Alumni

Rithwik Gupta ’25 and Steven Li ’26 made a strong showing at the invite-only MAC Cup II: American Bar Association M&A Negotiations Competition. The pair advanced from October’s initial round of 64 teams to Novemeber’s second round of 32 teams.

Gupta and Lee skillfully negotiated a draft purchase agreement and issues list from both buyer and seller perspectives. 

The Daily Journal has recognized Cheryl Wei ’11 as one of its “Top 40 Under 40” for 2024.

A partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in Los Angeles, Wei focuses on entertainment law. She often has worked as production counsel, including for HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.”

In Nov. 5 California Assembly races, James Gallagher ’07 (R-Yuba City) was elected to a sixth term, Esmeralda Soria ’11 (D-Madera) won a second term, and Maggy Krell ’03 won a first. 

Gallagher, the Assembly's Republican Leader, defeated challenger Aaron Draper in District 3.

Janet Stone Herman ’84 is Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Covington & Burling LLP. Previously, she was Director of Attorney Development and Women’s Initiatives at Morrison & Foerster LLP. She served on the UC Davis School of Law Alumni Association Board of Directors for nine years and was co-chair of the Student Outreach Committee.

What do you wish more people understood about diversity, equity, and inclusion?

Judge Kira Klatchko ’04 serves on the Superior Court of Riverside County. She was a partner at Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard, and Smith LLP and vice chair of its Appellate Practice when California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. appointed her in 2016. Upon graduating from King Hall, Judge Klatchko first worked as an associate at her parents’ law firm, Klatchko & Klatchko. She then joined Best, Best, and Krieger LLP, where she founded and chaired the firm’s appellate group.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed Benjamin Azar ’12 as an Orange County Superior Court judge.

Azar has served as an Orange County deputy public defender since 2013.

Read governor’s full press release on new judicial appointments.

Bob Dunning ’73 was a daily columnist and sportswriter for the Davis Enterprise for 54 years. He wrote an estimated 28,000 pieces for the newspaper, wryly chronicling life in “The City of All Things Right and Relevant.” In 2021, the community celebrated his career with a downtown parade.

Jade Tran ’01 is a Partner at Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLP (WSHB). She is a member of the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and has tried many high profile, complex cases with significant exposure. She was the youngest member ever of Orange County’s ABOTA. A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, she has been honored as one of the “Nation’s Best” by Lawyers of Color. She recently completed her second term on the King Hall Alumni Board.

What attracted you to being a trial lawyer, and what do you enjoy about it now?

On May 9, the Daily Journal profiled Magistrate Judge and  UC Davis Law adjunct professor Dennis Cota ’86 of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

In the story, Cota discusses his devotion to teaching and coaching trial practice students at UC Davis Law, and how Professor Emeritus Edward Imwinkelried “really inspired me to be a litigator.”

United States Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed Sarah F. Torres ’07 as an immigration judge at the new Concord Immigration Court in Contra Costa County.

For five years, Torres served as managing attorney for the immigration legal services program at the Opening Doors nonprofit in Sacramento. Before that, she was a partner at Tomlinson & Torres PC.