Bay Area MCLE Conference

Speakers

Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Chief Justice of California

Chief Justice Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye is the 28th Chief Justice of the State of California. She was sworn into office on January 3, 2011, and she is the first Filipina American and the second woman to serve as the state’s Chief Justice.

Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye was unanimously confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments in August 2010, and overwhelmingly approved by voters in the November 2010 general election. At the time she was nominated as Chief Justice, she had served more than 20 years on California trial and appellate courts, including 6 years on the Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, in Sacramento.

Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of Berkeley School of Law

Erwin Chermerisky is the Dean of the University of California, Berkeley Law School and is a member of the Berkeley Law faculty, where he serves as the Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law. Prior to joining the Berkeley Law faculty, he served as the Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law the at University of California, Irvine School of Law. He has a national reputation, both inside and outside of the academy, and is a leading voice on issues of constitutional law, free speech, ethics, and legal education.

Dean Chemerinsky is the author of eleven books, including leading casebooks and treatises on constitutional law, criminal procedure, and federal jurisdiction. His most recent books include The Religion Clauses: The Case for Separating Church and State (2020) and We the People: A Progressive Reading of the Constitution for the Twenty-First Century (2018). He contributes regular columns for the Sacramento Bee, has written monthly columns for legal newspapers, is a frequent op-ed contributor in newspapers across the country, and has written more than 200 law review articles. He also frequently argues appellate cases, including before the United States Supreme Court.

Dean Chermerinsky is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and has been twice recognized by the National Jurist magazine as the most influential person in legal education in the United States.

Rory Little, Professor UC Hastings School of Law

Professor Little is the Joseph W. Cotchett Professor of Law at UC Hastings School of Law. He joined the faculty in 1994, after a distinguished 12-year career as a practicing litigator, criminal defender and prosecutor and appellate lawyer. He is a nationally recognized authority on constitutional issues, criminal litigation ethics, federal criminal law and appellate litigation. He instituted and has chaired the Hastings Faculty Committee on Judicial Clerkships for many years; and on three occasions he has been awarded the “Best Professor” designation by the UC Hastings third-year class.

Professor Little regularly teaches Constitutional Law One and Two; first-year Criminal Law; Constitutional Criminal Procedure; and Professional Responsibility – although not all in the same academic year. His top priority – and favorite part of his job! — is counselling students in formulating career strategies and addressing varied professional issues. In addition, he appears regularly in print as well as radio, television, and other media. (For example, he has been writing about U.S. Supreme Court criminal law cases for Scotusblog.com for over a decade.) He has been very active in the American Bar Association and other Bar groups, and does substantial pro bono work.

Ruthe Catolico Ashley

Ruthe Catolico Ashley, Executive Director Emeritus of California LAW, created this organization to support the California LAW Pathway with a mission to diversify California’s legal profession through the educational pipeline. California LAW supports the 22 high school law academies, 27 community colleges, 9 undergraduate institutions and law schools creating a 10-year diversity pipeline from 9th grade to the end of law school.

Ashley is considered the Diversity Pipeline Guru for the legal profession in California. As a member of the State Bar of California’s Board of Governors, she chaired the Diversity Pipeline Task Force in 2007, which jump-started the pipeline work in this state. Ashley founded and created the Council on Access and Fairness with the State Bar of California – now a leader in legal diversity across the nation.

Ashley worked with the California Legislature in inserting diversity and inclusion language in the State Bar’s 2018 Fee Bill. The recipient of numerous awards, she recently received the inaugural Excellence in Civics Engagement Award from the California Lawyers Association and the American Bar Association’s Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award. Now retired, she devotes her time to diversity in the legal profession and world travel. Three grandchildren make life rich and active

Toussaint Bailey

Toussaint is the CEO of Enso Wealth Management, which was recently named one of Financial Times Top 300 wealth management firms, having grown to over a billion dollars in assets under management since its founding in 2017. Toussaint’s work as CEO focuses on supporting Enso Wealth’s mission of translating wealth into fulfillment by operationalizing the firm’s values Waterfall. Toussaint is an avid student of the science of well-being and emotional health. Outside of Enso Wealth, his outlets for this passion include board service at Seeds of Awareness, a mindfulness-based mental health nonprofit serving on schools and families in marginalized communities. More recently, he created the Just Listen Project, which is endeavoring to heal racism by feeling into the personal experiences of unheard colleagues and friends. He is also served as a member of the MCBA Board of Directors. Most importantly, Toussaint is a proud Girl Dad to the third power.

Watch Just Listen Project

Carol Bauss

Carol Bauss, J.D. Ms. Bauss is a Senior Litigation Consultant at NJP Litigation Consulting/West, a nation-wide, full service, litigation consulting firm. Ms. Bauss has been with NJP for 25 years working in all three of its regional offices – Minneapolis, New York City, and now in the Bay Area. She has worked on over a thousand cases around the country ranging from white collar criminal, commercial, intellectual property, to personal injury, employment discrimination, and criminal cases.

She advises attorneys on trial presentation and jury selection strategy and works with witnesses to improve their communication skills. Her deep knowledge of juror attitudes, juror bias, and jury decision-making is drawn from her years of experience conducting focus groups, mock trials and post-verdict juror interviews. She helps legal teams find the human story and universal themes within complex legal disputes. She is especially adept at designing and analyzing mock juror research and translating the research findings into practical recommendations for trial preparation and jury selection. Her background in law and rhetoric gives her expertise in helping attorneys cut through legal jargon to deliver concise and persuasive messages to the jury and other fact finders.

She is a frequent presenter and trainer for various national, state and local bar and trial lawyer associations and author on topics such as preparing expert witnesses, maximizing damages, improving trial skills, and gender bias and women in the courtroom. She recently served on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Trial Consultants.

Samuel Bellicini

Samuel has practiced since 2008 in the niche of professional responsibility and attorney ethics. He is an experienced California ethics attorney, based in Northern California and services the entire State of California as a State Bar Defense attorney representing dozens of lawyers through the California State Bar disciplinary system.

Samuel is a frequent lecturer to Bay Area Bar Associations on Ethics, Competency and Rules of Professional Conduct and has authored several articles related to malpractice claims, disbarment, and family law issues.

Samuel matriculated with a J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law (USF), serving on their Law Review. His undergraduate degree is from University of California, Berkeley.

Otis Bruce

Otis Bruce is the newly appointed Assistant District Attorney with the Marin County District Attorney’s Office. As a Senior Deputy DA, he was assigned as a trial attorney prosecuting all criminal cases: felonies, misdemeanors, elder/financial fraud, domestic violence, gang, homicide and drug cases. He has served as a Supervisor/Team Trial Coordinator in all Marin County Criminal Courtrooms and as Marin DA Office’s first Coordinator of Community Justice Programs.

Otis is the first African-American Prosecutor-Marin DA’s Office; first African-American President-Marin Bar Association; founder of the Marin African-American Professional Network and a founding member of the Bay Area Black Prosecutors Association. He has served as President and/or Director for numerous civic, nonprofit and government attorney organizations, and he has received many awards and recognitions for his ongoing community engagement and leadership in the areas of social justice and civic engagement while serving as a prosecutor in Marin County.

A Mississippi native, Otis graduated from Merritt College in Oakland and San Jose State University, and earned his law degree at New College of California School of Law. Otis continues to serve as a successful mentor inspiring and supporting the academic success of many Bay Area high school, college and law students, and is a frequent speaker on issues of Diversity, Social Justice, Equity and Elimination of Bias in the legal profession.

Stuart Chandler

Stuart Chandler graduated from Willamette University College of Law in 1979. Stuart returned to Fresno where he started his legal career with the firm of Baker, Manock & Jensen, where he focused on medical malpractice defense and insurance related cases. In 1985 he opened his own firm. From that time to the present Stuart has represented people with personal injury, wrongful death and medical malpractice claims. For the past 10 years, a significant part of his practice has involved prosecuting cases against nursing homes for abuse and neglect of the elderly.

Stuart is recognized as one of Central California’s leading trial lawyers. He helped re-establish the Central Valley Trial Lawyers Association (formerly CCTLA) and then served as its President for 3 years and has been on the Board of Governors of the Consumer Attorneys of California since 2002. He has received numerous honors and awards, including Proclamations from the California Senate and Assembly for his advocacy – particularly on behalf of the elderly.

Renee Chernus

Renée Chernus is a Marin County-based family law attorney. She was certified by the California State Bar as a family law specialist in 1999. Renée handles a variety of divorce and child custody cases, with a special focus on complex asset division.

Renée has been recognized annually on the Northern California Super Lawyers list published by Thomson Reuters and San Francisco magazine. She has also been awarded an AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest possible distinction for legal ability and ethical standards.

In 2005, Renée received a fellowship in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. The organization has recognized 1,600 matrimonial fellows across the US for their experience, leadership and integrity. She is also featured on the Ten Leaders website, a directory of peer-recommended professionals.

A New Jersey native, Renée graduated from Syracuse University, then earned her law degree at New York Law School in 1979. She spent the first 15 years of her career at a Marin law firm, and opened her San Rafael solo practice in the mid-90s.

Cristine Deberry

Cristine Soto DeBerry is an attorney and policy strategist with over twenty years of experience focused on generating and implementing cutting edge criminal justice reforms. Her lived experience as an immigrant, mother, victim and first-generation college graduate inform and fortify her dedication to justice, equity and non-violence. Drawing on her work as both a public defender and a prosecutor, Cristine is dedicated to building a justice system focused on healing and human dignity.

Cristine shaped the agenda for San Francisco DA George Gascón, the “godfather of progressive prosecution.” Some of her large-scale policy reforms include developing the nation’s first automatic clearance of marijuana convictions, creating the nation’s first “blind charging” tool. More recently, she has drafted and implemented policies to end monetary bail, eliminate sentence enhancements, and reduce “stop and frisk” by police. In the wake of the pandemic and demands for police reform, she has reduced the jail population by 45% and implemented a slate of police accountability measures .

After a decade serving as Chief of Staff to both DA George Gascón and DA Chesa Boudin, Cristine left to form the Prosecutors Alliance. Led by Cristine, the Prosecutors Alliance is the nation’s first reform focused law enforcement association. The alliance is engaged in advocacy to reform the criminal justice system and dispel the myth that all law enforcement is opposed to reform. The Prosecutors Alliance is here to provide support to those brave reformers who do not agree with the tough on crime approach and want to move in a better direction.

She has extensive press and public speaking experience, having presented at the White House Convening on Prosecution under the Obama Administration, the Center for American Progress, the Brookings Institute and before the California State Legislature.

She is a board member of the Center for Employment Opportunities, the Association of Marin Latino Attorneys, the San Francisco Bar Association, the Summit Criminal Justice Think Tank and serves as a elected official for the Southern Marin Fire District.

Sister Patricia Dougherty

Patricia Dougherty, O.P. is a Dominican Sister of San Rafael and Professor Emerita of History at Dominican University of California (DUC) where she worked for 35 years. She taught a variety of history courses on Europe (medieval to present) and women in the U.S. and Europe. She continues to teach on a limited basis at DUC and for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Her research area is nineteenth century France, and she has published articles in both U.S and European journals. She earned her BA at Dominican in 1967 and MA and PhD degrees at Georgetown University. She received a Fulbright grant to work on her doctoral dissertation in Paris.

Ricardo Echeverria

Ricardo Echeverria is a trial attorney with Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP handling insurance bad faith and catastrophic personal injury cases. Mr. Echeverria is a past-president of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA) the nation’s largest local association of plaintiffs’ attorneys. He was recognized as one of the Top 30 Plaintiff Lawyers in California in 2018, 2019, and 2020, and was named one of the Top 100 Attorneys in California in 2017 and 2018 by the Los Angeles Daily Journal. In 2019, he was honored with the Lifetime Legal Achievement Award from Consumer Watchdog.

He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and has been recognized as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer in the State of California by The National Trial Lawyers Association. In 2014, Mr. Echeverria was elected a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), which recognizes the top one percent of total trial attorneys in the country.

A frequent lecturer on insurance bad faith and managed care liability. He is a member of the Board of Governors for Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles since 2003 and its 2017 President.

He has co-authored numerous articles, including “Litigating an HMO Bad Faith Case from the Plaintiff’s Perspective,” “The Erosion of ERISA Preemption of Bad Faith Liability Actions,” “Punitive Damages in Insurance Bad Faith Cases,” “HMOs: Delay of Treatment” and “Holocaust Insurance Claims: Getting Justice 50 years Later.” Mr. Echeverria has also written several articles for Mealey’s Publications, including “Goodrich v. Aetna: A $120.5 million Commentary.”

Mr. Echeverria received his B.S., magna cum laude, from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in 1990, and his J.D. from Santa Clara University in 1993.

Susan Feder

Susan has been a full-time mediator since 2010, and is on the panel of Judicate West statewide. She uses insight and intuition to bring a fresh and creative approach to reaching settlement. Before becoming a mediator, Susan was a business litigator with a national law firm and practiced in house as litigation counsel for Bank of America. Susan’s mediation practice covers a wide variety of cases, including tort, employment, real estate matters and commercial litigation. When negotiating a settlement, Susan focuses on uncovering the issues fueling the dispute, and redirecting the parties towards resolution and finality.

Susan is the 2020 MCBA President and served as an Officer and Director since 2016. She was Co-Chair of the ADR section from 2014 - 2016.

Valerie Fenchel

Valerie Fenchel is founder of Fenchel Family Law in San Francisco. Valerie graduated Phi Beta Kappa with high honors from UC Santa Barbara and earned her J.D. from UC Davis School of Law, where she served as President of the Negotiations Team. She previously practiced exclusively in family law at premier law firms in the San Francisco Bay area, which focused on the representation of high net worth individuals and families. She lectures college students and addresses professional groups on pertinent family law issues. Valerie was selected to Rising Stars.

Lori Frugoli

Lori Frugoli is Marin County's District Attorney. Throughout her career, Lori has been a pioneer, “breaking the glass ceiling” in law enforcement as one of the first women to volunteer as a Reserve Police Officer in San Rafael and as a Police Officer for the Santa Rosa Police Department, on the Downtown Walking beat. In addition, Lori worked in investigations on arson, property fraud and embezzlement; undercover in drug and prostitution crimes; and as a member of the Hostage Negotiations Team. Lori received the Peace officer of the Year Award for Meritorious Conduct above and beyond the call of duty while working at the Santa Rosa Police Department. Lori transferred to the Marin County Sheriff's Office in order to work through law school. She received an award for Outstanding Achievement for her participation in the Mock Trial Team at Golden Gate University.

In 1990, Ms. Frugoli became a Deputy District Attorney for the County of Marin. Throughout her 28-year career as a Deputy District Attorney, Lori has represented Marin in thousands of cases and over 100 jury trials. Her diverse and challenging caseload has included seeking justice for victims of domestic violence, gang crimes, sexual assault, home invasions and elder abuse. She has received the Jeannette Prandi Center's Champion for Children Award for her commitment to the youth of Marin. Lori served as coordinator and supervisor for various criminal departments in the DAs office and Alternative Justice Courts. Lori was one of the first prosecutors in California to present expert evidence and testimony using Mitochondrial DNA evidence during a murder trial.

Lori has earned many prestigious awards and recognitions, including The Outstanding Prosecutor Award, as well as a reputation in the community for treating all people with respect and professionalism.

Naomi Jane Gray

Naomi Jane Gray is a principal in the law firm Shades of Gray Law Group, P.C., where she focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation, prosecution and counseling, with a particular emphasis on copyrights and trademarks. She is the current President of the Copyright Society, a nonprofit organization devoted to copyright law awareness and education.

She has managed complex cases in all phases of litigation, from prelitigation counseling through appellate review, and has considerable experience in discovery and motion practice.

Ms. Gray’s extensive copyright law experience includes representing a magazine publisher in a series of cutting-edge lawsuits at the intersection of traditional print media and emerging electronic technologies which ultimately established the publisher’s right to reproduce its magazine in electronic format. Ms. Gray has advised clients with respect to diverse types of copyright issues, including fair use, work for hire, transfers, licenses and enforcement in transactional, counseling and litigation settings.

Ms. Gray is a frequent speaker on topical issues on the copyright area, having appeared at events hosted by the Copyright Society; the American Intellectual Property Law Association; the Practising Law Institute; the American Bar Association; the State Bar of California; the San Francisco Intellectual Property Law Association; and the Center for Law, Technology and the Arts of Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

Michelle Harmon, LCSW

Michelle Harmon is the Supervisor of the Lawyer Assistance Program at the State Bar of California. Michelle is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who joined the Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP) in 2006 as a case manager, providing clinical assessments, treatment planning and follow-up with attorneys and law students seeking support for a variety of mental health and substance use concerns. Michelle is currently in charge of managing the staff and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the LAP. She leads the Program’s efforts to improve the well-being of lawyers, law students, and other legal professionals in California. She received a BA in Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis, and a Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Elva Harding

Elva Harding is the founder of Harding Legal, a boutique law firm providing transactional real estate services to small to mid-size companies, property owners and investors.

Elva negotiates real estate contracts including retail and office leases and amendments, commercial and residential purchase agreements, option agreements, co-ownership agreements, easements and other contracts related to the use and ownership of real property. Her pragmatic legal advice is informed by her many years of professional experience as an asset manager for a national real estate investment firm involved in the acquisition and disposition of multi-family and commercial properties.

She serves on the executive committee of the Real Estate Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco; is an active member of the California Lawyers’ Association Commercial Leasing working group; a member of the Alameda and Contra Costa County Bar Associations; and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).

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Michelle Lerman

Michelle is a Certified Specialist Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law by the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization. A recognized leader in estate planning, Michelle was past president of the Estate Planning Section of the Marin County Bar Association. She is the founder and co-chair of the Estate Planning Section Mentor Group, a monthly meeting of estate planning professionals. Having just released the Third Edition of her book, Create Your Best Legacy, Michelle stays current on laws and trends and is dedicated to sharing her knowledge. A featured commentator on radio and television and a much sought-after professional speaker, Michelle is passionate about helping people reach their estate planning goals. A star attorney and student, she obtained her Degree of Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude from the University of California at Los Angeles and her Degree of Juris Doctor from the University of Southern California, where she received an AmJur Award.

Starr Kelton-Locke, PhD. PsyD.

Starr Kelton-Locke, PhD, PsyD, is a psychologist and marriage and family therapist in private practice in Marin County, California and the co-founder of WiseMind-WiseBody, a mindfulness meditation wellness program.

Dr. Kelton-Locke has more than 30 years of experience in treatment, educational training, and prevention services for substance abuse, mood disorders, borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, and other psychological and behavioral matters.

Dr. Kelton-Locke served as a clinical member of the drug and alcohol treatment teams at Marin Services for Women, a residential and out-patient program, and at Kaiser Permanente, San Rafael family and teen treatment program. She has been an adjunct faculty member at several local psychology graduate programs.

Dr. Kelton-Locke has presented at numerous national and international conferences and has been interviewed on radio and television.

Jeffrey G. Knowles

Jeff Knowles is a Partner at Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass and is a trial lawyer practicing complex commercial litigation with an emphasis on intellectual property matters. He has specific expertise in copyright, trademark, trade secret, Lanham Act, and other unfair competition cases, and deep experience in music-related litigation. He has represented clients in a broad array of industries, from music and Internet technology to consumer products and real estate. He served as his firm’s co-managing partner from 2008 – 2018.

Jeff served as a law clerk to the Honorable Eugene F. Lynch of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (1987-1988), and has worked as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., where he represented federal agencies in national impact litigation.

Jeff is a member of the American Bar Association’s Intellectual Property and Litigation sections, as well as the Private Advertising Committee of the Antitrust Section, and he is a member of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A.. Jeff frequently lectures on internet and copyright issues for law schools and professional associations nationwide.

Valerie Kushel

Valerie is an experienced estate planning attorney with a Masters of Law (LL.M.) in Taxation.

Prior to founding VGK Law, Valerie worked at a large law firm in San Francisco and a boutique estate planning firm in Marin. A leader in her field, Valerie currently serves as a Chair of the Marin County Bar Association Probate and Estate Planning Section and speaks regularly on the subject of estate planning and trust administration.

Valerie lives in Corte Madera with her husband and two young sons and is proud to serve the community where she lives. A Bay Area native, Valerie previously lived in Los Angeles and London, England before putting down firm roots in Marin.

Marisa Lagos

Marisa Lagos is a correspondent for KQED’s California Politics and Government Desk and co-hosts a weekly show and podcast, Political Breakdown. At KQED, Lagos conducts reporting, analysis and investigations into state, local and national politics for radio, TV and online. Every week, she and cohost Scott Shafer sit down with political insiders on Political Breakdown, where they offer a peek into lives and personalities of those driving politics in California and beyond. Previously, she worked for nine years at the San Francisco Chronicle covering San Francisco City Hall and state politics; and at the San Francisco Examiner and Los Angeles Time,. She has won awards for her work investigating the 2017 wildfires and her ongoing coverage of criminal justice issues in California. She lives in San Francisco with her two sons and husband.

Therese Lawless

Therese Lawless is a partner in the law firm of Lawless & Lawless in San Francisco where she practices employment and civil rights law on behalf of employees and individuals. Ms. Lawless is a former president of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association. She has litigated hundreds of employment and civil rights cases and has achieved substantial verdicts and settlements on behalf of her clients. In 2000, Ms. Lawless was awarded the Trial Lawyer of the Year Award by the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association and she is regarded as one of the top plaintiff’s employment lawyers in Northern California.

Thomas McInerney

Thomas (“Tom”) McInerney is the managing shareholder of the San Francisco office of Ogletree Deakins, one of the largest labor and employment defense firms in the U.S. 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. 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 extensive community involvement in Marin County, including as a two-time mayor of San Anselmo and as chair of the boards of the Central Marin Police Council and the Ross Valley Fire Board.

J. Timothy Nardell

J. Timothy (“Tim”) Nardell is a founding partner of Nardell, Chitsaz & Associates, located in San Rafael. He has a broad civil litigation and business practice and extensive experience in commercial and business disputes, real estate matters, defending and prosecuting claims involving unfair business practices, and other complex cases. He has successfully represented his clients at all stages of the litigation process and appeal, in both state and federal courts.

Tim is a member of the Bar for the State of California, the California Federal Courts, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, and the United States Supreme Court. He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Tim is currently the President Elect of the Marin County Bar Association and chairs its Pro Bono Committee. He has a long track record for service for non-profit organizations in Marin and has received numerous awards for pro bono legal representation and service to the community.

Steven A. Nielsen

Based in Larkspur, CA., Steven A. Nielsen is a U.S. registered patent attorney with many years of experience in patent procurement and in achieving favorable results in federal court in the field of Intellectual Properly litigation. Mr. Nielsen is a Co- Chairperson of the Intellectual Property Section of the Marin County Bar Association. He received his J.D. in 1987 from Boalt Hall (Berkeley Law), University of California at Berkeley and also holds a B.S. in Computer Science

Sean Ponist

Sean E. Ponist is a highly regarded trial attorney and the owner and founder of the Ponist Law Group, P.C., with offices in San Diego and San Francisco. He is a skilled civil litigator and former prosecutor. Mr. Ponist is a forceful courtroom advocate for his clients. He has tried over 35 cases to verdict and brings significant litigation and trial experience to his representation of clients.

Sean’s practice covers a broad range of high stakes civil litigation matters, including real estate (purchase and sale disputes, nondisclosure issues, broker malpractice, easement and boundary disputes, commercial unlawful detainer, and other real property issues), construction and construction defect (construction delay, construction and design defect cases, mechanic’s liens and other construction issues), business litigation (breach of contract actions, officer and director liability, unfair competition, business insurance claims, securities litigation and other business partnership and corporate disputes) and financial elder abuse and other elder abuse matters.

Sean is a fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, a trial lawyer honorary society whose membership is limited to less than one-half of 1% percent of North American lawyers, judges and scholars. He has also been recognized as one of the Best of the Bar by the San Diego Business Journal.

Karthik Raju

Karthik Raju is a Deputy Public Defender at the Marin County Public Defender’s Office and serves on the Board of the Marin County Bar Association. He graduated from New York University and attended Emory University School of Law. Prior to leaving New York and joining Marin in April of 2018, he practiced as a public defender with the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County on Long Island, and at New York County Defender Services in Manhattan. He has litigated and tried the full range of misdemeanor and felony cases.

Len Rifkind

Len Rifkind was born and raised in Marin County. He has represented thousands of clients over the past 32 years in real estate litigation and transactional matters. In addition, he lectures throughout the state on the subjects of easement, boundary and neighbor disputes, as well as locally on the topics of broker disputes, disclosure issues, and landlord-tenant law. Len has a committed record of community service, having served as Mayor of the City of Larkspur, president of the Marin County Bar Association, president of the Board of Directors of Congregation Rodef Sholom, and coach of a local high school mock trial team. Outside of the office, he is an avid outdoor adventure enthusiast.

Donna M. Rutter

Donna Rutter is a trial attorney and principal with the Rutter Law Group based in San Francisco who concentrates her practice on wrongful discharge, discrimination, harassment, retaliation and trade secret litigation before federal and state courts and agencies. Donna is a frequent speaker on employment law and trade secret topics, and has developed an audit to assist employers with identifying where they are at risk for having their trade secrets misappropriated. She is AV-Preeminent Rated by Martindale Hubbell and has been selected to the Northern California Super Lawyers list every year since 2007. She currently serves as Northern California Chair of the Women Lawyers Alliance (WLA), a network of prominent women lawyers in private practice throughout North America.

Jose Varela

Jose H. Varela is the public defender of Marin County. A twenty year veteran in the office, Mr. Varela came to Marin County after trial attorney work in Los Angeles and San Diego. Mr. Varela has tried cases ranging from misdemeanors to death penalty cases. He is a past president of the California Public Defenders Association and continues doing committee work with the organization. In addition, Mr. Varela was appointed to be on the California Court Interpreters Advisory Committee and went on to be part of the Language Access Plan and Implementation Task Group. Mr. Varela was recently appointed by the chief justice of California Supreme Court to be on the Jury Selection Work Group that is reviewing rules and procedures to ensure more diverse juries in criminal and civil cases.

Derek Weller

Law Offices of Derek A. Weller, located in San Rafael, Marin County, California, provides legal services and representation focused on commercial and residential real estate transactions, land use, zoning and planning matters, entitlements, land development, subdivisions, common interest developments, entity formations and general business matters.

Attorney Derek A. Weller offers a wide range of legal knowledge and practical experience representing property owners, buyers and sellers, landlords and tenants, investors, businesses, land developers and real estate professionals throughout the North Bay, including Marin, Sonoma, Napa and Solano Counties, as well as the Greater San Francisco Bay Area.

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