Visiting Lecturers

2023 - 2024 
Visiting Lecturers 

Samuel Bacal-Graves '20

Mr. Bacal-Graves is an Associate at Downey Brand who assists public agencies and private clients in land use compliance and litigation. He has expertise in the California Environmental Quality Act, California housing laws, the Planning and Zoning Law, the federal and California Endangered Species Acts, and the Subdivision Map Act. He is also an author of CEQA Chronicles Blog. Sam received his B.A. in Philosophy from the University of California, Santa Cruz and his J.D. from King Hall, where he was awarded Order of the Coif.

Karin Bailey '19

As an attorney investigator at Ellis Investigations Law Corporation, Karin conducts impartial investigations into a variety of issues, including compliance concerns and complaints of harassment, discrimination and retaliation. Prior to joining Ellis Investigations Law Corporation, she represented public and private employers at a Sacramento, California law firm. Among other things, she handled collective bargaining, administrative hearings and disciplinary matters involving public safety employees. In 2022 and 2023, Ms. Bailey also worked with recent King Hall graduates participating in the school’s bar essay writing and grading program. Ms. Bailey received her J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law in 2019 and her B.A. in Government from California State University, Sacramento in 2008. While at King Hall, she served as a tutor for property law and lawyering process courses.

Dena Bauman

Ms. Bauman is the Director of the Externship Program and a Lecturer at the UC Davis School of Law. Prior to joining UC Davis, she was an adjunct professor for the Externship Program at the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law. She is a co-author of the chapter on externships in the 2015 publication Building on Best Practices: Transforming Legal Education in a Changing World and is a frequent presenter at national conferences. After earning her J.D. from Cornell Law School, she became a staff attorney at an upstate NY civil legal services program, then joined another NY legal services office as managing attorney, before joining a Washington DC clinical law program. Her career also includes significant experience in managing local and national pro bono programs. She has an M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Chicago, and her B.A. from Bryn Mawr College.

Hillary Blout

Hillary Blout currently serves as the Founder and Executive Director of For The People, a national organization that works with prosecutors, system leaders, community members, and incarcerated people to reduce the number of people serving excessive sentences. Prior to this, she served on the Transition Team for Los Angeles County District Attorney, George Gascon as member of the Resentencing Committee where she analyzed and evaluated county prison data and developed strategic implementation of the sentence review process. She also served as a Legislative Consultant and Criminal Justice Reform Advisor, where she drafted, managed and secured the passage of AB 2942/Penal Code 1170 (d)(1), a state law that allows prosecutors to facilitate the release of incarcerated people. Blout served as a Policy Director and Consultant at Fair and Just Prosecution, providing on-going support and technical assistance to a national network of progressive, newly elected prosecutors. From 2016-2017, she served on the Transition Team for U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris. Prior to this, she served as a Clean Slate/Post-Conviction Attorney, Statewide Director for Proposition 47, and Campaign Consultant with Californians for Safety and Justice, and an Assistant District Attorney with the San Francisco District’s Attorney’s Office. Blout received her B.A. in Political Science from San Francisco State University in 2000 and her J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 2006. 

Kristin Brandt

Kristin Brandt currently serves as a Research Law Librarian at the UC Davis Mabie Law Library. She has co-taught Advanced Legal Research with Judy Janes, Elisabeth McKechnie, Alyssa Thurston, and David Holt since 2019. She teaches legal research modules in the first year Legal Research and Writing course and has guest-lectured in law school classes such as Reproductive Rights, Law and Policy, Bioethics, and Corporate Governance. After earning her J.D. from UCLA School of Law, Ms. Brandt practiced litigation at Morrison & Foerster, where she later served as firm-wide Manager for Attorney Training and Development. She clerked for the Hon. Robert J. Kelleher of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and served as an Extern for the Hon. Dorothy W. Nelson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In addition to her J.D., Ms. Brandt has an A.B. in Psychology from Stanford and a Master’s in Library and Information Science from San Jose State University. 

Lawrence Brown '89

The Hon. Lawrence G. Brown has served as a Sacramento Superior Court judge since January 2010. Judge Brown has extensive experience working in the criminal justice system and has presided over the Sacramento County Mental Health Treatment Court, Adult Drug Court, and Reentry Court. Judge Brown currently serves as vice-chair of the Judicial Council of California's Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee. 

Daniel Calabretta

Since February 2023, Judge Daniel Calabretta has been serving as a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of California. Prior to his appointment, he was a Superior Court Judge for Sacramento County where he served in juvenile dependency and as Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court. From 2013-2018 he served as a Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary for Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. where he advised on various matters, including appointments, pending legislation,  and issues related to the Political Reform Act and the Emergency Services Act. Judge Calabretta also served as a Deputy Attorney General at the California Department of Justice from 2008-2013 where he represented California’s Constitutional Officers, including the Governor, Controller, and Secretary of State in civil litigation on a range of topics including election law, constitutional challenges, and public finance. Judge Calabretta previously practiced as a Litigation Associate at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP and served as a Judicial Clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens at the United States Supreme Court and Judge William A. Fletcher at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Calabretta received his B.A. in Bioethics from Princeton University in 2000 and his J.D. from the University of Chicago School of Law in 2003.

Michael Canzoneri

Michael Canzoneri is a Supervising Deputy Attorney General in the Office of the Attorney General, California Department of Justice. He is currently the Trial Team Coordinator, supervising trial and DA conflict assignments in northern and eastern districts of California (32 counties). He has presented numerous felony trials, ranging from special circumstance murder cases to DNA serial rapist prosecutions. He has also litigated numerous appellate and habeas corpus matters at the state and federal court level, including the California and United States Supreme Courts. 

Andre Camargo '02

André Antunes Soares de Camargo is currently serving a Mayer Brown associated law firm in Brazil (Tauil e Chequer Advogados) as counsel for the Corporate & Securities practice specialized in corporate governance matters.  He has over 23 years of experience in providing strategic assistance to clients in the corporate, contract, civil and corporate governance fields serving major law firms in Brazil such as Pinheiro Neto Advogados (as an associate) and TozziniFreire Advogados (as partner for five years).  André has expertise in M&A, corporate reorganization, business restructuring and issues relating to management liability, as well as cases involving audit and anti-corruption matters. He also has experience as a professor at several higher education institutions in Brazil and internationally, teaching courses covering corporate law, corporate governance, M&A and corporate ethics. He has published academic articles, book chapters and three books in both English and Portuguese. André is recommended by the legal guides Latin Lawyer 250 and Análise Advocacia 500, and, among his additional activities, he is the chair of the Brazilian Institute of Business Law (IBRADEMP) and a member of the Corporate Law and Legal Education committees of the Association of Brazilian Law Firms (CESA). André graduated at the Law School of Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie in 1999 and received his doctoral degree in Commercial Law from the University of São Paulo in 2012. He received his LL.M. degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law in 2002.

Allison Claire

U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison Claire has served as a judge in the Eastern District of California since 2012, following a career as a federal public defender specializing in capital post-conviction cases. Judge Claire has a long-standing commitment to diversity in the legal profession. She was a founding member of Sacramento's LGBTQ bar association in 1995. As a supervisor in the Federal Defender’s Office, she worked to diversify the staff of the Capital Habeas Unit both directly (as co-coordinator of their hiring process) and indirectly (by promoting diversification and minority staff retention strategies at the national level). She has served on the Diversity Committee of the Federal Magistrate Judges Association. Since 2015, Judge Claire has been on the faculty of the Federal Judicial Center where she teaches workshops and continuing education to new and continuing judges. In her days as a practicing attorney, Judge Claire taught regularly in training programs for capital and post-conviction criminal defense lawyers. 

Dennis Cota '86

Since 2018, Dennis Cota has been a magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. Judge Cota was the founder of Cota Cole & Huber LLP, and has over 30 years' experience representing both private clients and public entities. As part of his extensive public law litigation practice, he served as special litigation counsel to City of Ontario, Madera County, and San Joaquin County. Judge Cota's extensive trial experience includes complex civil litigation in the areas of labor and employment, civil rights, municipal defense, and environmental and hazardous waste litigation in which he has obtained successful results before both the state and federal bar. Judge Cota's experience includes numerous semesters as a trial practice instructor at UC Davis School of Law where he has taught Trial Practice and Advanced Trial Practice and has coached nationally recognized Trial Practice Competition teams. 

Lydia de la Torre

Lydia de La Torre currently serves as Board Member of the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA), and she is the founding Partner of Golden Data Law. Golden Data Law is a mission driven benefit corporation that serves the nonprofit/not-for-profit community by providing legal advice in the areas of privacy, data protection and cybersecurity law to assist them in creating and expanding their privacy programs in compliance with data protection regulations, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Prior to this, Lydia served as of counsel in the Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice at Squire Patton Boggs, inaugural Privacy Fellow at Santa Clara University, Senior Data Protection and Privacy Counsel at Axiom Legal, Senior Data Protection and Privacy Counsel at eBay/PayPal, Appellate Counsel with the Sixth District Appellate Program, and Senior Associate at Garrigues Law Firm. De La Torre currently teaches Comparative Privacy at UC Hastings and previously taught Comparative Privacy at Santa Clara University, and Spanish Grammar, Translation Theory and Technique, Legal Interpretation, and Medical Interpretation as an affiliated faculty member at National Hispanic University. De La Torre received her LL.M. degree in Intellectual Property from Santa Clara University School of Law in 2013, an LL.M. degree in EU Tax Law from Centro de Estudios Garrigues, in Madrid, Spain in 1996 and a J.D. from Universidad Complutense, in Madrid, Spain in 1995. 

Lauri Damrell '05 

Judge Lauri Damrell has been a judge for the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento since 2018. She has presided over various civil and criminal trials and other proceedings, including misdemeanor arraignments and sentencing, civil harassment and domestic violence restraining order hearings, and family court proceedings. From 2006 to 2018, she practiced at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, LLP, where she provided legal advice to leading national and international corporations on a full range of business decisions, agreements, investigations, and litigation, with a focus on employment matters. She received Sacramento Magazine’s award for “Top Lawyer” in 2017, and Sacramento Business Journal award for “40 under 40” in 2016. 

George Demos

George G. Demos is a partner at DLA Piper LLP where his practice focuses on securities enforcement, white collar criminal defense, and corporate investigations. He previously served as senior counsel in the Enforcement Division of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission's New York Regional Office where he led many high profile and complex corporate fraud investigations. During his tenure at the SEC, he was also detailed to the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. He has taught at the UC Davis School of Law since 2016; courses he has taught include Corporate and White Collar Crime, Presidential Power Seminar, and Securities Enforcement. 

Stacy Don '03

Stacy Don is a California trademark and litigation attorney representing clients in intellection property cases. She has taught Trademark and Unfair Competition Law for UC Davis and Trademark Law, Introduction to Litigation in U.S. Courts, and Directed Research courses for the USC Gould School of Law. Don has represented clients in California federal and state appellate and trial courts on cases involving a range of issues including trade secrets and right of publicity. She also served as a senior associate with Orrick, Herrington, and Sutcliffe LLP where she litigated in state and federal trial and appellate courts on trademark, copyright, patent, trade secret, and general commercial disputes. Don received her B.A. (with Honors) in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley in 2000 and her J.D. from the UC Davis School of Law in 2003 where she was awarded the Order of the Coif, the Witkin Award for Civil Procedure, and served as the UC Davis Law Review Articles Editor.

Jeff Dorso '98

Mr. Dorso has worked for almost 20 years in the land use and sports landscape. He has represented sports teams across the major leagues, has practiced as a licensed agent, and currently serves as the Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the Sacramento Kings enterprise of companies. In this position, he oversees all legal aspects for the LEED Platinum Golden 1 Center, Sacramento Kings, Stockton Kings, Kings Guard Gaming, the Kings Foundation, and the Sacramento Kings real estate portfolio. Prior to this, he served as the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of the Pioneer Law Group LLP, an international boutique firm specializing in complex real estate and regulatory matters. He also served as a Partner and Land Use and Environment Chair at Diepenbrock Harrison LLP. In 2008, Dorso served as Chair of Mayor Kevin Johnson’s Transition Team, and in 2011 received the Sacramento Business Journal, 30 Under 30 award. Dorso received his B.A. in Philosophy and History from the University of California, Davis in 1998 and his J.D. from Tulane Law School in 2001 where he served as Editor in Chief of the Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property.

Brian Feinberg

Since 2003, Brian Feinberg has been the Deputy District Attorney for the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office. Mr. Feinberg is part of the Conviction Integrity Unit, where he examines post-conviction claims of factual innocence, reviews felony murder cases, and recommends best practices for investigative agencies. He has also served as an adjunct professor for the Golden Gate University School of Law where he taught a course called “Intro to Litigation”. 

Eric Fersht

Since the fall of 2018, Eric M. Fersht has been a Visiting Scholar and Lecturer on International and National Security Law. He came to King Hall after a distinguished legal career in the federal government spanning 24 years. From 1995 to 2002, he was an Associate Deputy General Counsel for International Affairs and Intelligence at the Department of Defense. In 2002, he became the Senior International Counsel for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). During his tenure at NGA, he was the principal negotiator on more than fifty high-priority intelligence agreements with the country's most important intelligence partners. From 2017-2018, he served as NGA’s Acting Chief of Intelligence Oversight, responsible for ensuring agency compliance with privacy and civil liberties protection requirements. Prior to becoming an attorney, Fersht was an executive of Greenpeace International. He directed Greenpeace’s Nuclear Non-Proliferation Campaigns, and subsequently oversaw the establishment of Greenpeace affiliates in the Soviet Union/Russia and other Eastern European countries. In 2018, Fersht was awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Civilian Service. 

Diana Glick '07

Since January 2015, Ms. Glick has served as an attorney for the Center for Families, Children & the Courts, which operates under the direction of the Judicial Council of California. From 2012-2014, Ms. Glick served as a Legislative Director in the Office of Assembly member Joan Buchanan. Previously, she was an attorney at Ruderman & Knox LLP. In addition to her work as an attorney, Ms. Glick has been a lecturer at UC Davis School of Law since 2010 where she has taught the course Legal Spanish for U.S. Lawyers and Access to Justice. She has used her experience as a former professional translator, her work with Spanish-speaking clients, and the knowledge she gained through her work with the state Judiciary to design her classes and mentor her students. 

Jessica Gosney

Jessica Gosney currently serves as a Deputy Legislative Counsel in the Office of Legislative Counsel (OLC), where she drafts bills, amendments, resolutions, and initiatives, and provides legal advice on current and pending legislation for both houses and parties of the California Legislature. Gosney previously worked in political campaigning and nonprofit advocacy in California and Washington, D.C., including for MoveOn.org, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, the California Public Interest Research Group, and a California Assembly Member. Gosney designed and has co-taught the Legislatures and Lawmaking course for the Masters in Science and Law (MSL) program at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law since 2019. Gosney earned her J.D. from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 2017 where she was named Valedictorian and was a recipient of the Pacific Law Academic Scholarship, the Amicus Lex Alumni Association Scholarship, the Order of the Coif, and several Witkin Awards. She also served as Editor-in-Chief of the University of the Pacific Law Review. Gosney received her B.S. degree from the University of California, Davis in 2010. 

Beth Greenwood

Beth Greenwood is the Associate Dean for International Programs at UC Davis Extension and the Executive Director of International Law Programs at the UC Davis School of Law. With more than 30 years of leadership experience in international education, she has pioneered a range of innovative programs, which consistently attract the best students from Asia, Latin America and Europe to enroll in UC Davis courses. Greenwood also manages a large number of international law programs, including the International Summer Law Programs, the International Commercial Law LL.M. Program, Visiting Scholars Program, International Student Exchange Programs, and Corporate Legal Education Programs in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Since 1990, the International Law Programs have educated more than 2,400 leading lawyers, judges, and academics from 50 countries. Greenwood earned her J.D. and B.A. degrees at the University of California, Davis.

David Holt

Holt currently works as a Senior Research Law Librarian at the UC Davis School of Law. Prior to joining UC Davis, he served as the solo branch librarian at the Ninth Circuit Courthouse Library in San Jose, where he provided reference services to clerks, three Article III judges, two magistrates, and one appellate judge, and managed all technical service responsibilities including serials management, collection development, website administration, and oversaw a $120K/yr. collection budget. Holt has also served as a Research and Emerging Technologies Librarian and Circulation Manager at the Santa Clara University School of Law. He also served as an Adjunct Professor at Santa Clara University where he was responsible for creating the Advanced Legal Research curricula and taught both the generalized course and a specialized course on intellectual property. Holt received his Masters in Library Information and Science (M.L.I.S.) degree from San Jose State University in 2006, his B.A. in English from Southern Oregon University in 2000, and his J.D. from the Santa Clara University School of Law in 2013. 

Darcie Houck '98

Commissioner Darcie Houck was appointed to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) by Governor Gavin Newsom on Feb. 9, 2021. She formerly served as Chief Counsel for the California Energy Commission. Commissioner Houck was an Administrative Law Judge at the CPUC from 2016 to 2019, a Partner at Fredericks Peebles & Morgan from 2005 to 2016, and Staff Counsel and Policy Advisor at the California Energy Commission from 2000 to 2005. Commissioner Houck has an extensive background representing Native American tribes throughout the country on matters involving energy, natural resources, land claims, and water rights, among others. Commissioner Houck is a member of the California Indian Law Association, California Lawyers Association, Schwartz-Levi Inn of Court, Women Lead and the Association of Women in Water, Energy, and Environment. Commissioner Houck has previously taught courses in the Native American Studies Department at the University of California, Davis and in the American Indian Studies Department at San Francisco State University. She has also previously taught Federal Indian Law at  McGeorge School of Law, and at UC Davis School of Law.  Houck received her B.A. in Native American Studies from the University of California, Davis in 1994, a Master of Science in community development from UC Davis in 1998 and her J.D. from UC Davis School of Law in 1998.

Chris Ide-Don

Ide-Don currently serves as the Assistant Dean of Academic Success at the UC Davis School of Law. A graduate of the UC Hastings School of Law, Ide-Don practiced disability rights and civil rights law for five years. His attorney and non-profit work encompassed representing students with disabilities and their families, and the provision of special education training and resources for students with disabilities. Ide-Don has taught the Legal Analysis course since 2013 at UC Davis School of Law and the Problem Solving and Analysis since 2011. Furthermore, he created curricula and course materials for both courses. Ide-Don has over a decade of experience consistently working with diverse law student populations. As the current Assistant Dean of Academic Success, his work has emphasized academic support for students of color, first generation students, and students at risk for not passing the Bar Exam. He also actively meets with students from various affinity groups to present information on law school exams, the Bar exam, and class selection. 

Jason Jasmine '01

Since 2015, Jason Jasmine has been the managing partner of Messing Adam & Jasmine LLP. Previously, he was a partner with Carroll, Burdick & McDonough LLP in the Public Sector Law Group. Jason’s practice focuses primarily on representing employees and employee associations regarding a wide range of labor and employment issues, including internal and other administrative investigations, disciplinary and termination proceedings, grievances, arbitrations, civil litigation and appellate work, collective bargaining, and actions before the California State Personnel Board, the California Public Employment Relations Board, and the National Labor Relations Board. He serves as the Chief Negotiator for a number of public sector employee associations. He has prepared briefs and argued labor and employment matters on behalf of clients to numerous courts, including the California Supreme Court, and various California Courts of Appeal, and also has extensive experience advising and successfully litigating matters involving the California Public Records Act. In spite of his background actively litigating disputes, he believes that the best results can often be obtained without expensive litigation, and has successfully resolved numerous labor disputes and disciplinary matters, construction defect and commercial litigation cases, and insurance bad faith actions through mediation and arbitration. He also has been active as an arbitrator in the mandatory fee arbitration programs of both the Sacramento County Bar and State Bar of California and has arbitrated dozens of disputes both as a sole arbitrator and as a chair or member of arbitration panels. He has been named a Super Lawyer Rising Star or Super Lawyer consistently since 2010, one of the 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment & Civil Rights Lawyers by Lawdragon since 2020, a “Top Employment and Labor Lawyer” by Sacramento Magazine, and “Best of the Bar” by the Sacramento Business Journal. Jason received his J.D. from UC Davis School of Law in 2001 and received his B.A. in Political Science from UC Davis in 1998. 

Craig L. Judson '84

Craig Judson is the managing partner of Bold, Polisner, Maddow, Nelson & Judson, with offices in Walnut Creek and Sacramento. His practice focuses in the fields of estate planning, probate and trust administration, conservatorships, guardianships, and related litigation, as well as general civil litigation involving real estate, personal injury, construction defect, and contract disputes. He regularly serves as a volunteer Judge pro tem for the Superior Court of Contra Costa County Probate Department and Traffic and Small Claims Department, as well as serving as a court appointed and private mediator. At King Hall, Craig teaches two popular practical skills classes: California Civil Procedure – A Practical Approach, and Practical Skills in Will and Trust Drafting and Administration. These courses are intended to give the students the basic practitioner skills necessary to become a productive starting attorney. He is a contributing editor for CEB in the estate planning publication area, and has received the Super Lawyer designation multiple times. He received his BA in Political Science / Public Service from UC Davis (’81) and his JD from UC Davis School of Law (’84), and is a past member of the King Hall Alumni Board.

Leeron Kalay

Leeron Kalay currently serves as the Silicon Valley Office Hiring Principal at Fish & Richards P.C. where he has successfully tried patent, trade secret, and antitrust cases before the United States International Trade Commission, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, and various district courts. He served as the Trade Secret and Misappropriation Section Subcommittee Chair of the American Bar Association (2017-2021). He has been named in the Best Lawyers in America (2023), as the Northern California Rising Star in Intellectual Property Litigation by Super Lawyers (2010-2014) and has received the Wiley Manual Award for Pro Bono Legal Services (2013). Kalay received B.A. degrees in Political Science and Rehetoric, cum laude, from the University of California, Berkeley and his J.D. from the New York University School of Law.

Brandon Kline

Brandon Kline is counsel with Best Best & Krieger, where he specializes in energy law and environmental litigation. In addition, he handles all aspects of land use development and provides client counseling related to complex civil litigation. His professional experience includes serving as deputy attorney general with the California Department of Justice and as in-counsel and associate director of environmental programs at San Francisco State University. He continues to serve as legal counsel to SF State Project Rebound, where he launched the Rebound Institute Legal Clinic. Kline also has extensive experience in higher education, having held senior leadership roles at the University of California Office of the President. Kline received his J.D. and his L.L.M. of environmental, natural resources, and energy law from Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College. In 2016, he was named as a Presidential Leadership Scholar for his work on energy security and environmental law. During law school he was also a law clerk with the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and the U.S. Department of Justice (Portland). After he obtained his B.A. with honors in government and economics from Sacramento State, he served as a California Executive Fellow in the Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. His volunteer service includes serving on the Saint Francis Foundation Board of Directors, in addition to serving the community as a youth basketball coach, and Chair of the Vacaville Planning Commission.

Matthew Lanthier '22

Matthew Lanthier is currently a criminal defense attorney at the Cohen Defense Group in Auburn, California, where he primarily represents indigent children and adults on a court-appointed basis. Lanthier practices in the adult criminal and juvenile delinquency courts, where he handles matters ranging from low-level narcotics cases to juvenile sex offenses and serious felonies. Prior to that, he worked as a certified legal intern at the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office, handling both pre-trial and post-conviction proceedings. Lanthier is currently a member of the California Army National Guard, where he serves as a Military Police officer. Lanthier received his B.A. in History at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2018 and his J.D. at the University of California, Davis School of Law in 2022. He is a member of the California Public Defenders Association and the Pacific Juvenile Defender Center.

Lawrence Lin '12

Lawrence Lin currently serves as Tax Counsel with the State Board of Equalization where he prepares legal opinions, answers informal inquiries, prepares rulemaking documents for regular rulemaking and emergency rulemaking, prepares legal briefs for state assessment appeals, and conducts research on behalf of the Chief Counsel. Prior to his time at the BOE, he worked as an estate planner. Mr. Lin received his B.A. in Economics in 2005 from Pomona College, his M.S. degree in Chemistry, with a Biochemistry focus, in 2010 from California State University, Fullerton, and his J.D. in 2012 from the University of California, Davis School of Law where he served as the Articles Editor of the UC Davis Law Review. 

James Liu

James Liu currently serves as Corporate Counsel at Krafton, Inc. where he primarily assists the company's esports department.  Previously, he was an associate at Orrick, Herrington, & Sutcliffe LLP where he assisted in various litigation case teams in matters involving privacy and data breach, intellectual property, and other general litigation matters. Prior to this, he served as a Judicial Extern for Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye at the California Supreme Court. James received his B.A, summa cum laude, in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2015 where he served as National Society of Collegiate Scholars Chair of PACE Mentoring Program, and his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 2019 where he served as Publishing Editor for the Berkeley Journal of Entertainment and Sports Law, member of the Asian American Law Journal, and received a Law and Technology Certificate from the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology. 

Lizzie Lockwood

As a staff attorney with For The People, Lizzie Lockwood is experienced in cutting-edge areas of criminal practice such as Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing (PIR). She currently serves as the lead attorney in Yolo, Santa Clara, San Diego, Merced, and Humboldt Counties. In this capacity, she has reviewed hundreds of C-Files, presented upwards of 50 cases to various California District Attorney’s Offices, drafted over 20 Motions for Sentence Reduction, and helped facilitate the resentencing and early release of more than 40 incarcerated people. She has directly supervised volunteer attorneys and legal interns, and created the vast majority of For The People’s PIR trainings, guides, and toolkits. Prior to her work with For The People, she worked as an investigator at the Habeas Corpus Resource Center, conducting complex investigations on death penalty cases in preparation of filing their state habeas petitions, served as a Judicial Intern with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and Law Clerk and Legal Intern with Bonjour, Thorman, Burns & Dahm. Lockwood previously served as a Teaching Assistant for Legal Writing and Research courses at UC Hastings College of Law. Lockwood received a B.A. in Anthropology from Wesleyan University in 1994 and a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 2019 where she served as Senior Staff Editor for the Hastings Environmental Law Journal. 

Samuel McAdam

Judge Samuel T. McAdam has presided over 15,000 court cases in Yolo Superior Court since his appointment to the bench in 2008. He currently serves as the Supervising Judge of the Civil Division. Last term, Judge McAdam led the Court as the Presiding Judge and was responsible for building the Virtual Courthouse and promoting and preserving access to justice during the Pandemic. He previously served as the Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Division, the Supervising Judge of Family Court, and as a trial judge in the Criminal Division. During his time on the Court, Judge McAdam also taught Employment Law for five years as an Adjunct Professor at Pacific McGeorge School of Law. Prior to his appointment to the bench, he was a Partner and Associate with Seyfarth Shaw LLP, practicing employment law. Judge McAdam received his B.A. in Political Science, with honors, from Stanford University in 1987, his Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in 1991, and his J.D., with distinction, from the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in 1996. 

Sinead McDonough '22

Sinead McDonough is an Associate in Lozano Smith's Sacramento office. Her practice is primarily focused on the labor and employment aspects of public agency law, with an emphasis on education law issues. Ms. McDonough earned her J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law in 2022. During law school, she served as a member and Articles Editor of the UC Davis Law Review, and was a board member and 1L Competition Chair of the UC Davis Moot Court Honors Board. She also served as a skills tutor for first-year law students. Ms. McDonough earned a B.A. in Spanish and Communications with an emphasis in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2014.

John McKinsey '99

Mr. McKinsey has practiced law in the private practice setting continuously since graduating from King Hall in 1999. He focuses on energy, commercial, regulatory and environmental law in several industries, chiefly Energy and Food, Beverage and Hospitality. He has extensive classroom teaching experience, including teaching Energy Law since 2011. He regularly writes and speaks on energy policy and law. Mr. McKinsey gained significant applied science knowledge and skills while serving in the United States Navy on submarines as a nuclear power plant operator and supervisor and leading electrician. He graduated cum laude with his B.A. from California State University Sacramento in Economics and received his J.D. from UC Davis School of Law. 

Shama Hakim Mesiwala '98

In 2023, Shama Hakim Mesiwala became an Associate Justice on the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District. Prior to that, she served on the Sacramento Superior Court since 2017, presiding over trials, hearings, and law and motion matters. Before becoming a judicial officer, Justice Mesiwala was an appellate attorney for 18 years, first representing indigent defendants, parents, and juveniles in criminal, dependency, mental health, and delinquency proceedings and then working for the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District. She began her legal career as an attorney with the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Sacramento. Justice Mesiwala is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal profession. She created the first Indian Child Welfare Act courtroom in Northern California. She serves as the co-founder of the South Asian Bar Association of Sacramento, hosting its annual Diversity Law Student Reception, president of the Schwartz/Levi American Inns of Court, and working group member of the California Judicial Mentor Program. 

Chris Micheli

Chris Micheli is an attorney and lobbyist with the Sacramento governmental relations firm of Snodgrass & Micheli, LLC. As a legislative advocate, Micheli regularly testifies before policy and fiscal committees of the California Legislature, as well as a number of administrative agencies, departments, boards, and commissions. He drafts legislative and regulatory language and is considered a leading authority on state tax law developments and California's legislative process. He has written and lectured extensively on lobbying and the legislative process. Micheli has been an attorney of record in several key cases, having argued before the Supreme Court of California, as well as the Court of Appeal several times. He has filed many amicus curiae briefs in California courts and has published half a dozen peer-reviewed law journal articles and is the co-editor and co-author of the books “A Practitioner’s Guide to Lobbying and Advocacy in California” and “Guide to Executive Branch Agency Rulemaking.” In addition, he has published three textbooks: “Introduction to California State Government,” “An Introduction to Drafting Legislation in California,” and “Understanding the California Legislative Process.” He is also the author of two recent casebooks: “The California Legislature and Its Legislative Process: Cases and Materials” (Carolina Academic Press) and “Cases and Materials on Direct Democracy in California” (Kendall-Hunt Publishing). He has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at McGeorge since 2015 where he co-teaches the course Lawmaking in California. He co-designed and co-teaches the online Legislatures and Lawmaking course, as well as designed and teaches the Lobbying and Politics course. 

Suzanne Miller '92

Suzanne Miller currently serves as Vice-President, Legal for HP’s Workforce Solutions business unit. Prior to this she served as the Director & Managing Counsel of Global Sales and the North America Legal Team. Previous roles include support of a number of sales, software, and services business units within HP and serving as Senior Counsel at a web-based start-up in San Francisco. Miller taught Transactional Lawyering Skills in Spring 2023 at UC Davis School of Law. She has also participated as a guest lecturer for Lawyering Process and Advanced Negotiations courses and has served as a judge for our Negotiation Competition. Miller received a B.A. in History from UC Davis in 1992 and a J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law in 1996 where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Computer & High Technology Law Journal.

Netania Moore '96

Since 2005, Netania Moore  has served as a Partner at Moore and Moore Attorneys at Law in Davis, California, representing clients on a variety of cases including estate planning and criminal defense. From 2001 until 2005, Ms. Moore worked as a deputy attorney general at the California Attorney General’s Office in the Appeals, Writs, and Trials section. From 2006-2007, she served as an adjunct professor teaching International Advocacy at McGeorge School of Law. Ms. Moore has volunteered extensively, including for the Third District Court of Appeal, Court Outreach Program. Ms. Moore received her J.D. with a Certificate in Governmental Affairs from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 2001, her B.A. in History from the University of California, Davis in 1994, and her paralegal certification from the University of California, Davis Extension Program in 1996. 

Johann Morri

Johann Morri is a lecturer and associate director for International Programs at the UC Davis School of Law. During his time here, he has taught legal methods and academic writing courses and co-taught the Legal Writing seminar with Associate Dean Beth Greenwood. In addition to teaching a series of classes at UC Davis School of Law, he has also taught at institutions in various countries, such as UC Berkeley School of Law, the China University of Political Sciences and Law, the University of Paris Nanterre, and the University of Montpellier. In 2020, he taught the seminar on the US Supreme Court in the Master's degree in human rights of University of Paris Nanterre and had one of his articles published in the law review of the French Constitutional Court. Prior to joining UC Davis, Johann Morri was a judge for the Trial Court in Public Law (2011-2014) and the Appellate Court in Public Law (2011-2014) both in Versailles, France as well as the Trial Court in Public Law (1999-2004) in Montpellier, France. He has also been the Deputy Director of the Public Law Section of the Legal Division for the Ministry of Economy and Finance in Paris, France and the Office chief (Chef de Bureau) of the International Law Section of the Legal Division for the French Ministry of Economy and Finance in Paris, France. 

Nidhi Nahar

Since 2021, Nidhi Nahar has served as the Head of Patents and Open Source for Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.). Nahar is responsible for Block’s (Square, Cash App, TBD, Spiral, TIDAL) global patent matters, including portfolio strategy and development; and patent quality, analytics, and open source compliance. Prior to joining Block, she served as a patent advisor and patent engineer at both international law firms and large corporations. Nahar speaks routinely on topics relating to patent development, the business of patent law and innovation, and equity and inclusion in the legal profession. Nahar received her Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Old Dominion University in 2007 and her Bachelor of Engineering from University of Rajasthan in India in 2005.

Roza Patterson '18

Roza Patterson is a Deputy General Attorney at the California Department of Justice in the Employment, Administrative and Mandate Section. Prior to joining the DOJ, Patterson served as an attorney at the international law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe where she practiced employment law and litigated a number of pro bono cases. In 2021, Patterson was one of five attorneys to be selected for Orrick’s inaugural Racial, Social, and Economic Justice Fellowship. As a Racial Justice fellow, Patterson worked at the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, the largest provider of free legal services in Santa Clara County, where she provided pro bono services on housing-related issues to individuals and families in Santa Clara County. In 2013, Patterson received her B.A. degrees summa cum laude in Communications, Political Science, and Human Rights from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, her Masters of Science degree in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2014, and her J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law (King Hall) in 2018. Patterson is a very active member of the King Hall Community. She served as an adjunct lecturer in 2021, has been invited to come and give a keynote speech at the law school’s public service graduation in 2022, and in the summer of 2023, Patterson worked with law students to help them prepare for the bar exam by grading essays and providing one-on-one feedback to students.

Jeremy Peterson

Judge Peterson has been a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of California since 2018, and has presided over a wide variety of civil and criminal matters, including many settlement conferences.  Prior to his appointment, he served as both a federal prosecutor and a private defense attorney.  His career began with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., where he prosecuted domestic violence offenses.  He next joined the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, where he was part of the Deepwater Horizon Task Force.  Judge Peterson then joined Arnold & Porter, a national law firm, where he represented clients in a variety of civil and criminal matters.  Judge Peterson is active in the Kennedy Inn of Court.  While in private practice, he served as co-chair of a conference on trial strategy and helped lead an American Bar Association committee that reviewed federal and state enforcement actions.  Judge Peterson received his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School, where he was Managing Editor of the Harvard International Law Journal, and his B.A., with honors, from Swarthmore College.  After law school, he served as a law clerk for Judge Ruggero J. Aldisert of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Donna Petre

With twenty years of service as a family and juvenile judge, Donna Petre has established various programs for family and juvenile law. While an active judge in Yolo County, Petre received numerous statewide awards from the Chief Justice of California for innovative programs, including five Kleps Awards for Innovation in the Courts. Her efforts have also been recognized nationwide as the recipient of the Benjamin Aranda Access to Justice Award and a national award from the Foundation for the Improvement of Justice. Judge Petre was also nationally recognized for founding one of the first domestic violence courts in the nation. She also created the School of Law’s Domestic Violence Clinic, which is still currently running today. As the first female judge to serve on the Municipal and Superior Court in Yolo County, Petre has made substantial contributions to diversity and access to the courts in developing programming to assist impacted juveniles and struggling families. Judge Petre currently serves as a member of the Assigned Judge program, assisting in juvenile and family court as needed by the Chief Justice. 

Katherine Prescott

Katie Prescott has been practicing intellectual property litigation for more than 20 years and has experience with trade secret misappropriation cases (and associated contractual, unfair competition, and patent disputes) in federal court, state court, and arbitration. In addition, she regularly advises clients, from start up to Fortune 100, on trade secret protection strategy and how to minimize their risk of facing a trade secret misappropriation claim. Prior to joining Fish & Richardson, Prescott served as senior counsel at Apple Inc.. In 2019, the Daily Journal recognized her as a Top Trade Secret Lawyer in California and in 2022 she was recognized for Intellectual Property Litigation in the Best Lawyers in America. Prescott has been a repeat guest lecturer for UC Davis School of Law’s Trade Secret Law class. Ms. Prescott received her B.A. with General Honors, Earth & Planetary Science in 1997 from Johns Hopkins University, her MS in Civil & Environmental Engineering in 1998 from Stanford University, and her J.D. from UC Berkeley in 2001 where she graduated Order of the Coif and received the Prosser Prize in Civil Procedure and American Jurisprudence Awards in Patent Law, Trademark Law, and Antitrust Law.

Kirupa Pushparaj

Kirupa Pushparaj works as the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Step where he is responsible for building out the company’s legal, compliance, and policy functions. He joined the company from Square, where he spent over eight years as part of the legal leadership team, spearheading a number of key legal and policy initiatives including Square’s intellectual property and legal operations. Pushparaj’s contributions to diversity initiatives include service on the boards of the San Francisco Bar Association Justice and Diversity Committee, and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Silicon Valley. He has earned various recognitions, including being named “Best Under 40 Attorneys” by the National Asian Pacific Bar Association in 2016, "Bay Area Corporate Counsel of the Year" Award by the Silicon Valley Business Journal in 2015, and the California Bar Wiley W. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Legal Services in 2008 and 2011. Pushparaj has taught patent prosecution for the past 12 years at law schools such as the University of Pacific McGeorge School of Law, Stanford Law School, and Santa Clara School of Law. He has taught at the UC Davis School of Law since 2017. Prior to being a lawyer, Pushparaj was an engineer at various technology companies such as Intel Corporation and Siemens, working on software and semiconductor design technologies. Pushparaj has a J.D. from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law, an M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from UC Santa Barbara, and a B.S. in Electronics and Communication Engineering from PSG College of Technology.

Marcus Salvato Quintanilla

Marcus Quintanilla is an independent arbitrator, mediator, and counsel, with arbitration chambers in San Francisco, Houston, and Miami.  A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, he focuses primarily on complex commercial, construction, and intellectual-property disputes in the US and internationally. Before launching as an independent neutral, Marcus was a Partner in the Global Disputes group at Jones Day, practicing in the areas of International Commercial Arbitration and Cross-Border Litigation.  He also practiced as an Associate at O’Melveny & Myers, LLP in the areas of International Arbitration and International White-Collar Investigations and served as a Consultant for U.S. Litigation and International Arbitration with Solórzano, Carvajal, González, Pérez-Correa in México.  Before beginning the active practice of law, Marcus served as a Law Clerk at both the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and United States District Court, Central District of California.  Marcus has previously served as a Visiting Lecturer on Transnational Legal Practice and International Arbitration at the UC Irvine School of Law, a Visiting Lecturer on International Commercial Arbitration at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, an Instructor in Classical Rhetoric and Ethics at the New Oxford Collegiate Academy, and as a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University.  Marcus received his B.A. in Philosophy from Georgetown University in 1993, an A.M. in Classical Philosophy (Ethics) from Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences in 1996, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1999.

Sonya Rahders

Sonya Laddon Rahders (she/her) teaches the Gender and Name Change Practicum. Rahders is currently a staff attorney for Regulatory Assistance for Abortion Providers (RAAP), a division of Resources for Abortion Delivery (RAD), where she provides legal and regulatory compliance assistance to abortion providers across the United States. Rahders is a mentor for students through numerous organizations including SacLegal: Sacramento’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association; and UC Law SF and UCLA alumni groups. Since fall 2022, she has served as an Attorney Supervisor for the King Hall Lambda Law Students Association’s Gender and Name Change Project. In addition, since 2018, Rahders has been an adjunct instructor for the University of Minnesota College of Continuing and Professional Studies (CCAPS) where she teaches a course on public policy and human sexuality. She has numerous publications and presentations on reproductive rights as well as on the rights of LGBTQ+ people. Rahders has received several awards and honors for her advocacy work, including the 40 Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40 from the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association. She earned a J.D. from University of California, College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly University of California, Hastings College of the Law), and a B.A. in Sociology, summa cum laude, from UCLA.

Patricia Ribeiro '16

Patricia Ribeiro assists clients in estate and business planning. She has extensive experience in private practice and as in-house counsel for both foreign and national companies.   Since 2021, Ribeiro serves of the Board of Directors and officer (secretary) of the Brazil-Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. She is a dual-qualified attorney, admitted to practice in California and Brazil. Ribeiro holds a Master of Laws from the University of California, Davis School of Law (2016), a Specialization in Brazilian Corporate Law from the School of Law from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (2014), and a Bachelor of Laws from Faculdade de Direito de Joinville (1997). She is licensed with the State Bar of California, as well as with the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB/SC). While at King Hall, she was a research assistant to faculty members developing research in the areas of securities, business law and environmental law.

Alberto Rosas

Alberto Rosas serves as an Administrative Law Judge with the State of California. He is a visiting lecturer at UC Davis School of Law and an adjunct professor at McGeorge School of Law. He volunteers with the Superior Court of California (Sacramento & Yolo). He serves as Vice President of Yolo Conflict Resolution Center’s board of directors, as a director-at-large of the Sacramento County Bar Association, and as a cofounder and Vice President of Communications of the Unity Bar of Yolo County. Rosas received his B.A. in English and Criminal Justice from San Francisco State University in 2006 and his J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 2009, where he was awarded the C.A.L.I. Award for Excellence in Employment Discrimination Law, Federal Income Tax Law, and Immigration Law.

Julie Rutherford

Julie Rutherford has spent 21 years in the United States Air Force working on legal issues ranging from administrative and criminal law to victims’ rights in sexual assault cases. She currently serves as a Workplace Conduct Unit Attorney Investigator with the California State Legislature where she conducts investigations into allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination based on protected class for all California legislators, staff, and support workers. Prior to this, she served as a Judge Advocate and Attorney with the United States Air Force Worldwide where she led multiple staffs of 500+ attorneys, paralegals, and civilians providing full-spectrum legal services to over 1,000,000 military personnel and retirees. In 2014, during her time with United States Air Force, she was assigned to a multidisciplinary team tasked with engaging with Congress and military leadership, and training personnel on issues pertaining to sexual assault. Rutherford received her B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1993 and her J.D., with distinction, from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1996, where she also completed a Certificate in Governmental Affairs.

Sanam Saaber

Sanam Saaber is currently the Chief Legal Officer at Iterable, a cross-channel marketing platform that powers unified customer experiences and empowers organizations to create, optimize and measure every interaction across the entire customer journey. Previously, she served as General Counsel and Interim COO at DFINITY and she was Vice President of Legal for Box, Inc. leading various teams including corporate, commercial, products, privacy, litigation, IP, employment, and risk. She received her B.S. from the University of California, Los Angeles, M.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University, and J.D. from UC Davis School of Law.

Thomas Saenz

Thomas Saenz is President and General Counsel of the MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund), the nation’s leading Latino civil rights organization, a post he has held since 2009. Previously, as Counsel to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Saenz served on the four-person executive team to the mayor, where he provided legal and policy advice on major initiatives. Saenz previously practiced civil rights litigation at MALDEF for 12 years, including four years as Vice President of Litigation. He was MALDEF’s lead counsel in the successful challenge to California’s anti-immigrant Proposition 187, and he has led numerous civil rights cases in the areas of immigrants’ rights, education, employment, and voting rights. Saenz earned a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1991, and a BA, summa cum lade, from Yale College in 1987. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Harry L. Hupp of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and to the Honorable Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit before initially joining MALDEF in 1993.

Ronald Scholar

A litigator for 27 years, Ronald Scholar started his career as a public defender before moving to civil practice where he represents public entity and private business clients in a diverse scope of litigation including federal and state civil rights, employment law, dangerous conditions of public property as well as contract and business disputes. Named to Sacramento Magazine’s Top Lawyers List for 2016, Scholar also serves as a Judge Pro Tem in the Placer County Superior Court. Scholars has been active in the trial practice and mock trial programs at King Hall since 2016.

Emily Scivoletto

Emily Scivoletto is the Senior Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at the UC Davis School of Law and provides leadership and management for programs and services relating to student services and success. Dean Scivoletto previously served as the Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs at the UCLA School of Law where she taught Leadership and the Law and Professional Responsibility. Prior to UCLA, she served as Dean of Students at the University of San Diego Law School as well as the Director of Academic Success at both the UC Davis and McGeorge Law Schools. Scivoletto has previously taught courses in Analytical and Persuasive Legal Writing at UC Davis, Fundamentals of Bar Writing at UC San Diego, Principles of Agency Law at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, and Introduction to U.S. Law for Court Interpreters at the UCLA Extension. Before entering academia, she practiced law in Sacramento where she handled insurance defense and civil rights litigation cases. Scivoletto is a founding member and the Treasurer of the National Association of Law Student Affairs Professionals (NALSAP). Scivoletto received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Irvine in 1993, a Master of Education (M.Ed.) degree in Higher Education Leadership from CSU Sacramento in 2008, and her J.D. from Pacific McGeorge School of Law in 1998. She also holds a Graduate Certificate from the International Institute for Restorative Practices and is trained in restorative justice and restorative practices conflict management.

Dana Scott '19

Dana Scott currently serves as an Associate General Counsel with the California School Boards Association in West Sacramento, CA. Prior to joining the California School Boards Association, she was an Associate Attorney with Liebert Cassidy Whitmore and Parker & Covert L.L.P. where she counseled public entity clients on a variety of matters including school board governance and school district elections. Ms. Scott received her J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law in 2019, and her B.A. in Political Science and Psychology (with honors) from the University of California, Davis in 2016. While at King Hall, she served as a tutor for Legal Research and Writing.

Saba Shatara '13

Saba Shatara is currently a Managing Tax Associate at Deloitte Touche LLP, where he regularly represents clients in all stages of tax controversy, including protests, settlement conferences, and appeals. As part of his duties with Deloitte, Saba manages and mentors a team of young attorneys and is committed to helping these attorneys learn the practical skills necessary to succeed in this field. He was previously an attorney at Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, where he obtained extensive litigation training, which involved negotiations, client counseling, and oral advocacy. After that experience, he continued working as a litigator in the state and local tax arena, and briefly worked in a quasi-judicial capacity as Tax Counsel to a Board Member at the State Board of Equalization. Saba has authored a myriad of briefs, dispositive motions, memoranda, and subject-specific publications. He has presented a number of legislative proposals before the California State Legislature (which have resulted in modifications to California's tax laws), as well as before several U.S. Congressional Committees. He received his J.D. from the UC Davis School of Law in 2013 and his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley in 2009. He also received an LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law in 2017. He has taught at UC Davis School of Law since 2017. 

Raquel Silva, '05

Raquel Silva is a Certified Family Law Specialist and Estate Planning Attorney at the Law Office of Raquel M. Silva in Davis, where she has practiced since 2005. She is also a trained family law mediator, an experienced collaborative divorce attorney, and a pro tem judicial officer at the Yolo County Superior Court. She has been voted as the Davis Enterprise Readers’ Choice—"Best Attorney” in Yolo County in 2021, 2022 & 2023. Prior to becoming an attorney, Ms. Silva worked as a paralegal in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Davis. From 2003-2004, Ms. Silva participated as a certified law student with the UC Davis Family Protection Clinic. Ms. Silva received a Paralegal Certificate from Lincoln Paralegal (Law) School in 1989, a B.A. in Political Science from UC Davis in 2001, and a J.D. from the UC Davis School of Law in 2005. 

Selvi Stanislaus

Selvi Stanislaus is the first woman to lead the second largest tax department in the nation. She administers two of California's largest tax programs namely Personal Income Tax and Corporation Tax, which collects over $60 billion for the state’s general fund. She overseas a department of over 6000 employees in 11 offices located in California, Illinois, New York and Texas. She advises the Franchise Tax Board Members and the California Legislature on statewide policy issues. In 2006, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States presented her with the “IRS Commissioner’s Award”, which recognized the excellent work done under her leadership in federal/state initiatives. In 2008, she received the Government Technology Conference Award for “Innovation and Leadership” in state government and was also judged as one of the nations “Doers, Dreamers and Drivers for the year 2011.” Ms. Stanislaus has been a professor for the Lincoln Law School since 2006, where she teaches Federal Income Taxation. She has previously taught State and Local Taxation at the UC Davis School of Law. Ms. Stanislaus received her LL.M. in Taxation from the McGeorge School of Law in 1997, her J.D. from the Lincoln Law School in 1995, and her B.A. in Law from the Sri Lanka Law College in 1981. 

Lynn Starr

Lynn Starr has taught Pretrial Skills at UC Davis School of Law since 2001. Previously a litigation partner in the San Francisco office of Jackson Tufts Cole & Black LLP, she represented clients in Federal and California courts as well as various ADR forums. She also served as the firm’s hiring partner. Ms. Starr was a board member of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and the San Francisco Shelter Grievance Advisory Committee. She received her J.D., with Distinction, from Stanford Law School and was the recipient of the Frank Baker Belcher Prize for Best Academic Work in Evidence. She received her undergraduate degree from Princeton University.

Clarisa Sudarma '12

Since 2013, Clarisa Sudarma has served as deputy counsel for the Solano County Counsel where she has provided both advisory and civil litigation legal services for several County departments, special districts, and/or affiliated agencies; their associated elected officials; appointed boards; and commissions. Her current assignments include, but are not limited to, conducting certification review hearings as a hearing officer for those involuntarily committed to mental health institutions under the Lanterman–Petris–Short Act, representing the Behavioral Health Department, the Child Welfare Department in appellate matters, the Department of Resource Management with regards to violations of the County code, and the Sheriff's Department with regards to Pitchess motions. Since 2017, she has been one of only three attorneys in Solano County designated a Child Welfare Law Specialist by the National Association of Counsel accredited by the American Bar Association and the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization for her enhanced level of knowledge, skills, and expertise in juvenile law. Ms. Sudarma's volunteer activities include mentoring students at the Jesse Bethel Law Academy in Vallejo, part of the California LAW Pathway, a partnership of the California Department of Education, and State Bar of California designed to increase diversity in the legal profession and increase opportunities for students from disadvantaged communities to gain access to legal careers. From 2016-2019, she served on the executive committee of the California Young Lawyers Association, previously part of the California State Bar, and has since served on the executive committee of the Public Law Section of the California Lawyer's Association, created in 2017 by the Legislature through Senate Bill 36. 

Jill Talley

Judge Jill Talley has taught Remedies at UC Davis School of Law since 2018. Judge Talley was appointed by the Governor to the Superior Court of the County of Sacramento in 2018. Judge Talley started her career in Los Angeles as a civil litigator. From 2002 to 2013, she worked as a Deputy Attorney General and Supervising Attorney General in the Employment, Administration, and Mandate Section in Sacramento. In 2014, she was appointed by the Governor as the Chief Counsel for the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services where she provided legal and strategic advice with regard to responding to and preparing for emergencies. 

John Tan

Mr. Tan is currently a Managing Attorney in the Health Rights unit and Program Manager of the HICAP unit at Legal Services of Northern California (LSNC), a non-profit legal services organization serving 23 Northern California counties. During his career at LSNC, he has staffed and supervised law student volunteers at free legal clinics. He has also supervised law clerks at LSNC during summer internships and school-year externships. Mr. Tan has been a Lawyering Process Laboratory Lecturer since Spring 2019. He received a BA in 2004 from the University of Southern California in Political Science, Biological Sciences, Asian American Studies, a MA in 2008 from the University of California, Los Angeles in Asian American Studies, and a JD in 2010 from UC Davis School of Law.

Kelli Taylor

Kelli Taylor has over 26 years of litigation experience, as an Assistant United States Attorney and as a shareholder in private practice. Currently, Ms. Taylor defends the United States in civil lawsuits brought against the United States, federal agencies and federal employees concerning a wide range of topics including environmental issues, employment, civil rights, medical malpractice, catastrophic injuries and death on federal lands, other Federal Tort Claims Act allegations, and more. Previously, as chief of the Affirmative Litigation Unit for eight years, she handled all aspects of her own caseload while also supervising as many as 11 AUSAs and 20 support staff (paralegals, investigators, auditors and clerks). Ms. Taylor also periodically handles criminal prosecutions, including at trial. She has regular interactions with highly sophisticated opposing counsel, cultivated relationships with federal agencies, and provided regular briefings to the U.S. Attorney and other senior members of the Department of Justice. A member of the Schwartz-Levi Inn of Court, Ms. Taylor has mentored numerous King Hall students and judged the law school’s moot court competitions. Ms. Taylor has been a Lawyering Process Laboratory Lecturer (Spring 2019-2022). She received her J.D. from the University of San Diego, School of Law in 1996 and a B.A. with distinction in her major from San Diego State University in December, 1992.

Samantha Ting

Ms. Ting is currently an Assistant Public Defender in the Sacramento County Office of the Public Defender where she represents indigent accused persons during all stages of criminal proceedings. Previously she worked as a Research Assistant for the Sacramento County Office of the Public Defender. Ting also participates in a number of professional associations including Women Lawyers of Sacramento and the California Public Defender’s Association. Ting received her B.A. in Criminal Justice from California State University Sacramento in 2013, and her J.D. from UC Davis School of Law in 2018. 

Alyssa Thurston

Alyssa Thurston is a Senior Research Law Librarian at the UC Davis Mabie Law Library. She currently serves as Interim Director of the Law Library. She received her B.A. from Middlebury College, J.D. from UCLA School of Law, and M.L.I.S. with a special certificate in law librarianship from the University of Washington Information School. Prior to joining UC Davis, she worked as a Research Services Librarian and later as the Head of Reference Services at the Pepperdine University School of Law's Jerene Appleby Harnish Law Library. 

Ryan Wagner

Since 2007, Ryan Wagner has served as Deputy District Attorney for the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office. He has prosecuted violent sex offenders, developed a training program for new attorneys on the different phases of a criminal trial, and supervised and trained incoming attorneys. Currently, he serves as the head of the Law & Motion Unit and Director of Recruitment & Hiring. He has taught a specialized course to Coast Guard JAG Corps Attorneys on effective investigative techniques and trial strategies in sexual assault cases. For many years, Mr. Wagner has been an instructor for the Law Enforcement Training Center, where he lectures on multiple criminal law topics, including Search and Seizure, Property Crimes, and Investigations. At King Hall, he has served as a lecturer since 2019, teaching both Introduction to Criminal Litigation and Best Practices for Justice. 

Stephen White '74

Stephen White currently serves as a Judge for the Sacramento County Superior Court, a position which he has held since his appointment in 2003. In addition, he served as Presiding Judge of the Superior Court from 2010 to 2011. He is currently the president of the Alliance of California Judges and is a member of the Judicial Council Criminal law Advisory Committee. His experience in these positions – as well as his past position as Chief Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the Criminal Division, and as District Attorney of Sacramento County – have allowed him to be a successful visiting lecturer at UC Davis School of Law where he has primarily taught Advanced Criminal Procedure since 1995. 

Jaclyn Zumaeta

Jaclyn Zumaeta is currently an Assistant Chief Counsel at the Franchise Tax Board, where she serves as the department's appeals coordinator and manages a team of 30 attorneys, paralegals, and program specialists who represent the State in various levels of state tax controversy, including internal protests and appeals before the Office of Tax Appeals. She also serves as a member of the Taxation Section of the California Lawyers Association's Executive Committee, creating networking and professional development activities, publications, and programming for the tax community. Prior to this, she served as Assistant Chief Counsel at the State of California Office of Tax Appeals. She previously served as a Manager with PricewaterhouseCoopers, a Tax Council III with the Franchise Tax Board, where she was the recipient of the Sustained Superior Accomplishment Award, Individual Gold Superior Accomplishment Award, and the Group Gold Superior Accomplishment Award, and served as a Chief Legal Advisor for Franchise and Income Tax and a Franchise Tax Board Liaison with the Office of Jerome E. Horton, Board of Equalization. Zumaeta received her B.A. in Criminology, Law, & Society and Psychology & Social Behavior, cum laude, from the University of California, Irvine in 2006, her LLM degree in Taxation from the University of San Diego School of Law in 2009, and her J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law in 2009.  

Visiting Professors

Michael T. Colatrella Jr.

Michael T. Colatrella Jr. is a Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Institute for Law Teaching and Learning at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. Professor Colatrella joined the McGeorge faculty in 2009 as an Assistant Professor of Law. He served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from June 2015 to May 2019 and Interim Dean from July 2019 to June 2020. He is an expert in alternative dispute resolution, including mediation, negotiation, and conflict management. He is co-author of the interdisciplinary text Mediation—Skills & Techniques, which is widely used in law schools, graduate schools, and schools of diplomacy and is now in its second edition. Professor Colatrella's dispute resolution scholarship focuses on improving mediator techniques and mediation processes so that self-represented litigants may participate more meaningfully and effectively. Professor Colatrella also educates lawyers, corporate executives, and businesspeople in a wide variety of negotiation, conflict management and human relations matters. Professor Colatrella received his J.D. from Seton Hall University, LLM at New York University and B.A. from Rutgers University.

Larry Levine

Larry Levine currently serves as Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law where he teaches Torts, Sexual Orientation/ Gender Identity and the Law, Bioethics, and Advanced Torts. Levine has long been involved in the struggle for LGBTQ+ legal rights. He served on the State Bar Committee on Sexual Orientation Discrimination, the board of directors of the AIDS Legal Referral Panel of Northern California, and the board of directors of the National LGBT Bar Association. He was the chairperson of the Law School Admission Council’s (LSAC) Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues Subcommittee and a member of LSAC’s Services and Programs committee. Levine was the co-founder of  Sacramento’s LGBTQ+ bar association, Sacramento Lawyers for the Equality of Gays and Lesbians (SacLEGAL). A member of the American Law Institute, Levine has written and spoken frequently on issues relating to torts and to sexual orientation/gender identity. He is a co-author on a torts casebook and treatise. Levine has been a visiting professor at  New York Law School, UC College of the Law, San Francisco (previously UC Hastings) and UC Davis (King Hall). Levine previously practiced as an Associate at Morrison & Foerster and served as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Eugene F. Lynch at the United States District Court of the Northern District of California.

Kathleen Morris

Kathleen Morris is a tenured Professor of Law at Golden Gate University, and has also taught at Yale, Berkeley, and Rutgers law schools. In 2006 she co-founded the still-thriving San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project at Yale Law School. She has written about Federal and State Constitutional Law, State and Local Government Law, Public Lawyering, and Legal Education. She has taught Constitutional Law, State and Local Government Law, Property, Civil Procedure, and Professional Responsibility.  Before academia, Professor Morris served for a decade as a deputy city attorney for San Francisco, where she was the founding Executive Director of the City’s Affirmative Litigation Task Force. She served as the City’s lead counsel in more than one hundred federal and state court cases, including the City’s constitutional challenges to California’s marriage laws and to federal anti-abortion legislation. She has a J.D. from U.C. Berkeley Law School; a Masters in European and International Politics from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland; and a B.A. in English Literature from California State University, Northridge, where she was a self-supporting, first-generation college graduate. After law school she served as a clerk to the Honorable Sidney R. Thomas, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 

Jyoti Nanda

Jyoti Nanda, Professor of Law at Golden Gate University (GGU), focuses on criminal law, criminal procedure, professional responsibility, juvenile law, critical race theory, civil procedure, education law, disability law, and civil rights. In 2022, GGU awarded her the Justice Jesse W. Carter Faculty Scholarship Award for her commitment to impactful and cutting-edge scholarship. Her research draws on her background in ethnic studies and her experience as a youth advocate and civil rights lawyer to provide a better understanding of contemporary legal practices within the historical context of racial and economic inequality in the United States. Nanda is the American Bar Association nominated Reporter/Author for the forthcoming National Juvenile Justice Standards, and her research and writing have been featured in leading law journals and national press. She is a co-editor of the leading youth law casebook, Children and the Law (8th ed., West, 2024). In 2023, Nanda was named a Salzburg Global Fellow and invited as a youth scholar to two international convenings of experts addressing Youth Violence and Safety in the Netherlands and Austria. She was a visiting Professor at USC Gould School of Law and UC Law, San Francisco Law (formerly "U.C. Hastings), and taught a comparative law class at the Université Paris Nanterre last summer. Before joining GGU Law, Nanda was the Binder Clinical Teaching Fellow at UCLA Law School, taught Criminal Law, and founded the Youth & Justice Clinic. Before the fellowship, she taught Legal Research & Writing, numerous public interest courses, and a seminar on the criminalization of girls of color with Distinguished Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw at UCLA. She was a lead faculty member in UCLA's Critical Race Studies and Epstein Public Interest Law Programs. She started her career as a Skadden Fellow and civil rights attorney at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF). Nanda is a graduate of Northwestern Law and U.C. Berkeley.   

Mira Sundara Rajan

Professor Sundara Rajan is an internationally recognized scholar and professor specializing in Copyright Law. She was Professor of Intellectual Property Law at the University of Glasgow's copyright research centre, CREATe, from 2013-17, and held the Canada Research Chair in Intellectual Property Law at the University of British Columbia, where she was a tenured Associate Professor of Law, from 2005-11. She has previously been a visiting scholar at Stanford and UC Hastings law schools, and a Global Engelberg Fellow at NYU Law School, and has also held visiting appointments at leading law schools around the world, including Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, Oxford University, LUISS Guido Carli University in Rome, ESSEC Business School in Paris, and the National Law School of India in Bangalore. Mira is the author of Moral Rights: Principles, Practice and New Technology (Oxford University Press, 2011; second edition pending) and Copyright and Creative Freedom: A Study of Post-Socialist Law Reform (Routledge, 2006), and the editor of the Cambridge Handbook of Intellectual Property in Central and Eastern Europe (2019). She has regularly published articles, book chapters, and essays in both scholarly and general interest publications. In addition to her work as an academic, Mira regularly advises governments, cultural institutions, start-up companies, and artists on intellectual property issues. Professor Sundara Rajan holds a D.Phil in Law from Oxford University (2003), an LL.M. from the University of British Columbia, a J.D. from Osgoode Hall Law School, and a B.A. (Joint Hons.) in Economics and Political Science from McGill University and the Université de Paris X-Nanterre. Her latest book is the edited volume, The Coming Age: C. Subramania Bharati's Collected English Writings, to be published by Penguin in the summer of 2021.

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