Speakers

What Happens After Dobbs?

Born in India, Professor Rao moved to the U.S. when she was a year old, growing up in Massachusetts. Professor Rao attended Harvard College, where she studied Physics and Chemistry while anchoring for WHRB news and acting in various plays. After spending a year working for a securities firm in Tokyo, she decided to abandon science for a career in the law. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and served as Supreme Court Editor of the Harvard Law Review.

After graduation, she clerked for Judge Richard Cudahy of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and Justices Harry Blackmun and Thurgood Marshall of the United States Supreme Court. Professor Rao teaches and writes in the areas of constitutional law, comparative constitutional law, property, and the law of the human body. She has been a visiting professor at Brooklyn Law School, the University of Michigan Law School, and the University of Trento in Italy.

Professor Rao has written articles on abortion, assisted reproduction, cloning, stem cell research, genetic privacy, gene patenting, and property rights in the human body, some of which have been translated into Italian and Chinese. She was a member of the California Advisory Committee on Human Cloning, and currently serves on the California Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee.

Website

Update on Gun Control Policy

As President of Brady, Kris combines a lifelong background in policy, law, and grassroots activism with considerable strategic management expertise to help forge the direction of the organization’s programs and ensure the successful impact of its national and field assets. A veteran of gun violence prevention work, Ms. Brown started her career on Capitol Hill working for Rep. Jim Moran, advocating for the bill that would eventually become the groundbreaking Brady Bill requiring background checks on federally licensed gun sales. Ms. Brown has also served as the Chief Legal Officer to a publicly traded company based in Switzerland and as a lawyer practicing at the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges. She lives in Arlington, VA, with her two teenage daughters. 

KRIS BROWN AT BRADY

At Brady, she has helped shape the conversation on gun violence as a national health care crisis, launched the organization’s groundbreaking safe storage campaign to End Family Fire, and formed Brady’s Team Enough youth initiative after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in Parkland, FL. In 2022, Kris was named one of Washingtonian Magazine's Top 500 Most Influential People in D.C. for her work with Brady. 

KRIS BROWN ON COMMON GROUND

A noted speaker and media commentator, Ms. Brown was featured in the November 2018 TIME magazine cover article, “Guns in America,” in which she noted that Brady is working to move the discussion of gun violence beyond the polarizing politics in American life. “There’s a huge amount of common ground on this issue in this country and I hope we’re finally at a tipping point where we can move forward with legislation and [programs] that actually protect people, and are entirely consistent with the Second Amendment.”

Website

Five Years After Me Too Movement:  What Inroads Have We Made--Or Not? (Day 2)

Tiela is the Chief Executive Officer of the Alameda County Bar Association (ACBA) and its Volunteer Legal Services Corporation (VLSC).  She has been a leader in the fields of legal services and pro bono for more than 20 years. 

Tiela began her career doing business litigation (and much more pro bono than she was supposed to) at the firm of Farella, Braun + Martel in San Francisco.  After ten years at Farella, she moved to the Bar Association of San Francisco’s Volunteer Legal Services Program (VLSP), where she managed the intake department and served as the supervising attorney of the housing project.  In 2001, Tiela became the Managing Attorney of that program, becoming its Executive Director in 2006.  While at VLSP she became known for building (and finding funding for) many innovative projects, including the Housing Negotiation Project and the Project Homeless Connect legal clinic.    

In 2011, Tiela left VLSP and became a consultant, working with legal aid programs, law firms, other non-profits, and national organizations focusing on legal services for low-income communities.  One of her larger projects involved building and coordinating the Shriver Housing Project in Los Angeles, the largest of the “civil Gideon” pilot projects in California. She also brings the Poverty Simulation (a 3-hour experiential training for pro bono attorneys and others, giving the participants a visceral understanding of our clients) to law firms, legal aid offices, law schools, and other venues.

In 2014, she was named as the Chief Executive Officer of the ACBA and VLSC, where she is working on several projects, including building a Legal Incubator to address the needs of modest means clients, and creating a joint pilot mediation project in unlawful detainer cases with the Alameda County Superior Court.  Since 2016, she has served as the Chair of the statewide Disaster Legal Assistance Collaborative, a coalition of legal services providers, bar associations, and law firms throughout the state offering free legal assistance to anyone impacted by disasters.  DLAC now runs a statewide hotline, a statewide online legal advice platform, and remote and in-person clinics.  

Tiela has served as the chair of the State Bar of California Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services, and the Chair of the statewide Pro Bono Coordinating Committee.  She is a frequent speaker at local, statewide and national conferences, and has published on legal aid issues.  

Tiela has a Bachelor’s Degree in History from Swarthmore College, and received her JD from University of California Hastings College of the Law.

Website

Top 10 Issues in Objections: A Hearsay Primer (Day 3)

Morgan has enjoyed a distinguished career in legal research, teaching, and courtroom advocacy. After graduating cum laude from USF School of Law in 2005, with accolades in Criminal Law and Legal Ethics, Morgan held positions as a research attorney at the San Francisco Superior Court and the California Supreme Court.  Since opening her practice in Marin County over a decade ago, Morgan has earned a reputation as a skilled criminal defense advocate who loves being in the courtroom.   Following years of teaching Legal Drafting as an adjunct professor at USF, Morgan now coaches the Archie Williams High School Mock Trial team.  Morgan has recently expanded her practice to include civil real property disputes.

Professor Joshua P. Davis 

The Ethics of Robojudges and Robolawyers (Day 1)

Research Professor in Residence, UC Hastings College of the Law and Shareholder, Bergen Montague PC

Joshua is a nationally recognized expert on AI, antitrust, class actions, civil procedure, free speech, legal ethics, and jurisprudence. He has published more than thirty scholarly papers on these subjects and is currently writing a book on AI titled “Unnatural Law,” which will be published by Cambridge University Press.

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2022, he will become a shareholder and the head of the San Francisco Bay Area Office of Berger & Montague, PC, a national plaintiffs’ class action law firm. Prior to joining the firm, he was a tenured professor of law at University of San Francisco Law School for more than twenty years, where he also served as the Director of the Center for Law and Ethics.

In his role as Research Professor of Law at the Center, Professor Davis conducts research and publishes papers on litigation and courts and organizes several conferences hosted by the Center.

Website

Ahtossa is a partner at Wasacz Hilley & Fullerton LLP and has been practicing juvenile dependency law since 2005. She is court-appointed counsel representing parents and children in San Francisco, Marin, and other Bay Area counties. Before practicing dependency, Ahtossa was in the Menlo Park office of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, practicing corporate and securities law. 

She has served as an Officer and Director for Marin County Bar Association and is currently the 2022 President Elect for Marin County Bar Association. Ahtossa serves on the board and as Past President for Marin County Women Lawyers. She also served on the Executive Committee for California Women Lawyers, the California State Bar Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation and volunteers for Legal Aid of Marin's Community Court.

The Local Impacts of Discriminatory Government Housing Policies (Day 2)

Ms. Hanna is a Partner of the SSL law firm. Ms. Hanna specializes in land use and environmental law and related land use litigation. She has successfully represented clients through the public review and entitlement process for a wide range of land use projects ranging from college campus development, high rise office towers, multi-family development, technology and industrial campuses and other public and private developments throughout California. She has particular expertise in master plans, from university master plans to technology campuses to multi-phase housing projects.  Ms. Hanna also has deep interest and experience in the development of housing serving multiple income groups.   In many of these projects, she has successfully worked with public officials and interested community members to achieve project support and facilitate timely construction. In those matters that have resulted in litigation, Ms. Hanna has successfully represented her clients in trial and appellate court proceedings in state and federal court. 

Prior to joining SSL, Ms. Hanna was a shareholder/director at Ellman Burke Hoffman & Johnson. Previous to Ellman Burke, she was an associate at Beveridge & Diamond. Ms. Hanna earned her law degree, cum laude, in 1999 from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. During law school, she was a judicial extern to the Honorable Charles A. Legge, Judge of the United States District Court, Northern District of California and actively competed on Hastings’ moot court teams. Ms. Hanna received her Bachelor of Arts degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (1995) where she was a heptathlete (7 events) and team captain of the intercollegiate track and field team.  She is also the proud parent of two rambunctious boys and enjoys spending her free time trail running, swimming, traveling and enjoying her friends and community.

Website

Michael Kiparsky, PhD  

Climate Crisis and Resilience:  Wildfires, Water Resources, and State and Federal Action  (Day 2)

Michael is the founding Director of the Wheeler Water Institute within the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at the UC Berkeley School of Law. Under his leadership, the Institute has grown into a widely recognized voice on a range of California water issues. Dr. Kiparsky has worked on technical and policy aspects of water resources management for 15 years, and his primary interest lies at their intersection. He has published academic articles and technical reports on a range of topics including governance and policy of complex water systems, climate change impacts and adaptation, water innovation, and science for decision-making. His work has appeared in media outlets including The Sacramento Bee, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Los Angeles Times, and through his engagement activities is regularly used by state and local decision-makers. He was previously on the faculty at the University of Idaho, and has experience in consulting, non-profit, and agency settings. Dr. Kiparsky earned an A.B. in Biology from Brown University and a Ph.D. from U.C. Berkeley’s Energy and Resources Group, where he was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow, a Udall Scholar, a CALFED Science Scholar, and the first ACWA Steve Hall Water Law & Policy Scholar. He was recently named one of “Nine Experts to Watch on California Water Policy(opens in a new tab)” by Water Deeply.

Website

Bryan M. Kreft 

What Every Lawyer Should Know About Real Property Title: Avoiding and Fixing Common Problems (Day 3)

After receiving sixteen years of experience from two highly respected Bay Area litigation boutique firms, Mr. Kreft moved his practice to Marin County in early 2017, where he continues to handle real estate litigation matters all over the Bay Area.

Mr. Kreft represents individuals, small to medium-sized businesses, contractors, title insurers and their insureds in all aspects of real property, commercial law, and insurance. His litigation practice focuses on easements, boundary line and ownership issues, and lien and business disputes. Mr. Kreft has successfully resolved hundreds of cases for his clients.

Mr. Kreft is admitted to practice in both California and Washington, the United States District Court for the Northern, Eastern, and Central Divisions of California, the United States Bankruptcy Court in the Northern and Eastern Districts of California, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Mr. Kreft earned his JD and MBA from Santa Clara University in 2000, where he served as a Senior Associate Editor for the Advocate, the law student newspaper, and was a member of the JD/MBA Association. He received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (1996) where he was awarded the prestigious Chancellor's Service Award for his dedication and service to the UCLA community.

Mr. Kreft holds active memberships in the California State Bar, the Washington State Bar, the San Francisco County Bar Association, the Marin County Bar Association, and the Marin County Trial Lawyers Association.

Mr. Kreft has been a panelist for CEB on issues of Real Property Law, a Guest Lecturer at Santa Clara University and San Francisco State University, and has lectured on title and real estate issues for local bar associations.

After more than a decade of living in San Francisco, Mr. Kreft moved to Marin County with his wife, a dental hygienist, and children. In his free time, he enjoys volunteering his time with Tiburon Peninsula Little League and coaching his grade-schooler, as well as cheering on big brother, who studies marine biology at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Mr. Kreft's interests include the beach, martial arts, drum corps, and the San Francisco Giants.

Website

Leslie Levy

Five Years After Me Too Movement: What Inroads Have We Made--Or Not? (Day 2)

Leslie brings a lifelong passion for social justice to her employment discrimination law practice. In addition to representing employees, her record includes pioneering lawsuits against sexually harassing landlords and perpetrators of violence against women and children. Leslie has also successfully brought suit against BART forcing it to install edge detection for blind and low vision users as well as independent elevator access. Leslie remains committed to the practice of law as a vehicle for progressive social change.

Her primary focus is representing employees, especially women, who have faced or are facing discrimination or harassment on the job. She also represents survivors of sexual abuse by professionals, such as doctors, therapists and teachers, and of sexual harassment in housing situations. Leslie believes in empowering her clients to be an active part in the decision-making process of their cases.

Most recently, representing two women agents seeking redress for gender discrimination and retaliation, Leslie negotiated the largest settlement to date against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Leslie has been recognized on the Northern California’s Super Lawyers’ Employment top attorneys list each year from 2005 to the present, frequently as one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers. She also belongs to the American Board of Trial Advocates, an invitation-only organization of the nation’s most accomplished trial lawyers.

She is a past recipient of Hastings College of Law’s Clara Foltz Award for distinguished service to women. Equal Rights Advocates named Leslie its Gender Justice Honoree in 2013.  In 2016 Leslie received the Velvet Hammer Award from Women Lawyers of Alameda County.

This award was followed in 2017 by the prestigious Fay Stender Award, given by California Women Lawyers each year to one feminist attorney committed to the representation of women, disadvantaged groups and unpopular causes, and whose courage, zest for life and demonstrated ability to effect change as a single individual make her a role model for women attorneys around the state.

Leslie currently serves as the President of the Board of Women Lawyers of Alameda County, an organization that is committed to advancing women in the legal profession.

She has been an adjunct professor at both the University of San Francisco School of Law and New College of the Law, and is a speaker at numerous legal conferences. She has authored articles, contributed chapters to legal reference books and practice manuals, and drafted California civil rights legislation. She is a graduate of Hastings College of the Law, and has a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from the University of California at Berkeley.

Leslie has volunteered for years at the Marine Mammal Center and is a Winter wildlife Docent at Point Reyes National Seashore. An avid environmentalist and lover of the outdoors, she also enjoys kayaking and bird-watching.

Website

 Thomas M. McInerney

Five Years After Me Too Movement:  What Inroads Have We Made--Or Not? (Day 2)

Tom has extensive employment litigation experience in complex litigation matters, with an emphasis on class actions, multi-plaintiff cases, and trade secret and other complex business disputes. He has tried to verdict several cases in both state and federal courts, and represents clients in a wide-range of fields, including technology, financial services, insurance, construction, energy/utility, healthcare, transportation and logistics, and personal services.

Tom brings a practical, problem-solving business perspective to his practice, formed in part by his experience working with large, medium-size, and small business clients throughout California and elsewhere.  Tom’s expertise is in helping clients navigate complex or novel issues, including claims asserting wage and hour class, collective, and representative (PAGA) actions, sex and race discrimination and harassment, alleged theft of trade secrets, and breach of contract.  Tom’s legal expertise has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America for Labor and Employment Litigation and as a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment.  Tom also has significant experience in appellate matters, including litigating cases in the California Court of Appeal, the California Supreme Court, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Arbitrations and mediations are also a large part of Tom’s practice.

Tom managed Ogletree Deakins’ San Francisco office for several years through 2020, and currently serves on the firm’s Pricing Committee.  Tom has a deep commitment to providing legal services to those in need, and serves as a board member of the Bar Association of San Francisco’s Justice & Diversity Center, which advances fairness and equality by providing pro bono legal services to low-income people and educational programs that foster diversity in the legal profession.  In 2014 Tom was awarded JDC’s “2014 Outstanding Volunteer in Public Service Award.”  Tom is also a board member of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the oldest civil rights organizations on the West Coast. Tom is also very active in the local San Francisco Bay Area community, having served in various roles with the Bar Association of San Francisco, including as chair of its Judiciary Committee for two years, and as a board member of the Marin County Bar Association. For eight years Tom also served as an elected official in Marin County, including two terms as Mayor of the Town of San Anselmo, as a board member of the Transportation Authority of Marin, and as chair of both the Central Marin Police Authority Council and the Ross Valley Fire Board.

Website

 Catherine A. Ongiri 

The Client Trust Account Protection Program: What to Know and How to Comply  (Day 1)

Catherine is an experienced attorney, policy advocate, and passionate leader in the legal community. Ms. Ongiri is a senior attorney in the State Bar of California’s Office of Professional Competence. In this role, she has lead responsibility for devising and developing the State Bar’s preventative education curriculum. 

She previously worked at the Judicial Council of California as counsel for its Advisory Committee on Providing Access and Fairness and created a preventative curriculum for judicial officers statewide. Ms. Ongiri has a strong background in adult-centered learning and developing curricula that engage the learner. Prior to joining the Judicial Council, she practiced appellate law as a Deputy Attorney General in the Health, Education and Welfare Section of the Office of the Attorney General, California Department of Justice and at the Family Violence Appellate Project. 

Ms. Ongiri has trained statewide on Recognizing and Disrupting Bias, Judicial Diversity, Appellate Practice, Child Support, and other topics at numerous conferences, including for the Justices of the California Supreme Court, the State Bar of California Annual Meeting, Child Support Directors Association of California Annual Conference, and the California Family Law and Self-Help Conference. 

Ms. Ongiri’s awards include being recognized by the National Bar Association and IMPACT as one of the 40 Lawyers under 40: Nation’s Best Advocates; she also received individual distinction for Excellence in Service. She has received the President’s Award from the California Association of Black Lawyers and the Charles Houston Bar Association. Ms. Ongiri currently serves as the President of the Earl Warren American Inn of Court and is the Past President of the Charles Houston Bar Association.

Ms. Ongiri received her Bachelor of Science from Drexel University and her Juris Doctorate from the University of California Hastings College of the Law.

Szyller and Breslin: Solving the Non-Participant Dilemma (Day 3)

Hon. Glen M. Reiser (Ret.) has vast experience adjudicating and resolving thousands of complex commercial, real property/environmental, trust and family law disputes as a respected trial judge and litigator. Judge Reiser spent more than 20 years on the Ventura County Superior Court, serving as both supervising probate judge and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) judge for more than a decade. Prior to his appointment to the bench, he litigated hundreds of civil cases to successful conclusion in trial and appellate courts throughout California.

Judge Reiser regularly teaches California judges trust, probate, and conservatorships through the Judicial Council of California’s Center for Judicial Education and Research (CJER).

Judge Reiser is known for using his thoroughness, intellect, attention to detail and breadth of knowledge to develop creative solutions to disputes of all types.

Website

The Local Impacts of Discriminatory Government Housing Policies (Day 2)

Leah Rothstein is co-authoring, with Richard Rothstein, a sequel to The Color of Law. While in The Color of Law, Mr. Rothstein described how government policy created residential segregation, the sequel will describe how local community groups can redress the wrongs of segregation.  Leah has worked on public policy and community change, from the grassroots to the halls of government. She led the Alameda County and San Francisco probation departments’ research on reforming community corrections policy and practice to be focused on rehabilitation, not punishment. She has been a consultant to nonprofit housing developers, cities and counties, redevelopment agencies, and private firms on community development and affordable housing policy, practice, and finance. Her policy work is informed by her years as a community organizer with PUEBLO and Californians for Justice, working on housing, public safety, environmental justice, and youth leadership, and as a labor organizer with the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees (UNITE). 

Leah received her Bachelor’s Degree with honors in American Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz and her Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. 

Website

Taking It To The Bank: How to Comply with New Rules on Client Trust Accouts  (Day 1)

Nestor Schnasse became a lawyer to help others in times of crisis. For over 15 years he has done just that, representing people who have been seriously hurt or lost a loved one. His law practice has been devoted to litigating such claims against large corporations, government entities, and insurance carriers. The mission of his law firm is simple: to help people work through tough legal problems efficiently and to fight for what is right.

In addition to his law practice, Nestor makes time to give back to the community through professional associations, local government and volunteer work. He has served on the boards of the Marin County Bar Association and Marin Trial Lawyers Association. He currently serves on the City of Novato’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, using his experience with how things can go horribly wrong to push for improvements to the City’s infrastructure.  Being a youth-program leader also keeps Nestor involved in volunteer work throughout the year, from conservation projects to food-drives.

Before going to law school, Nestor competed in national and international bicycle road races. He joined a Dutch racing team to compete throughout Europe, and then raced several seasons as a professional throughout the United States and Australia. International competition provided much more than a foundation of discipline, planning and tactical thinking. It also exposed him to living conditions around the world. Some were inspiring examples of efficiency and equality, others marked by inequality and profound need. Nestor remains focused on those in need, and driven by his commitment to individual and social justice. 

Website

Jessica Ramey Stender

Five Years After Me Too Movement:  What Inroads Have We Made--Or Not? (Day 2)

Jessica (she/her) is Policy Director and Deputy Legal Director at Equal Rights Advocates, where she leads policy advocacy with a focus on pay equity, sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination, and education civil rights. She also represents workers in employment discrimination cases. 

Jessica co-chairs the Stronger California Advocates Network, a statewide network of organizations and advocacy coalitions promoting policy reform to improve economic security for women and families. She is also Co-Chair of the Women’s Rights Committee of the American Bar Association’s Civil Rights and Social Justice Section and the Policy Committee of the National Taskforce on Tradeswomen Issues. She also serves on the Board of Governors of California Women Lawyers. Jessica regularly speaks and writes about issues related to equal pay, sexual harassment, and gender equity, and was named one of the Top Labor & Employment Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal.

Jessica previously served as Legal Director of Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc. (Center for Migrants Rights), a transnational migrant workers’ rights organization and was a Civil Rights Fellow at Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho, where she represented workers in civil rights and employment class action cases. Jessica graduated from U.C. Berkeley School of Law in 2009, Before law school, Jessica was a paralegal at Friends of Farmworkers in Philadelphia, providing outreach and legal assistance to migrant farmworkers throughout Pennsylvania. 

Website

Update on Gun Control Policy (Day 3)

Alex is an associate in Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office where he litigates complex civil actions seeking financial justice for consumers and investors. Alex previously focused his practice on commercial and employment matters. He also represented whistleblowers in qui tam actions under the False Claims Act.

While in law school, Alex interned for the U.C. Davis School of Law Civil Rights Clinic, where he represented indigent clients alleging civil rights abuses. Alex was also an editor for the UC Davis Business Law Journal and participated in moot court competitions.

Alex is committed to giving back to his community. In that regard, he has volunteered for both the Justice & Diversity Center and Legal Aid of Marin to represent clients in need in a variety of matters. Alex is also a member of the City of San Rafael’s Board of Library Trustees, an advisory board tasked with providing feedback on and advocating for the City’s library services.

Website