Full-Time Faculty A-L

School of Law / Law Faculty / Full-Time Faculty A-L

Law Faculty

	Michele Benedetto Associate Professor of Law BA, Santa Clara University; JD, New York University Areas of Specialization: Corporate Labor and Employment Law; Juvenile Law; Public Interest Law; Professional Responsibility Served as Judicial Clerk for the Hon. Napoleon A. Jones Jr., US District Court Designed Youth Outeach Project for San Diego Legal Aid Society as part of Equal Justice Works Fellowship Associate at Morrison & Foerster in San Diego Courses: Business Associations. E-mail: mbenedetto@ggu.edu
	Roger Bernhardt Professor of Law AB, AM, JD (Order of the Coif), University of Chicago Areas of Specialization: Property Development/Real Estate; Corporate/Commercial Author of Real Property in a Nutshell and The Black Letter Law of Real Property, two widely used student texts Leading authority on real property law in California Editor of the California Real Property Law Reporter Author of numerous books on Mortgage and Property Law Member of the California and New York Bars Courses: Commercial Finance; Property; Real Estate Clinic; Real Estate Finance; Sales. E-mail: rbernhardt@ggu.edu
	Allan Brotsky Professor of Law, Emeritus BA, University of California, Los Angeles; LLB, Columbia University Areas of Specialization: Litigation/Dispute Resolution. Recipient of the 1991 National Lawyers Guild Achievement Award Practiced in San Francisco with Garry, Dreyfus, McTernan & Brotsky Arbitrator for the San Francisco Judicial Arbitration Program and the American Arbitration Association Member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, American Inns of Court Member of the California and New York Bars Courses: Civil Practice Clinic; Trial Advocacy. E-mail: abrotsky@ggu.edu
	Leslie A. Burton Professor of Legal Writing and Co-Director, Solving Legal Problems Program BA (magna cum laude), University of Portland; JD (cum laude), Santa Clara University; LLM, Golden Gate University Areas of Specialization: Corporate/Commercial Law; Writing and Research; Bankruptcy Practiced bankruptcy law in San Francisco at Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin Law Clerk to Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Fulbright Scholar 2000 Taught at Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic Articles include "Toward an International Bankruptcy Policy in Europe: Four Decades in Search of a Treaty", and other articles on bankruptcy and international law Co-author of "Limitations on Use of the California Homestead Exemption in Bankruptcy Cases" Member of the California Bar Courses: Bankruptcy; Solving Legal Problems; Writing and Research. E-mail: lburton@ggu.edu
	Allan H. Cadgene Professor of Law BA, Stanford University; JD, Yale University Areas of Specialization: Property Development/Real Estate, Taxation Specialist in tax law, real estate development and the arts Lecturer on tax incentives for rehabilitation to the National Society for Historic Preservation Advisor to nonprofit arts organizations Member of the California Bar Courses: Property; Real Estate Transactions. Email: acadgene@ggu.edu
	Robert Calhoun Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law AB, University of Rochester; LLB, Yale University Areas of Specialization: Criminal Law, Litigation/Dispute Resolution Created and directed the First District Appellate Project Co-author of California Speedy Trial Law and "Waiver of the Right to Appeal" Served in the Peace Corps in Turkey Clerked for the US District Court Former Alameda County Public Defender Member of the California Bar Courses: Comparative Criminal Procedure; Criminal Procedure I & II; Evidence; Trial Advocacy. E-mail: rcalhoun@ggu.edu
	Helen Y. Chang Associate Professor of Law BA, University of Texas; JD, Southern Methodist University Law School Areas of Specialization: Public Interest and Human Issues, Litigation/Dispute resolution Has taught at Golden Gate University School of Law for more than 12 years Served as Interim Dean of Law Student Services for one year and as Interim Director of the LLM in Taxation Program Wrote the article, My Father Is a Woman: Oh No! The Failure of the Courts to Uphold Individual Substantive Due Process Rights for Transgender Parents Under the Guise of the Best Interests of the Child" (Santa Clara Law Review, 2003) Courses: Advanced Torts; Community Property; Criminal Law; International Criminal Law; Property; Civil Procedure; Criminal Law; Health Law. E-mail: hchang@ggu.edu
	Eric C. Christiansen Associate Professor of Law BA, University of Notre Dame; MA, University of Chicago Divinity School; JD, New York University Areas of Specialization: International Legal Studies, Public Interest and Human Issues Former associate, Latham & Watkins (London and San Francisco); practice emphasized cross-border corporate finance and capital markets Former foreign/international law clerk to Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson, Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Africa Author of Adjudicating Non-Justiciable Rights: Socio-Economic Rights and the South African Constitutional Court, 38 Columbia Human Rights Law Review 321 (2007). Author of Security Freeze Laws, Free Speech and Tenant Screening Procedures: Recent Legal Developments in the Fight Against Identity Theft, 30 Real Property Law Reporter 5 (Continuing Education for the Bar, California; January 2007). Author of Ending the Apartheid of the Closet: Sexual Orientation in the South African Constitutional Process, 32 NYU J. Int'l L. & Pol. 997 (2000) Former editor-in-chief of NYU Journal of International Law & Politics and NYU JILP International Citation Manual Member of the California Bar Courses: Property I; Property II; Constitutional Law I. E-mail: echristiansen@ggu.edu
	Mort P. Cohen Professor of Law BS, New York University; LLB, Brooklyn Law School; LLM, Harvard University Areas of Specialization: Public Interest and Human Issues, Litigation/Dispute resolution Consultant to the California Mental Health Association Member of the Board of Directors for the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform Author of numerous books, manuals, and articles Former trial attorney with the US Department of Justice Member of the California, New York, and Michigan Bars Courses: Civil Procedure; Criminal Law. E-mail: mcohen@ggu.edu
	Markita D. Cooper Professor of Law (on leave) AB (with distinction), Stanford University; JD University of Virginia Areas of Specialization: Employment Law Former associate dean for academic affairs Practiced corporate law, securities law, and civil litigation at law firms in Silicon Valley and San Francisco before joining Golden Gate Law faculty Member, Curriculum Committee, Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, American Bar Association (2005-07) Chair, chair-elect, and secretary of Association of American Law Schools Section on Teaching Methods (2002-04) Chair, vice-chair, and member of Committee on Ethnic Minority Relations, State Bar of California (1992-95) Member, Committee on Women in Law, State Bar of California (1995-98) Fellow, Kellogg National Fellowship/Kellogg National Leadership Program (1994-97) Trustee, National Urban League (1987-90) Member, State Bar of California Courses: Employment Law; Privacy, Defamation, & other Relational Torts; Torts. E-mail: mcooper@ggu.edu
	Rodney O. Fong Assistant Dean for Bar Exam Services AB, JD, University of San Francisco Most recently worked at the Center for Access & Fairness, The State Bar of California Former director, academic support programs, Santa Clara University, University of San Francisco, and Golden Gate University Former chair, Section on Academic Support Programs, American Association of Law Schools Author of Retaining Generation X'ers in a Baby Boomer Firm Co-author of Law School ABCs and Inclusive Teaching Methods Across the Curriculum: Academic Resource and Law Teachers Tie a Knot Recipient of the San Francisco Minority Bar Coalition's Outstanding Service to the Legal Community, 1999 & 2004 Member of the California Bar E-mail: rfong@ggu.edu
	William T. Gallagher Associate Professor of Law BA, University of California, Berkeley; MA, University of Chicago; JD, University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law; PhD, University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law Areas of Specialization: Intellectual Property Law, Litigation, Legal Profession Former partner in the San Francisco office of Townsend and Townsend and Crew, specializing in intellectual property and complex business litigation Extensive trial and appellate experience in federal and state courts, before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the California State Bar Court Lecturer in law and sociology at Santa Clara University for eight years, teaching Intellectual Property Law; Legal Ethics; and Business, Technology, and Society Recurring visiting professor of international intellectual property law at Vytautas Magnus University School of Law in Kaunas, Lithuania Co-founder, Collaborative Research Network on Intellectual Property Law and Policy for the Law and Society Association Published articles include "Ideologies of Professionalism and the Politics of Self-Regulation in the California State Bar (Pepperdine Law Review) and "Strategic Intellectual Property Litigation" (Santa Clara Law Review) Editor, International Essays in Law and Society: Intellectual Property (Ashgate Press 2007) Member, California State Bar Courses: Intellectual Property Litigation; Intellectual Property Survey; Torts I and II; Professional Responsibility. E-mail: wgallagher@ggu.edu
	Marc Greenberg Professor of Law AB, University of California, Berkeley; JD, University of California Hastings College of the Law Areas of Specialization: Intellectual Property, Corporate/Commercial Law, Litigation Veteran Bay Area IP and business attorney with 20 years in practice before joining the GGU faculty in 2000 Specialist in IP, entertainment law, and business litigation, as well as transactional work Published articles include "Reason or Madness: Copyright's Growing Pains (38 John Marshall Review of Intellectual Property Law Fall 2007, lead article); "The Baby and the Bathwater Too: A Critique of ALA v. U.S. (Syracuse Science & Technology Law Reporter Fall 2005, lead article); and "A Return to Lilliput: The Licra v. Yahoo! Case and the Regulation of Online Content in the World Market" (18:4 Berkeley Technology Law Journal 1191 (Fall 2003). Successful plaintiff's counsel in Meagher v. IAM, 856 F.2d 1418 (9th Cir. 1988) Frequent lecturer and panelist on IP issues; panelist for ABA IP Law Section conferences Member of the California Bar; Federal District Bar for the Eastern, Central, and Northern Districts; Federal Court of Appeals Courses: Content Licensing; Business Associations; Entertainment Law; Intellectual Property Law Survey; Internet and Software LawCivil Procedure II; Professional Responsibility; the Business of Law Practice; Legal Methods. E-mail: mgreenberg@ggu.edu
	Helen E. Hartnell Professor of Law BS (cum laude), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; JD (magna cum laude), University of Illinois College of Law Areas of Specialization: International Economic Law (Transactions & Regulation), Private International Law, European and Comparative Law Former practicing international attorney in Germany (Gleiss, Lutz, Hootz & Partner) and in the United States (Foley & Lardner) Taught at Freie Universitaet, Berlin; Tulane Law School, ELTE Law School and Central European University (both in Budapest, Hungary); SMU School of Law; Harvard Law School (Graduate Program); and American University of Armenia (Yerevan) Chair, Private International Law Interest Group of the American Society of International Law Co-rapporteur, Committee on Regional Economic Development Law of the International Law Association Has numerous publications on international and comparative law, including "Rousing the Sleeping Dog: The Validity Exception to the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods"; "The First Five-Year Span (1989-1994): Law and Religion in Post-Communist Hungary"; "Subregional Coalescence in European Regional Integration"; and "European Integration through the Kaleidoscope: the View from the Central and East European Margins" Member of the Illinois State Bar Association Courses: European Union Law; International Business Transactions; Private International Law; International Trade Regulation; Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. E-mail: hhartnell@ggu.edu
	Helen Kang Associate Professor of Law and Director, Environmental Law and Justice Clinic BA, Yale College; JD, Boalt Hall School of Law Area of Specialization: Environmental Law Former partner in the San Francisco law firm Goodman Kang Former Trial Attorney with the US Department of Justice, Environmental Enforcement Section Has successfully litigated numerous significant environmental cases Member of the California Bar. Course: Environmental Law and Justice Clinic. E-mail: hkang@ggu.edu
	Peter Keane Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus BA, City College of New York; JD, Southern Methodist University Areas of Specialization: Criminal Law, Evidence, Professional Responsibility Served as Dean from 1998 through 2003 Author of San Francisco's Handgun Control Ordinance and of California's Proposition 190 amending the California Constitution and reforming the State Commission on Judicial Performance Former Vice-President of the State Bar of California Former Chief Assistant Public Defender in the San Francisco Public Defender's office from 1979 through 1998 Former assistant professor at Hastings College of the Law Internationally known legal analyst for broadcast media: has appeared on CBS Evening News, CNN, BBC, ABC World News, Larry King Live, Nightline, Burden of Proof, MSNBC InterNight, and other news programs throughout the world Provides regular legal analysis on CBS television and radio in San Francisco From 1994 to 1997, he hosted "Keane on the Law," a weekly program on KPIX radio in San Francisco Member of California and Texas Bars Courses: Constitutional Law; Criminal Procedure; Evidence; Professional Responsibility. E-mail: pkeane@ggu.edu
	Marci L. Kelly Professor of Law BA, Vassar College; JD, University of Virginia; LLM (Taxation), New York University Areas of Specialization: Taxation Practiced tax law in New York City Clerked for a judge of the US Tax Court Author of several articles and book chapters, including "Financing Higher Education: Federal Income Tax Consequences" Courses: Estate & Gift Taxation; Federal Income Taxation; Property I; Wills and Trusts. Email: mkelly@ggu.edu
	Janice E. Kosel Professor of Law AB, University of California, Berkeley; JD (Order of the Coif), Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley Areas of Specialization: Family Law, Corporate and Commercial Author of Bankruptcy: Do It Yourself and Chapter 13: The Federal Plan to Repay Your Debts Author of "Property Disposition in Antenuptial, Postnuptial and Property Settlement Agreements" Practiced with Orrick, Herrington, Rowley & Sutcliffe Former member of the Uniform Commercial Code Committee, the Family Law Specialization Exam Writing Committee of the California State Bar, and the Board of Directors of Legal Assistance for Seniors Member of the California Bar Courses: Commercial Finance; Community Property; Contracts; Sales. E-mail: jkosel@ggu.edu
	Joseph Lavitt Visiting Assistant Professor of Law AB, University of Georgia, Athens (with honors); JD, Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley Areas of Specialization: Insurance Law, Torts Served as lead counsel to major insurers in numerous high-profile actions during extensive civil litigation and appellate practice, state and federal courts (multi-district) Taught Insurance Law at Golden Gate University School of Law, the University of San Francisco School of Law and Boalt Hall School of Law Taught Special Problems courses at Golden Gate University School of Law in Contracts, Torts, Evidence, and Property Published authority on issues of co-insurer liability Speaker on preventing housing discrimination and effective enforcement of anti-discrimination law Frequently appointed to represent indigent defendants on appeal in the California Courts of Appeal and the California Supreme Court Member of the Standing Committee of the California State Bar for Group Insurance Programs Master, American Inns Of Court Member of the State Bar of California Courses: Torts, Insurance Law, Seminar: Breach of the Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing; Special Problems in Contracts, Torts, Evidence, and Property. E-mail: jlavitt@ggu.edu