Bison News and Spotlight
Southwestern was one of the first law schools in the country to encourage the enrollment of women and minorities when it was established more than 100 years ago. As a result, from the very first graduate, Southwestern-trained lawyers quickly became trailblazers in the profession and the greater community鈥攆rom the courthouse to the Mayor鈥檚 office.
Today, Southwestern alumni live and work throughout the United States and 26 foreign countries. They include leaders in local and national elected offices, founders of major and boutique law firms, general counsels of multinational corporations, and top public interest lawyers. They have served in such diverse positions as general counsel of Lionsgate Entertainment, president of the Mormon Church, members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, the Los Angeles County District Attorney, CEO of the American Red Cross, and California State Treasurer.
Read alumni profiles.
June 2023
Patricia Brum 鈥13 of Snell & Wilmer was selected for inclusion in the 2023 Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars publication. She was also listed in the Los Angeles Business Journal鈥檚 2023 Women of Influence 鈥 Attorneys.
Jahmy S. Graham 鈥14 of Nelson Mullins was selected for inclusion in the 2023 Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars publication.
Brian J. Panish 鈥84 was inducted with three others into the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles Hall of Fame on June 12.
Sharis Rostamlou 鈥22 joined Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman as an associate in its Glendale Office.
Camille M. Vasquez 鈥10 of Brown Rudnick was selected for inclusion in the 2023 Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars publication. Vasquez was also named one of the Daily Journal鈥檚 鈥淭op Women Lawyers鈥 in California.
May 2023
David Downing 鈥11 was promoted to partner at Pearlman, Brown & Wax鈥檚 Los Angeles office. Downing specializes in the defense of complex workers' compensation matters.
Julee Fritsch Earley 鈥05 was promoted to partner at Tyson & Mendes鈥 Los Angeles office. She practices catastrophic personal injury.
Andrew J. Kramer 鈥91 joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher as a partner in the firm's Los Angeles office. Kramer will chair the firm鈥檚 motion picture, television, and entertainment finance practice group. He was most recently a partner at Loeb & Loeb.
Sonal B. Majmudar 鈥01 joins Mayer Brown as a partner in its Washington, D.C. office. Majmudar was most recently an international tax counsel with the Internal Revenue Service.
Claire M. McCall 鈥23, past Chair of the Moot Court Board of Governors, will serve as a law clerk to Judge Dean Pregerson of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Asantewa Olatunji 鈥75 was appointed by Mayor Karen Bass to the L.A. Cultural Affairs Commission.
Linda D. Tolbert 鈥96 was named Executive Medical Director for Washington Permanente Medical Group in Seattle. Dr. Tolbert will lead 1,300 clinicians to care for more than 600,000 Kaiser Permanente members. She will be the first Black woman to serve in this position. Dr. Tolbert joined Kaiser Permanente in 1993.
A. Marco Turk 鈥60 published his book Bridging the Cyprus Divide鈥Reflections of An Accidental Peacebuilder. He is an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University鈥檚 Strauss Institute for Dispute Resolution.
Edward M. Wolkowitz 鈥75 received the Culver City Chamber of Commerce鈥檚 Legacy of Service Award.
April 2023
Gesine Bullock-Prado 鈥96 published her new book, My Vermont Table: Recipes for All (Six) Seasons.
Kira N. Teshima Conlon 鈥12 launched an all-BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) led law firm called the SOMOS Group providing legal advocacy and support in real estate, land use, and environmental law. Conlon has prioritized increasing diversity in the legal field through mentorship at this new firm.
Lakeesha T. Jemerson 鈥07 was promoted to Managing Attorney of The Hartford insurance company's Orange County Workers' Compensation in-house firm. The office handles workers' comp defense cases in Orange County, Northern California, San Diego, the Inland Empire, and Long Beach.
Laurie K. Jones 鈥95 joined U.S. Banks as senior corporate counsel.
Kathy Khommarath 鈥12 joined the California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC) as a Supervising Development Manager in February.
The Hon. William J. McGovern, III 鈥79 retired as a superior court judge in New Jersey after 19 years of service in criminal, civil, and family courts. He is honored to continue to serve in a senior judge capacity.
Orlando N. Ortega-Medina 鈥91 published a legal thriller, The Fitful Sleep of Immigrants, and concluded a successful book tour in the United States last spring. Ortega-Medina is the founder of an immigration law firm based in London.
Laurel Loomis Rimon 鈥93 joined Jenner & Block LLP as a partner in its Washington, DC office. Rimon specializes in FinTech and crypto assets practice.
Tara J. Sattler 鈥11 has been named to Variety鈥檚 2023 Legal Impact Report as part of the Firm鈥檚 Audio Team. Variety spotlights the world鈥檚 top lawyers in entertainment and media in the Annual Report, highlighting their groundbreaking work in film, television, audio, and digital formats. Sattler was also recently selected to the 2023 Southern California Rising Stars list. She is a Shareholder at Weintraub Tobin and is an Entertainment and Media Group member.
Jason A. Savlov 鈥01 was promoted to partner at Adams Stirling PLC, in charge of litigation.
Class Notes Archive
- March 2023
Monica C. Mazzei 鈥02, joined Buchalter as shareholder and chair of the newly launched law practice group in the firm鈥檚 San Francisco office.
Alison N. Kleaver Jordan 鈥07, and her husband Jonathan, welcomed son James Atlas in April 2022.
Anh Nguyen Stenzel 鈥07 was named one of Top 10 Industry Disruptors by LA Weekly.
Alexa M. Whiteside 鈥17 joined Hearst Media Production Group as vice president of business affairs.
- February 2023
Robert C. Brandt 鈥76 was awarded The Spencer Brandeis Award for 2022 by The Los Angeles County Bar Association Family Law Section. The award is given to someone who has made a significant impact in the field of Family Law. It is not given every year.
Vicki M. Roberts 鈥83 received an esteemed "Honorable Mention" on February 1, 2023 for her original poem, , in the 2022 Society of Classical Poets International Poetry Competition. The annual competition is for poets around the world who write metered poetry in the classical style, usually with rhyme.
Michele B. Anderson 鈥90 was named a trustee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Her term starts July 1.
Jeffrey K. Joyner 鈥95 joined Glaser Weil as a partner in the firm鈥檚 Century City office practicing intellectual property.
Joseph Ho Jin Kang 鈥97 was appointed to serve as a judge in the Orange County Superior Court. Kang was most recently a deputy public defender in Los Angeles.
Simon R. Umscheid 鈥99 was promoted from Chief Deputy District Attorney to Assistant District Attorney in the San Bernardino County District Attorney鈥檚 Office.
Daniel A. Cooper 鈥07 celebrated the one- year anniversary of opening his law firm Cooper & Huber LLP.
Peter J. Woo 鈥09 was appointed as Board Chairperson and President of the Asian American Insurance Network (AAIN). Woo is the office litigation manager in the Riverside office of Jackson Lewis P.C. and a principal in the Irvine office. He represents public and private employers in labor and employment law matters.
Charles K. Chineduh 鈥10 joined Maynard, Cooper & Gale, LLP as partner in the firm鈥檚 Century City office. Chineduh was previously a partner at Meserve, Mumper & Hughes, LLP.
Joshua H. Eichenstein 鈥13 won a case before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal in an opinion issued for publication, "HayDay Farms, Inc., et al v. FeeDx Holdings, Inc." Eichenstein was nominated by Super Lawyers Rising Stars for Intellectual Property Litigation in 2023, for the 7th consecutive year in a row.
April M. Zonnis 鈥13 was promoted to partner at Summers Levine & Kretzmer, LLP.
Nicholas E. Mitchell 鈥14 was promoted to Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer at Logix Federal Credit Union, a $9.6 billion financial institution headquartered in Southern California.
- January 2023
Gerry E. Agnew, Jr. '74 joined Judicate West in its Los Angeles office.
Geraldine Wong-Williams 鈥05 was appointed as a San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge.
Reagan E. Boyce 鈥06 was named partner at Chamblee Ryan P.C. in Dallas, Texas.
Justin Mikita 鈥10, husband Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and son Becket Mercer welcomed Sullivan Louis Ferguson-Mikita, born in November through a surrogate.
Camille M. Vasquez '10 joined NBC as a legal analyst. Vasquez is a partner at Brown Rudnick LLP.
Benjamin C. Lau 鈥11 was elevated to principal at Jackson Lewis P.C. in the firm鈥檚 Los Angeles office.
Manny S. Mukkar 鈥11 was named partner at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP in Toronto, Canada. Mukkar is a member of the firm鈥檚 real estate and development group.
Michael B. Gelfound 鈥13 joined Freeman Mathis & Gary LLP as partner in its Los Angeles location. Gelfound was most recently with Selman Breitman LLP.
Mark C. Humphrey 鈥13 was promoted as partner at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP. He is a member of the firm鈥檚 litigation group.
Max N. Wellman '13 was elected partner at Venable LLP in its Century City location.
Mindy Bae Kulikov 鈥14 was promoted as partner at Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman LLP in the firm鈥檚 Los Angeles office focusing on professional liability and commercial litigation.
Nathan B. Eprem 鈥22 joined the litigation section of GrayRobinson in Melbourne, Florida.
- December 2022
Jeffrey R. Erickson 鈥88, was appointed to serve as judge in the San Bernardino County Superior Court. Erickson was most recently a partner at Raynes Erickson since 2012.
Patricia D. Cafferata 鈥89, was elected to the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges Board of Directors.
Edwin P. Chau 鈥92, was appointed as a Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Chau was most recently an assemblyman representing the 49th district of California.
Celeste V. Thomasson 鈥93, was appointed as chief audit and risk officer of Renault Group in France.
Jillian R. Weinstein 鈥09, was elected partner at O鈥橫elveny & Myers LPP. Weinstein serves as the firm鈥檚 Assistant General Counsel, and the firm鈥檚 public safety officer.
Patricia Brum 鈥13, was selected for inclusion in LA Times Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Magazine for exhibiting achievements both within their organizations and in the community at large through actionable programs and initiatives impacting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility. Brum is a partner at Snell Wilmer and is a strong advocate for the LGBTQ community.
Whitney Nonnette Perry 鈥13, joined Reed Smith as counsel to their labor and employment practice.
Lucy A. Vartanian 鈥13, was named partner at Hahn & Hahn. Vartanian is a member of the firm鈥檚 family law practice group since 2019.