Updated on January 29, 2013
Larson represents and counsels clients in intellectual property disputes relating to patents, trademarks, and copyrights. He focuses his practice on patent litigation for the medical device, pharmaceutical and semiconductor fields. Prior to joining the firm, Larson served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Pauline Newman of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Larson earned his J.D. from the School of Law at the University of California, Davis, and was awarded the 2004 Medal for Academic Excellence.
Classnotes submitted by Sally Schwettmann on April 04, 2012
Thank you to everyone who submitted a class note! It was wonderful to hear from you. I received a significant number of “out-of-office” responses. Most cited maternity/paternity leave and work commitments, but I hope at least some also reflected well-deserved vacations. From all these submissions and responses I am confident in saying it appears the Class of 2004 is doing just fine.
I want to take a moment to acknowledge some sad news. Through this process I learned that Erin Buell, who spent her first year at King Hall and then transferred to NYU, passed away on December 14, 2011 from pancreatic cancer. Erin practiced patent law in California and remained close friends with a number of her King Hall classmates. My thoughts are with those of you who were close to Erin. She was truly an amazing person – one of the nicest/friendliest people I’ve ever met.
I would also like to again acknowledge the passing of Celestial Cassman and thank Kirsten Hill, Becca Jackson, Lori Kidd and Professor Lisa Pruitt for their efforts to establish the Celestial Summer Dove Cassman Scholarship. If you are in the Sacramento area on Monday, April 9, Hanson Bridgett LLP is hosting a reception to celebrate Celestial’s life and raise funds for the scholarship. More information about the reception can be found here.
Finally, I tried to keep my edits to a minimum. However, feel free to blame any typos or errors entirely on me.
Angelina Bright (Merrill) - Living in Malibu with my husband Nick and two children, Nicolas II and Genevieve. Using my legal and nursing background
and my new found film production skills (I live in Malibu after all!), I have written, produced and filmed a program (DVDs and Book) to train family caregivers how to care for an aging parent or spouse at home...it is called You Can Age at Home. We will be launching the product in May 2012
via our website
www.youcanageathome.com.
This film producing thing may be paying off since I got to attend two Oscar parties this year! :) Besides my project, I am a busy mom, enjoying the beach, and traveling with my husband and family for his work as an engineer. We just returned from Israel and next off to NYC with the family for 6 weeks.
Drop in if you are ever cruising down PCH. Life is good and I am so glad I attended such an awesome school like King Hall.
Komal Chokshi (Chaddha) – I had my little girl in February 2011 and spent the year getting used to practicing law and being a mom. It has been
an exciting year and she is now a year old. I still focus on healthcare litigation and am excited about all the changes and developments in that area of law
we've seen in recent years and will see in coming years. I am looking forward to a long-awaited trip to India in March. We are still enjoying life in San Francisco and love exploring the city on weekends.
Leslie Davis – I moved back to New Orleans, my hometown, and obtained a Louisiana bar license and a Louisiana Real Estate License. Have been busy doing pro bono work for Resurrection After Exoneration, the only transitional home in the U.S. for exonerees who have been freed by the Innocence Project. On a sad, note, my niece, Leah Elizabeth Davis, age 3, passed away on February 26, 2012. Our family misses her so much.
Kibbe Day – I am working at the San Joaquin County DAs office and am prosecuting felony domestic violence cases. I am serving on the California District Attorneys Association Legislative Committee. I m loving what I do and am very thankful to still have a job with all the financial woes that have plagued us for the past number of years.
Joe Doerr and Katie Bradley Doerr are living in Clovis, California with their four dogs and three chickens. Joe spends his free time tending the stone fruit orchard on their property as well as volunteering with the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Mountaineering Unit, while Katie shows hunter-jumper horses competitively throughout Northern California. They are expecting their first child later this summer. Joe is a member of the tax group at McCormick Barstow and Katie is a senior deputy with the Fresno City Attorney’s Office.
Mary Katherine Flynn – I returned to graduate school and earned a M.S.W. from the Columbia University School of Social Work, graduating in 2010. My primary focus is working with youth and families within school based and school linked organizations. After three years in New York City, I recently relocated to Los Angeles, California in July 2011. I'm transitioning back into the legal world and working as a staff attorney with The Alliance for Children's Rights.
Aaron Jackson – I am currently an associate at Basham Law Group in its Sacramento Office where I exclusively practice employment law. I am involved in all aspects of litigation from inception through trial and appeal. I have been involved in several trials and arbitrations.
On a personal note, I have been married for the past seven years to Angelina Jackson. We welcomed our first child this past year, Shane Jackson. My son and wife happily take up all of my spare time.
Yu Kanosue – Working in Nepal for the United Nations Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights as a Human Rights Officer. Unfortunately the Government doesn't like us being too critical to them and we are getting kicked out of the country. I will be heading either back to Bangkok or Geneva in this coming June. My son Sora who was born in our first year at King Hall has turned 10 years old last December!
Kyle Krasa – I continue to thrive at my solo Estate Planning practice, KRASA LAW, in Pacific Grove, California. I finished my term
as President of Pacific Grove Rotary earlier this year and will be the President of Meals on Wheels of the Monterey Peninsula beginning
in July.
Eli Makus – In May 2011, I joined the Office of the General Counsel at Sutter Health. I left Hanson Bridgett LLP’s employment law practice after almost 7 years. At Sutter, I am providing advice and counsel on employment law and medical staff law issues.
Nate McGuire – I am busy raising 3 children and was recently named Shareholder at Neumiller & Beardslee in Stockton where I specialize in the representation of residential and commercial owners associations, real estate development, real estate transactions, and civil litigation. I was just named to the Super Laywers Rising Stars list as one of the up-and-coming attorneys in California for 2012.
Timothy McCulloch was named co-managing partner of the Phoenix Office of Gordon & Rees LLP. [Editor’s note: You can find the press release here.]
Rashmi Nijagal – My boys are now almost 6 and 3 years old. We live in Pleasanton and I am five months into my new job as Corporate Counsel for Paradigm Management Services. Working in house really is the best!
Julie Osborn – I am still at the State Water Board, working in the Office of Chief Counsel. I primarily work with various underground storage tank programs and the Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Certification Program, I‘m also on the extern committee for the office.
Heather Rowan – I am still working for the California Fair Political Practices Commission in Sacramento. Among other things, I have focused for the last year-or-so on lobbying regulations, investment agents appearing for state retirement boards, and litigation involving the Political Reform Act. It's a dirty job, but someone has to uphold the tenants of our democracy.
Ellen Schuster Strauss – is a legal recruiter at Prestige Legal Search, a boutique search firm specializing associate and partner placement, as well as helping firms expand strategically. She and Sean (’06) just
bought a house in North Oakland and have a welcomed a new dog, Hurley, into it.
Sally Schwettmann –I recently celebrated my first anniversary working at the National Academy of Sciences where I administer the awards program. It’s fascinating work. If you’d like some easy reading, I recommend checking out this year’s awardees. I began running last summer and completed the Army Ten-Miler in October and my first half-marathon earlier this month. I joined the DC Road Runners Club and am shocked by how much I enjoy this activity (it helps that it’s been an extremely mild winter). I traveled to San Francisco in August to meet Komal Chokshi’s daughter and to spend time with Emilie de la Motte and Carlos Osorio and their adorable daughter Dominga. I also got a chance to catch up with Kristen Brott in October who was in DC for work. If you ever find yourself in the DC-area, let me know!
Nicole Soluri (Moscini) – and her husband Patrick recently welcomed a baby boy, Connor Patrick Soluri, on February 24, 2012.
Eric Sousa – After the Bar I returned to my roots in the Valley and joined the Modesto litigation firm of Damrell, Nelson, Schrimp, Pallios, Pacher & Silva. I practice primarily in the areas of business litigation and agricultural law. In July 2006, I married my wife Christen and the two of us moved to Ripon. We have two children, Ethan (2008) and Ryan (2010). Recently, we began the process of building our dream home in the country. Between the house, work at the firm, and the family, life is pretty hectic, but we’re enjoying the ride.
Johnny Tran – I'm Associate General Counsel at the San Diego City Employees' Retirement System in San Diego, CA.
Andrea Valim (Trimble) and Dan Valim – Dan began working as a Deputy County Counsel for the San Mateo County Counsel's Office in 2010. We welcomed our daughter, Colette, in March 2011. She joined big brother Charlie who is now 3.
Kenrick Young – started my own law firm in 2008, focusing on creditor's rights and bankruptcy. It is presently just me and one other attorney. We became AV-rated in 2011. I served as the President of the Sacramento County Bar Association - Bankruptcy and Commercial Law Section for 2011. Also in 2011, we moved to Loomis, California near Lake Folsom. In our free time, my wife and I enjoy outdoor activities and lately - bass fishing. I would love to reconnect with any King Hall alumni.
Chris Apallas: I’ve spent the last year split between life in the office and life in the vineyard. I’ve been with Napa County Counsel’s Office for two years now practicing a range of civil law, ranging from representing Child Protective Services to representing the county’s newly-formed park and open space district. It is definitely challenging but I work with a group of 12 other attorneys and we all love what we do.
Personally, the past year has seen the production of the ’07 harvest and the bottling of my ’05 garage wine, a fine Bordeaux blend worthy of any of my classmates’ cellars. The ’07 cabernet is currently aging in oak barrels in the garage. It’s showing great color and structure and should be a great second attempt. Tastings by appointment only! ;)
Nicole Bagley-Blair: After taking the bar I moved to Squaw Valley, on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe. I got married in November to Jamie Blair in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. It was amazing, we had 94 friends and family members attend! I have been practicing some law, but mainly have been acting as a Real Estate Broker with Tahoe Real Estate Group. If anyone would like to buy property up here, please look me up!
Veronica Ann O. Benigno: I've been MIA for a few years now. Sorry! Let me bring everyone up to speed. After graduating, I left for New York to serve as a Central Staff Attorney for all seven judges of the New York Court of Appeals. During my tenure as a Central Staff clerk, Hon. Albert M. Rosenblatt asked me to be his personal elbow clerk. I clerked for Judge Rosenblatt until he officially retired from the bench on December 31, 2006. By January 1, 2007 I was back in the Bay Area and began working as a civil litigator at Bowles & Verna LLP in Walnut Creek. I've been there ever since. Because of my growing interest in immigration law and with the generosity and support of the partners, I'm currently spearheading the development an immigration practice area at Bowles & Verna.
Lindsay Bennett: I'm still down south, doing death penalty work. I've been working at a non-profit for the last two years, which does capital habeas litigation.
On the personal front, things are still going strong with my longtime boyfriend, Jeffrey. We bought a house last year and have been reveling in the joys (as well as the frustrations) of home ownership.
Dale Bish: My wife and I had our second baby (Alyssa) this fall and I spent the winter teaching our son (Nathan) how to ski. He's better than his mom now but isn't quite ready for the helicopter trips in Canada with dad. Maybe next season. I've been at Wilson Sonsini in Silicon Valley since graduating -- mostly securities and complex commercial litigation with a little bit of IP here are and there. Have some great cases for Netflix, Google, YouTube, Expedia, and most recently, Tesla Motors. Love our clients, the work, and the fact that I can usually squeeze in some mountain biking after leaving the office.
Katie Bradley and Joe Doerr are getting married in May 2008. They're living in Fresno with their two dogs, Harley and Gripper. Katie is working in the Fresno City Attorney's office, focusing primarily on economic development and redevelopment. Joe works for Dowling, Aaron & Keeler in the area of business transactions and taxation, and is a small business owner and budding heirloom farmer. Joe and Katie traveled to Costa Rica last Thanksgiving with fellow '04 alum Ian Heuston and his girlfriend.
Komal Chaddha: I work at the San Francisco office of Cooper & Scully, PC where I practice health care and managed care law. I was recently awarded the South Asian Bar Association's "Young Lawyer of the Year" award for my pro bono work helping domestic violence survivors. My fiance (Timir) and I are getting married in July and plan to honeymoon in Turkey and Greece. We are really looking forward to the break!
Shelah Cisneros: I returned to Austin last year (again, although there may be another move to California at some point in the future) after a year and a half in San Diego. When I moved back to Austin, I took a few months off from work to job search and indulge in many yoga classes. I called it my yoga sabbatical. In October, I re-joined the Public Utility Commission of Texas as a staff attorney. In my personal life, I met and fell in love with Tori and we are just ridiculously happy. Went ziplining last weekend for her birthday, and we hope to travel to Costa Rica in January for a week-long surfing/yoga camp for my 40th birthday. We are considering a house-trade during this year's Austin City Limits Festival or next year's South by Southwest Festival. If anyone has a great house to trade (especially in the Bay Area or near a beach) and is interested in checking out Austin, let me know.
Leslie Davis: I left New Orleans in October 2007 after spending 2 years working on Katrina relief projects. My family has really bounced back from Katrina and almost all of them in Louisiana and Mississippi are stable -- I wish the same could be said for others in the area. Anyway, I moved to St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands where I'm now working as a staff attorney for the Disability Rights Center of the Virgin Islands, the territory's protection & advocacy system.
Mary Katherine Flynn: Working in Alaska again ... clerking. Planning on Columbia School of Social Work in Fall 2008. Interested in mental health and crime. Check back next year for an update. Plans are sure to change. No children, one dog, a bike. Life is definitely good.
David Graff: After earning my LL.M. in taxation at New York University Law School, I have settled in to a new carrer as a tax/estate and trust planning attorney in Los Angeles. I am currently working in the tax department at the firm Jeffer Mangels Butler and Marmaro LLP in Century City.
April (Minot) Grant: After law school, I worked for myself in order to be closer to my son. In 2006, I started working at O'Melveny & Myers, LLP in the corporate department as a paralegal, until I landed a job much closer to home. I currently work at Best, Best & Krieger LLP as the firm's Intake Manager. I married my husband in January 2007 and my primary focus is now on my husband and our son.
Sarah Ham: Living in Roseville; working at Bullivant Houser Bailey in downtown Sacramento as an associate in the Corporate/Securities/Finance group; just had baby #2 last August, Brayden James; Toby (still famous for his photos on the King Hall home page) is almost 5; about to celebrate 9th wedding anniversary; so trying to juggle mommyhood of two and the curse that is the billable hour ... but juggling with a smile on my face. I hope everyone is well!
Cary Huxsoll and wife, Maggy Krell ’03, welcomed baby Tyler Krell Huxsoll to their family in July, 2007.
Kyle Krasa: I am practicing Estate Planning and Medi-Cal Planning at a two-attorney firm in my hometown of Monterey, California. I have been giving public Estate Planning seminars on a monthly business and steadily building up my practice. I was named Rotarian of the Year in my first year as a member of the Pacific Grove Rotary Club. I also serve on the Board of Directors at our local Meals on Wheels agency. I am also an active “ambassador” for the Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce.
Loren Geoffrey Lee: Not too much new to report. I left ECG and joined the San Diego law firm Solomon, Ward, Seidenwurm & Smith. Still doing business litigation and construction litigation. Fellow alumnus Adam Rosenthal '06 works in the office next to me.
Stacey Loomis: I am still fighting the good fight at the Kern County Public Defender's office. I'm now handling felony jury trials. My hobbies now include: revealing to the general public that police officers do, in fact, lie; that just because a defendant is in possession of drugs it does not mean that he is selling them, that merely living in gang territory does not render a person a gang member, and that, in this county, just because a person is charged with a crime, it does not mean that they are guilty. I also enjoy long walks on the beach with Erik Loomis, who is working at Cox Castle Nicholson as a tax attorney.
Liz Myers: Funny you should write today because today is my 32nd birthday :-) Short update on me - I got married in Sept. 2006 to Jerome Bolkcom, a lawyer from Washington, D.C., and we have been living in Buenos Aires, Argentina for over a year. I'm not sure what I should say in these updates... anything else I should add? I'm not practicing right now - just getting fluent in Spanish and traveling.
Adam Post: In the past year I have become a Deputy District Attorney for Shasta County in Redding, California. Life is awesome.
John Rosenthal is an associate at Schiff Hardin LLP in San Francisco. His practice focuses on litigation and products liability defense.
Heather Rowan: I'm working at the California Fair Political Practices Commission in Sacramento, where I've been for the last year and a half or so. I ride my bike a lot, and I'm currently training for the NorCal AIDS Challenge for the second time -- 330 miles on the bike for a good cause. I've neither gotten married nor had a child since last year. Hope everyone is well and happy.
Joel Saunders: Tessa and I got married in summer of '06, and our daughter, Taylor Morgan Saunders, was born on April 24, 2007. We recently moved back to Portland, Oregon, where I accepted a position as an associate with Keating Jones Hughes, PC. My practice is exclusively medical malpractice defense, representing physicians and hospitals throughout Oregon.
Wesley Shelton writes from Las Vegas, Nevada, where he is working as an associate at Littler Mendelson. He also reports “I am engaged to Audrey Brandin (Las Vegas native, yes; showgirl or stripper, no), with a wedding planned for this Fall.
Sloan Simmons: My fiance, Jennifer Clare, and I are engaged to be married on May 24, 2008; and we have recently purchased a home in Sacramento.
Johnny Tran: Living in San Diego with his wife, Heather Glenn ’05, five goldfish, two cats, and one St. Bernard named Princess Buttercup. Practicing environmental law with Gatzke Dillon & Ballance.
Myra Villamor: I am an associate in the L.A. office of Kirkpatrick and Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP, where I've been working since I graduated from King Hall. My practice is focused on labor and employment. However, I also practice in the areas of bankruptcy and general commercial litigation.
As for me, Sally Schwettmann, I left UC Davis School of Law in August, 2007. I decided it was time to try something new. Especially as I never intended spending the bulk of my twenties wandering through King Hall… I moved to Washington D.C. and accepted a position as a fundraiser for the American Geophysical Union where I raise money to support the Earth and space sciences. It is fascinating work. I miss California very much, but was able to make it to San Francisco for in December, a ski trip in Tahoe for New Year’s with a ton of King Hall people, and will be back over the next few months for several weddings.
I am getting used to D.C. and am making lots of new friends. Fellow alum, Noah Cuttler ’03 also lives here, and is kind enough to invite me to events – which helps fill my social calendar considerably. If you’re ever in the area, please look me up! I can always make time to be a tour guide.