10 second bio: Cheryl Berg

NAME
Cheryl Berg
EMAIL
cberg@berkeley.edu
MY ROLE:
Faculty
WHAT DO YOU TEACH?
I teach first-year legal research, analysis, and writing. This includes both predictive writing in the fall and persuasive writing and oral argument in the spring.
WHEN I STARTED WORKING HERE:
2008
WHAT I DO IN FIVE WORDS OR LESS:
Teach lawyers to practice effectively.
THE BEST PART ABOUT WORKING HERE:
My 1L legal writing colleagues! They are smart and accomplished, and are committed to teaching Berkeley’s 1Ls. I love to collaborate with my colleagues to create new LRW and WOA problems, to design new classes, and to rethink our pedagogy. They make me better at my job, and they make my job better and more fun.

The other highlight of my workday is seeing my students. They constantly surprise and impress me with their insights and enthusiasm. I love to see how much they learn between the start of school in fall and their oral arguments in spring. It’s impressive!

SOMETHING YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT ME:
As a teenager, I was a member of a folk dance troupe. We toured every summer, and I danced at such glitzy locations as the Pentagon, Disney World, a World’s Fair and a Scottish castle.
ONE OR TWO TIPS ABOUT THINGS YOU LIKE TO DO AROUND THE BAY AREA:
I love to hike with my dog, Pippa. Two of our favorite locations are Muir Beach and Claremont Canyon Regional Park. Both are dog-friendly and beautiful.
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10 second bios: Anne Bloom

NAME
Anne Bloom
EMAIL
annebloom@law.berkeley.edu
MY ROLE:
Staff
DEPARTMENT/UNIT
Civil Justice Research Initiative
TITLE
Executive Director
WHEN I STARTED WORKING HERE:
November 2017
WHAT I DO IN FIVE WORDS OR LESS:
research, write, organize, fundraise, teach
THE BEST PART ABOUT WORKING HERE:
The people! (And Top Dog, of course)
SOMETHING YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT ME:
I speak Nepali
ONE OR TWO TIPS ABOUT THINGS YOU LIKE TO DO AROUND THE BAY AREA:
SFMOMA, Vik’s Chaat
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10 second bios: Michelle Cole

NAME
Michelle Cole
EMAIL
michellecole@law.berkeley.edu
MY ROLE:
Faculty
WHAT DO YOU TEACH?
Legal Research & Writing AND Written & Oral Advocacy
WHAT IS YOUR AREA OF RESEARCH OR WRITING?
I focus on teaching legal writing.
WHEN I STARTED WORKING HERE:
January 2010
WHAT I DO IN FIVE WORDS OR LESS:
Teach legal research, analysis, and writing
THE BEST PART ABOUT WORKING HERE:
My team of amazing colleagues in the Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing group, as well as my students, who challenge and inspire me.
SOMETHING YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT ME:
I have three kids between the ages of 11 and 17, none of whom have any intention of going to law school (at least not yet!).
ONE OR TWO TIPS ABOUT THINGS YOU LIKE TO DO AROUND THE BAY AREA:
Hiking/running in Redwood Regional Park, the Sunday Farmers Market in Montclair/Oakland

Jaime Clark

Jaime Clark recently joined Berkeley Law as the Redistricting Data & Access Coordinator at Statewide Database. Previously she worked as Co-Executive Director at Bay Area Girls Rock Camp. She has a BA from UC Santa Cruz and lives with her dog, Coco, and cat, Fizz.

Britta Kolb

Britta Kolb recently joined Berkeley Law as the Leadership Gifts Program Coordinator. Previously she worked at UC Berkeley’s School of Social Welfare as the Annual Giving and External Events Manager.  She has a BA in Studio Art and Art History from The College of St. Benedict/St.John’s University in Minnesota and an MA in Museum Studies from JFKU in Berkeley. Originally from South Dakota, Britta lives in Richmond with her husband Alex (UC Berkeley Music), 1.5 year old son Shepherd “Shep”, and Robot the cat. She enjoys all outdoor activities, reading, and painting.

Spotlight on: ADP

Since 1949, Berkeley Law has welcomed students with a first degree in law from a foreign country to our LL.M. (Master of Laws) program. Students from every continent (except Antarctica) have completed their LL.M. at Berkeley Law. Our 3-year J.S.D. degree (Doctor of Juridical Science) gives students the opportunity to deepen their knowledge, allowing them to teach law and become judges in their home countries.

 

Our LL.M. program has undergone a period of significant growth and change in the last 10 years. Today, our ADP team recruits, admits, on-boards, advises, and graduates 450+ LL.M. and J.S.D. students each year. Not only has the number of LL.M. students in our academic year, in-residence traditional track increased, but we have launched two additional program tracks, the professional track (two in-residence summer semesters ) and the hybrid option (two online semesters and one in-residence summer semester).

 

It takes a dedicated, entrepreneurial, and talented team to recruit and admit each geographically-balanced and highly qualified class of students, to advise them about courses and professional development, and to plan events for them that are intellectually engaging and foster connection to each other and the Berkeley Law community. And the staff in ADP does it all, with enthusiasm, efficiency, and good cheer. ADP is in Room 214, right across from the Dean’s Suite.

 

Meet our team (and come visit us!):

 

Evelyn Borchert, Dir. of Academic Advising: Administers the J.S.D. program and provides academic advising and student services support to all J.S.D. and LL.M. students

 

Jodi Collova, Dir. of LL.M. Legal Research & Writing: Hires and supervises 14 lecturers and 21 tutors each year, develops the curriculum for LL.M. legal research and writing, and teaches courses in the program

 

Kara Ganter, Dir. of Communications: Directs communications and marketing strategies for all ADP programs and global recruiting events

 

Natalie Golden, Asst. Dir. of Admissions: Supports all aspects of admissions for LL.M. tracks and the J.S.D. program, guiding students through the application and enrollment process

 

Anya Grossmann, Dir. of Global Outreach & Recruitment: Directs global outreach strategy and efforts for LL.M. and executive education programs, personally meets with 100s of prospective students and travels to more than 10 international cities each year

 

Liza Jimenez, Assoc. Dir. of Student Services and Recruiting: Supports admissions and high-touch recruitment efforts by representing the LL.M. and J.S.D. programs at international recruitment events worldwide and by nurturing relationships with admitted students to foster retention

 

Peter Landreth and Rachel Zuraw, Directors of Professional Development: Direct professional development including trainings, mock interviews and resume review, and individual advising appointments

 

Vivian Le, Administrative Asst.: Gives a warm welcome at the reception desk and is the first point of contact for all calls and walk-ins; provides comprehensive administrative support for our staff of 9 by organizing logistics for student events and process all departmental financial logistics

 

Erin Weldon, Dir. of Admissions: Manages admissions and scholarships for LL.M. and J.S.D. programs, reviewing the majority of thousands of applications received each year; administers two databases used by admissions and recruiting staff

 

Susan Whitman, Asst. Dean for Academic Planning: Oversees ADP and its terrific team of student services, admissions, communication, and recruiting specialists.

 

Claire Blide, Registrar’s Office (not pictured): Supports ADP by providing invaluable assistance in scheduling our professional track and hybrid option

 

Image:

[front row, L to R] Jodi Collova; Liza Jimenez; Vivian Le; Kara Ganter; Erin Weldon

[back row, L to R] Peter Landreth; Anya Grossmann; Susan Whitman; Rachel Zuraw; Evelyn Borchert; Natalie Golden

 

 

Trivia Night – Wednesday, December 19th 5:15 PM to 8:00 PM in Warren

Let the true joy of the holiday season settle in with merriment, food, drink, trivia knowledge, trivial debates (the tenderloin is correct!!!!), Montie being bad at sound levels and radically misjudging difficulty of rounds,  and some semi-hyper-competitiveness! Yup, it’s that time again: Trivia Night – Wednesday, December 19th 5:15 PM to 8:00 PM in the Warren room.

Our vague clue of question theme this session is “ghosts of past to ghosts of present (no future ghosts)”.

The theme for food/drinks is pizza and more pizza. I’ll send out a list of what we have left over to the Berkeley law casual mailing list (an opt-in mailing list for sillier stuff, sign-up here –  https://groups.google.com/a/law.berkeley.edu/forum/#!forum/casual) and if people want to bring additional stuff, super awesome. We’ll also be ordering some pizza!
Just to stress, there are no requirements or expectations of donations either food or money. Just having people show up and have a good time is everything. If, however, people do want to kick in some money, it’ll be used to get more drinks and more pizza which I think will make everyone really festive.

Sign up here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14w3KaN9znJkYdqVJnJc8trMSodjIXyTml5LkYzpA0Rs/edit?usp=sharing

If you’d like to write questions (can’t play if you do), help with scorekeeping, etc. please e-mail mmagree@law.berkeley.edu

Ryan Furtkamp

Ryan Furtkamp recently joined Berkeley Law as the communications and publications specialist at the Robbins Collection. Previously he worked at Stanford University Press doing publicity and media outreach. He has a masters degree in history from Binghamton University and lives in Oakland with his wife, two dogs, and two cats. His family, full of Cal alumni, are very happy he has left Stanford.

Faris Natour

Faris Natour leads the Human Rights and Business Initiative, a partnership between the Human Rights Center at Berkeley Law and the Center for Responsible Business at Berkeley Haas, where he teaches business and human rights and drives research and collaboration among business and stakeholders.  Faris also co-founded Article One, a business and human rights consulting firm, where he advises leading global companies on human rights strategy and management.  Faris received an LL.M. from George Washington University Law School, and a law degree from Universitaet Regensburg, Germany.  Born and raised in Regensburg, Germany, Faris lives in Berkeley with his wife and two sons.

Berkeley Beni!

One great benefit (beni) we have as Berkeley staff is free access to Lynda.com, a LinkedIn learning site which offers all kinds of courses, from project management to logo design. You can access your free lynda account through the Blu portal. Enjoy!