UC Law SF Welcomes New Members to Its Board

New Chair Elected to the Board of Directors

Tina Combs ’88 was elected as Chair of the UC Law SF Board of Directors after serving on the Board since May 2007. The Oakland resident began her career at Morrison & Foerster, before moving on to Wells Fargo, the University of California (where she was deputy general counsel), and most recently ReNew Solar. She has also held director and leadership positions on numerous boards, as well as professional, civic, and nonprofit organizations. Combs replaces Director Thomas Gede ’81, who served two terms as Chair.

New Board of Director Appointed by Governor Brown

Adrienne Go, of San Francisco, was appointed to the UC Law SF Board of Directors by Governor Brown. Go has been associate general counsel at eBay Inc. since 2007, where she was senior director from 2005 to 2007. She served as a deputy city attorney at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office from 1996 to 2005 and was an associate at Morrison and Foerster LLP from 1988 to 1996. Go earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Go is a Democrat.

Newest UC Law SF Board of Governors

Shawn G. Hansen ’98, a returning nominee, is an intellectual property litigation partner based in the Silicon Valley office of Nixon Peabody LLP. Shawn also maintains an office in Nixon Peabody’s Los Angeles office to work with clients and handle matters in Southern California.  Shawn has built a successful track record of representing emerging and established companies in litigation, including trials, of intellectual property cases in federal courts throughout the United States and in foreign jurisdictions globally.

Barbra Diallo ‘06 is Senior Counsel – Employment at CBRE, Inc., the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm. In her role, Ms. Diallo provides strategic labor and employment advice to corporate and field human resources professionals and senior business leaders in the Americas. Ms. Diallo is also a board member for the Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, Inc.

Matthew D. Disco ’94 is Of Counsel at Dudnick, Detwiler, Rivin & Stikker where he conducts a wide-ranging general corporate and commercial practice, counseling organizations and individuals through all stages of the business life-cycle. Matt’s areas of expertise include matters related to entity formation; financing transactions, both equity and debt; mergers and acquisitions; supply, distribution, development and other commercial agreements; technology transactions; contract administration and analysis; corporate policies and governance; employment and other service agreements; equity and other incentive plans; executive counseling; and real property transactions.

Rachel Ehrlich ’96 is a nationally recognized mediator specializing in complex civil disputes. She mediates litigated and non-litigated matters in the following areas: insurance coverage, insurance bad faith, environmental, civil rights, construction defect, real estate including landlord-tenant, and personal injury including catastrophic injuries.  She also serves on the Board of Directors of The Mediation Society, the Alameda Superior Court’s ADR Administration Committee, and as a mentor to UC Law SF law students and alumni.

The Honorable George Hernandez ’76 (ret.) is a Former Presiding Judge of the Alameda County Superior Court and served the East Bay legal community for over 40 years. Since his elevation to the Superior Court, Judge Hernandez has served in every civil assignment, culminating in Complex Litigation, where he spent the last four years of his judicial career, and where he presided over one hundred civil jury trials to verdict. Additionally, Judge Hernandez served as the Master Calendar judge, presided over a Law and Motion department, sat on the court’s Appellate Division, and completed countless bench trials throughout the duration of his time on the Alameda Superior Court.

Andrew W. Houston ’07, serves as Legal Counsel to the University of California Office of the President after joining the Office of the General Counsel as Counsel in July of 2017. Prior to joining the Office of the General Counsel, Mr. Houston was an attorney at San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), where he represented the public transit agency on a variety of matters, with particular emphasis on public contracts involving construction, procurement and services.

Andrew J. King ’07, a Partner at Archer Norris, utilizes a pragmatic approach to coverage issues and counsels clients on practical options to facilitate the resolution of complex claims. Andrew regularly litigates coverage disputes on behalf of his clients in state and federal court across California, including the defense of bad faith actions. He also assists insurers with the drafting of policy language. Andrew used his significant industry experience to co-author The Recorder’s California Insurance Law Handbook (2015) with other members of the firm’s insurance practice group.

Emily Knox ’15 is a Law Clerk to The Honorable Robert L. Wilkins, Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Previously, Emily was a law clerk to The Honorable Beth Labson Freeman, District Judge for the District Court for the Northern District of California, and an associate at Jones Day in San Francisco. Emily is a founding member of Commit to Hastings.

Karen Milligan ‘99, a Partner at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP, operates out of the firm’s Los Angeles office as a member of the Professional Liability Practice. Her practice includes the representation of real estate and insurance brokers and agents. She also has extensive experience litigating a wide variety of cases including general liability, premises liability, motorcycle/vehicle accidents, indemnity claims, habitability, and legal malpractice matters.

Teri H. P. Nguyen ‘09, a Principal at Polsinelli, is committed to providing informed and practical legal counsel to clients on a wide array of complex legal issues – both inside and outside the courtroom. She focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation matters, with experience in patent and trade secrets litigation, as well as trademark, copyright, and complex commercial litigation and counseling. She has had extensive experience in state court as well, having previously clerked for the Honorable Steven A. Brick of the Alameda County Superior Court in the complex litigation department, and, before that, as an extern to the Honorable Justice Mark B. Simons of the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District.

New Additions to the UC Law SF Board of Trustees

Judith Villard ’67 is retired and formerly served as Vice President & Senior Counsel of The Estée Lauder Companies for over 30 years. Her practice areas focused on corporate, litigation, and product liability. Ms. Villard is also on the Boards of the Youth Foundation (an educational foundation which provides scholarships to worthy students) and The First Families of New York, (a charitable organization which is involved in education, particularly about early New York State history).

Carole J. Buckner ’84 is Partner and General Counsel at Procopio in San Diego, CA. Ms. Buckner’s practice focuses on legal ethics, professional responsibility and the law of lawyering, including advising lawyers and law firms, and rendering expert opinions. She has an extensive background in civil business litigation and is a former federal prosecutor. Ms. Buckner is a seasoned lawyer and experienced legal educator with a wide range of practical and academic experience, including serving as Dean of the St. Francis School of Law based in Newport Beach, California.

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