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We are sad to see Ryan Kwock go from the Dean’s Office, but are so excited and proud of him to become a 1L at Berkeley Law next month! Ryan, thank you for all that you have done for the Dean’s Office during this transition, and for the school as a whole. Your professionalism and excellence in everything you do is much appreciated by many.
Join us on Thursdays on the west side of the building (by the picnic benches) at 12:10-1:00 pm for the Berkeley Law Community Walk. It’s weekly, free, and fun! On July 20, the following folks wandered the campus for about 45-minutes: Richard Fisk, Magdalene King’ori-Brewer, Annabelle Gonzales, Barbara Karvelot, and Sue Schechter. For information or encouragement, please contact Barbara Karvelot.
Ahmed Lavalais ’17, Clinical Teaching Fellow, Policy Advocacy Clinic
Ahmed Lavalais is a tenacious advocate for juvenile defendants and the poor. As a law student, he was a key player in the Policy Advocacy Clinic (PAC), pursuing non-litigation strategies to address systemic racial, economic and social injustice in the community. In one of PAC’s most gratifying success stories, Lavalais and his fellow students persuaded California’s Alameda County to repeal its juvenile justice fees—the first in the state to do so. Named one of the 2017 Law Students of the Year by National Jurist magazine, Lavalais will be a powerful voice in PAC’s legal advocacy.
Jodi Collova, Director of LL.M. Writing and Academic Support
Jodi Collova has a J.D., cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School, and a Masters of Library and Information Science from San Jose State University. She has significant experience as a law librarian and as a legal writing instructor at Loyola Law School of Los Angeles, at Golden Gate University, where she designed an LL.M. legal research and writing workshop, and at the University of San Francisco, where she taught an online tax research course as well as first-year legal research and writing. Jodi has just returned from teaching a two-unit intensive legal writing course to Chinese law students in Shanghai. She previously practiced employment law and has taught mindfulness meditation sessions for law students. She is a Pilates instructor in her free time.
Catherine Fisk ’86, Professor of Law
Catherine Fisk was Chancellor’s Professor of Law and a member of the founding faculty of the University of California, Irvine Law School from 2008 to 2017. Fisk was the Douglas Blount Maggs Professor of Law at Duke University from 2004 to 2008, and before that, she was a professor at the University of Southern California Law School and Loyola Law School of Los Angeles. She regularly teaches Labor Law, Employment Law, and Employment Discrimination, along with Civil Procedure, First Amendment, and Legal Profession. Read more about Fisk here.
Frank Partnoy, Professor of Law
Frank Partnoy has taught at the University of San Diego (USD) School of Law for 20 years and directs its Center for Corporate and Securities Law. A 1992 Yale Law School graduate, Partnoy worked as a derivatives structurer at Morgan Stanley before spending two years as a lawyer at Covington & Burling. He studies financial markets and fraud and is the author of six books, including two law school textbooks. He joins Berkeley Law in 2018. Read more about Partnoy here.
Whitney Mello, Executive Assistant to Dean Chemerinsky
Whitney received her J.D. from the University of San Diego in 2008. After graduation, she pursued work as a law clerk for a private law firm. Later, Whitney moved to Washington, D.C., where she worked for more than six years as a legislative assistant, a staff assistant to Congress, and as an executive assistant for a Washington public relations organization. Whitney comes to Berkeley Law most recently from the Institute of Governmental Studies here on campus, where she worked as the executive assistant to the director for over two years.
Human Resources has begun sending information to Senior Managers and Directors regarding this year’s process. Some Senior Managers will be forwarding information about the process to the managers and supervisors who report to them.
The Berkeley Law HR homepage lists a number of training/webinar options that can assist employees and managers with the performance review process. You may also find these links helpful:
Please feel free to contact HR if you have any questions or would like assistance during the review process.
Managers and Supervisors: Please complete performance evaluations as soon as possible but no later than August 31st and email signed copies of your completed evaluations to Sheri or Trisha in HR.
As most of you know by now, Bob Berring ’74 retired as of Jun 30, 2017. Although Bob had been interim dean of the law school, professor of Contracts, Chinese law, Advanced Legal Research, etc., dean of the library school, the best 1L orientation speaker that ever lived, Distinguished Teaching Award winner, and many other things to many other people, Bob was first (and we in the library like to think foremost) the Director of the Law Library. Below is a link to our tribute to Bob, done (as most things are in the law library) as a community effort by many members of the library staff. We hope you enjoy our version and memories of Bob!
Tribute: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/bob.php
Video: In Rebel With a Cause, Bob tells the story of the political protests at his ’74 class graduation.
I’m happy to report that the Welcome Wagon, which launched in April, has a dozen volunteers and, by the time the new school year starts, will have welcomed 25 folks to Berkeley Law with coffee, a building tour, a set of places to visit around the neighborhood, and tips for getting things done. We’ve welcomed everyone from professors to HR staff to clinical fellows to, yup, the new dean. Thanks Welcome Wagoneers!
I wanted to send a shout-out of thanks to I-Wei Wang, one of our wonderful reference librarians here at Boalt. When I had unexplained online retrieval difficulties, she graciously went above and beyond to help me obtain usable copies of research articles for one of the professors that I support. Not only did she walk me through the steps to troubleshoot, she also sent me PDF files of what I needed and then followed up with step-by-step instructions for reference if I should encounter this anomaly again. Thank you, I-Wei, you rock!
I’m Sydney, and I’m a 3-year old corgi-mix who owns Susan Whitman and Mark Gergen. I took over their house two years ago after Susan and Mark saw this glamor shot on the SF SPCA website and couldn’t resist adopting me. I excel in being cute, fetching balls (I’ll drop them at your feet and bark until you throw them, and I’ll do it over, and over, and over….), and in snuggling. And I’m a well-known Cal fan. Two years ago, I starred (with Mark) in Susan’s low-budget video encouraging donations to the Big Give. I was a minor media sensation and received an extra ration of dog biscuits for my part. For all further media inquiries, contact Susan, my agent.
Dear Berkeley Law Faculty and Staff,
On behalf of PIWG (Public Interest Working Group) and the Climate Committee’s Events/Recognition Subcommittee, we are excited to organize our First Annual Backpack Drive. We have selected the Davis Street Family Resource Center in San Leandro which operates a shelter and is collecting backpacks for students to start school with new and nifty backpacks and supplies. We need your help in two ways:
Thank you for your help – it takes a village as we all know!
PIWG and the Climate Committee’s Events/Recognition Subcommittee