1990s Class Notes
1990
Doreen M. Mercado, who has a family law and personal injury law office, was sworn-in as president of the Whittier Bar Association. Eric L. Olofson II was given a Chairman’s Circle Award by his employer Cushman & Wakefield for his achievements as an executive vicepresident. David M. Phillips, defense and plaintiffs’ attorney, joined Wesierski & Zurek LLP as an associate. Craig M. Wilke married Elizabeth Dahlstrom in October 2006. They are expecting their first child in September. Wilke is directing attorney for the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Santa Ana. Todd R. Wulffson, vice president and general counsel to Palace Entertainment, was named to the Board of Directors of Canyon Acres Children and Family Services.
1991
Alan I. Cyrlin, a partner with Ervin, C ohen & Jessup LLP, authored “Ford’s Main Legacy: 1976 Copyright Act,” published in the Los Angeles Daily Journal. J. Scott Russo won a decision from the California Supreme Court which was the first decision in CA history holding that defamation was unprotected by the First Amendment.
1992
Craig R. Armstrong, a partner with Miller Nash LLP, was appointed chair of the Oregon State Bar Labor and Employment LawSection. Corii D. Berg was promoted to deputy general counsel with Sony Pictures Entertainment. He was formerly executive vice president of Sony’s corporate and distribution legal group. Stefan J. Kirchanski joined Venable LLP in Los Angeles as partner. He was previously a research fellow at Harvard University, an assistant professor at the University of Texas and a research scientist for Ortho Diagnostic Systems. Leigh A. Kirmsse joined Howrey LLP in San Francisco as a partner and member of the Global Litigation Practice Group. Ronald T. Labriola is co-owner of the new firm, Moore Labriola LLP. He focuses on complex product liability matters. Rami S. Yanni joined Greenberg Glusker’s intellectual property practice in Los Angeles as a copyright specialist. He heads the firm’s trademark practice.
1993
P. Craig Cardon, partner with Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, was named among the 20 to Watch Under 40 by the Los Angeles Daily Journal. Gary J. Goodstein represented the City of Compton in a jury trial that resulted in a 22,402,750.10 verdict for the City. The case was named one of the Top 10 California Jury Verdicts in 2006 by the Los Angeles Daily Journal. The Hon. David W. Stuart was elected to the LA County Superior Court. He previously served as a deputy district attorney for the County and was an associate with Manning, Marder & Wolfe. Art Zwickel was elected partner at Paul Hastings, where he focuses on securities and corporate law.
1994
Donald P. Harris was promoted to associate professor of law at Temple University Beasley School of Law. Michael R. Heimbold joined Steptoe & Johnson LLP as a partner. Mark S. Horoupian and Grace (Yazgulian) Horoupian ’95 announce the arrival of their first child, Nyrie Arsho Horoupian, born on September 20, 2006. Gary W. Park co-founded and serves as partner with Hicks Park LLP in LA.
1995
Michael J. Conway, formerly with Greenberg & Bass, is the general counsel for Baja Fresh. Kirk Cypel was appointed chief operating officer of Equastone, a real estate investment firm. Michael A. Geibelson, a partner with the LA office of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP, was named president of the board of directors for the Disability Rights Legal Center at Loyola Law School. Ron S. Grace [formerly Gross] was named partner with Nossaman Guthner Knox & Elliott LLP. Thomas R. Rouse was named chief patent counsel at Qualcomm.
1996
David Ackerly, director of private attorney involvement at the Legal Aid Foundation of LA, was honored with the Tanya Neiman Pro Bono Professional of the Year Award by the American Bar Association. Dawn B. Eyerly was named a Rising Star by Law and Politics for the third year in a row. Cynthia L. Filla was named partner with the LA office of Jackson Lewis. Jeleen Guttenberg, a member of the Alumni Association Board of Governors, was promoted to counsel at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Tom A. Kosakowski is the first-ever university ombudsperson for Claremont Graduate University. James McCoy, Jr. was named partner with Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP in Orange County. David S. Noble was appointed utilities hearings officer and assistant general counsel for the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada. Michael W. Shonafelt joined Allen Matkins Leck Gamble & Mallory LLP in LA, where he practices land use and environmental law. Gregory Townsend, trial attorney with the Office of the Prosecutor at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, completed a five-year trial against Colonel Theoneste Bagosora, alleged genocide mastermind, and three other high-ranking Rwandan military officers. He recently transferred to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. He and wife Anna Coulouris proudly announce the birth of their first child.
1997
Rebecca Lawlor Calkins joined Winston & Strawn LLP as an associate in the firm’s LA office. Olegario Cantos VII, associate director for domestic policy for President George Bush, was profiled in the Manila Bulletin. Clare H. Dooley was elected a shareholder of Clark, Thomas & Winters. Glenn M. Kubota was named partner with the LA and Orange County offices of Morrison & Foerster LLP. Michael Niborski was named special counsel of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP’s Entertainment Practice Group. Andrew E. Shiner was named partner with DLA Piper in LA, where he handles commercial real estate transactions. Matthew S. Urbach was named partner in the LA office of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP.
1998
Paula D. Gutierrez Baeza of Gutierrez-Ruiz in San Francisco was named a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Gregory E. Matton joined the corporate securities practice group at Broad and Cassel in Florida. Scott A. McPhee was named a partner with Morrison & Foerster LLP. Armando J. Paz was interviewed for a Univision broadcast on prenuptial agreements. James H. Prenton was named partner with K&L Gates in Palo Alto.
1999
Tom K. Ara joined Dickstein Shapiro LLP in LA as an associate focusing film and television financing, production and distribution. Joanne Davies was elected shareholder with Buchalter Nemer. Tish Loeb and her husband Jonathan welcomed their third child, Tamar Rebecca Rachel Loeb, on February 2, 2007. Loeb has a solo estate planning practice in Los Altos, CA, and teaches estate planning at Santa Clara University School of Law. Raymond Perez, Jr. and his wife Sandra welcomed Raymond Perez, III on March 31, 2007. Angela I Sonico and Thuc Miyashiro welcome Patience Kaila Miyashiro, born on December 11, 2006.