Recent Alumni Class Notes

Keep up-to-date with your fellow University of San Francisco School of Law alumni through class notes.

Let us know about your professional or personal news by emailing updates to lawalumni@usfca.edu or clicking here. The USF School of Law reserves the right to edit all class notes submissions.

May 2013 Class Notes

Paul W. Vapnek ’64 was honored by the State Bar of California as the 2013 recipient of the Harry B. Sondheim Professional Responsibility Award. Vapneck is senior counsel at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP and focuses on trademark and copyright.

Al Russell ’68 was profiled in the Palo Alto Online News recognizing his roles and contribution to the education system in Palo Alto.

Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis ’74 was the honorary degree recipient at The John Marshall Law School’s 195th commencement ceremony in Chicago, Illinois.

Retired judge Rosemary Pfeiffer ’76 was featured in the February 2013 issue of the Daily Journal. Pfeiffer was the first female judge elected in San Mateo County in 1990.

Dale Brodsky ’77 was appointed to the California Fair Employment and Housing Council. Brodsky is a partner at Beeson Tayer and Bodine and was also an adjunct law professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law.

Sarah Crawford ’77 has been named the new executive director of Friends of the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority on the Big Island.

Charles Louderback ’79 has opened his own firm, the Louderback Law Group. Louderback focuses on employment law and business litigation.

Maureen Brooks ’80 was featured in Arizona’s Green Valley News & Sun article “Explore joys of opera with OLLI group leader”.

Jylana D. Collins ’82, general counsel of the East Bay Municipal Utility District in Oakland, was featured in an interview in the Daily Journal in January.

Meri Glade’88, chief compliance officer and general counsel at FordDirect, was granted the General Counsel Award by Crain’s Detroit Business. Glade has helped lead FordDirect, a joint venture between Ford Motor Co. and its dealers, in its establishment of online vehicle sales.

Vivian Leung Lerche ’90 of Bishop | Barry | Drath presented insurance coverage issues at the West Coast Casualty Construction Defect Seminar in May 2013 in Anaheim, Calif. This seminar is the largest event of its kind focusing on construction defect, insurance coverage and claims.

Gini Graham Scott ’90, abook and scriptwriter, was featured in a PRWeb article detailing her success on fundraising for feature films. She is the founder of her own publishing company and has published books with major companies as well.

Jessica Grant ’95 of Sher Leff LLP led the state of New Hampshire to a $236 million verdict against Exxon Mobil Corp. in a case over groundwater contamination by the gasoline additive MTBE. She was profiled for the San Antonio Express article “Lawyer in NH Exxon Mobil case has string of wins” and The Recorder’s “Drawing on Lessons from Wal-Mart Battle, Lawyer Defeats Bigger Giant.”

Tamara F. Lawson ’95, a tenured professor at St. Thomas University School of Law, has authored “A Fresh Cut in an Old Wound – A Critical Analysis of the Trayvon Martin Killing: The Public Outcry, the Prosecutors’ Discretion, and the Stand Your Ground Law” in the University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy.

Michon Martin ’98 has been appointed general counsel of the Nevada governor’s office. Martin was the chief deputy attorney general, where she served as the lead tobacco counsel in nationwide litigation and manages the state’s tobacco enforcement unit.

Sean Broderick ’01 joined Louderback Law Group, and specializes in and represents private and public sector employers in labor and employment law matters.

Caleb Jay’02 has published the article “10 Things to Know About Arizona Promotions Law” in Arizona Attorney magazine. Jay is senior director of legal affairs and associate general counsel for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and an adjunct professor at Arizona State University College of Law.

Dana C. Tsubota ’02 was welcomed into the Construction Group of Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP. Tsubota focuses on business and commercial litigation, construction litigation, commercial leasing, and landlord-tenant litigation.

Yesenia Gallegos ’03 was named a Top Lawyer Under 40 by the Hispanic National Bar Association. Gallegos is a partner in the Labor and Employment Department of Fox Rothschild LLP.

Steven Kassirer ’03 was featured in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle article “Brockport Graduate Gets a Second Chance to Learn and Live.”

David Xue ’07 hasjoined the intellectual property team at Duane Morris LLP. Xue has represented clients and counseled technology companies on patent-related matters. His expertise includes computer software and hardware, medical devices, and telecommunications.

Anne Costin ’08 has opened her own law firm, Costin Law Inc., where she focuses her practice on representing employees in discrimination, harassment, and retaliation civil rights cases. Since 2011 Costin has also served as an Adjunct Professor for USF’s Employment Law Clinic.

Jeffrey Kaloustian ’09 has launched a new website for The Law Offices of Jeffrey L. Kaloustian. He focuses on legal services in criminal defense, personal injury, family law, mediation, and alternative dispute resolution.

Virginia Taylor ’12 has joined Bayview/Hunter’s Point Community Legal as a director of legal services. Taylor has worked with numerous nonprofit legal assistance programs within the Bay Area.

In Memoriam

Robert D. Clark ’66, April 2013