Anahid
Gharakhanian Vice DeanCo-Director of the Externship Program Professor, Legal Analysis, Writing, and Skills Southwestern Law School
Our panel of attorneys will speak in the following order. You’ll learn about the many opportunities a J.D. degree presents and receive tips on how to realize your goals. Review the brief professional biographies included on the following pages and keep notes on any questions that arise so you can ask them of the panelists during the Speed Networking session.
1. Lucy Varpetian, ‘96
2. Dorna Khazeni, ‘22
3. Sam Abrahamian, ‘96
4. John Tehranian
5. Harout Dimijian, ‘13
6. Ani Tolmoyan, ‘14
7. Razmig Sarkissian, ‘22
8. Natasha Aminpour, ‘19
9. Vaheh Ambarsoomzadeh, ‘14
10. Chris Ghazarian, ‘14
Speaker Panel participants and additional guests will be available for you to speak with during a 55-minute speed networking session. You are free to move around the breakout rooms and introduce yourself to the guests and Southwestern staff. Ask them questions about their paths to law school, how they got to their current positions, or where they see their careers headed in the future. No question is too small! We encourage you to take this opportunity to learn how you can find success and satisfaction in law.
For your reference, speakers will be divided into the following numbered breakout rooms:
Room 1: Lucy Varpetian, Sam Abrahamian, and Arpa Keshishian (Government; Criminal Defense)
Room 2: Natasha Aminpour and Razmig Sarkissian (Family Law; Small Firm; Judicial)
Room 3: John Tehranian and Vaheh Ambarsoomzadeh (Entertainment Law; Academia)
Room 4: Saro Kerkonian (Workers’ Compensation)
Room 5: Harout Dimijian and Ani Tolmoyan (Big Firm; Transactional; Litigation)
Room 6: Chris Ghazarian (In-House Legal; Tech)
Room 7: Anahid Gharakhanian (Externships, Career Services, Admissions)
Main Room: Southwestern Law School Admissions and General Information
Arranged alphabetically by last name
As a Chief Deputy in the Los Angeles County Alternate Public Defender’s Office, Sam Abrahamian handles criminal defense cases for indigent clients. In this role, he has also had the opportunity to serve on the Los Angeles County Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council and engage in risk management practices as a Departmental Safety Officer for the Alternate Public Defender’s Office.
He is a 1996 graduate of Southwestern Law School and attended the Traditional Day program (now called Full-Time Day). He encourages prospective law students to enjoy the application period and notes that in law school, he was most surprised by the meaningful friendships he created.
Vaheh Ambarsoomzadeh, ‘14 Counsel, Intellectual Property, Netflix
Vaheh Ambarsoomzadeh has spent his career handling IP work for entertainment companies, joining Netflix after working in various groups at NBCUniversal for nearly 7 years. While at NBCUniversal, Mr. Ambarsoomzadeh advised on IP, copyright, and guildrelated issues for Saturday Night Live, Law & Order, Jurassic World, and other iconic properties. He also partnered with the company's business divisions to explore new ways of monetizing library content (e.g., NFTs, streaming, etc.). Mr. Ambarsoomzadeh currently works on the IP team at Netflix, focusing on copyright and chain of title issues relating to Netflix's acquisition of intellectual property.
Associate Attorney, Meyer, Olson, Lowy & Meyers, LLP
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Natasha Aminpour completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Southern California and received her Juris Doctorate from Southwestern Law School’s Part-Time Evening program in December, 2019. While at Southwestern, Ms. Aminpour felt incredibly supported by her professors, who truly desired to help her succeed in meeting her educational and career goals. She was a
member of the Street Law program and completed several externships at local District Attorney’s Offices.
In her current practice, Ms. Aminpour is an Associate at a Century City family law firm, Meyer, Olson, Lowy & Meyers, LLP. She focuses on high-net-worth family law matters, including handling issues related to marriage dissolution, parental rights and parentage, child and spousal support, and property division.
Counsel, O’Melveny & Myers LLP
Harout Dimijian, Counsel in the corporate department at the downtown Los Angeles office of O’Melveny & Myers LLP, is a member of the Project Development and Real Estate practice group and Aviation industry group. He represents clients in project finance, infrastructure and real estate development, and public-private partnership transactions. Mr. Dimijian has represented underwriters, nonprofit organizations, corporations, and state agencies in various projects including the redevelopment of the Central Terminal Building at LaGuardia Airport, the financing of several terminal improvement projects at LAX, the development of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, and projects with LACMA, the Broad Museum, the California Science Center, and various universities around Southern California.
Mr. Dimijian has also been involved in numerous pro bono matters, including assisting in the formation of non-profit organizations, conducting election monitoring, and contributing to certain racial justice initiatives. He graduated magna cum laude from Southwestern Law School with a J.D., earned an M.B.A. from the USC Marshall School of Business, and received his B.A. from Santa Clara University. He also serves as an Associate Adjunct Professor of Law at Southwestern, where he is currently co-teaching Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions.
Christopher Ghazarian is the General Counsel of DreamHost, a web design and cloud company in Los Angeles. His day-to-day work includes legal, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and international expansion, and he helps shape the company’s long-term strategy and goals. His experience includes managing operations in the EU and Asia and overseeing cross-border data compliance and cybersecurity.
Outside of DreamHost, Mr. Ghazarian helps his own book of international clients with corporate, M&A, and IP matters. He recently closed a two-year-long copyright
infringement lawsuit against The Weeknd involving the hit song, “Call Out My Name.”
On the side, he is an adjunct professor at Southwestern Law School, currently teaching Cybersecurity Law.
Mr. Ghazarian has been honored as a GC Powerlist attorney by Legal 500, a Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Trailblazer by the National Law Journal, a Top 100 Corporate Counsel, and a Digital Age Fighter by the LA Daily Journal.
In-House Counsel, Farmers Insurance Company
Saro K. Kerkonian is a Workers’ Compensation Law Specialist certified by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Kerkonian has been in practice for 36 years and is a member Law Offices of Scott C. Stratman of Los Angeles, California, where he represents Farmers Insurance Company in defense of workers’ compensation claims. He has extensive experience representing both applicants and defendants in all aspects of workers’ compensation proceedings
Mr. Kerkonian serves as an advisor to the executive committee of the workers’ compensation section of the California Lawyers Association. He actively participates in the CLA workers’ compensation section’s Publications, Community Outreach, Education and Legislation subcommittees as well. Mr. Kerkonian received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of La Verne in 1987, where he was awarded the American Jurisprudence Award in Constitutional Law. He is a founding member and past Chairman of the Armenian Bar Association.
Deputy Attorney, Alternate Public Defender, Los Angeles County
Arpa Keshishian was born in Iran. At eighteen, she embarked on her journey to America for a better life. Upon arriving in she enrolled in ESL classes and worked as a stocker at the Hallmark store in Glendale Galleria. Her initial foray into stable employment unfolded at Jackson Federal Bank where she became a Customer Service Representative.
Ms. Keshishian enrolled at California State University, Los Angeles with a major in Sociology and went on to receive her J.D. from the University of West Los Angeles School of Law. During law school, she volunteered for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and the California Attorney General’s Office. Her first legal position was with Richard Ciummo and Associates in Madera County, a firm dedicated to providing indigent legal defense services. She was initially assigned to represent foster
children in dependency and juveniles in juvenile delinquency proceedings and then moved to the trial team, where she handled a complex and serious felony caseload. She eventually joined the Kern County Public Defender’s Office and continued to develop her skills and take on more complex legal matters, eventually becoming recognized as the top legal researcher within the office.
Ms. Keshishian is currently a grade IV Deputy Alternate Public Defender assigned to the trial team, where she handles complex and serious felony cases. In her role at the Office of the Alternate Public Defender, she trains law clerks and new felony attorneys on the crucial matter of false confessions and provides insights and strategies related to the defense of homicide clients. Within her community, she is a tutor for School on Wheels, a nonprofit organization catering to the needs of homeless children, and actively participates in the Parent Support Committee of Tavlian Armenian Preschool and Kindergarten, where her children are enrolled.
As an AFPD fellow in the District of New Mexico, Dorna Khazeni represents indigent clients facing federal charges. Her clients' charges range from violations of the conditions of supervised release; weapons, drugs, and sex offenses; white collar charges; and immigration charges. Ms. Khazeni appears in court with clients at every stage of judicial proceedings. In the early stages of judicial proceedings, she may argue against pretrial detention or cross examine government agents at preliminary hearings. She learns the facts of each case by reviewing discovery and working with investigators to uncover other relevant information. She engages in motion practice, argues at hearings, and spends a considerable amount of time negotiating pleas. She notes that the federal system is heavily punitive, so her work involves negotiation for modified charges or lesser sentences on behalf of her clients.
Ms. Khazeni cares deeply for her clients, visiting them in jail and keeping in touch with their families. She loves meeting them and learning their life stories, even though some clients may be difficult at times. She values the relationship with her clients and notes that some of her work is like social work, such as attempting to find rehab placement for clients to get them out of jail when they are put there for violations involving substance use disorders.
Although Ms. Khazeni is frustrated by the how devastating federal penalties are, how inhumane jail is, and how little the system addresses the poverty and disenfranchisement that is often the root cause of her clients' problems, she finds the work engaging and is motivated to seek the best outcomes for her clients.
Razmig Sarkissian works for the Superior Court of California in the County of Los Angeles. He is a 2022 graduate of Southwestern Law School where he completed his J.D. with a concentration in Technology Law and Entrepreneurship. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2013.
Paul. W. Wildman Chair and Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School
John Tehranian is an academic, attorney, and author. He currently serves as the Paul W. Wildman Chair and Professor of Law at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, California, teaching courses in Constitutional Law, Copyright Law, Cyberlaw, Entertainment Law, Trademark Law, Intellectual Property, and Law and Literature. He has previously served as a tenured Professor of Law and Director of the Entertainment Law Center at Chapman University School of Law, a tenured Professor of Law at the University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law, and a Visiting Professor of Law at Loyola Law School.
Professor Tehranian is also a founding partner of One LLP, a 30-attorney intellectual property and entertainment firm with offices in Beverly Hills and Newport Beach. In his practice, he has litigated numerous high-profile lawsuits, including copyright, trademark and right of publicity disputes involving Madonna, Don Henley, B.B. King, Bettie Page, Jimi Hendrix, Winston Churchill and Perez Hilton, among others. Variety’s Legal Impact Report has recognized Professor Tehranian as one of the world’s top 50 entertainment lawyers, Billboard Magazine has identified him as one of the top music lawyers in the business, and he has been repeatedly honored as a Southern California Super Lawyer. Also active in a variety of pro bono matters, Professor Tehranian has regularly represented immigrants, civil rights plaintiffs and indigent criminal defendants.
A graduate of Harvard University and Yale Law School, Professor Tehranian has authored dozens of articles and two books: Whitewashed: America’s Invisible Middle-Eastern Minority and Infringement Nation: Copyright 2.0 and You. His scholarship focuses on the interface between law and culture, with an emphasis on issues of technology, entertainment, and race. In particular, his work explores the impact of the emerging intellectual property and cyber law regimes on technological innovation and artistic creation; the growing tension between ownership of knowledge and expressive rights; the link between cultural formation and intellectual property law; and the relationship between legal systems and racial identity.
Ani Tolmoyan is a Partner in the Los Angeles office of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith. She is a member of the Consumer Warranty and Products Liability Practices and the Class Action Practice. Ms. Tolmoyan works with high profile clients and has represented Global 500 clients around the country in products liability and general liability defense. She has defended several major public entities, including the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, and has worked on behalf of automotive manufacturers and distributors in warranty and fraud litigation. Ms. Tolmoyan’s experience extends to all aspects of litigation, including motion practice, discovery, and responses. This experience helps her counsel her clients on litigation avoidance and pre-filing strategies.
A 2014 graduate of Southwestern Law School, Ms. Tolmoyan attended the Part-Time Evening program and was a member of the Women’s Law Society. She also competed on the Negotiation Honors Program team. She held an externship with the Federal Public Defender's Office and a Federal Judicial Externship. Prior to attending Southwestern, she graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a B.A., cum laude.
Lucy Varpetian, ‘96
Principal Assistant City Attorney, Glendale City Attorney’s Office
Lucy Varpetian is a Principal Assistant City Attorney in the Glendale City Attorney’s Office – Transactional Section. She provides transactional advice to the City’s Fire Department, Department of Information Services, City Clerk, and the Human Resources and Finance Departments. Ms. Varpetian has extensive experience in all aspects of city government including legal support to the Civil Service Commission, the Commission on the Status of Women, and the Interagency Communications Interoperability Systems Joint Powers Authority (ICI System JPA). She also oversees the City’s legal externship program. Prior to joining the City Attorney’s Office, Ms. Varpetian practiced law at Meserve, Mumper and Hughes, LLP.
Among her various community leadership positions, Ms. Varpetian is the immediate past Chairperson of the Armenian Bar Association, and organization with several hundred members worldwide. She also serves on the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Judicial Election Evaluation Committee. Ms. Varpetian is a graduate of Southwestern University School of Law, and before that, of the University of Southern California.
Thank you for attending Succeeding in Law 2024!
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