Introducing The New Members of the Foundation Board of Trustees
This past June, ten UC Law SF alumni were unanimously elected to the Foundation Board of Trustees. The UC Law SF Foundation generates private funds to support UC Law SF College of the Law. Faculty development and student financial assistance are top funding priorities, adopted in consultation with the Chancellor & Dean.
Judith Boyette ’81 is the senior partner in the Employee Benefits Group of Hanson Bridgett LLP, a San Francisco law firm. She has advised employers and public retirement systems on all aspects of compensation and benefits including tax, regulatory, fiduciary responsibility, financing, and organizational integrity issues for more than 25 years. Before joining Hanson Bridgett ten years ago, Judy served for more than a decade as the Associate Vice President, Human Resources and Benefits, at the University of California system-wide, where she was responsible for all human resources policy and labor relations, as well as managing a $40 billion pension system, three large defined contribution plans, and the third largest health plan in California. During her time at the University of California, Judy became recognized as a national leader in the area of human resources organizational evaluation and certifications.
Charanjit Brahma ’99 is a trial lawyer who focuses on patent litigation and other intellectual property matters, primarily for pharmaceutical and technology clients. Charan’s trial focus helps him work with clients to craft efficient litigation strategies that meet their business objectives. Charan advises clients in patent and other intellectual property litigation, primarily involving pharmaceutical, software, communications network, medical device, mechanical and biotechnology inventions. He represents clients through all stages of litigation, including trial, inter partes review and other PTAB proceedings, and appeals. Charan also leverages his trial experience to advise clients on IP portfolio development, provide pre-litigation and freedom-to-operate opinions, prosecute high-value patents relating to a variety of technologies, and review key assets in transactional due diligence.
Alyson Cabrera ’02 is a Partner in Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani’s Employment practice group. Ms. Cabrera joined the firm in 2003 after completing a one-year post-graduate federal clerkship in the Northern District of California. Ms. Cabrera represents both private and public entities primarily in employment related matters. Ms. Cabrera has represented a wide range of clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, while focusing a large portion of her employment litigation and labor practice on schools (K-12, Community Colleges, Universities) and hospitals. Ms. Cabrera has also defended schools and hospitals against claims brought by students and patients under state and federal anti-discrimination laws as well as the state and federal Constitutions.
Shaye Diveley ’01 is a member of the Land Use and Environmental Law Practice Group at Meyers Nave. She has more than 17 years of experience with complex issues involving land use and zoning and natural resources and environmental law compliance and litigation. Shaye has counseled and litigated on behalf of clients in matters involving the California Environmental Quality Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act, Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, state and federal endangered species laws, and other state and federal land use and environmental laws. Before joining Meyers Nave, Shaye was Of Counsel at a large international law firm. She specialized in natural resources, land use and environmental law, representing clients in cases of national and state significance.
Paulina do Amaral ’96 is a partner in Lieff Cabraser’s New York office and a senior member of the firm’s Mass Tort and Injury Practice Team. Paulina represents individuals, groups and classes in complex, multi-party litigation in state and federal courts and in multidistrict litigation throughout the U.S. Paulina’s current work includes representation of government entities in one of the largest pieces of civil litigation in history, In re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation, in which she serves as a leader of the Law and Briefing Committee and on the Expert Oversight Committee.
Elizabeth A. England ’78 is Of Counsel at Clark Hill PLC. Elizabeth is also a past Chairman of the Litigation Section of the California State Bar (2010-2011) and served on its Executive Committee as a member and officer for six years. Betsy was also past Co- Chairman of the Real Property Section of the California State Bar (1999-2001) and a member of the Real Property Section Executive Committee (1996-2001). Betsy concentrates her practice on civil litigation matters with an emphasis in real estate. She also provides advice regarding Department of Real Estate rules and regulations. Betsy is a frequent speaker on all aspects of real estate.
Samantha Good ’97 is Corporate Partner at Kirkland and Ellis in San Francisco. Samantha concentrates her practice on debt financing transactions, including secured and unsecured financings, cross-border transactions, workouts, restructurings, DIP and exit financing. She represents corporate borrowers, private equity funds, creditor groups and hedge funds. Samantha has been recognized by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business since 2011, in the area of Banking & Finance. According to the 2017 edition of Chambers, one client praised that she is “the best financing attorney we have encountered anywhere, she is simply amazing,” while another client commented that “she can be very creative, so if you have a complex issue then she can step back and figure out a way to address it.”
Harvey Lung ’81 is one of Hawaii’s most experienced and respected construction law attorneys, having concentrated in this practice field for more than 34 years. Through his representation of clients and his teaching work at seminars, Mr. Lung is widely regarded as one of the state’s leaders in construction law, including construction contract disputes, construction defect claims, delay impact and loss productivity claims, professional negligence claims, and payment disputes. Mr. Lung has represented a myriad of construction industry clients including owners, developers, lenders, design professionals, general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, sureties, and insurers. Mr. Lung’s primary areas of practice include: Construction Contract Formation, Construction Litigation, and Insurance Defense.
John Stephens ’78 is a Partner at Mulvaney Barry, specializing in business, real estate and commercial litigation, and real estate transactions. He has over 30 years of experience having practiced in Los Angeles, New York City and San Diego. He received an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Irvine, a law degree in 1978 from the University of California, Hastings, and a Masters degree from Columbia University. Highlights of his career include clerking during law school for Joseph L. Alioto, the former mayor of San Francisco and renowned anti-trust attorney; working while at Columbia with Fred Friendly, the former President of CBS News, on the PBS series “Media Law & Society;” and serving as a staff attorney at the Legal Action Center of New York City, a public-interest law corporation then chaired by Arthur Liman, former chief counsel to the Senate during the Iran-Contra hearings.
Nicholas Yoka ’16 is an attorney with Panish Shea & Boyle LLP and focuses his practice on representing individuals in catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, dangerous condition, and product liability cases. Nick was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He attended The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. where he graduated magna cum laude with a B.A in Political Science and a minor in Philosophy. He was accepted and studied for three semesters as a Visiting Student at the University of Oxford, St. Anne’s College in the Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE) Department. Nick is a proud graduate of UC Law SF. While at Hastings, he had the honor to serve as a judicial extern to the Honorable William Alsup, United States District Court, Northern District of California. Nick was also a member of the Hastings Moot Court Team and a Senior Articles Editor for the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly.