the "thrilling" topic of city council subpoenas.
Wishing you all the best in the next year. Please feel free to let your classmates know what's new with you by dropping an e-mail to Jerry or Mary at any time to jhobrecht@hotmail.com or molden@mhalaw.com.