Law Alumni Profiles

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Law Alumni Services

A big-city mayor. A civil rights activist. A leading expert in space and aviation law. Deputy General Counsel for a large university. These are the graduates of the Golden Gate University School of Law. For the last 100 years, GGU Law School alumni have assumed positions of leadership in the legal profession and beyond. The common thread that unites them is their belief that the professional training they acquired at GGU created opportunities for them throughout their impressive careers. Thousands of Golden Gate alumni are enjoying vigorous and challenging careers across myriad disciplines. On this website you'll see a sampling of GGU graduates who have lived up to the potential that their degree allows and who bring pride to their alma mater.

GGU Law Alumna Justice Morgan Christen (JD 86) Nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

The GGU Law community is delighted to announce that President Obama has nominated Justice Morgan Christen (JD 86) for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. "I am proud to nominate this outstanding candidate to serve on the United States Court of Appeals," said President Obama. "I am confident Justice Morgan Christen will serve the American people with integrity and distinction." Read the press release. (5/18/2011)

Prosecutor and GGU Law Alumna Rebecca Prozan Prosecutor for Innovative Neighborhood Courts Program

San Francisco District Attorney Gascón has just launched a Neighborhood Courts pilot program that is the first of its kind nationally, and GGU Law alumna Rebecca Prozan will serve as prosecutor for the new program, which seeks to address misdemeanors at the neighborhood level, engage the communities where courts are located, and reduce the average cost associated with moving low-level crimes through the courts. Read more. (5/3/2011)

Robert "Buzz" Hines ABA Appointment

GGU Alumnus Robert "Buzz" Hines (JD 85) has been appointed as the Division Director of Division III-CLE and Programs for the American Bar Association's Section of Litigation. Hines chairs the air quality and climate change group at Farella Braun & Martel. (9/9/2010)

GGU Alumna Caroline Ferrell

GGU alumna Caroline Ferrell (JD 99) has become the Executive Director of the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment

ABA Roundtable Hosted by GGU Alumnus Matthias Berger, LLM

Alumnus Matthias Berger (LLM 02) will be hosting a roundtable at the ABA Annual Meeting August 6 at 4pm on the "Madrid System of International Trademark Registrations." (9/9/2010)

Amy Eskin (JD 86) - Golden Gate Named First NAWJ Landmark Sponsor Law School

The School of Law is the first-ever National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) Landmark Sponsor Law School, joining an array of major law firms and corporations that have served as NAWJ Landmark Sponsors. The arrangement, underwritten by alumna and attorney Amy Eskin (JD 86), will enable Eskin, who serves on the NAWJ Resource Board, along with one member of the School of Law faculty to attend the association's annual and regional meetings in 2010. (9/9/2010)

Alumnus Michael Robertson (JD 04) Named Chief of Staff at the General Services Administration

Michael Robertson, who directed congressional affairs for former Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign before becoming associate administrator for governmentwide policy at the US General Services Administration (GSA), has been named the GSA's Chief of Staff. Read more about his appointment online at Federal News Radio.

Simona Farrise (JD 93)

California Black Lawyers' Association Honors Alumna Simona Farrise (JD 93): Simona Farrise (JD 93), founder of The Farrise Law Firm, has received the David Cunningham Corporate Community Service Award from the California Association of Black Lawyers.

Warren Cassell (LLM 02)

Caribbean Entertainment Attorney and Alumnus Warren Cassell Publishes Book About Oprah Winfrey: Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law attorney Warren Cassell, who received his LLM in Intellectual Property from Golden Gate in 2003 and is widely known in the Caribbean, has written a new book, O'Habits: 40 Success Habits of Oprah Winfrey and the One Bad Habit She Needs to Stop!

Attorney William Gwire (JD 74) Wins $50 Million in Punitive Damages Against Oil Company

Alumnus William Gwire (JD 74) of Gwire Law Offices has won $50 million in punitive damages in Los Angeles Superior Court for a client in a five-year battle against Royal Dutch Shell. Gwire is widely considered one of California's top plaintiff's attorneys and is a Northern California "Super Lawyer."

Carolyn Drouin (JD 08) New Editor at Native American Law Blog

Alumna Carolyn Drouin (JD 08), an adjunct professor for the Law Advocates Program at Navajo Technical College in Crownpoint on the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, is a new editor for Native American Law Blog, a member of the Law Professor Blogs Network. She is managing attorney of DNA-People's Legal Services Inc., part of the nation's largest nonprofit native American legal services program.

Peter M. Corroon (JD 95), Mayor, Salt Lake County, Utah

BS, Civil Engineering, Carnegie-Mellon University
MS, Real Estate Development and Finance, New York University

With an extensive background in community leadership, residential housing, civic affairs and small business development, Peter Corroon was elected Mayor of Salt Lake County -- a county of nearly 900,000 constituents -- in the 2004 General Election.

Before enrolling at Golden Gate, Mayor Corroon established a background in construction management, and real estate consulting. He was drawn to law school because he believed it would help him in starting a business. While in law school, Corroon was a dedicated student who enjoyed every class he enrolled in. Corroon states, "Golden Gate University taught me how to think analytically, and exposed me to a wide range of diverse people and ideas beyond my legal education." After graduating from GGU, Corroon received a fellowship to work for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and chaired his local community council. These experiences drew him to politics.

Corroon has served as President of the Salt Lake Vest Pocket Business Coalition, a group of locally owned and managed independent businesses, and has also served as a Small Claims Court Judge in Salt Lake's Third District Court.

Corroon has a long record of public service. He was responsible for starting a non-profit affordable housing company to serve housing needs that were not met in Salt Lake City. Over the years he has also provided volunteer legal advice in Spanish to community members who had little or no proficiency in English. He served as Vice President of the Salt Lake Chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

Jacqueline Etil Serrao (JD 96), Associate Director, The National Remote Sensing and Space Law Center; Lecturer in Aviation Law; Certified Pilot

BA, English and Psychology, University of California at Los Angeles
LLM, International Air and Space Law, McGill University

Ms. Serrao is a foremost expert on Space and Aviation Law. Her depth of knowledge and experience is characteristic of Golden Gate's committment to internationalism. Her expertise has taken her around the world, from Mongolia, to Chile, to Mozambique. In these nations, Serrao has prepared comprehensive aviation regulatory and legal frameworks for their developing civil aviation sectors. With all these experiences, it is understandable why Serrao is listed on the U.N. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) roster of Aviation Legislation experts.

Prior to this position, Serrao was an International Aviation Operations Specialist at the Office of International Aviation, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Subsequently, Serrao was an Associate, at Chevalier, Allen & Lichman, LLP (CA&L), where she counseled airports and airlines, in a variety of capacities. Additionally, she represented local and State governments regarding a variety of Federal and State environmental statutes.

Before her term at the FAA, Serrao was an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Law at the University of North Dakota, Center for Aerospace Sciences (UND), where she taught Aerospace Law, and Airline/Airport Economics and Management. Additionally, Serrao developed the curriculum and taught Aerospace Law via distance learning over the Internet to students at UND and throughout the United States during her tenure at UND and, later, from Montréal, Canada.

Michael R. Ward (JD 96), Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP

BS, Biology, University of California at Berkeley
MS, Agronomy, University of California at Davis
PhD, Plant Physiology, University of California at Davis

Dr. Michael Ward is a partner in the San Francisco office of Morrison & Foerster, an international law firm, and founder of the firm's plant intellectual property group. With a focus on patent law and biotechnology, he has focused on intellectual property law since 1992.

Ward's practice is highly specialized, and as such, Ward represents Golden Gate's emphasis on developing practical experience and expertise. Prior to Golden Gate, Ward was a post-doctoral fellow in molecular biology at the Harvard Medical School and the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital where he worked on the Arabidopsis genome project.

Today, Ward's practice is tailored to his scholarly background, and consists of preparing and prosecuting international biotechnology patent applications and Plant Variety Protection Act applications, development and management of patent portfolios, performing patent due diligence, counseling clients regarding patent infringement and validity issues and assisting in patent litigation, patent licensing, patent re-examination and patent interference work.

In his current role, Ward represents various University of California campuses and the Salk Institute in biotechnology patent prosecution matters. He also leads the international patent, plant variety, licensing, trademark and litigation efforts for the California Table Grape Commission. In addition he coordinates the intellectual property due diligence, corporate acquisition, licensing and patent portfolio management for Exeter Life Sciences. He represents numerous venture capitalists in intellectual property due diligence matters.