Pepperdine Law - Vol. 28, Iss. 1 (Spring/Summer 2009)

î ™ spring/Summer 2009

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor Visits the Law School Colleen Graffy Returns to Direct the School's Global Programs

all rise!

Dwayne Moring (JD '91) Leads a New Wave of Alumni Ascending to the Bench

Photo by Lauren Radack

Mike Leach (JD '86) Changes College Football One Pass at a Time

Vol. 28, No. 1  spring/Summer 2009 Pepperdine Law, the magazine of Pepperdine University School of Law, is published by Pepperdine University. the office of public affairs associate vice president for public affairs  Rick Gibson (MBA ’09) executive director of university marketing & communications  Matt Midura (SC ’97, MA ’05) director of content development  Megan Huard director of creative services  Brett Sizemore director of web & multimedia  Ed Wheeler (SC ’97, MA ’99) PEPPERDINE law staff editor  Emily DiFrisco art director  Keith Lungwitz copy editor  Vincent Way photographer  Ron Hall (SC ’79) production manager  Jill McWilliams writers  Brad Benham (JD '08), Sarah Fisher, Colleen Graffy (SC '79), Megan Huard, Audra Quinn Please direct address changes, letters to the editor, comments, and requests to: Pepperdine Law Pepperdine University School of Law Malibu, California 90263 p: 310.506.4611  f: 310.506.4266 e-mail: emily.difrisco@pepperdine.edu School of Law Offices Admissions  310.506.4631 Advancement and Alumni Relations  310.506.4492 Career Development  310.506.4634 International Programs  310.506.7597 Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution  310.506.4655 Geoffrey H. Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and the Law  310.506.4681 Herbert and Elinor Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics  310.506.7635 Clinical Programs  310.506.7449 Law.Pepperdine.edu LS0903057

9 s p r i n g / S u m m e r 2 0 0 9 V O L UME 2 8 NUM B ER 1

11 Features  9

Appellate/Trial/ADR Competitions

11 Showcasing the Finest

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32nd Annual Law Dinner Highlights Pepperdine Law's Global Reach

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A Living Legacy Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor Tells about Her Journey from a Cattle Ranch to the Highest Court in the Land

16 Q&A with Erwin Chemerinsky

The Dean of UC Irvine School of Law Talks about the Role of a Public Dean

18 Defending Liberty and Dispensing Justice

Dwayne Moring (JD ’91) Leads a New Wave of Pepperdine Alumni Ascending to the Bench

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22 From Contracts to Coaching

How Mike Leach (JD ’86) Journeyed to the Pinnacle of College Football’s Coaching Ranks

26 A Real Pioneer

Colleen Graffy and the World at Large

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29 Public Diplomacy on the Ground

Colleen Graffy Writes about her Tenure in the State Department

30 Innovation at Work

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Jim Rishwain (JD ’84) Integrates People and Practices at his Global Firm

31 Relentless Pursuit

32 Cityscape

39 A Record Deal

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Attorney Barbara Jones (JD ’89) Closes Every Deal From Urban Planning to Real Estate Law, Ethan Rogers (JD ’09) Envisions a Better Future How Scott Tang (JD ’08) Became a Pop Artist and a Contracts Rock Star at Rhino Entertainment Class of 2009 Commencement Photos

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Message from the Dean News Shorts

3

Faculty Writings

39

Class Actions

36

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Making progress during tenuous times In the relatively short time since publication of the fall 2008 Pepperdine Law magazine, we have witnessed a major economic downturn that has caused great pain and disruption to so many hard-working people. The legal community has not been immune to the crisis.

Message from the Dean

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ajor international law firms have laid off associates, and others have deferred start dates for new hires or rescinded offers altogether. Members of the Pepperdine Law community have been caught up in these unfortunate developments.

So too, higher education has not been immune to the effects of the downturn, and Pepperdine has sought to respond to the uncertain economy with careful planning and prudent budgeting. The University’s financial condition is strong and stable. We are fortunate to not be as dependent on endowment income as a number of our peers who have announced significant cuts and layoffs. Nonetheless, the law school is reducing discretionary spending, freezing faculty and staff salaries, and implementing other belt-tightening measures.

At the same time, we are committed to finding tangible ways that we can support our alumni and students during this difficult time. For example, we have developed a fellowship program for recent graduates who are interested in doing international human rights work for three to 12 months. These "Nootbaar Fellows" will have the opportunity to work with human rights organizations in Uganda, Rwanda, India, and on the Thai-Burma border, among other locations. In this extraordinarily difficult job market, we are seeking to help our graduates find employment opportunities by reaching out to our alumni. The response has already been very gratifying. We will continue to look for creative and sustainable means of assisting those members of our Pepperdine family who are hurting and in need.

Even in the midst of the unfavorable economic news, we are committed to redoubling our efforts to continue the advancement of this special place. This issue tells some of the stories about the law school’s progress on so many fronts—the recent visits of retired United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Justice Antonin Scalia; the announcement of the William H. Webster Chair in Dispute Resolution, to be held by my remarkable colleague Tom Stipanowich, the academic director of the top-ranked Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution; and the return of Colleen Graffy to the law school as director of our Global Programs after completing her distinguished service in the United States Department of State.

We also share stories about our increasingly prominent and influential alumni, including the growing numbers of our ranks who are called to serve the cause of justice as judges; the amazing success of Mike Leach (JD ’86) as the head football coach at Texas Tech University; and the important contributions to the bar of our 2009 distinguished alumnus, Barbara Jones (JD ’89).

During tenuous times such as these, we are reminded of the things that matter most—faith, family, and friends—and we give renewed thanks for your unflagging friendship and support.  Blessings, Ken Starr P E P P E R D I N E L AW

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news shorts  Pepperdine Hosts Four Supreme Court Justices in One Year

Pepperdine L aw Review Hosts Mortgage Crisis Symposium

Pepperdine University School of Law continued its long tradition of hosting U.S. Supreme Court justices with visits from four justices in one academic year. The school welcomed Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas in the fall, and Antonin Scalia and retired justice Sandra Day O’Connor in the spring.

In a few short years, Americans have watched the housing market swing from what seemed like unstoppable price inflation and easily accessible loans to today’s climate of rapid decline in value, difficulty in financing, and astonishing rates of default and foreclosure. The Pepperdine Law Review brought top scholars to campus to examine what went wrong in a symposium titled, “Bringing Down the Curtain on the Current Mortgage Crisis and Preventing a Return Engagement,” on April 17.

In August, Associate Justice Samuel Alito taught Advanced Constitutional Law for the second consecutive year.

He also gave a lecture on “Lawyering and the Craft of Judicial Opinion Writing.” In September, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas visited the school to give the Second Annual William French Smith Memorial Lecture.

Thomas spoke in conversation with Dean Ken Starr, Professor Shelley Saxer, and alumnus Charles R. Eskridge (JD ’90), a partner with the commercial litigation law firm of Susman Godfrey LLP.

Topics included: the roots of the crisis, from both a real estate and a regulatory perspective; bankruptcy issues, including whether the Bankruptcy Code should be changed to allow modification of home mortgages in Chapter 13; challenges with financing the burgeoning market of manufactured housing; the “Holder in Due Course” doctrine and how it has muddied the secondary mortgage market; the promotion of home ownership, and its relationship to the current situation; how we can reform the laws and the regulatory agencies to avoid a mortgage crisis in the future; and whether mortgage foreclosure law should be federalized to provide a uniform national approach.

Distinguished speakers included Deborah Dakin, deputy chief counsel for business transactions at the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS); Ann M. Burkhart, Curtis Bradbury Kellar Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law; Rick J. Caruso, chief executive officer of Caruso Affiliated; Wilson Freyermuth, John D. Lawson Professor of Law and a Curators’ Teaching Professor at the University of Missouri; Samuel J. Gerdano, executive director of the American Bankruptcy Institute in Alexandria, Virginia; Melissa B. Jacoby, George R. Ward Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Alex M. Johnson, Jr., Perre Bowen Professor of Law and the Thomas F. Bergin Research Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law; Robert M. Lawless, professor and the Galowich-Huizenga Faculty Scholar at the University of Illinois College of Law; Timothy J. Mayopoulos, previous executive vice president and general counsel of Bank of America Corporation; Grant Nelson, William H. Rehnquist Professor at Pepperdine School of Law; Robert K. Rasmussen, dean and Carl Mason Franklin Chair in Law at USC Gould School of Law; Mark S. Scarberry, professor at Pepperdine University School of Law, Michael H. Schill, professor at UCLA School; and Dale A. Whitman, former James Campbell Professor of Law at the University of Missouri-Columbia and current D and L Straus Distinguished Visiting Professor at Pepperdine.

Associate Justice Antonin Scalia spoke in conversation with Dean Starr on March 9.

Scalia spoke on a variety of legal topics, including how the Court has changed over the years. On March 27, retired justice Sandra Day O’Connor gave the Third Annual William French Smith Lecture.

The conversation included Dean Starr, Professors Carol A. Chase and Colleen Graffy, and Virginia Milstead (JD '04), a litigation associate with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

“At Pepperdine, we take seriously the challenge of providing our students with the very best in educational opportunities,” says Dean Starr. “To host four justices in one year is an exceptional honor of which we are especially proud.”

The justices’ lectures came on the heels of a visit from Chief Justice John Roberts, who gave the keynote address at the 31st Annual Law School Dinner in February 2008. In years past, Pepperdine has hosted justices William Rehnquist, Harry Blackmun, Byron White, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony Kennedy, and Tom Clark, as well as previous visits by O’Connor, Scalia, Thomas, and Alito.

For a complete story on the lecture with Justice O’Connor, see page 13.

Visit the Pepperdine Law Review at law.pepperdine.edu/lawreview.

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news shorts  Stipanowich Awarded William H. Webster Chair in Dispute Resolution Thomas J. Stipanowich was recently named the William H. Webster Chair in Dispute Resolution, a new endowed chair at Pepperdine University School of Law. Stipanowich is the academic director of Pepperdine’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, the number one dispute resolution program in the nation.

Stipanowich joined Pepperdine in 2006 with a distinguished career in conflict resolution. He is an awardwinning author and much-cited authority on arbitration, mediation, and other subjects; the former chief executive of the New York-based International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR Institute); a respected and widely experienced arbitrator and mediator; and the winner of several of the dispute resolution field’s highest honors, including the American Bar Association’s prestigious D’Alemberte/ Raven Award.

The chair is named for the Honorable William Webster, the only person to have been the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence (CIA). At a ceremony honoring Judge Webster, Pepperdine President Andrew Benton called Webster a patriot and peacemaker. “Bill Webster has served as U.S. attorney, U.S. District Court judge, U.S. Court of Appeals judge, director of the FBI, director of the CIA, and is the recipient of our nation’s highest civilian award—the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Bill Webster is indeed a great patriot. He is also a peacemaker, and thus how appropriate that Pepperdine’s nationally renowned Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution is the home of the William H. Webster Chair in Dispute Resolution,” said President Benton.

Stipanowich has advised or participated in national efforts at statutory reform, including revisions to the Uniform Arbitration Act. He was also academic reporter and chief drafter Professor Stipanowich (right) presents Judge Webster with a portrait of of a protocol for the Consumer Due President Abraham Lincoln, which Stipanowich drew by hand.

Process Protocol governing consumer arbitration and ADR programs. He has served on the board of directors of the American Arbitration “This chair adds new luster to the Straus Institute and to Pepperdine Association (AAA), and was the first AAA Hoellering International University,” said Stipanowich. “It is also especially gratifying on Visiting Scholar. His many writings include coauthorship of a a personal level—not only because William Webster is a personal leading treatise, Federal Arbitration Law: Agreements, Awards, and friend, mentor, and hero—but because Ms. Webster, the former Remedies, cited by the U.S. Supreme Court and many other federal Lynda Clugston, and I were childhood friends who grew up in the and state courts, and which was named Best New Legal Book by the same neighborhood in the Western Illinois town of Macomb. Judge Association of American Publishers.

Webster and I have known each other for the better part of several decades. It is an extraordinary honor to hold the William H. Webster Visit the Straus Institute at straus.pepperdine.edu.

Chair in Dispute Resolution.”

Dean Starr Argues His 36 th Case Before the U.S. Supreme Court Ken Starr, Duane and Kelly Roberts Dean of the School of Law, argued his 36th case before the United States Supreme Court on April 20. The case is Horne v. Flores, which involves the expenditure of state funds toward English-language education programs.

The case dates back to January 2000, when the United States District Court for the District of Arizona cited the state for civil contempt for failing to adequately fund English-language learner programs, in violation of the Equal Educational Opportunities Act. The court subsequently rejected proposed legislation as inadequate to resolve the programs’ deficiencies. The superintendent and

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representatives argued that increases in state funding, changes in the management of the school district involved, and passage of the No Child Left Behind Act sufficiently altered the foundations of the district court’s original ruling and therefore relief was warranted.

The federal district court of Arizona denied the motion.

On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court ruling. It reasoned that since Arizona never appealed or complied with the district court’s original order that it was fair to require compliance.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case on January 9.

Dean Starr represented the speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives and the president of the Arizona Senate before the Court. A decision is expected before the end of June.

A Green Leadership (Un)Conference Collaboration

Consensus Building

and Sustainable Development

Straus Institute and Palmer Center to Host Sustainability Symposium The Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution and the Geoffrey H. Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and the Law will host “Taking it Upstream: Collaboration, Consensus Building, and Sustainable Development—A Green Leadership (Un)Conference” on September 25, 2009, at the Drescher Graduate Campus in Malibu, California.

The symposium will provide a highly participatory forum for greenminded community leaders, agencies, planners, architects, developers, engineers, attorneys, and citizens to explore best practices for using collaboration, consensus building, and other enhanced civic engagement techniques to create more sustainable communities and manage potential land use and environmental disputes.

The event will feature interactive “Sustainability Roundtables” focusing on communities, transportation, zoning and development controls, construction and design, infrastructure, and resources.

The (un)conference is the brainchild of environmental attorney and mediator Steve Zikman (LLM '09), who was a Straus Fellow last year.

"The morning framing sessions and afternoon roundtables will be highly collaborative," he says. "The panels aren't typical conference panels. These will be conversations that are designed to capture wisdom of the room."

Learn more about the (un)conference at law.pepperdine.edu/upstream.

Straus Institute Ranks Number One For Fifth Consecutive Year

around the world meet for serious and sophisticated learning about dispute resolution skills.”

Pepperdine School of Law’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution has been ranked the number one program by U.S. News and World Report for the fifth consecutive year. Ranked just behind Straus were Harvard University, the University of Missouri-Columbia, Hamline University, and Ohio State University, which comprise the remaining top five schools. In the last 13 years, the Straus Institute has never been lower than third and has achieved the Number One position eight times.

Stipanowich, who is the academic director and holds the William H. Webster Chair in Dispute Resolution, has a distinguished career in academics and international leadership. “The U.S. News ranking is symbolic of the continuing strength of a program which combines a uniquely broad and deep academic curriculum with first-rate professional skills offerings,” says Stipanowich. “The institute is breaking new ground as a leader in the development of mediation worldwide, in the innovative use of media to encourage changes in the culture of conflict management, and in empirical research.”

In January 2006, Pepperdine named Peter Robinson and Thomas Stipanowich as codirectors of the institute. Robinson, who serves as managing director, maintains a long and diverse career in dispute resolution. He has presented advanced negotiation and mediation skills courses in more than 30 states and in Argentina, Canada, China, England, Holland, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, Jordan, and Mexico.

School of Law Dean Ken Starr praises the institute’s achievements. “Year after year, Straus continues to be recognized as the premier dispute resolution program in the nation,” he says. “Around the globe, and right here at home, Straus admirably embodies Pepperdine University’s enduring commitment to the profound values of peacemaking in a hurting world.”

Says Robinson, “Straus has become a place where outstanding faculty, accomplished practitioners, and passionate students from

Visit the Straus Institute at straus.pepperdine.edu.

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news shorts  Margaret Thatcher Visits the Pepperdine London House After being presented with an honorary doctorate from Pepperdine on October 30, 2008, Lady Margaret Thatcher, former prime minister of the United Kingdom, returned to speak with students at the Pepperdine London House on December 3.

Lady Thatcher met with Seaver College and School of Law students in the Pepperdine London House Library. She spent an hour getting acquainted with students in small groups. “She was witty, charming, and sharp,” said Jim Gash, associate dean and then-interim director of the School of Law London Program. “Needless to say, the students were in awe.”

“Meeting Lady Thatcher was an incredible thrill,” said law student Brett LoVellette. “To have the chance to interact with one of the great leaders of the 20th century was something I certainly did not expect when I signed up for law school. Lady Thatcher was dignified and gracious.”

The London House, located in the Knightsbridge/South Kensington area, is used by students of both the School of Law and Seaver College. Since 1981, the School of Law has offered its second- and third-year students a six-week summer session (plus a final exam week) or full fall semester program in London, fully approved by the American Bar Association.

The 123-year-old London House recently underwent a $5 million renovation, which refurbished infrastructure, electrical service, plumbing, and heating. The building reopened in a historic ceremony on October 30, at which Lady Thatcher was a special guest.

Visit the London Program at law.pepperdine.edu/london.

President George H. W. Bush to replace William Brennan, but he frequently voted with the Court’s liberal block.

Greenburg, Eisgruber , Starr , Kmiec, and Amar Speak on Supreme Court Nominations As part of the Wm. Matthew Byrne, Jr., Judicial Clerkship Institute, Pepperdine University School of Law hosted a discussion titled, “Supreme Court Nominations: The Confirmation Process,” featuring ABC News correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg and Princeton University provost Christopher Eisgruber and responses by School of Law dean Ken Starr, and professors Doug Kmiec and Akhil Amar, on March 20 at the School of Law. Eisgruber, who penned the book The Next Justice: Repairing the Supreme Court Appointments Process (2007), asserted that confirmation hearings should center on judicial philosophy. Judicial philosophy, he defined as “the interplay between a particular judge’s ideological values and their procedural or at least institutional values.” Eisgruber went on to predict that President Obama will nominate at least three justices during his tenure.

Following Eisgruber, Greenburg spoke on the Rehnquist Court.

Greenburg is the author of Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court (2007).

Greenburg reviewed how the Court was intact for 11 years—beginning in 1994 when Breyer took his seat. She recounted that many conservatives were disappointed with the impact of the Rehnquist Court because of the failure to take advantage of opportunities to change the makeup of the Court. David Souter was appointed by

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Greenburg also discussed Justice Thomas’ nomination and the media frenzy that followed. “The story line very quickly emerged that Thomas was Scalia’s lackey. That story, which was widely reported, is grossly inaccurate,” she said. “In fact it was Scalia who often changed his vote to join Thomas.” Greenburg cited evidence of this from her review of the Justice Blackmun papers at the Library of Congress.

Dean Starr referenced “the confirmation mess,” the title of a book on the topic by Yale professor Stephen Carter. Dean Starr gave a brief history of nominations post World War II, and suggested a few takeaways for the process moving forward. “The political scientists have carried the day,” he said. “The correct way to view the confirmation process—and I say this as a lamentation—is that it’s a struggle about power; it’s a struggle about rank; it’s all about ideology and politics and not at all about law.”

The event was part of the three-day Ninth Annual Wm. Matthew Byrne, Jr., Judicial Clerkship Institute. The purpose of the institute is to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of judicial law clerks.

The program works in consultation with several of the most highly respected federal judges in the United States to identify the subjects that new clerks most need to learn.

Visit the Wm. Matthew Byrne, Jr., Judicial Clerkship Institute at law.pepperdine.edu/jci.

Jay Milbrandt’s Documentary Helps to Move the Mountain of Poverty In the summer of 2007, Jay Milbrandt (MBA ’07, JD ’08) traveled to Bangladesh with two fellow students to discover firsthand the best of social entrepreneurship. Armed with video cameras, they filmed their interactions with the rural communities that have been given hope over poverty with loans from the microfinance organization Grameen Bank. The footage became the documentary Moving the Mountain of Poverty, which is now screening in film festivals the world wide.

Moving the Mountain of Poverty puts the spotlight on those in developing countries able to utilize a new opportunity to work their way out of poverty. “The villagers would tell us how microfinance had changed their lives, and we could see it in their attitudes and selfesteem,” says Milbrandt, the director of the global justice program at the Herbert and Elinor Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics.

Milbrandt was a joint JD/MBA student at the Graziadio School of Business and Management and the School of Law when he journeyed halfway around the world to explore the entrepreneurial pursuits of people previously rendered helpless by poverty. Still a very recent graduate, he is in the unusual position of being able to share his experiences with people near and far through the International Social Action Film Festival (ISAFF) circuit, which has screened Moving the Mountain of Poverty in a number of major cities, including Los

Pepperdine Welcomes New Associate Dean Tom Bost Professor Tom Bost recently transitioned to interim associate dean for academics at the School of Law. Bost earned his bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from Abilene Christian University and a juris doctor from Vanderbilt University School of Law. Order of the Coif and Founder’s Medalist (First in Class) were just two of the honors Bost received as a student at the Vanderbilt University Law School. He was the note editor for the Vanderbilt Law Review and upon graduation served for a year as an assistant professor of law at Vanderbilt.

Bost became associated with the Los Angeles, California, office of Latham and Watkins in 1968 and was a partner in the firm from 1975 through 1999.

Angeles; San Diego; Sydney; Berlin; Cairo; and Monrovia, Liberia. Future screenings are planned for cities in Brazil, India, Israel, and the Philippines.

The 12-minute documentary shows a joyous 26-year-old single mother, whom he met along the way, sharing how she now raises hundreds of hens for her successful chicken farming business after qualifying for a microcredit loan.

Before that, she was scraping by on one dollar a day.

“Poverty became more real to me,” he says, of his experiences meeting the poor in Bangladesh. “Suddenly, statistics were replaced with names and faces, and the stories I read turned into living and breathing people. Watching Grameen Bank in action convinced me that social entrepreneurship works.”

The ISAFF screens films specifically about the work being done globally to improve the lives of others and fight injustices where they exist. Other films screened at the festival locations have explored education for girls in developing nations, gang culture in America, urban slums, human trafficking, and even debris left to orbit the earth by space-exploration programs.

“I had the opportunity to attend the ISAFF screening in Los Angeles and I was curious to see how the audience would react,” recalls Milbrandt. “At the end of the film, there was a collective ‘aha’ from the audience, so I knew the message resonated with them.” Milbrandt is now the director of Pepperdine's Global Justice Program.

Visit the Global Justice Program at law.pepperdine.edu/nootbaar/global-justice-program.

During his legal career he has been a frequent lecturer on legal topics for numerous groups including the American Bar Association Section of Taxation, the University of Southern California Tax Institute, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, the New York University Institute on Federal Taxation, the Tennessee Tax Institute, the California Continuing Education of the Bar, the University of Texas Ethics Institute, the Christian Scholars’ Conference, and the Religiously-Affiliated Law Schools Conference.

Bost has served as a professor at Lipscomb University and as an adjunct professor at the School of Law and at Seaver College. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute, a member of the American Bar Association, the American College of Tax Counsel, the State Bar of California, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association.

He has also served as a member and chair of the Board of Regents of Pepperdine University. He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the Pacific Legal Foundation, having completed a two-year term as board chair in 2002. Bost has taught Business Planning, Corporations, Taxation of Business Entities, Securities Regulation, and Ethical Corporate Practice.

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news shorts  Students Serve in Mexico, Thailand, and India during Spring Semester Twenty-four law students spent breaks serving in Mexico, Thailand, and India during the spring semester. During Martin Luther King, Jr., weekend, 14 students traveled to Mexico to build homes. During spring break, seven students traveled to Thailand to visit with refugees, and three students went to India to serve at a hospital.

In India students volunteered at Calcutta Mercy Hospital and the Missionaries of Charity. They lived in the hospital and worked on development projects including writing profiles of patients for fundraising purposes. In Thailand seven students traveled with Jay Milbrandt, director of Pepperdine’s International Human Rights Program. The group visited with refugees, Burmese resistance leaders, and undocumented hill tribe families.

“It was wonderful to see the children again,” says Milbrandt who has made several trips to Thailand to help undocumented children.

“I was impressed with our law students who chose to spend their spring breaks in Thailand with refugees, who many consider to be the ‘least of these.’ It was really exciting to see them take up the cause to serve the oppressed.”

Los Angeles High School Students Experience Law School Students from David Starr Jordan High School and Woodrow Wilson Senior High School, located in South and East Los Angeles, visited Pepperdine University School of Law on March 9, and had an indepth law school experience. The 28 students participated in a law class and heard from Antonin Scalia, associate justice of the United States, who spoke in conversation with Dean Ken Starr.

The trips were funded through the University’s Voyage Fund, the Dean’s Excellence Fund, and the Herbert and Elinor Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics.

Visit the Global Justice Program at law.pepperdine.edu/nootbaar/global-justice-program.

The students learned about the building blocks of oral advocacy in a class taught by Professor Christine Goodman. Afterward, they heard Scalia speak on a variety of legal topics, including how the Supreme Court has changed over the years.

The event was facilitated by Burton Rojas, Pepperdine’s coordinator of diversity, recruitment, and student services, who worked in conjunction with student groups such as the Latin American Law Students Association and the Black Law Students Association.

“It’s so important for law students to reach out and help those who desire to have a profession in the law,” Rojas says. “The high school students who attended often face low expectations and a high education-failure rate. Our goal is to help any student who wants to further his or her education. None of us, whether students or professionals, got to where we are on our own; each of us had a helping hand along the way. It’s our privilege to be the helping hand to these high school students.”

The event was made possible by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), which aims to increase diversity in the legal profession. LSAC developed the DiscoverLaw.org campaign to encourage racially and ethnically diverse students to discover career opportunities in law and choose a path in undergraduate school to help them succeed.

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Twenty-four law students spent Martin Luther King, Jr., weekend building homes in Mexico.

Mat Groseclose and Lee Short

Rachel Dickey

2008–2009 Moot Court, Trial, and ADR Results Daniel Himebaugh and Genus Heidary were awarded Second Place Team at the Foreign Direct Investment International Moot Competition in Boston, Massachusetts, in October 2008.

The team of Mat Groseclose and Lee Short won Second Place Brief at the J. Braxton Craven, Jr., Memorial Moot Court Competition in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in February 2009.

Joshua Krebs won Second Place Oral Advocate and Krebs and Leon Dixson were quarterfinalists at the Chicago Bar Association Moot Court Competition in Chicago, Illinois, in October 2008.

Josh Banister, Alexia Norge, Jeremy Shatzer, and Brian Simas were regional semifinalists at the American Association for Justice (AAJ) Student Trial Advocacy Regional Competition in Los Angeles, California, in February 2009.

Josh Banister, Alexia Norge, Paula Pendley, and Jeremy Shatzer were semifinalists at the National Civil Trial Competition in Los Angeles, California, in November 2008.

Sterling Cluff, Andrew Reid, Sarhar Sarshad, and Benjamin Turner were finalists, and Terrance Allen, Rachel Rossi, Jason Vener, and Sarah Wigdor were champions at the ABA National Labor and Employment Trial Advocacy Regional Competition in Los Angeles, California, in November 2008.

Tom Feher and Jonathan Loch were awarded Second Place Team at the ABA Negotiations Regional Competition in San Diego, California, in November 2008. They finished sixth at the national competition in Boston, Massachusetts, in February 2009.

Leon Dixson and Desiri Schultze were quarterfinalists at the Constance Baker Motley National Moot Court Competition in Washington, D.C., in March 2009.

Aaron White and Michael Bean

Rachel Dickey won Second Place Oral Advocate, and Kimberley Hyson was awarded Fourth Place Oral Advocate out of more than 150 advocates at the Willem C. Vis (East) International Commercial Arbitration Moot Competition in Hong Kong, in March 2009.

Judd O’Brien and Shane Soderlund made the top eight out of 26 teams at the Robert Merhige, Jr., National Environmental Negotiation Competition in Richmond, Virginia, in March 2009.

Coach Amy Teeples (JD '07), Paula Pendley, Josh Banister, Alexia Norge, and Jeremy Shatzer

Michael Bean and Aaron White were named semifinalists at the Asylum and Refugee Law National Moot Court Competition in Davis, California, in February 2009.

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Emily Smith, Shane Michaels, and John White were among the top students at the Second Annual Closing Arguments Competition.

Students Shine at the Second Annual

Closing Arguments Competition First-year law students took the top awards at the Second Annual Closing Arguments Competition on April 17 at the School of Law. A panel of nine judges, comprising alumni and faculty, judged the final round of the two-day competition.

First-year John White took First Place, first-year Shane Michaels took Second, and first-year Seth Laursen and second-year Emily Smith tied for Third Place. White is guaranteed a spot on one of Pepperdine’s Trial Teams next year.

“I was simply blown away by the incredible talent I saw today,” said Professor Naomi Goodno after the event. “Eight students competed in the final rounds and each one of them delivered closing arguments like a seasoned attorney. It was a privilege to watch and judge.”

The competition was initiated last year by then-student Chumahan Bowman ( JD '09). Third-year student Christina Gaudern facilitated this year’s competition.

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the Finest

Showcasing

32nd Annual Law Dinner Highlights Pepperdine Law’s Global Reach

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by Emily DiFrisco

epperdine University School of Law welcomed more than 800 students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends to the 32nd Annual School of Law Dinner on March 7 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.

Richard Peterson’s work with our Special Education Legal Clinic—but around the world. Our students are making an immediate impact in international human rights, global economic development, and justice through spreading the rule of law.”

The event featured a keynote speech by the Honorable John R. Bolton, former ambassador of the United States to the United Nations, who brought an international focus to the evening. Bolton spoke on democracy and the critical need for the rule of law across the globe.

Dean Starr talked about the school’s London Program and the Global Justice Program, which train students for legal work around the world. He praised the many students who have completed internships through the Global Justice Program in Kenya, Burma, Nicaragua, Bangladesh, Armenia, Uganda, Bulgaria, Rwanda, Thailand, and the 24 students who participated in short-term trips to Mexico, Thailand, and India during the spring semester.

Dean Ken Starr gave remarks on the school’s recent achievements in Malibu and beyond. He pointed to the many guests the school has hosted in the past academic year, including four U.S. Supreme Court Justices, Lady Margaret Thatcher at the Pepperdine London House, and countless scholars and practitioners who came to campus for a dozen conferences and symposia.

Regarding the school’s global vision, Dean Starr commended students and faculty for being justiceseekers and peacemakers. “Seeking justice for the marginalized and persecuted is one of the things we prepare our students to do,” he said. “We do so not only at home—through Judge Bruce Einhorn’s work with the Asylum Clinic, through Professor Brittany Stringfellow Otey’s work with the Pepperdine Legal Clinic at the Union Rescue Mission, and through Professor

“This year’s annual dinner was a wonderful tribute to the law school’s ever expanding global footprint,” said School of Law Vice Dean Tim Perrin.

Dean Starr presented the awards for 1L and 2L/3L Professor of the Year, which went to Peter Wendel and Robert Popovich, respectively, and presented Bolton with the 2009 Robert H. Jackson Award for exemplary legal service.

In his concluding remarks Dean Starr said, “The global future of Pepperdine is very bright—led by our servant-hearted faculty, our justice-seeking students, and our supportive alumni.”

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Vincent S. Dalsimer Moot Court Competition 2009

Third-year student Kathleen Benton speaks on behalf of the petitioner.

The final round of the 35th Vincent S. Dalsimer Moot Court Competition took place in the early afternoon on March 7. The final round was presided over by Ninth Circuit Judge Johnnie Rawlinson, who was joined

by Fifth Circuit Judge Emilio Garza and former U.N. ambassador John Bolton.

The judges were uniformly impressed by the oral advocacy skills of the student advocates.

“I would like to congratulate you four,” said Judge Rawlinson. “I commend you for your presence before the court and your knowledge of the facts of the case. You were all prepared, which will serve you well in your careers.”

Fifth Circuit Judge Emilio Garza speaks to the student advocates.

“You’re going to be very talented lawyers,” added Judge Garza.

Dalsimer Moot Court Competition 2009 Winners First-Place Team Kathleen Benton and Kimberley Hyson Second-Place Team James McCabe and Jake Nare Semi-Finalist Teams Genus Heidary and Daniel Himebaugh Eric Salbert and Roberto Valenzuela Best Advocate First Place: Daniel Himebaugh Second Place: Lee Short Third Place: Genus Heidary Best Petitioner Brief Kathleen Benton and Kimberley Hyson Ambassador John Bolton gives feedback from the bench.

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Best Respondent Brief James McCabe and Jake Nare

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Living Legacy Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor Tells about her Journey from a Cattle Ranch to the Highest Court in the Land at the Third Annual William French Smith Memorial Lecture

by Emily DiFrisco

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rom 1981 to 2006, the Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor served as the nation’s first female Supreme Court justice and was the tiebreaker in over three-quarters of the court’s 5-4 decisions.

The retired justice visited Pepperdine on March 27, where she gave the third annual William French Smith Memorial Lecture to an overflow audience in the Caruso Auditorium. >  13

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Ken Starr, the Duane and Kelly Roberts Dean of the School of Law, moderated the conversation, which included Carol A. Chase, professor of law at Pepperdine; Colleen Graffy, former deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State and director of the law school's Global Programs; and Virginia Milstead (JD '04), a litigation associate with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

The Honorable William H. Webster, former director of the FBI and CIA, introduced O’Connor, commending her great love of the Court and her 25 years of service. The panelists asked O’Connor about her life since retirement and her tenure on the Court.

“I have been busier since I left the Court,” admitted O’Connor. The retired justice said she still has an office and one clerk at the Court, and she hears cases on the lower federal courts of appeals, as required by Congress. She continues her involvement in guiding judicial reform overseas, and she teaches middle-school students civics through an interactive, Web-based program called Our Courts.

O’Connor answered questions from the conversationalists and the audience throughout the lecture. She told about growing up on a cattle ranch in Texas. “My parents were my mentors.

My companions were my parents and the cowboys,” she said.

She talked about earning her bachelor’s and law degrees from Stanford University and the adversity she faced upon graduation. Though she graduated in the top three of her law school class and worked on the Stanford Law Review, no firm would hire her because she was a woman. “Stanford law grads, call our firm,” read the announcements around campus.

O’Connor said, “Well, I called every one on that bulletin board and not one of them would give me an interview. Not one.”

Instead she became involved in public service, working her way up from deputy county attorney of San Mateo County, California, to assistant attorney general of Arizona. “I realized that I had to take a job and make something of it,” she said. “It took a long time before people realized that women could be lawyers and judges.”

She was appointed to the Arizona State Senate in 1969 and was subsequently reelected twice to two-year terms. In 1975 she was elected judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court and served until 1979, when she was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals. President Reagan nominated her as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, and she took her seat September 25, 1981.

When O’Connor was asked about her advice to young people entering the legal profession, she drew from her life experiences. “You may have to take a job, especially in today’s climate, that isn’t your first choice,” she said. “But if you are smart, you can make something of it that’s a lot better.”

Second-year student Mischa Barteau, the president of the Women’s Legal Association, was inspired by O’Connor’s lecture.

“Justice O’Connor was the perfect person to serve as first woman on the Supreme Court because she lived through what was the collective experience of many women of her generation,” said Barteau. “Justice O’Connor’s experience with discrimination upon graduation from Stanford Law serves to remind young women lawyers and law students just how far women have come in such

You may have to take a job, especially in today's climate, that isn't your first choice.

But if you are smart, you can make something of it that's a lot better.

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a short period of time. She exemplifies the power of hard work and determination in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles.”

“We were so pleased to welcome Justice O’Connor to Pepperdine for our Third William French Smith Memorial Lecture,” said Tim Perrin, vice dean of the School of Law. “She is admired and respected by all because of her inspiring personal story, her tireless defense of judicial independence, and her remarkable tenure on the United States Supreme Court. Through her commitment to public service and her spirit of graciousness, she beautifully embodies the legacy of William French Smith.” 

The Honorable William H. Webster, former director of the FBI and CIA, introduced O’Connor. The panel included (left to right) Ken Starr, the Duane and Kelly Roberts Dean of the School of Law; Virginia Milstead (JD '04), a litigation associate with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Colleen Graffy, former deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State and director of the law school's Global Programs; and Carol A. Chase, professor of law at Pepperdine.

Watch the video of the lecture at law.pepperdine.edu/ williamfrenchsmithlectures/2009.

From left: Students Susan Strong (JD '85), Nancy McGinnis (JD '85), and Linda Kollar (JD '85) stand with Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who judged Pepperdine’s Vincent S. Dalsimer Moot Court Competition in February 1985. Kollar and McGinnis were the oral advocates and Strong wrote the brief. Strong is currently a judge in Nebraska, McGinnis is a law professor at Pepperdine, and Kollar maintains a private practice in Los Angeles.

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The Role of a Law Dean A Conversation with Erwin Chemerinsky, the Founding Dean of the Donald Bren School of Law at UC Irvine

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n the span of six weeks this spring, Dean Ken Starr made appellate arguments in

three cases, appearing before the United States Supreme Court, the California Supreme Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The cases addressed issues as diverse as the financing of bilingual education in Arizona, the regulation of interstate shipment of wine intoTexas, and California's Proposition 8, which defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

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Among these three cases the Prop. 8 argument attracted the most attention to the law school and to Dean Starr as he argued for the supporters of Prop. 8 that the proposition constituted an “amendment” of the California constitution and not a “revision,” and thus, should be upheld as a valid exercise of democratic power by the people. Dean Starr’s participation in the Prop. 8 case drew criticism from some, a number of whom deemed it inappropriate for a law school dean to take on the case.

Erwin Chemerinsky, the founding dean of the Donald Bren School of Law at UC Irvine, is similarly active in the legal profession as an oral advocate and as a frequent speaker and commentator. As one of the nation’s foremost constitutional law scholars, he frequently argues appellate cases in the federal courts. Chemerinsky has argued five cases in federal courts of appeals in the short time since he became dean on July 1, 2008. As a dean, he is also no stranger to controversy. Chemerinsky’s deanship offer was initially rescinded in 2007 by the administration on the basis that his views were too “polarizing” for the dean’s post.

In this conversation, Pepperdine Law asks Chemerinsky for his take on Dean Starr’s involvement in arguing the Prop. 8 case and the role of a law school dean.

I think it is very important for a dean to be involved in the profession. A dean needs to be a role model for the faculty and students. Handling pro bono cases is a crucial way of being a role model as to something very important.

You are the founding dean of the Donald Bren School of Law at UC Irvine.

Describe your vision for your role as dean.

Is it wise for a law school dean to be active in the profession, and if so, why?

I think it is very important for a dean to be involved in the profession.

A dean needs to be a role model for the faculty and students. Handling pro bono cases is a crucial way of being a role model as to something very important. Moreover, the dean gains tremendous credibility with the bar (as well as with students) by being engaged as a lawyer. Also, I learn tremendously from every case I handle and that improves my teaching and my understanding of the law.

As dean, my primary professional obligation is leading in the creation of a new law school. The goal is that we will be a top 20 law school from the outset. The vision is to emphasize preparing law students for the practice of law at the highest levels of the profession. Obviously, my tasks are the same as any dean in articulating a vision for the school, overseeing the budget, engaging in fundraising, and handling administrative tasks. But there are also many unique aspects of being a founding dean of a new law school, including being actively involved in everything from shaping the curriculum, to converting a building into a law school, to being involved in all hiring decisions of staff and faculty.

You have been quoted as saying, “Although I disagree with Dean Starr's position in the Prop. 8 case, I admire and respect him for his involvement.

One role of the dean is providing a model for faculty and students.” How did Dean Starr’s involvement provide a model for faculty and students?

Dean Starr’s involvement with Prop. 8 provided an excellent model for faculty and students in many different ways. He presented a superb argument to the California Supreme Court and in that way modeled excellent lawyering. Also, he modeled civic engagement on one of the most controversial issues of our time. He did so even knowing it would be unpopular with some of his constituents. This, too, is important as a role model for how lawyers should behave. I vehemently disagree with Dean Starr’s position in this case, but I tremendously respect and admire him for his handling it and for his advocacy.

To what extent, if at all, should the activities of a law school dean be taken as representative of or reflecting the views of the institution itself?

There is a tremendous difference between when the dean speaks for the institution and when the dean acts as an individual. Most of the time it will be obvious as to the capacity in which the dean is acting, but if necessary, it is the dean’s responsibility to make this clear. When a dean handles a case as a lawyer, that does not imply any position on the part of the institution. It should be understood as the dean, as an individual attorney, being involved in the matter.

In addition to your ongoing service as teacher, scholar, and administrator, please describe your activity and work in the broader legal profession, including taking on cases in the courts of appeals and the Supreme Court.

The vast majority of my time is spent being dean. But I continue to teach. Although this year we did not have law students, I taught two undergraduate classes during the winter quarter, a large political science class and a freshman seminar (which I cotaught with the chancellor of UCI). Next year, I will teach a large political science class to undergraduates in the fall and constitutional law to the first-year law students in the spring. I continue to write, including the third edition of my constitutional law casebook and several law review articles this year.

I also continue to handle appellate cases. Since I became dean on July 1, 2008, I have argued five cases in federal courts of appeals (one in the Fifth Circuit, one in the Sixth Circuit, and three in the Ninth Circuit).

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Defending Liberty

and

Dispensing Justice

by Audra Quinn

Since 2006, no fewer than 22 alumni have been elected or appointed to the bench, part of a wave of Pepperdine-trained lawyers moving into positions of leadership and influence More than 60 Pepperdine Law alumni can be found presiding over courtrooms around the country and the world—from California to Puerto Rico to Canada. Interpreting the law and making the right decisions are just part of the job.

We turned the spotlight on five alumni judges, who told us their day-to-day trials, both personal and professional.

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Dwayne Moring ( JD ’91)

Cathy Purcell ( JD ’85)

Superior Court Judge, San Diego County

In 2008, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Dwayne K. Moring to a judicial seat on the San Diego County Superior Court. He currently has a three-year assignment to the Juvenile Delinquency Court. In this role, he has a daily calendar department where he arraigns minors, conducts review hearings, and rules on contested adjudications. Additionally, he oversees a weekly Juvenile Drug Court and monthly Teen Pregnancy Court.

Prior to his appointment as Superior Court judge, Moring was a deputy district attorney in the Sex Crimes and Stalking Division of the San Diego District Attorney's Office from May 2004 to July 2008. The range of cases he handled included forcible rape, child molestation, sex offender registration, indecent exposure, and state hospital recommitments for sexually violent predators and mentally disordered offenders.

"I chose a career as a government attorney because I knew it would afford me the opportunity to litigate cases and interact with the public immediately after passing the bar examination,” he says. “As a trial attorney, I didn’t sit in my office all day dealing with abstract concepts; I was literally in the trenches every day of my legal career working on behalf of defendants and victims.”

Previously, Moring was a deputy alternate public defender with the San Diego Alternate Public Defender's Office from December 1994 to May 2004. In this role, he was responsible for representing indigent criminal defendants charged with serious felony offenses.

He also had an additional appointment to the Juvenile Dependency Court where he represented the alleged offending parent accused of harming his or her minor child through physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. “One of my coping mechanisms was to focus on protecting the rights of either the victim or the accused depending on my job at the time,” Moring explains of his difficult position. “While defending charges, I realized I was the defendant’s only supporter and the last person responsible for protecting their freedom. That need to protect the rights of the accused far outweighed any concern for the seriousness of the offense or the client’s alleged role in the offense.”

Moring is the recipient of several awards for his involvement in the legal community. The Thomas Jefferson School of Law Black Law Student Association honored him with the “Flame of Inspiration Award” in March 2008, acknowledging his mentorship of minority law students. In 2007, he received the “Outstanding Service by a Public Attorney Award” from the San Diego County Bar Association recognizing the combination of excellence in the practice of law with service to the community, the profession, the County Bar Association, or legal education. He also received the San Diego County Sexual Assault Response Team’s “Response With A Heart Award” in appreciation of his significant contribution to sexual assault prosecution in 2007.

Moring earned an undergraduate degree at Pepperdine in addition to his law degree. He says, “At Pepperdine, I received a valuescentered education that reinforced my desire to choose careers that focused on helping to improve society and individuals.”

Review Judge (Appellate Division), State Bar Court of California, San Francisco

Judge Cathy Purcell has had a lifelong interest in ethics. As an undergraduate nursing student, her thesis was dedicated to issues of ethics in the medical field.

While studying law at Pepperdine, she examined ethics in her article “The Duty of Court-Appointed Appellate Counsel: An Analysis of Jones v. Barnes,” which was published in the Pepperdine Law Review. Now as a review judge in the appellate division of the California State Bar Court, Purcell sits on the ethics bench, one of only three judges statewide who hear appeals from the State Bar Court.

“The goal of the State Bar Discipline System is to protect the public and not to punish the attorney,” she explains.

Following the filing of an appeal, Purcell and her fellow panelists review briefs, transcripts, and the decision of the trial court, then issue their opinions, which are either unpublished, or published in the California State Bar Court Reporter.

“Our work differs from state appeals courts because we consider every case on a ‘de novo’ or independent basis. Appeals of our decisions are heard directly by the California Supreme Court.”

Prior to her role on the ethics bench, Purcell served as Kern County Superior Court judge from 2001 to 2008, and was the deputy district attorney in Kern County from 1989 to 2001.

She practiced with private firms for three years after serving a judicial clerkship with the Honorable Malcolm M. Lucas of the California Supreme Court. “The justice and his staff demanded the highest quality work. Fortunately, the education that I received from Pepperdine prepared me well. I learned much about the appellate process from the court that still benefits me today.”

When it comes to ethics, Purcell advises law students to develop their own credos. “It is not enough to memorize a set of rules and standards,” she says. “Students should strive to understand the purpose of legal ethics and incorporate that understanding into a personal philosophy that influences every action and thought.”

Brian K. Tester ( JD ’90)

Judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Puerto Rico

After practicing bankruptcy law for 16 years upon graduating from Pepperdine, Tester had participated in the legal process in every capacity—attorney for debtor, trustee, U.S. trustee, secured creditor, unsecured creditor—the only role he hadn’t taken on was judge. So, when Congress approved a fourth judgeship in Puerto Rico as part of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA), Tester jumped at the chance to don the robe.  19

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Adjudicating in an unincorporated territory of the United States has its challenges, however. “Puerto Rico uses the civil code from Spain, which is over 200 years old,” Tester explains. “The federal court uses the substantive law from the state in which it sits. Therefore, the applicable state laws were very different from what I had learned at Pepperdine. Also, the civil code and the state court proceedings in Puerto Rico are in Spanish. Therefore, my fluency had to improve dramatically and rapidly.”

As a bankruptcy judge, Tester deals mostly with Title 11 of the United States Code. In addition to the bankruptcy cases assigned to him in Puerto Rico, Tester was appointed to the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the First Circuit in Boston, Massachusetts, which calls on him to be part of a three-judge panel that hears appeals from bankruptcy courts in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island three to four times annually.

He says the key to being impartial is “listening with an open mind.” “Just because we are judges does not mean we cannot be wrong or persuaded,” he says. “Everyone deserves a chance to have their ‘day in court’ to make their best argument, no matter how wrong or one-sided the case may appear on paper.”

David Hoven ( JD ’77)

four years that he has been on the bench, Hoven says there have been many tough decisions. “A lot of times it involves some really serious soul searching on my part. Especially when we’re dealing with the lives of children, and both parents are good parents. I really want to get it right. That is my only agenda, to get it right, regardless of how anybody feels about it,” he says. “Occasionally I will contact more experienced judges to get their advice. That’s been gratifying because every one of them has been really open and willing to help in any way he or she could. We all want to take care of each other and we all want to help each other get it right.”

As a seasoned trial lawyer, including two cases he argued before the Missouri Supreme Court, Hoven’s advice to attorneys is simple: “Be prepared.” “I really stress formality, decorum, and civility in the courtroom,” says Hoven who credits his courtroom manner to late Pepperdine professor and judge Vincent S. Dalsimer, who taught Evidence and Trial Skills. “I still draw on the lessons that he imparted. He was very low-key, had a great sense of humor, and really taught us the way it is supposed to be done in the real world.”

Hoven is humble about his achievements, but he will say that he has signed his name more times in the last four years than he has in all of his other years combined. “Because of the volume of cases we have, I sign my name all the time, and I refuse to stamp it,” he says. “I think that people deserve the real thing.”

Associate Circuit Judge for Division Six in Franklin County, Missouri

Judge David Hoven has always felt comfortable in a courtroom. He spent more than 26 years as a practicing attorney in Franklin County, where he grew up, before he decided he wanted to view the courtroom from a different perspective: behind the bench.

“I had pretty extensive trial experience.

I did more than 3,000 jury trials when I was in practice, plus hundreds of bench trials. As much as I still enjoyed the practice, I really wanted to try something a little different,” he says.

Hoven was appointed by the governor in December of 2004, and was sworn in on January 7, 2005. Aside from wrapping up all of his cases, the transition, he says, was surprisingly easy. “I went from being a practicing attorney on Friday and being a judge on Monday. I had a non-contested divorce case at 8:30 my first morning.

I was surprised at how easy the transition was. I was comfortable from the beginning. Occasionally things came up that I wasn’t sure about, but I had a tremendous staff. I had five clerks working for me, some of whom I’ve known for almost 30 years,” he says.

Soon after stepping up to the bench, Hoven had to fight to keep his seat at the end of the term. The election, held November 6, 2006, ended in victory by a slim margin. “It was a wonderful feeling when I got elected. I beat a former elected prosecuting attorney here and it was a pretty spirited race. I won with about 54.7 percent of the vote.”

As associate circuit judge of the Division Six Court in Franklin County, Missouri, he hears everything from small claims and traffic violations to custody battles and serious felonies. In the P E P P E R D I N E L AW

Eileen Moore ( JD ’78) Associate Justice, California Court of Appeal

Justice Eileen Moore became a judge in 1989 because, she says, “After practicing law for 10 years, I thought it was time to try public service again.” The first role in public service that she alludes to was very different—that being the time she spent as a registered combat nurse in Vietnam in 1966.

“Young men wounded in battle often reached a hand up to my face to gently touch my cheek with tears in their eyes,” she recalls. “I’ve never forgotten how they just wanted to connect with America.” Moore says that experience greatly influenced her life and paved the way toward her legal career. “As a judge, I hold sacred the oath I took to follow the Constitution, conscious of how important our system is to all of us.”

Justice Moore was appointed to the Orange County Superior Court in 1989 by Governor George Deukmejian and to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three, in 2000 by Governor Gray Davis. “I am proud and humbled to serve the public on the bench and to contribute to the increased excellence and professionalism of the law by serving with numerous groups and committees,” she says.

From 1996 to 2000, Moore chaired the Orange County Family Violence Council, leading the community in its response to domestic violence. For her efforts, Moore was twice honored by the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

Off the bench, Moore is a proponent of lifelong learning.

After earning her nursing degree from the Women’s  20

Medical College School of Nursing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, her bachelor’s degree from the University of California Irvine, and her juris doctorate from Pepperdine, she went on to earn a fourth degree, a master of laws in judicial process from the University of Virginia. She has lectured extensively at educational programs for lawyers, judges, and even business students, and she is a current author for Bancroft Whitney’s California Civil Practice series, along with numerous articles on a variety of legal issues.

She recently sat in for Chief Justice Ronald M. George on the California Supreme Court, to hear a class-action suit against tobacco firms. The 4-3 decision, in favor of consumers, was announced on May 18. Justice Moore voted with the majority. 

Judicial Appointments Since 2006 David Barker Clark County (Nevada) Eighth Judicial District Court (2007)

Judge James K. Hahn Los Angeles County Superior Court (2008)

David L. Belz Orange County Superior Court (2009)

Michael Jesic Los Angeles County Superior Court (2008)

Tricia Bigelow California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division 8 (2008) Terry Bork Los Angeles County Superior Court (2007) David C. Brougham Los Angeles County Superior Court (2008) Michael E. Dellostritto Kern County Superior Court (2008) Kevin DeNoce Ventura County Superior Court (2008) Michael D. DiReda Second District Court (Utah) (2008)

Mark E. Johnson Riverside County Superior Court (2009) Judith Meyer Los Angeles County Superior Court (2006) John Malloy Riverside County Superior Court (2008) Dwayne Moring San Diego County Superior Court (2008) Michael Murphy 3rd Judicial District Court, New Mexico (2006) Cathy Purcell Review Department (Appellate Division), California State Bar Court (2008)

Don Franchi San Mateo County Superior Court (2008)

Stephan Saleson San Bernadino County Superior Court (2006)

David B. Gelfound Los Angeles County Superior Court (2007)

Susan Strong Lancaster (Nebraska) County Court (2006)

Jane Shuler Gray 5th Judicial District Court, New Mexico (2006)

Brian Tester Federal Bankruptcy Court, District of Puerto Rico (2006)

For a complete listing of Pepperdine alumni serving in the judiciary, go to law.pepperdine.edu/pepperdinelaw/2009/spring/alumnijudges.htm.

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How Mike Leach (JD '86) Journeyed to the Pinnacle of College Football's Coaching Ranks

from contracts to

coaching

by Emily DiFrisco

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It was a dark and stormy night. It was 1 a.m. Mike Leach (JD ’86), head coach of the Texas Tech football team, was a half-mile out from his house in Lubbock, Texas. He was walking his dog around a golf course, surrounded by lightning, and on the phone with me.

T

hese were the circumstances of our interview, but the scenario seemed appropriate. The nine-

year head coach follows the beat of his own drum and is affectionately known as the “Mad Scientist” by fans and the media. The name comes from Leach’s innovative techniques on the field, particularly in offensive strategy, and also his fanatical lectures and stories on everything from law to grizzly bears and pirates.

During his tenure at Texas Tech, Leach has changed the face of college football. He has led the Red Raiders to nine consecutive winning seasons and made them a perennial contender in the Big 12 Conference. With 11 wins and a high national ranking, last season was Tech’s best yet. Both their quarterback and wide receiver broke NCAA all-time records and were candidates for the Heisman Trophy.

At the end of the season, Tech shared the Big 12 South division title with powerhouses Oklahoma and Texas. On December 2, 2008, the Associated Press named Leach the Big 12 Coach of the Year.

Coaching staffs from across the country have traveled to Lubbock to get a glimpse of Leach’s offense—the most prolific passing offense in the country—up close and in practice.

Coaches, sportswriters, and fans have noted Leach's success, and this year he gained greater notoriety through in-depth profiles on 60 Minutes, ESPN, and in The New York Times.

The Mad Scientist is also known for having a nontraditional background for a coach. He is one of only six NCAA Division I head football coaches who did not play football at the college level. Leach spent his early 20s in an unlikely place: law school.  23

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Consumed by Law?

to figure out if I should coach or stick with law, and so I wrote him a letter. ‘Dear Gerry, do you love law? Do you hate law? If you had to do it all over again, would you go to law school?’ He wrote back, ‘Yes, I love law. Yes, I hate law. I’m consumed by law, and I think about it all the time. If you’re consumed by law, you’ll be an attorney, if you’re not, you’ll do something you are consumed with.’”

Leach was consumed with football, but he still didn’t know whether he could make it into a career. He graduated in the top third of his law school class in 1986. He was 25 years old and broke, so he delayed entering the workforce. “I decided to get a master’s degree from the United States Sports Academy. I also got another student loan,” he says. “I figured I’d coach two years. I’ve been coaching ever since.”

As a kid in Cody, Wyoming, Leach was always “a pretty competitive guy.” He explains, “My dad’s an overachiever, he pushed me. I’m the oldest child of six, and I have those oldest child tendencies. I became an Eagle Scout when I was 14.”

And he had his eye on the legal profession. “I wanted to go to law school, which is odd because we didn’t have any lawyers in my family.

My dad hated lawyers. I just assumed that’s what I would do,” he says.

Leach attended Brigham Young University for his bachelor’s degree, and graduated with honors in 1983. He came to Pepperdine

Yes, I love law. Yes, I hate law.

I’m consumed by law, and I think about it all the time.….

immediately afterward and experienced the typical first-year law student stress. Leach enjoyed the challenge of law school, but the idea of coaching was also percolating in the back of his mind.

Even his professors remember that Leach loved football. “It was clear when he was in law school that he was absorbed by football,” says Professor Janet Kerr, who remembers Leach drawing football plays in the margins of his legal pad during class. “He was very engaging,” she adds. “He thought very differently and creatively. I considered him to be someone who really enjoyed the learning process.” Professor Kerr later wrote Leach’s first letter of recommendation to get into professional coaching.

Dean Emeritus Ron Phillips was dean while Leach attended Pepperdine, and he has stayed in touch over the years. “He clearly thinks outside the box,” says Dean Phillips. “He’s a very bright, multidimensional person.”

Leach’s ties to football go back to high school, where he often rode the bench but loved the sport. “I was smallish (I got a growth spurt in the middle of college) and I was a fairly average player,” he says.

He wanted to coach youth football, but very few programs existed at that time. “They didn’t have those ‘put ’em in pads when they’re 6’ football competitions, which I don’t think are the greatest idea,” explains Leach. “The quickest, easiest way to start coaching was to start with baseball.” So he coached Little League baseball for five years.

He had stopped Little League by the time he came to Pepperdine, but he was still thinking about trying his hand at coaching football.

“I used to sit in the law library, and I would procrastinate by reading Gerry Spence books,” says Leach. “Gerry Spence was from Wyoming too. He was the legal equivalent of what I aspired to be. I was trying

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The Sand Pit and Other Techniques

Even though he never practiced law, Leach has never considered his three years of law school to be a waste. “I use it every day,” he says of his legal education. “Someone once put it to me like this, and I agree with this take. ‘You’re not getting a degree in memorizing rules; you’re getting a degree in problem-solving.’

Law school will teach you how to research, but your job is to discover solutions to problems. Now I’m in charge of 130 players, 10 coaches, an entire strength staff, training staff, video staff, and academic staff; there are plenty of problems to solve every day.”

One of those problems is particularly close to Leach's heart: the education of his players. When he signed on at Texas Tech, the football program had one of the lowest graduation rates among public institutions. Currently, they boast an above-70 percent graduation rate—the highest of any public institution in the nation. Leach is known for using unconventional techniques to get his athletes to study. He heard about one player who was failing a class, so Leach

…If you’re consumed by law, you’ll be an attorney…,

made him sit at a desk on the 20-yard line in the middle of February when it was snowing. Needless to say, the player’s grades improved.

Leach uses unusual approaches in practice as well. Since his receivers are nonstop runners, he makes them work out on a 40-yard sand pit he has installed on the practice field. “We don’t hesitate

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to put them in, roll them around, and spray them with water,” he says. Running in sand strengthens their ankles and knees. When they finish sprinting, they move to Leach’s tennis-ball drill, where they must catch tiny fuzzy balls fired at their chests at 60 m.p.h. The practice has turned many players into glue-fingered receivers.

But Leach’s true genius is in his strategy, which he first developed as the offensive coordinator for the University of Kentucky and Valdosta State University (Georgia). Prior to taking the helm at Texas Tech, Leach directed the offense at the University of Oklahoma, helping the program go from one of the worst in the Big 12 Conference to one of the best.

Midway through our interview, I ask Leach to give me some insight into his offensive strategy. “The tricky thing about offense isn’t finding plays because football has got more plays than you can ever run,” he offers. “The tricky thing is selecting and packaging.

You’ve got to make choices. I think law helped with that too. In law school, you don’t have enough time to study for the exams.

You have to make choices. You’ve got to be selective. [In football] I think it’s important to attack the whole field. Have as many plays as your team can execute at full speed without any hesitation.”

At this point in the interview, Leach is still walking his Jack Russell terrier (technically his son’s dog; he and his wife Sharon have four children). Leach tells me his phone is getting wet, and I wonder how long he has been walking in the rain. Before we hang up, he tells me about their upcoming season. “We’ve got a good group of players,” he says. “A lot of people view it as a rebuilding season, but we never view it like that. We’ve had a really good spring. We’ll probably have a little more depth than we’ve had in the past, and we’re all really optimistic.” 

The Verdict on a Playoff System As sports fans know, Division I college football is the only level that has the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rather than a playoff system. The BCS vs. playoff system is hotly debated amongst everyone involved in the sport, and Leach is no exception. “Right now, we’re just massaging the problem,” he says. “We haven’t solved it.”

Leach proposes a playoff system for college football that would give every team postseason play. “If I had it my way I would cut the regular season to 10 games. I would have a 64-team playoff, which means the champion and the semifinalist would play 16 games. I would also guarantee that every team gets 12 games. If you don’t make the playoffs or if you get eliminated, you play two National Invitational Tournament (NIT) games to help take care of the athletic budget.

“If you did it this way, the disputes wouldn’t be who won—whether it’s a team you liked or not—it would be indisputable,” he explains. “The debate would be over whether say, the 59th team was better than the 71st team.”

I ask the coach why he loves Tech and why he has stayed

…if you’re not, you’ll do something you are consumed with.

there (he recently signed on until 2012, but rumor has it that his job offers are numerous). “We’ve done better each year. Anytime you’re still climbing is a lot of fun,” he says.

“We’ve had good players, good coaches to work with, and we’ve expanded the stadium three times in seven years.”

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A Real

Pioneer Colleen Graffy and the World at Large

by Sarah Fisher

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On the last day of her four-year term in the U.S. Department of State, Colleen Graffy was singled out by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

In front a packed room at the outgoing administration’s farewell event, Rice called her a real pioneer. Even today Secretary Rice remembers Graffy as a "tireless advocate for improving America's international outreach. Her stewardship to ensure new avenues of engagement were opened between Americans and the people of Europe and Eurasia has made a lasting and positive difference," she says.

G

raffy served for four years as deputy assistant secretary of state for public diplomacy for Europe and Eurasia—a position that she was the first to hold. One of her main initiatives in the job was engaging in public relations for the U.S. abroad.

Graffy encountered an American public relations crisis, in which the U.S. seems to exist in a gray area between world leader and World Enemy Number One. As the only global superpower, America is often strongly criticized and has been the target of violent hatred. Yet the U.S. remains the go-to nation for help in times of international crisis.

“America’s ‘superpower’ status means that there is an insatiable desire to know more about what the U.S. is thinking and doing,” says Graffy. She used her role to help bridge the gap between America and Europe by creating a media center in the heart of the European Union in Brussels, Belgium. It gave the Colleen Graffy interviews with Sir David Frost on al-Jazeera television.

State Department the opportunity to define their own message in Europe, on Europe’s schedule. where she will break ground in another newly created position. Graffy “Building a media hub with television and radio will engage the School of Law globally as director of Global Programs, broadcasting facilities was a new concept, which has allowed based out of London, a city she has returned to time and time again. us to do targeted messaging for specific distribution overseas,” In addition to working closely with Professor Shelley Saxer, the Graffy explains. “That has given me probably the greatest sense of stateside director of the School of Law’s London Program, Graffy accomplishment. It was a great privilege to serve our country.” will be teaching and overseeing the program. She will also consider Her opinion was sought by numerous prestigious news outlets ways for the students to engage the culture. “My job at the State such as the BBC, Sky News, and Channel Four TV, and she was Department reinforced my view of the importance for Americans to often asked to weigh in on subjects that are difficult to define in experience other cultures at a deeper level than Tourist 101,” she says, legal terms when involving many different sovereign nations. before asking, “How can I help facilitate a greater immersion into “How do you balance civil rights and the right to life of citizens?” the British culture for our students? I would like to figure that out.” she asks, commenting upon controversial measures taken by Graffy believes that the benefits of traveling abroad are America to protect national security in the age of global terrorism. immeasurable. Students who have had an international educational “It is the most challenging international legal issue of our time— experience, “have a high level of self-confidence and a broader vision of what to do about non-state actors engaging in terrorism.” their world, and the opportunities therein,” she says. Not to mention With the closing of the Bush administration signaling the end of that in the current cultural and economical climate, with an increased Graffy’s term in the State Department, she returns to Pepperdine

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How do you balance civil rights and the right to life of citizens…

It is the most challenging international legal issue of our time—what to do about non-state actors engaging in terrorism.

Graffy visits elementary school children in Prague, Czech Republic.

Graffy prepares for an interview on Armenian television.

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emphasis on globalism, an extended time abroad is a definite positive on any resume. Says Graffy, “They stand out from the crowd, and are seen as proactive and having their act together.”

She would know. After earning her bachelor’s degree from Pepperdine and then a master’s degree at Boston University, Graffy adopted London as her second home.

There she completed her legal education at King’s College and the Inns of Court School of Law. She was called to the Bar of England and Wales as a barrister of the Middle Temple, one of the Inns of Court established in the medieval era to which all barristers in England and Wales must belong.

Prior to taking up her position in the State Department, she had been the director of Pepperdine Law’s London Program.

Facilitating the program, working with young people, and living overseas all prepared her for her job in the State Department.

As she returns to Pepperdine, Graffy considers how best to unite her experiences in Washington, D.C., with her vision for the future.

“Pepperdine is doing tremendous things internationally,” she says.

“My role as director of global programs will be to think strategically about what we should be doing in the future, and where, as well as how to enhance the superb programs we already have.”

One way in which she plans to expand the program is to explore making the London Program part of a specialized international focus. “Students might spend their fall term in London and the spring term in another country doing an internship or coursework or both—perhaps in India, China, Uganda, Rwanda, or other parts of the world,” says Graffy.

Graffy will be teaching courses on international public law, professional responsibility, and environmental law and will continue to nourish the program’s relationship with other law institutions in London and around the world, such as the University of Copenhagen.

“I am looking forward to teaching international environmental law this fall because the lead up to the next international agreement on climate change post-Kyoto will be in Copenhagen this December,” she explains. “Climate change and associated environmental issues are hot topics so I think students will really enjoy taking this class— particularly while overseas, as Europe is very focused on it.”

As she readies herself to travel across the pond, Graffy reflects on returning to a country she knew so well before her adventures in Washington, D.C. She remembers dining with friends in America after living in London for so long. She absentmindedly noticed that there were a lot of Americans in the restaurant, and had to be reminded that she was, in fact, back in America.

As she returns to her adopted homeland, Graffy will continue to find creative ways to reach out internationally on behalf of the School of Law. “I am indebted to my colleagues—Professors Gash, Saxer, Miller, and Popovich and of course our wonderful London Program Coordinator, Glyn Trevillion, who were so dedicated to the running of the London Program these past years,” she says. “I would like to build on the work that they have done to ensure that the London Program is available to all students.” 

Public Diplomacy on the Ground Colleen Graffy Writes about her Tenure in the State Department

by Colleen Graffy, Director of Global Programs For the past three and a half years I had the privilege of serving as deputy assistant secretary of state for public diplomacy for Europe and Eurasia. During that time I provided direction for more than 600 people overseas and worked with a staff of 30 in Washington, D.C., and a budget of over $200 million.

I was responsible for our public diplomacy efforts from Russia, the Caucusus, and Turkey up to the Baltics, down through eastern Europe, the Balkans, and all of western Europe.

My definition of public diplomacy is effectively communicating our values, culture, and policies to the people of another country.

Most countries are scrambling to improve their public diplomacy capabilities because they realize the impact that a country’s image has on its commerce, tourism, and ability to influence international decisions. The United States is both admired—and resented—and because of its superpower status, America’s public diplomacy is critical.

Little did I realize how much my previous position, director of Pepperdine Law’s London Program, would help. The position provided an excellent vantage point by which to identify some of the challenges to America’s ability to communicate. I felt the frustration, as an American living overseas, of listening to our country being criticized and not hearing a response from U.S. government officials for days—if at all.

Upon joining the U.S. State Department, in September 2005, I was motivated to find ways to get more U.S. government officials out, on the record, and particularly on TV where most people were absorbing their information. Empowering not just the ambassador but others at the embassy to do media was key—as was media training. Getting inside the media cycle, in real time, was another challenge.

The solution was to build a media center in Europe. Although London was an obvious choice, Brussels, as the center of the European Union, was even better. By setting up our own TV and radio broadcasting facilities we were able to interview the many U.S. government officials who came through Belgium for NATO, the E.U., and other reasons. With the birth of the “Brussels Media Hub” we were able to increase interviews by over 30 percent.

But public diplomacy is not just about media—I describe “PD” as two sides of a coin. One side is the 24/7 media communications.

The other side is the long-term relationship building. We build relationships between the U.S. and other countries through outreach

efforts such as cultural diplomacy, sports diplomacy, educational exchanges, and a new area that I introduced, called “green diplomacy.”

Cultural diplomacy includes people connecting through art or music. We hosted Gershwin music for a standing-room-only crowd in Moldova, a country western band concert in Armenia, and of course jazz events, which continue to be America’s greatest ambassador of all. We supported the cultural heritage of countries through a special fund that allowed us to prevent, for example, the deterioration of a church in Georgia.

Sports diplomacy can be used to break down barriers and help with integration issues. The U.S. ambassador to Denmark, a great sportsman himself, partnered the embassy with an NGO to teach basketball skills to immigrant youth in Copenhagen.

Educational exchanges probably make the biggest impact. The International Visitors Leadership Program brought Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and Nicholas Sarkozy to the U.S. at an early stage in their careers and created lifelong friends of the U.S. The U.S. educational system continues to be a big draw. I experienced this firsthand when I saw how a college fair brought together Cypriot youth and their parents from both the north and the south to learn more about U.S. universities. I worked to create an exchange program that reached out to even younger students—high school— through the Ben Franklin Transatlantic Fellowship program. This program brings together youth from new democracies in eastern Europe, American students, and western European youth to learn about comparative constitutions and how to use and identify credible sources on the Internet.

I launched “green diplomacy” for several reasons. Green Diplomacy is a way for us to help other countries, make friends, and tell the story of how much the U.S. cares about the environment—not only in our own country, but around the world. Our embassies engage in environmental issues such as water management, recycling, preventing deforestations, and many others.

Having traveled to more than 40 countries in fewer than four years, I am convinced that communicating our country’s values, culture, and policies is important for all of us—not just the U.S. government.

The task is an idea I will explore in my new job, as director of Pepperdine Law’s Global Programs, based out of London.

Visit the London Program at law.pepperdine.edu/london.

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Innovation at Work Jim Rishwain (JD ’84) Integrates People and Practices at his Global Firm

by Emily DiFrisco

In his tenure as firm chair at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, Jim Rishwain has made his share of tough calls. “As chair of a major law firm, you always face challenges,” says Rishwain. But the turbulent first half of 2009 has been far and away the toughest environment for Rishwain and his 900-attorney firm.

“The year 2009 represents the most difficult economy I have faced in my career,” he says. “In this economy, no assumption is safe. You need to be ahead of the curve and anticipate your clients’ needs.”

Pillsbury, which specializes in the energy, financial services, real estate, and technology sectors, is handling the tenuous times with new levels of innovation. One of Rishwain’s strategies is to build teams around clients and around substantive emerging issues. Pillsbury was the first firm in 2007 to institute a multidisciplinary subprime legal team in response to the looming mortgage crises. Recently, they established the Global Business Evolution Team to examine how their clients and the legal industry will operate in this new economy.

Rishwain is a high-energy person, who travels nearly every day to meet with clients, recruiters, recruits, media, and partners and associates around the world. It’s not unusual for Rishwain to fly from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., to Boston, back to D.C., to Los Angeles, to Sacramento, and San Francisco all within a few days.

The northern California native attended UCLA for undergraduate studies and Pepperdine for law school, where not surprisingly, his favorite course was corporate securities. “I knew I wanted to be a business lawyer,” he says. During law school, he was on the Moot

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Court Board and he was a note and comment editor for the Pepperdine Law Review. Upon graduation, he went to work for Gray Cary (now DLA Piper) in San Diego. “I was fortunate to land a position with Gray Cary, which launched me into the big firm world,” says Rishwain.

In 1986, he joined Pillsbury in Los Angeles. Now he is the worldwide chair of the firm, and he knows what skills are needed. “In order to lead a firm, you need to build trust, inspire confidence, and elevate performance,” says Rishwain.

Rishwain’s vision for the firm, which has had two significant mergers since 2001, includes operating as one firm moving forward and continuing to grow business, revenues, and clients.

Rishwain also counts corporate responsibility and work/life balance as top priorities for the firm, and proudly notes that because of the firm's benefits, Pillsbury was recently named in the Top Ten companies in the U.S. by Working Mothers magazine.

For young lawyers, Rishwain has this advice: “Always be prepared and anticipate the needs of your clients. Do not focus simply on the document sitting on your desk, but remember the client's objective and how you can help the client achieve their objective.” 

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explain to the minister of finance of Portugal why Portugal should not Barbara A. Jones’ resume is a lawyer’s dream. She has traveled the expect to receive the same concessions as Germany. This was in the globe, serving as counsel to investment banks, private equity funds, and other financial institutions, as well as public and private companies budding days of the European Union, and tensions were very high amongst the less-developed countries to be treated equally,” she says. in life sciences and biotechnology, information technology, energy, In 1990, after several years with the firm in Los Angeles, Jones telecommunications, media, entertainment, and sports. She actively accepted a six-month assignment in the London office. This led to represents Olympic athletes and authors on a pro bono basis. what would eventually be She is a partner in the law 13 years in London, where firm of McDermott Will & she headed the international Emery LLP, based in the firm’s capital markets practice. From Boston office, where she heads 1997 to 1999, she served as the Boston Securities Practice vice president and assistant Group and is a member of general counsel and regional the firm-wide committee counsel for capital markets with on securities and financial J.P. Morgan Securities Ltd. in transactions. She is also chair of Europe, the Middle East, and the American Bar Association’s Africa. In 2003, she returned to Subcommittee on International the U.S., relocating to Boston, Securities Matters, completing Massachusetts to take on her a three-year term that current role at McDermott began in August 2008.

Will & Emery. She is tasked One thing is for sure, if with enhancing the firm’s Jones is working on it, it’s corporate finance and private probably “a big deal.” Law is equity capabilities, and leading actually the second career for the Boston Securities Practice the McLean, Virginia, native.

Group. She is also part of the After earning a bachelor’s Jones addresses the Class of 2009 at commencement. firm’s U.S. cross-departmental degree from Michigan State Life Sciences Practice Group.

University, she began her As chair of the ABA’s first career in management subcommittee on International consulting, and later corporate Securities Matters, Jones management, specializing in also has to stay ahead of the employee and labor relations.

Attorney Barbara Jones (JD ’89) Closes Every Deal regulatory and legal trends.

“I spent a lot of time working “The financial markets on equal employment

by Audra Quinn have clearly evolved in opportunity and wage-hour recent years from a U.S.matters, so a natural next centric base to a globally interdependent market,” she says. “With step was to obtain a formal legal education,” she says. the change of administration at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Jones was accepted to both Stanford and Pepperdine, but chose Commission, we can expect enforcement initiatives to increase and Pepperdine, where she served as editor-in-chief of the Pepperdine new regulatory efforts to modernize our outdated securities regime.”

Law Review. “Pepperdine offered something unique—a strong Over the years Jones has maintained close ties to Pepperdine, commitment­­—no, a dedication­—to imbuing students with a sense where she serves on the law school’s Board of Visitors. She was of service to others consistent with its strong ethical base,” she says. recently honored as the school’s 2009 Distinguished Alumnus.

Her legal career began in the prestigious Los Angeles office of When she addressed the Class of 2009 on May 22, she emphasized Sullivan & Cromwell where she diverted her path from employment the importance of seizing opportunities. “When I left Pepperdine law to corporate and securities law. Jones credits much of her in 1989, I never could have predicted the course my career would versatility as a lawyer to her time there. “As a corporate attorney with have taken,” she says. “The opportunities I have had to work with the firm, you are expected to be a generalist and handle everything premier law firms and corporations across the globe astound me.” and anything that comes along,” she says. “It was an extremely The key to her professional success, she says, is simply intense and competitive environment, but I worked on some of enjoying what she does. “I thoroughly enjoy being a ‘deal’ the largest and most challenging deals in the world at that time.” lawyer—no two deals are the same; no two companies are She recalls, for example, being in charge of the privatization of the same. And the beauty of the law is that it continues to EDP, the Portuguese electricity company, on behalf of her client, evolve, so there is never a prospect of being bored.”  Goldman Sachs. “During one meeting in Lisbon, it was my job to

Relentless Pursuit

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From urban planning to real estate law, Ethan Rogers envisions a better future for city dwellers “Urban planning is an art,” explains Ethan Rogers (JD ’09).

“Engineers like straight lines, but urban planners like curvy ones. We’re concerned about aesthetics on both a micro and macro level.” From transportation and traffic to pollution, noise, and open space, urban planning pervades daily life in largely unnoticed but impactful ways.

Rogers earned his bachelor’s degree in urban planning from Brigham Young University, and shortly before graduation, took out the phone book to cold-call every city within driving distance until he found one that was hiring. He was picked up as a planning intern, then assistant planner, and finally city planner, advancing to the post in just one swift year.

As a city planner Rogers spent a lot of time with lawyers.

To successfully build or develop anything new in a city, urban planners must review the project and relevant legal documentation. “I had an intimate look at what these lawyers do,” Rogers recalls, “and I knew before I set foot at Pepperdine that I wanted to work in real estate law.”

He hasn’t wavered from this goal. Since beginning law school, Rogers has gained experience drafting planned development packets; resolving legal issues regarding general plan amendments, zone changes, variances, and subdivision entitlements; analyzing tax and liability aspects of special purpose entities; and more.

own expertise, and the power of persuasion, Rogers secured the first and only legal internship at Caruso Affiliated, headed by School of Law alumnus Rick Caruso (JD ‘83).

Caruso had a new vision and design for the historic but dilapidated Miramar Hotel in Montecito, California. As legal intern to the general counsel, Rogers worked to secure key California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) entitlements and satisfy the city’s requirements for development.

“Developers are sometimes viewed as the ‘bad guys’,” Rogers says. “But Caruso was really concerned about what’s best for the city. That ethic drives me as well.”

Rogers first explored how thoughtful planning can improve a city as an undergraduate student. He traveled to Suzhou, China, to research environmental, traffic, and land use challenges associated with China’s industrial boom, before undertaking humanitarian projects in India with Mother Teresa’s Home for the Dying Destitutes.

He observed a direct correlation between solid city planning and quality living conditions, inspiring his vision to develop a nonprofit organization dedicated to lifting Third World economies into First World ones.

Keeping his eye on this long-term goal, Rogers served as student chair of an 8,000-member attorney/student organization called the J. Reuben Clark Law Society.

Rogers helped coordinate international public service efforts as well as the annual conference for the group, whose purpose is to promote fairness and virtue founded upon the rule of law.

As Rogers prepares for his first year of work with the firm Greene Fidler Chaplan Hicks, in Santa Monica, California, he trusts in an old adage to stay focused. “Abraham Lincoln said, ‘Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.’ So I’m putting myself in the way of opportunity. I want to accomplish more.” 

Last summer he set his sights on working for the best real estate developer in Southern California. Through his support network at Pepperdine, his

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by Megan Huard

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fac u l t y W R I T I N G S  2 0 0 8 - 2 0 0 9 Roger P. Alford ree Speech and the Case for F Constitutional Exceptionalism, 106 Michigan L. Rev. 1071 (2008).

The Nonuse of Constitutional Comparativism by Inferior Courts, 76 Fordham L. Rev. (2008).

The Future of Investment Arbitration (with Catherine Rogers, Oxford University Press, 2008).

(Roger Alford & Catherine Rogers eds., Oxford University Press 2009).

Settlement Patterns and the Role of Third-Party Neutrals in Investor-State Dispute (book chapter forthcoming).

Yoo’s Labour’s Lost: Jack Goldsmith’s NineMonth Saga in the Office of Legal Counsel 31 Harv. J.L. & Pub. Pol’cy 795 (2008) (book review of The Terror Presidency: Law and Judgment Inside the Bush Administration, by Jack Goldsmith).

Richard L. Cupp, Jr.

Kristine S. Knaplund

Moving Beyond Animal Rights: A Legal/Contractualist Critique, 46 San Diego L. Rev. 27 (2009).

The Evolution of Women’s Rights in Inheritance, 19 Hastings Women’s L.J. 3 (Winter 2008).

Christine Chambers Goodman

Edward J. Larson

Robert Anderson IV easuring Meta-Doctrine: An M Empirical Assessment of Judicial Minimalism in the Supreme Court, Harv. J. L. & Pub. Pol'y (forthcoming).

etaining Diversity in the Classroom: R Strategies for Maximizing the Benefits That Flow from a Diverse Student Body, 35 Pepp. L. Rev. 663 (2008).

The Reception of Darwinism in the Nineteenth Century, 21 Science and Christian Belief (2009).

Prejudiced Results: Darwin and Race, BookForum, Feb./Mar. 2009 at 36.

Donald Earl Childress III omity as Conflicts: Resituating C Comity as Conflict of Laws, J. Private Int'l L.(forthcoming).

Janet E. Kerr e Creative Capitalism Spectrum: Th Evaluating Corporate Social Responsibility Through a Legal Lens, 81 Temple L. Rev. (Spring 2009).

Herb E. Cihak Direct Democracy in Political Encyclopedia of U.S. States and Regions (CQ Press 2008).

Robert F. Cochran, Jr. Lawyers, Clients, and Moral Responsibility (with Thomas L. Shaffer, West, 2d ed. 2009).

Faith and Law: How Religious Traditions from Calvinism to Islam View American Law (NYU Press 2008).

Jack J. Coe, Jr. Circulation of Draft Awards under the 2004 U.S. Model BIT in The Future of Investment Arbitration

Climate Change Implications on Corporate Governance and Enterprise Risk Management, Wake Forest L. Rev. (forthcoming).

Douglas W. Kmiec Nondiscrimination or Deregulation: A U.S.-E.U. Comparison (The 2007 Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention: Corporations: Is the U.S. Legal Regime Undermining American Competitiveness?), 12 Texas Rev. L. & Pol. 405 (2008).

Standing Still—Did the Roberts Court Narrow, but Not Overrule, Flast to Allow Time to Rethink Establishment Clause Jurisprudence?

(Symposium: An Enigmatic Court? Examining the Roberts Court as It Begins Year Three), 35 Pepp. L. Rev. 509 (2008).

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Biology and the Emergence of the Eugenics Movement in Law, in Biology and Ideology (D. Alexander ed., Chicago University Press forthcoming 2009).

Introduction to Charles Darwin, Origin of Species (Modern Library 2009).

Myth 20: That the Scopes Trial Ended in Defeat for Antievolutionism, in Galileo Goes to Jail and Other Myths About Science and Religion 178-186 (R. Numbers ed., Harvard University Press 2009).

Postmodern Developments in the Debate, in Darwin and the Bible: The Cultural Confrontation 117-129 (R. Robbins and M. Cohen eds., Penguin 2009).

The Legal Battle Between Creation and Evolution in the Classroom, Darwin and the Bible at 155-165.

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f a c u l t y WR I T I NGS  2 0 0 8 - 2 0 0 9 Samuel Levine

Robert J. Pushaw, Jr.

Thomas J. Stipanowich

I ntroduction to Symposium: The Supreme Court’s Hands-Off Approach to Religious Doctrine, 84 Notre Dame L. Rev. 793 (2009).

artial-Birth Abortion and the Perils P of Constitutional Common Law, 31 Harv. J.L. and Pub. Pol’cy 519 (2008).

rbitration Law and Practice A (with Roger Alford, forthcoming 2009) [Aspen 2005]).

Rethinking the Legal Reform Agenda: Will Raising the Standards for Bar Admission Through Minimum Legal Education Requirements Promote or Undermine Democracy, Human Rights, and Rule of Law? (with Russell G. Pearce), 77 Fordham L. Rev. 1635 (2009).

Creating Legal Rights for Suspected Terrorists: Is the Court Being Courageous or Politically Pragmatic?, 84 Notre Dame L. Rev. (forthcoming 2009).

Maureen Arellano Weston Shelley Ross Saxer

Lost in Translation: The Strange Journey of an Anti-Semitic Fabrication, from a Late NineteenthCentury Russian Newspaper to an Irish Legal Journal to a Leading Twentieth-Century American Criminal Law Textbook, 29 Dublin U. L.J. 260 (2007), reprinted in 45 Crim. L. Bull. (forthcoming 2009).

Louis Marshall, Julius Henry Cohen, Benjamin Cardozo, and the New York Emergency Rent Laws of 1920: A Case Study of the Role of Jewish Lawyers and Jewish Law in Early TwentiethCentury Public Interest Litigation, 33 J. Legal Prof. 1 (2008), reprinted in Jews & Legal Prof. (Marc Galanter and Suzanne Last Stone, eds.) (forthcoming).

Of Inkblots and Omnisignificance: Conceptualizing Secondary and Symbolic Functions of the Ninth Amendment, in a Comparative Hermeneutic Framework, Mich.

St. L. Rev. (forthcoming).

Goldman v. Weinberger: Religious Freedom Confronts Military Uniformity in Law and Religion: Cases in Context (Leslie C. Griffin ed., Aspen forthcoming).

Arbitration: The "New Litigation", 2010 U. ILL. L.REV. 1 (forthcoming Jan. 2010).

Justifying Wartime Limits on Civil Rights and Liberties, 8 Chap. L. Rev. (forthcoming 2009).

Preface: AALS Jewish Law Section Papers, 23 J.L. & Rel. 375 (2007–2008).

Emerging Applications of Jewish Law in American Legal Scholarship: An Introduction, supra at 43.

Arbitration and Choice: Taking Charge of the “New Litigation”, 7 DePaul Bus. & Com. L.J. 3 (forthcoming 2009) (symposium issue).

Faith in Action: Religious Accessory Uses and Land Use Regulation, 2008 Utah L. Rev. 593 (2008).

Assessing RLUIPA’s Application to Building Codes and Aesthetic Land Use Regulation, Alb. Gov’t L. Rev. (forthcoming 2009).

Banishment of Sex Offenders: Individual Liberties, National Rights and the Dormant Commerce Clause, Environmental Justice, and Alternatives, Wash. U. L. Rev. (forthcoming 2009).

oping Control, Mandatory D Arbitration, and Process Dangers for Accused Athletes in International Sports, Dispute Res. L. J. (forthcoming).

Anatomy of the First Public Sports Arbitration: Surprising Practical, Legal, and Policy Issues in USADA v. Landis, Dispute Res. L. J. (forthcoming).

COLLABORATIONS

Kenneth W. Starr rom Fraser to Frederick: Bong Hits F and the Decline of Civic Culture, 42 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 661 (2009) (symposium issue).

Our Libertarian Court: Bong Hits and the Enduring Hamiltonian-Jeffersonian Colloquy (Symposium: Speech and the Public Schools after Morse v. Frederick), 12 Lewis & Clark L. Rev. 1 (2008).

The Roberts Court and the Business Cases (Symposium: An Enigmatic Court? Examining the Roberts Court as it Begins Year Three), 35 Pepp. L. Rev. 541 (2008).

H. Mitchell Caldwell, Carol A. Chase, and Christine Goodman Unpredictable Doom and Lethal Injustice: An Argument for Greater Transparency in Death Penalty Decisions, Temple L. Rev. (forthcoming, Winter 2010).

H. Mitchell Caldwell, Carol A. Chase, Naomi Goodno, and L. Timothy Perrin Case Files for Basic Trial Advocacy (LexisNexis 2009).

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The Pepperdine Fund Helping every law student.

Bar swearing in ceremony, December 4, 2008

Your annual gift strengthens academic programs, enhances library and technology services, attracts distinguished faculty, maintains a quality learning environment, funds student organizations, and provides financial aid to students.

Visit law.pepperdine.edu/about/giving

he

Andrew Cochrane Memorial Fund The Andrew Cochrane Memorial Fund supports mental health costs for law students.

Find out more at law.pepperdine.edu/cochranefund

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Marni Byrum

1973 James J. Di Cesare, a judge on the Orange County Superior Court, was presented the Jerrold Oliver Memorial Award by the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association on January 10, 2009. The award is presented annually to a judge whose career reflects judicial integrity, compassion, and courage.

1974 Doris M. Felman retired after 20 years as deputy city attorney for the City of Santa Ana, California. She subsequently trained to be a touring docent for the Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach, California.

1978 James Henderson published the book Indicted! The People versus the Medical and Drug Cartel.

1978 Marni Byrum was recently awarded one of Virginia Tech's Alumni Distinguished Service Awards for 2009. She is an attorney in private practice with emphasis on labor, employment, and personnel law. She often lectures on labor and employment issues and was an adjunct faculty member at Washington College of Law at American University. She is a member of the Boyd Graves Conference and a master of the George Mason Inns of Court.

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Jeffery D. Palumbo

Nicholas R. Andrea

1980

Lance Bridgesmith

1984

Jeffery D. Palumbo was made partner at Damon & Morey LLP in Buffalo, New York. He concentrates his practice on a wide variety of environmental and real estate issues, including real estate development, land use planning, use and area variances, zonings, site plan and subdivision approvals, residential and commercial sales, state regulatory procedures, as well as various other real estate-related matters.

1982 Les Bowron has lived in Nashville, Tennessee, for eight years, where he has tried his hand at songwriting. He was happy to receive a letter that did not begin with, “We regret to inform you,” when the CBS daytime soap opera The Young And The Restless played his song “How Far Can You Run From Love?” on the air on June 4, 2008.

1983 Edwin Estes, Jr., has been named coordinator for the real estate program at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California. A California real estate broker and member of the State Bar of California, he joined Mt. San Antonio College in 2008 as a full-time faculty member.

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David DePaolo founded WorkCompCentral, a news and education resource for workers’ compensation law in 1999. He remains CEO and president.

1988 Matthew Fisk and his wife Emiko welcomed their son Kansha Samuel on November 16, 2008, in Tokyo, Japan. Fisk practices as foreign counsel at the Ishii Law Office.

Eileen Lavigne Flug lives in Westport, Connecticut, where she is active in local government. She is married and has two children.

1989 Kevin Fillo is the general counsel at Numonyx B.V., a semiconductor company headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland.

Dario G. Dalla Lasta works for the director of business affairs at Richard Frankel Productions, a company that produces and manages Broadway shows such as Gypsy, Young Frankenstein, and Hairspray. He also works as a DJ throughout the Manhattan and Brooklyn areas of New York City, New York.

Laura McFarland (SC ’86, JD ’92) has been promoted to senior counsel at the Farm Credit Administration (FCA), where she works on corporate governance, borrower rights, and other issues affecting the Farm Credit System. She resides in Fairfax, Virginia.

Jesse M. Caryl

1990 Charles R. Eskridge III and his wife Monica welcomed their third child Caleb Merit Eskridge on November 8, 2008.

Laura L. Smith has been named by the FCC as special counsel for the Spectrum Enforcement Division of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau.

1992 Ben Shatz was honored as the 2008 Lawyer of the Year, Private Sector by the Constitutional Rights Foundation for his work with the Appellate Court Experience Program. He continues to practice civil appeals with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, in Los Angeles, California.

1993 Nicholas R. Andrea accepted a position at Tressler, Soderstrom, Maloney & Priess, LLP, in Orange County, California.

Shannon McLin Carlyle has been named to the executive committee of the board of directors of First Green Bank in southeast and central Florida. She is a Florida Bar-certified circuit and appellate mediator and serves on the appellate practice board certification committee. The Carlyle Appellate Law Firm practices complex civil appellate litigation in state and federal courts.

Montgomery F. Moran has been co-chief executive officer and secretary of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., since January 1, 2009.

Scott Petersen joined the firm of Becker & Poliakoff, PA in Sarasota, Florida.

He was formerly with Kirk Pinkerton, PA in Sarasota. He continues to practice in commercial and real estate litigation.

1996 Corinne Miller Adams and husband Jordan welcomed their daughter Hailey Mckenzie Adams on June 11, 2008.

Kelly Lynn Anders recently published the book The Organized Lawyer. She is the associate dean for student affairs at Washburn University School of Law. She also directs Washburn Law’s externship and pro bono programs and teaches Art Law. Daniel Weiss and his wife Karina welcomed their second child Daniel Edwin Weiss III on November 17, 2008. They also have a daughter named Eloise.

1997

1994 Laurel Brauer was featured in the February 2008 Super Lawyers edition of Los Angeles magazine as one of the top family lawyers in Southern California. She is the president and owner of Brauer Law Corporation. She is a frequent chair, speaker, and author in family law for associations such as the Beverly Hills Bar, the Los Angeles County Bar, and the Los Angeles Legal Secretaries Association.

Alan Jay Jackson, a deputy district attorney in the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, prosecuted record producer Phil Spector for the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson. A superior court jury convicted Spector of second degree murder on April 13, 2009.

Michelle Alexandra Epand is a partner at Nixon Peabody LLP. Heather L. Mills has been made partner at Murchison & Cumming, LLP, in Los Angeles, California. She focuses her practice on defense of product liability, catastrophic injury, professional liability, and commercial litigation.

1999 Lance Bridgesmith has joined Miller & Martin PLLC, in Nashville, Tennessee, from Waller, Lansden, Dortch & Davis.

LeAllen Frost is vice president, assistant general counsel, and head of litigation for Saxon Mortgage Services, Inc. Brent Caslin is now a partner at Jenner & Block in Los Angeles, California.

1995 Robert Ming was selected by his fellow council members to serve as mayor of Laguna Niguel, California. He is also senior vice president and associate general counsel for Jefferies & Company, Inc., an international brokerage and investment banking firm.

2000 Jesse M. Caryl has been made partner at Ford & Harrison in Los Angeles, California.

Paul Kamoroff published the children’s book The Autism & Special Education Law Coloring Book, which is available nationally.

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David Sugden's book

David Newman and Amy Newman gave birth to triplets, Julia Evelyn, Caitlin Elizabeth, and Gabrielle Rose on February 17, 2009. Caitlin passed away in utero a day prior to delivery due to complications of an occipital encephalocele, a rare brain defect.

Julia and Gabrielle are now home from the hospital.

2001 Todd Chayet has joined the firm Tucker Ellis & West LLP in Los Angeles, California.

Michael Mandel was made partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP in Century City, California. His practice focuses on representing management in all aspects of labor and employment law.

Christopher E. Ng recently became a partner in his firm, Gibbs, Giden, Locher, Turner & Senet in Century City, California.

He practices commercial litigation.

David Sugden, a partner at Call, Jensen & Ferrel, published Gray Markets: Prevention, Detection, and Litigation (Oxford University Press).

2002 Dan Droog was made partner at Shipley Snell Montgomery LLP, in Houston, Texas.

He and his wife Julie welcomed their second child in February.

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Jacob Moss

Valerie Del Grosso

2004

Brian R. Iverson

2008

Lisa G. Rorman ( JD ’04, MDR ’04) just published the children’s book Freddy the Fire Hydrant Finds His Purpose. She owns an advocacy training business and lives with her husband and three children in Pebble Beach, California.

2006 Alina Amarkarian is an associate at Snell & Wilmer LLP, in Orange County, California.

Peter Leavitt and his wife Amber welcomed their daughter Eva Naomi Leavitt on April 24, 2009.

Becca Moss and Michael Moss had a son named Jacob on August 25, 2008.

Sarah Gough is practicing law with the R. Rex Parris Law Firm in Lancaster, California.

2007 Jeff cook is beginning a fellowship with the International Justice Mission in Cambodia after finishing a clerkship in Washington, D.C. Kevin H. Morse has joined Arnstein & Lehr’s Bankruptcy, Creditors’ Rights & Restructuring Practice Group in Chicago, Illinois. He previously served as judicial law clerk to the Honorable Thomas B. Donovan in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles, California.  38

Valerie Del Grosso joined the litigation department of Kummer Kaempfer Bonner Renshaw & Ferrario, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Melissa Dossey accepted a Pepperdine Nootbaar Fellowship to work with International Justice Mission in India.

Brian R. Iverson joined the litigation practice of Bass, Berry & Sims in Nashville, Tennessee.

Marcia Wallis ( JD ’08, MDR ’08) and Jennifer Azadnia ( JD ’08, MDR ’08) cowrote the book Girl Talk. The book addresses the real questions asked by high school girls from different backgrounds and demographics.

2009 amanda carroll accepted a Pepperdine Nootbaar Fellowship to work with Partners Relief and Development in Thailand.

Kasey Curtis will clerk for Judge Johnnie Rawlinson, U.S. District Court, District of Nevada, beginning this fall.

John napier will begin work with the High Court of Uganda, Commercial Division, through a Pepperdine Nootbaar Fellowship.

Jeff Wyss accepted an offer from Latham & Watkins in San Diego, California.

A l u m n i P r o fi l e

A Record Deal How Scott Tang (JD ’08) Became a Pop Artist and A Contracts Rock Star at Rhino Entertainment

by Brad Benham ( JD ’08)

If you’re like me, you spent your first few weeks in law school doing the following things: crying, reading the same paragraph 12 times, contemplating an early departure, looking up the word “tort” in the dictionary, crying, and most importantly, Googling your new classmates.

Who could blame us? Not only did we have no idea what we were learning, we also had no idea who the other clueless people were who surrounded us. As with all good generation Y’s—I turned to the internet. Google and Facebook helped us “meet” our new classmates, before we ever actually met them.

Through my investigation, I learned that Ryan Sorahan was a quarterback at Arkansas (mental note: try to get on his flag football team), Jonathan Cyr was an accountant (mental note: try sit next to him one day in tax class), and that ___________’s father owned half of Southern California (mental note: try to marry __________).

I can only imagine the surprise of many of my classmates

when they typed the name “Scott Tang” into their search engines. Our quiet friend actually had a huge number of YouTube clips, iTunes songs, and entertainment articles that revealed his career as a singer-songwriter and pop artist.

Entering law school, Tang had one album to his credit. Fast forward three years, and he has three full albums, a law degree, and a coveted job drafting and negotiating contracts for Rhino Entertainment, a Warner Music Group company.

Tang grew up in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, where he played music at a young age, copyrighting his first work at age 9.

His passion for music took him almost 3,000 miles away from home to UC Berkeley, where he experienced new types

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of music and musical theory. “My music world just exploded wide open because I spent every day being filled with all this amazing stuff: classical, jazz, world, everything,” Tang remembers. “There were a lot of concerts and talented, open-minded people. If you needed someone to perform your string quartet, you just had to ask your classmates. it was an amazing environment in which to study.”

Thanks alumni for participating in the Fourth Annual Golf Tournament Hosted by alumnus Barak Vaughn (JD '01)

Following graduation, he chose to travel for a few years while deciding which direction to go with his music. He even spent some time living in a Buddhist temple in Hong Kong (where his great-aunt is the head nun) writing songs and helping out with other volunteers. Although he’s not Buddhist, Tang enjoyed learning from the nuns, waking up to morning prayers, meeting short-term volunteers, and composing music.

See photos at: law.pepperdine.edu/alumni/events/photos

Eventually, Tang returned to the states, where he worked odd jobs in the entertainment industry. Under the encouragement of his friends, he began playing at open mic nights and working community musical events both as a performer and an organizer. “Community is a big deal to me because I think it’s so underestimated, especially here in Los Angeles. I really feel like it’s the most interesting way to create art and to put yourself out there, both individually and as a group,” he says.

Despite Tang’s success and growing presence in the music community, he missed the intellectual challenge he had as an undergraduate. After working for a few years, he set his sights on law school.

At Pepperdine, Tang studied hard and built community through the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA), serving as president for two years. During his third year, he interned at Rhino Entertainment. “We have a great externship office, led by Professor Laurie Serafino, and I definitely took advantage of that,” says Tang.

After taking the bar exam, he spent several months looking for a job until a position opened at Rhino. He now spends his days drafting contracts and working on the general licensing of the Warner Music Group repertoire.

He reflects, “I was lucky to have the mentorship of some Pepperdine alumni who are entertainment lawyers, like Jennifer Schaeffer (SC '98, JD '02) as well as the ridiculously large Rolodex (and heart) of Professor Janet Kerr (SC '75, JD '78) not to mention the constant support of the Career Development Office.”

His daily work is demanding and fast paced, but a quick Internet search will reveal that Tang still does what he did in small-town Pennsylvania and in a Buddhist nunnery in Hong Kong—sit down at the piano and create music. 

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Gary A. Haugen, founder, president, and CEO of International Justice Mission, gave the commencement address.

graduation May 22, 2009

24255 Pacific Coast Highway Malibu, California 90263

on the horizon 2009 

August 10–15

Mediating the Litigated Case, Malibu, California

August 19–21

First Year Student Orientation, Malibu, California

September 12 Step Forward Day, Malibu, California Crescendo Alumni Dinner and Show, Malibu, California

September 12–25 Armand Arabian Advocacy Tournament, Malibu, California

September 25

September 25 Taking It Upstream: Collaboration, Consensus Building, and Sustainable Development, A Green Leadership (Un)Conference, Malibu, California

October 5

Family Day, Malibu, California

Law Alumni Reception, Washington, D.C.

October 15–17 Third Annual East Coast Professional Skills Program in Dispute Resolution, Cosponsored by Vermont Law School, Woodstock, Vermont

law.pepperdine.edu School of Law

Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and the Law 310.506.4681

310.506.6567

Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution

Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, & Ethics 310.506.7635

310.506.4654

310.506.4611 310.506.4655

Alumni Affairs Moot Court