Class Notes

From the bench to the boardroom, UC Law SF alumni continue to make an impact. Listed below are some of the honors, appointments, and accomplishments of classmates from 2025 through June 2026.

1960s

David Van Atta ’69 joined Womble Bond Dickinson as a senior partner in the firm’s San Francisco and Silicon Valley offices.

1970s

Mike Kelly ’76, a member of the UC Law SF Foundation Board of Trustees and UC Law SF Campaign Cabinet, and a partner in Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Consumer Watchdog.

John Feder ’78, a partner at Rouda Feder Tietjen & McGuinn was nominated for the 2026 California Legal Awards for Best Mentor.

Jennifer Keller ’78 was named to the Daily Journal 2026 list of Top Women Lawyers, the 17^th time she’s received the recognition. She has also received Chambers USA’s “Star Individual” designation for commercial litigation.

Matt White ’79 joined the JAMS panel of ADR neutrals, based in the San Francisco Resolution Center.

1980s

Jim Wagstaffe ’80, partner at Adamski Moroski Madden Cumberland & Green, instructor at the Federal Judicial Center and longtime adjunct professor at the College, received the UC Law SF Chancellor’s Alumni of Distinction Award.

Carl Chamberlin ’85 was appointed Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge. Chamberlin previously served as the lead appellate court attorney for California’s First District Court of Appeal.

Jennifer Hagle ’87 was elected chair of the Aquarium of the Pacific board of directors.

Christina Cordoza ’89 was elevated to shareholder at Littler.

1990s

Rachel Hernandez ’95 was appointed Maricopa County, Arizona, Superior Court Judge. Hernandez served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona for over 25 years.

Niki Solis ’95, a San Francisco deputy public defender, was honored at UC Law SF’s 2026 Social Justice Celebration.

Farzad Tabatabai ’95 was inducted into the National Boxing Hall of Fame, recognizing his two decades of legal work representing fighters, promoters and others in the sport.

Carolyn G. Burnette ’97, office managing principal at Jackson Lewis, was nominated for the 2026 California Legal Awards for Best Mentor.

Jill Ratner ’97, executive vice president and general counsel at Sony Pictures Entertainment, was named one of Hollywood’s top entertainment attorneys by Variety magazine.

Ashley Tabaddor ’97, was appointed Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge. Tabaddor previously served as an immigration judge for the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review.

Carl “Chip” Robertson ’98 was appointed to the University of California Board of Regents. Robertson, co-managing partner at Warland Investments Co., is also a member of the UC Law SF Board of Directors.

John Wehrli ’98 completed his Ph.D. in Computational & Behavioral Neuroscience in 2025, joined Greenberg Traurig as a senior partner in the life sciences practice and Lionheart Ventures as Neuroscience and AI advisor.

Ann Teranashi ’99, president and CEO of American Savings Bank, was appointed to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council.

2000s

Justin Turner ’03 was appointed chief counsel at the California Department of Conservation.

Erin Dixon ’05 was appointed Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge. Dixon previously served as a deputy alternate public defender at the Los Angeles Alternate Public Defender’s Office.

Kathryn Evans ’05, was appointed U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Oregon. Evans previously worked as a trial attorney representing the U.S. Trustee.

Deborah Rotenberg ’05 joined Greenberg Traurig as a shareholder in the firm’s Sacramento office, where she focuses on healthcare matters.

Bonnie Lau ’06, a partner at Wilson Sonsini, was nominated for the 2026 California Legal Awards for Best Mentor.

Cathy Ongiri ’06, incoming president of the UC Law SF Board of Governors and program director for the State Bar of California’s Office of Professional Competence, is the recipient of the UC Law SF Black Alumni Council’s inaugural Alumni of the Year Award.

Dena Sharp ’06 became managing partner of Girard Sharp.

Stephanie Shirkey ’06 was appointed to serve immediately as an El Dorado County Superior Court Judge, an office to which she had already been elected. Shirkey previously worked at the California Office of Legislative Counsel.

Seth Herring ‘07 joined Kilpatrick’s San Francisco office as a partner on the firm’s patent litigation team.

Veronica Ramos ’07 was appointed Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge. Ramos previously served in the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office.

Sacha Steinberger ’07, an attorney mediator for the California Civil Rights Department, was honored at UC Law SF’s 2026 Social Justice Celebration.

David Zisser ’07 was appointed Deputy Director of Housing Policy Development at the California Department of Housing and Community Development.

Lindsay Llewellyn ’08, chief legal officer at Lyft and a member of the UC Law SF Technological Transformation of Legal Practice and Legal Education Advisory Board, was named one of the Women Leaders in Tech Law at the California Legal Awards.

Kasheica McKinney ’08, director of transit-oriented development at BART and a former project executive for the Hunters Point Shipyard & Candlestick Point Redevelopment Project, was appointed to the California Architects Board.

Jeffrey El-Hajj ’09 was appointed Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge. El-Hajj previously served as a research attorney for the Sixth Appellate District Court of Appeal.

Eunice Lee ’09 was appointed Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge. Lee previously served in the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.

2010s

Lindsey Mignano ’10 launched the Mignano Law Group and received the Chambers Spotlight award for startups and emerging companies.

Allison Zamani ’10 was elevated to of counsel at Blank Rome LLP.

Darci Ward ’11 was promoted to Deputy Criminal Chief for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Idaho.

Thomas Fay ’12 was appointed Orange County Superior Court Judge. Fay previously served as senior and then lead appellate attorney for the Fourth District Court of Appeal.

Lindsay Cooper Hayman ’12, a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton, was named one of the Women Leaders in Tech Law at the California Legal Awards.

Michael Martin ’12 was appointed Riverside County Superior Court Judge. Martin previously served as lead appellate court attorney for California’s Second District Court of Appeal and worked as an adjunct professor at UC Law SF.

Anastasia Zykanova ’12 was appointed Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge. Zykanova previously served as a deputy public defender in Orange and Kern counties.

Ryan Harrison ’14 was named to the State Bar of California Board of Trustees.

William A. Cosmopulos ’16 was elevated to shareholder at Littler.

Lisa Cowan ’17, a Fellow in Legal History at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, became the first woman to lecture in Roman law in the school of law’s 318-year history.

Paige Zielinski ’17 was named partner at Jenner & Block.

2020s

Myell Mergaert ’20, senior counsel at technology firm Gem and dedicated supporter of the College’s Legal Education Opportunity Program (LEOP), received the UC Law SF 2026 Alum of the Year Award.

We want to hear from you. Share your stories with us.