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October 2024

  • Nathan Barankin, ’06, has joined Governor Gavin Newsom’s staff as a senior adviser. A former deputy state attorney general and chief of staff to Kamala Harris, he has most recently worked as a political consultant and strategist.
  • Jared Hague, ’07, was co-counsel for plaintiffs who received a $2.4 million settlement in an Alameda Superior Court employment law wage-and-hours case involving meal and rest periods. He is a founding partner of Sutton Hague LC in Fresno.
  • Jennifer Eason, ’92, and Kyle Tambornini, ’92, of Eason & Tambornini, along with Jason Marcus, ’08, of Marcus & Pulley LLP, Bart Mehlhop, ’86, of Mehlhop & Vogt, and James M. Smolich, ’85 of Smolich and Smolich were named to the Forbes Advisor 2024 Best Workers’ Compensation Lawyers in Sacramento list.
  • Morrison England, ’83, received the 2024 Wiley Manuel Bar Association Lifetime Achievement for his service on the state and federal bench. After six years as a Sacramento County Superior Court judge, England was nominated and confirmed to an appointment on U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California. His more than two-decade service there includes four years as chief judge.
  • Chris Nevis, ’92, and Dana Fox, ’85, led a defense team that won a jury verdict in a San Francisco Superior Court personal injury trial in which the plaintiff sought $36 million in damages. Both are partners at Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith LLP, the former in San Francisco and the latter in Los Angeles.

September 2024

  • Thomas Johnson, ’85, was named to the Forbes Advisor’s 2024 list of Best Criminal Defense Lawyers in Sacramento. A former assistant U.S. Attorney, he specializes in federal criminal defense and has represented high-profile figures in cases ranging from money laundering to murder.
  • Mark Potter, ’93, was the lead counsel for plaintiffs who secured a $2.23 million settlement in Los Angeles Superior Court in a class action wage-and-hours suit. He is a partner at Potter Handy LLP, which has offices in Texas and California.
  • Trevor Quirk, ’03, was the lead attorney for plaintiffs who won an $83 million verdict in San Bernardino Superior Court in a highway accident case that began more than four years ago. He is the founder of the Quirk Law Firm in Ventura.
  • Todd Ratshin, ’06, has been appointed deputy secretary for enforcement at the California Labor & Workforce Development Agency. He previously served as chief board counsel at the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board.
  • Alec Stone, ’04, has joined the Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP insurance group as senior counsel in Los Angeles. He previously served as assistant chief counsel of the California Department of Insurance.
  • Noah Schwinghamer, ’08, was co-counsel for a plaintiff who won a $1.8 million verdict in a San Joaquin County Superior Court employment law retaliation trial. He operates Schwinghamer Law, which has offices in Sacramento and Stockton.
  • Charles Wilmer, ’89, was named to the Forbes Advisor’s 2024 list of Best Workers’ Comp Lawyers in Mesa, Arizona. He is a partner at Cruz & Associates Injury Attorneys.

August 2024

  • Jason Holley, ’14, was cited on the Forbes Advisor 2024 Sacramento’s Best Criminal Defense Lawyers list. A former county and public defender who served at a UN international criminal tribune in The Hague, he has defended everything from DUIs to homicides.
  • Kathryn Hulse, ’18, Carolee Kilduff, ’82, and John S. Smith, ’90, backboned a defense team that won a bench dismissal of a failure-to-provide-reasonable-accommodations employment law claim in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California. They are partners and attorneys at the Sacramento firm of Angelo, Kilday & Kilduff LLP.
  • Kelly Knight, ’88, has joined Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties in Santa Barbara. Previously with a different brokerage, she practiced law for 15 years at one of the area’s leading firms before transitioning to the real estate industry.
  • John Mason, ’93, was a member of a team that won a defense verdict in San Diego Superior Court in a mortuary negligence claim involving a mix-up of corpses with similar names. He is a founding partner of Gurnee Mason Rushford Bonotto & Forestiere in Roseville.
  • David Nakamura, ’97, has been promoted to vice president and trust officer at First Hawaiian Bank in Honolulu. The president of the Hawaii Estate Planning Council, he boasts two decades of trust experience expertise.
  • John Ranucci, ’96, and his co-counsel won a defense verdict in a San Bernardino Superior Court in a fatal rollover accident trial involving a product liability claim. He is a partner at Ford Walker Haggerty & Behar in Long Beach.
  • Monica Safapour, ’09, was named to the board of trustees for the Casa del Herrero, a national historic landmark in Montecito. She is the regional president/senior managing director at the Northern Trust Corporation in Santa Barbara.
  • John C. Taylor, ’77, was co-counsel for a plaintiff who won a $13 million verdict in a Los Angeles Superior Court sexual abuse school incident trial. He is a senior partner at Taylor & Ring LLP in Manhattan Beach.
  • Kelly Williams Dodd, ’14, has been reappointed to the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board, where she has served since 2018. A Napa attorney, she is a former deputy secretary of legal affairs for the Governor’s Office.

July 2024

  • Matthew Carlson, ’23, Jorge Casanova, ’23, and Michael Della Maggiore, ’22, have joined Porter Scott in Sacramento as new associates.
  • My Tien Doan, ’18, is the new president of the Asian/Pacific Bar Association of Sacramento. An attorney with the City of Roseville, she has served four years on the ABAS board.
  • Alan Donato, ’09, is on the Forbes Advisor’s 2024 list of Best Criminal Defense Lawyers in Sacramento. A principal at the Donato Law Group, his experience in marijuana-related cases enabled him to play a significant role in state cannabis law reform.
  • Ryan Donoghue, ’21, has joined Murphy Austin Adams Schoenfeld LLP in Sacramento as an associate who will focus on business disputes, complex litigants, and employment law.
  • Heather Cline Hoganson, ’97, received the Saint Thomas More Society of Sacramento’s Integrity Award for her community service and professional work. She is a senior counsel with the California Department of Health Care Access and Information.
  • Andrew Graham, ’13, was named to the Forbes Advisor list of Best Divorce Lawyers in Oakland. A senior associate at San Francisco-based Schoenberg Family Law, his background in criminal defense helps him mediate highly contentious divorces.
  • Nolan Jones, ’15, was co-counsel for a plaintiff who obtained a $9 million settlement in San Francisco Superior Court in a dangerous condition of public property case involving a serious bicycle accident. He is an associate at Dreyer Babich Buccola Wood & Campora in Sacramento.
  • Andrew McClelland, ’08, has joined Hoge Fenton’s real estate and land use practice group in an of-counsel capacity in Pleasanton. Previously, he was a partner at Lunski & Stimpert LLP.
  • Summer Stephan, ’86, was elected president of the National District Attorneys Association for its 2024-25 term. She has served as the San Diego County District Attorney since 2018.
  • Vida Thomas, ’93, was named to the Daily Journal Top Women Lawyers 2024 list. She is the managing partner of Oppenheimer Investigations Group LLP. The Sacramento-based firm specializes in workplace investigations and training.
  • Thomas Weathers, ’93, has been appointed to serve as a judge in the Alameda County Superior Court. A solo practitioner in San Rafael in 2015 with a specialty in IGRA procedures, he previously was a partner at two Bay Area firms.

June 2024

  • Brian Andritch, ’98, was cited in the Forbes Advisor’s Best Criminal Defense Lawyers in Fresno. A former deputy district attorney, he is a solo practitioner at the Law Office of Brian C. Andritch.
  • Mariela Anguiano, ’21, Colin Nystrom, ’21, and Corey Watkins, ’23, have joined Porter Scott in Sacramento as new associates.
  • Doug deVries, ’76, and Raul Ramirez, ’70, were cited in the Daily Journal’s list of leading alternative dispute resolution specialists in California. DeVries, a longtime Sacramento litigator, has been a full-time mediator since 2011. Ramirez, a former federal judge for the Eastern District of California, is a well-known settlement facilitator in Sacramento and Los Angeles.
  • Sarah Kerber, MSL ’2018, has been appointed the California Government Operations Agency’s assistant secretary for business transformation and strategic development. She previously served as a senior manager at the Sacramento Regional Transit District.
  • Mark Krausse, ’95, has been appointed to the California Public Employment Relations Board. He has served as the director of state agency relations for Pacific Gas & Electric since 2007.
  • Tre Lovell, ’92, was named to the Daily Journal’s Top 100 Intellectual Property Lawyers of 2024. A principal at The Lovell Firm APLC in Los Angeles, his focus on endorsements and copyright has brought him into cases involving high-profile celebrities, including Justin Bieber and Kevin O’Leary. Stephanie Meaglia, ’23, has joined Krogh & Decker as an associate in Sacramento, where she has clerked since 2022.
  • Randall Miller, ’84, was named to the Daily Journal’s Top 30 Professional Responsibility Lawyers in California. A legal malpractice specialist and principal at Miller Law Associates in Los Angeles, he represents attorneys facing State Bar charges and was involved in the John Eastman election interference case.
  • Andres Perez, ’96, was a member of a plaintiff team that obtained a $2.25 million settlement for the state in Alameda County Superior Court against an elder care facility operator for elder abuse. He is a deputy district attorney in Marin County.
  • Julie Ann Shepard, ’94, was named to the Daily Journal’s Top 100 Intellectual Property Lawyers list. A partner at Jenner & Block LLP in Los Angeles, her recent victories include winning judgments of $51.6 million for a group of major film studios and $52.5 million for a jilted film investor.
  • Kristopher Young, ’01, has been appointed to a judgeship on the San Diego County Superior Court. He has served as a supervising deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, since 2010.

May 2024

  • Beth Appelsmith, ’86, and Camille Hemmer, ’83, two veteran family law attorneys, were named to the Forbes Advisor list of Best Divorce Lawyers in Sacramento. The former has carved out a niche as a lawyer who focuses entirely on collaborative divorce and mediation, and the latter is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers who was recently honored for her pro bono work.
  • Dena Coggins, ’07, was confirmed to the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, by the U.S. Senate. The Sacramento County Superior Court judge will take her seat on the federal bench in September when Chief Judge Kimberly Mueller takes senior status.
  • Erin Hallissy, ’95, was named co-managing partner of her new firm, Schonbuch Hallissy LLP, in Brentwood. A former partner with Daniels Fine et al., she is a veteran civil defense trial attorney who has handled a wide variety of major personal injury cases.
  • Doreen Spears Hartwell, ’00, was honored as a “Nevada Trailblazer” by the State Bar of Nevada. A partner at Hartwell Thalacker Ltd. in Las Vegas, she has won numerous awards over her 23-year career for civic leadership and pro bono service, including the Clark County Law Foundation Liberty Bell Award.
  • David Hayek, ’89, has joined Hinshaw & Culbertson as a partner in Los Angeles from Gordon Rees. He represents domestic insurers, syndicates, and consortiums in the London and European insurance markets.
  • Amy Holliday, ’97, has been appointed to serve as a judge of the Sacramento County Superior Court. The governor’s appointment allows her to immediately assume the position she was otherwise elected to begin in January 2025.
  • David Piper, ’95, has joined Stradley Ronon as a partner in Long Beach from Keesal, Young & Logan. He brings more than three decades of experience in advising individuals and global companies in commercial disputes.
  • Marshall Silberberg, ’73, was named to the Forbes Advisor Best Car Accident Lawyers in Irvine. He has represented clients and their families in personal injury and medical malpractice cases for the past 50 years with notable success.
  • John C. Taylor, ’77, was co-counsel for a plaintiff who won a $35 million verdict in Los Angeles Superior Court and another plaintiff who won a $35 million verdict in Santa Barbara Superior Court in two different school sexual abuse cases. He is a partner at Taylor & Ring in Manhattan Beach.
  • Curtis Vandermolen, ’20, has joined Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann & Girard as an associate in Sacramento, where he brings a decade of experience in public policy work to his focus on federal Indian law.

April 2024

  • Gina Anderson, ’04, was named the interim police chief of the City of Pleasanton. She previously served as the police chief of the City of Newark for the past four years.
  • Michael Bowman, ’88, was honored as Judge of the Year at the Sacramento County Bar Association’s 2024 Bench Bar Reception. Appointed to the bench in 2013, he recently completed two years of service as presiding judge of the Sacramento Superior Court.
  • Mark Dawson, ’93, and his defense team won a Santa Clara County Superior Court verdict in a case involving alleged intentional infliction of emotional distress. He is a principal at the Dawson Law Offices in Pleasant Hill.
  • Stacey Grassini, ’91, Adam Kook, ’12, and Andres Perez, ’96, were among a 10-member group of deputy district attorneys who obtained a $1.5 million settlement for the state in an environmental law strict liability case that was heard in Stockton. The three prosecutors represented San Joaquin, Contra Costa, Fresno, and Marin counties, respectively.
  • Robert Green, ’84, won a $5.5 million settlement in a Los Angeles Superior Court breach-of-contracts, declaratory relief case that spanned a decade. He is a partner at Green & Noblin PC in Tiburon. Scott Hyman, ’90, has joined Womble Bond Dickinson in Irvine as a partner. Most recently, a partner at Severson & Werson, he brings three decades of experience representing banks and other financial institutions.
  • Nicole Hisatomi, ’22, was appointed deputy secretary of legislation at the California Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. She previously served as a deputy legislative commissioner at the state Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.
  • Tatum Kennedy, ’20, was installed as president of The Barristers Club of Sacramento, a professional organization for young attorneys in the capital area. She is an associate at Delfino Madden O’Malley Coyle & Koewler.
  • Jacqueline Roberts, ’13, has been appointed by the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors as the new county Counsel. She has worked in that office for six years, most recently as interim county counsel. Curtis Vandermolen, ’20, has joined Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann & Girard as an associate in Sacramento, where he brings a decade of experience in public policy work to his focus on federal Indian law.
  • Robert Vaage, ’82, was cited among the Forbes Advisor Best Personal Injury Lawyers in San Diego. The founder of Vaage Law, he has four decades of experience in major wrongful death, medical malpractice, and medical fraud cases.

March 2024

  • Paul Bacigalupo, ’87, has joined ADR Services panel of neutrals. A former president of the California Judges Association, he served as a judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court for 22 years before his recent retirement.
  • Sue Bajwa, ’92, has been named vice president at NorthBay Health, a Solano County medical/hospital organization. Previously, she worked for more than 20 years in private practice and was a partner in a civil litigation firm in the East Bay.
  • Shay Billington, ’15, has been promoted to senior counsel at CDF Labor Law’s Sacramento office, where she defends companies against wage-and-hour class actions and single-plaintiff claims involving employment-related torts.
  • Kevin Cheng, ’07, has been appointed to the Dental Board of California. He is the director of construction at the City of Hope, a major national cancer research center headquartered in Duarte.
  • Paul Clark, ’96, has been named the executive director of the San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau. A cattle rancher, he is a partner at Clark, Cali & Negranti in Paso Robles.
  • Dena Coggins,’07, has been nominated by President Biden to fill a future vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. A former administrative law judge, she has served as judge of the Sacramento County Superior Court for three years.
  • Peter Devencenzi,’09, won a judgeship in San Joaquin County, garnering more than 50 percent of the vote in a two-way race. After beginning his career as a civil attorney, he switched to the criminal side and has served more than a decade as a prosecutor in the county district attorney’s office.
  • Amy Holliday,’97, was elected to the Sacramento County bench, picking up the majority of votes in a race against two fellow alums. She is an assistant chief deputy at the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.
  • Lawrence Marks, ’90, was co-counsel for a plaintiff who won a $61.8 million verdict in a Los Angeles County Superior Court wrongful-death auto accident case. He is a senior attorney at Mardirossian Akaragian LLP in Los Angeles.
  • Sean McGah, ’09, was promoted to partner at Manning Gross + Massenburg LLP in Irvine. He dedicates his practice to multi-party complex litigation, with a primary focus on asbestos and talc litigation.
  • Cole McKnight,’07, was unopposed in a race for an open seat on the Kern County Superior Court judgeship. He is a veteran prosecutor in the Kern County District Attorney’s office.
  • Winston Moody, ’14, was listed among Forbes Advisor ‘s Top 10 Personal Injury Lawyers in Oakland. He is a partner with Gwilliam Ivary Chiosso Cavalli & Brewer APC.
  • Christine Suk Hi Dehr, ’04, has been appointed as a commissioner of the Placer County Superior Court, where she has served as a senior legal research attorney for the past 12 years.
  • April Van Dyke,’10, ousted an incumbent judge in a Humboldt County contest. She has worked for more than 13 years as a public defender in several state counties.
  • Connor Worden, ’16, has been hired as the City of Goleta’s new community resource deputy. He had a three-year stint with the Santa Barbara County Sherriff’s Office after beginning his legal career in the U.S. Marines JAG Corps.

February 2024

  • Julie Capell, ’03, was elected partner in charge of the Los Angeles and Culver City offices of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. She specializes in defending employers in all facets of employment litigation.
  • Dana Caudill, ’93, was appointed to a judgeship on the Ventura County Superior Court by Governor Gavin Newsom. A longtime defense lawyer, she has been a trial attorney, supervising attorney, and managing attorney with the Los Angeles office of Farmers Insurance.
  • Gregory Fayard, ’00, was on a defense team that won a summary judgment in Solano County Superior Court in a product liability case involving a serious golf cart accident. He is a partner at Cardinale Fayard APLC in Sacramento.
  • Daniel Glass, ’88, was installed as president of the Capitol City Trial Lawyers Association. He is a principal at the Law Office of Daniel S. Glass in Sacramento.
  • Robyn Hosmer, ’90, has joined Nationwide Insurance’s trial division as managing trial attorney for its Sacramento staff counsel office, bringing her extensive expertise in litigating complex matters on behalf of individual and corporate defendants.
  • Betty Julian, ’02, received the Stanislaus County Commission for Women’s 2024 Outstanding Woman Award. A state-certified family law specialist and the co-chair of McCormick Barstow LLP’s Modesto office, she was honored for her extensive volunteer community service.
  • John P. Kelley, ’93, won a defense verdict as co-counsel in a Shasta County Superior Court personal injury trial in which the plaintiff sought $6.7 million in damages. He is a partner at Morgan & Kelley in Redding.
  • Kelley Mahoney, ’11, was promoted to partner at Manning Gross + Massenburg LLP in San Francisco, where she concentrates her practice on general, product, toxic tort, and premises liability.
  • Gael G. Mueller, ’85, is serving as adjunct professor at San Luis Obispo College of the Law, which is affiliated with the Monterey College of Law group. She brings 30 years of experience as a criminal defense attorney to the legal education classroom.
  • Gary Nelson, ’86, was cited in the Forbes Advisor Best Personal Injury Attorneys in Stockton category. A principal at the Law Office of Gary Nelson in Modesto, his 36 years of legal experience includes a specialty in workers’ compensation representation.
  • Alissa Pleau-Fuller, ’08, was a member of a defense team that received a summary judgment in a U.S. District Court, Southern District of California case involving an alleged breach of contract. She is senior counsel at Buchalter APC in Sacramento.
  • Tom Richard, ’92, was appointed to the board of directors of the Goodnation Foundation, a major philanthropic organization headquartered in New York. A senior counsel at RTGR Law LLP in Oakland, he is also the managing director of Dignity Fund.
  • Douglas Ropel, ’14, has been promoted to shareholder at Littler Mendelson PC in Sacramento, where he advises and represents employers in a wide range of labor and employment matters.
  • Jamie Taylor, ’17, has been named DEI director at the California State Senate. He brings 28 years of experience in political, legislative, and community affairs to the post, most recently serving as director of the Senate Fellows program.

January 2024

  • Sarah Aghassi, ’99, was named San Diego County’s interim chief administrative officer. She has worked for 18 years in several key roles for California’s second-largest county.
  • Lori Costanzo, ’88, made the Forbes Advisor top 10 list of Best Personal Injury Lawyers in San Jose. Her Costanzo Law Firm provides a wide variety of legal services, including mediation.
  • Becky Diel, '14, was installed as the president of the San Joaquin County Bar Association. She is a partner at McKinley, Conger, Jolley & Galarneau LLP in Stockton.
  • Barry Fadem, ’79, co-authored a book, “Revolution Road Trip,” about a fateful journey by four friends to Eastern Europe in 1990 as the Iron Curtain fell. A Lafayette attorney, he is an expert consultant on state initiatives and referendums, and campaign and election law.
  • Sonia Fernandes, ’04, led a plaintiff team that obtained a $50 million settlement to conclude an investigation of a major corporation’s behavioral health care services. She is the deputy director and chief counsel for the California Department of Managed Health Care’s Office of Enforcement.
  • Christian Herrmann, ’02, has joined Nelson Mullins as a partner in Greenville, South Carolina, where his practice includes advising companies on managing corporate immigration programs. He was previously with Ogletree Deakins.
  • Amy O’Neill, ’13, was promoted to partner at the Sacramento office of King & Spaulding LLP, where she focuses her practice on representing healthcare clients in complex litigation and arbitration.
  • Jacklin Rad, ’03, has joined Fisher Phillips as a partner in its Los Angeles office. Her previous experience includes working for a national labor and employment firm and serving as a senior deputy with the California Labor Commissioner’s Office.
  • Aaron Ralph, ’04, was promoted to partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in Los Angeles, where he helps government contractors and grant recipients with compliance obligations and concerns.
  • Brian Schall, ’11, was a member of a plaintiff team that obtained an $11 million settlement in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, in a securities fraud case. He is a principal at The Schall Law Firm in Los Angeles.
  • Daniel Zerga, ’23, has joined Parker & Covert LLP as an associate in its Sacramento office, where he will work in the firm’s large education law group that represents school districts, community colleges, and other clients.

In Memoriam

  • James W. Chin, ’78, died at the age of 81 on August 4, 2024, in Sacramento. He practiced law for two decades, was a property manager, and was also known as a general contractor who taught electrical, plumbing, cement work, and auto mechanics classes.
  • H. Vincent Jacobs, ’71, died at the age of 81 on October 20, 2024, in Davis. He was a founding partner of Hiroshima, Jacobs, Roth & Lewis, a prominent Sacramento firm where he spent more than 30 years of his 46-year legal career before turning to mediation as a private judge.
  • Edward EJ Gladding,’03, died at the age of 48 on September 24, 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee. He enjoyed an illustrious career in the U.S. Army JAG Corps, serving all over the country and internationally, including a stint representing the military’s most sensitive cases as a special victims counsel.
  • Frank Urias, ’68, died at the age of 88 on August 25, 2024, in Oxnard. The son of migrant farmworkers, he was a passionate workers’ comp attorney who became a founding member of the Mexican American Bar Association of Ventura County.
  • Robert Collins, ’72, died at the age of 76 on September 6, 2024, in Sacramento. A prominent real estate attorney, he worked for several firms, including Panattoni Development and Albert & Coss LLP, while serving leadership roles with the West Sacramento Rotary and the Golden West Track Meet.
  • Duffy Buchanan, ’81, died at the age of 74 on September 25, 2024, in Thousand Oaks. A noted specialist in the defense of aviation accident cases, he was the owner of Buchanan & Associates and later finished his career as of counsel to Michealis, Montanari & Johnson in Westlake Village.
  • Alice Thomas, ’10, died at the age of 94 on August 23, 2024, in Sacramento. After a successful career in the building industry, she was accepted to law school in her 70’s, helped hundreds of senior citizens in the Elder Law Clinic, and at 79 became the oldest student to graduate from McGeorge.
  • Ellen Corbett, ’85, died at the age of 69 on August 9, 2024, in Hayward. One of McGeorge’s most distinguished alumni public figures, she served four years as the mayor of San Leandro, 14 years in the California State Assembly and Senate, and eight years with the East Bay Regional Park District board of directors.
  • David Richards, ’04, died at the age of 46 on April 21, 2024, in Jackson. An Amador Creek attorney, he was an avid private plane pilot who worked for United Airlines for more than a decade as an international flight attendant.
  • Jane Walton. ’77, died at the age of 79 on June 27, 2024, in Santa Cruz. After a brief stint as a prosecuting attorney, she served overseas in the Peace Corps then returned to work as a civil trial investigator, teacher, and test developer for a publishing company.
  • Drew Johnson,’67, died at the age of 84 on June 20, 2024, in Sacramento. A former newspaperman, he established his own law firm and also practiced construction defect law with Nageley, Meredith & Miller, retiring in 2012.
  • Edward Horn, ’78, died after a long illness at the age of 70 on May 11, 2024, in Reno. After starting his legal career working in the Washoe County District Attorney’s Appellate Division, he opened his own solo law firm in Reno and specialized in personal injury law for 35 years.
  • Phillip Urie,’81, died at the age of 74 on March 28, 2024, in Stockton. A judge of the San Joaquin Superior Court for 15 years, he began his career serving 23 years as a prosecutor in the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s office.
  • Sharyn Van Tassell Matin, ’73, died at the age of 77 on April 24, 2024, in Lafayette, Louisiana. She established her own law firm in Roseville and went on to practice personal injury law for 45 years before retiring because of illness and moving out of state.
  • Ben Scheible, ’82, died at the age of 71 on May 1, 2024, in Reno. He practiced real estate law for 13 years in California and Nevada, then found his true calling in education as a professor at Truckee Community College and other schools.
  • J. Douglas Buchanan, ’75, died at the age of 82 on April 7, 2024, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He practiced law for 42 years in Bishop while also serving as a deacon and later a priest in Episcopal parishes in the eastern Sierra Nevada before retiring to Virginia.
  • Lillian ‘Dit’ Jenks, ’67, died at the age of 103 on March 16, 2024, in Sacramento. A former president of the Women Lawyers of Sacramento, she was a private practitioner specializing in personal injury litigation for almost 40 years until her retirement in 2005.
  • Richard Gary, ’69, died at the age of 87 on January 20, 2024, in Carmichael. He practiced law in Sacramento for 47 years, including a stint as a partner with Gary, Till & Burlingham.
  • Michael Campos, ’75, died at the age of 84 on February 13, 2024, in Sacramento. A former executive director of the State Water Board, he began a 27-year career in private practice as an environmental and water law attorney, including service with Graham & James.
  • Roy Peters, ’78, died after an eight-month battle with cancer at the age of 80 on February 3, 2024, in Palo Cedro. A radio personality, community activist, and solo practitioner in Redding for 45 years, he specialized in estate planning, elder law, and probate.

Faculty In Memoriam

  • Charles Kelso, who taught Constitutional Law to thousands of future attorneys in a 40-year career at McGeorge, died at the age of 95 on January 31, 2024, in Sacramento. A former Supreme Court clerk, he was the youngest law professor in the country at age 22 when he began teaching at Indiana University. His recruitment to Sacramento was one of the shrewdest moves ever made by the late Dean Gordon Schaber. McGeorge not only landed a talented professor, but his wife Jane also served as the Dean of Students at the law school from 1982 to 2001. Their son, Clark, carries on the family tradition at McGeorge, where he has been a faculty member for almost 40 years.