LACBA Women's History Month Honorees

Patricia Egan Daehnke is the Managing and Founding Partner of DRR Law Group. She serves as lead trial counsel in complex high damage cases and specializes in the defense of health care professionals at trial and before licensing boards in California and Nevada. Daehnke has been recognized as a leading lawyer in both states being named a Top Woman Lawyer by the Los Angeles Daily Journal, A Woman of Distinction by California Women Lawyers, and a Top Lawyer by NPR’s Desert Companion and Vegas, Inc. She has been selected as a Southern California Super Lawyer every year since 2007.

A fifth-generation Californian and native Angeleno, Daehnke obtained her Nevada license while serving a judicial clerkship with then Chief Justice Robert Rose of the Nevada Supreme Court. True to her roots, Daehnke is committed to service to the Los Angeles legal community. Her leadership in LACBA has enriched her life immensely, both personally and professionally. In fact, she met her husband, attorney Kevin Daehnke, when she traveled to San Francisco as a first-time LACBA Delegate to the then State Bar Conference of Delegates. She was privileged to serve as President of the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA), Chair of the LACBA Litigation Section, and Chair of the LACBA Delegation to the California Conference of Delegates. She is the happy creator and current Co-Chair of LACBA President’s Advisory Committee on Women in the Legal Profession (PAC-Women) which is thriving. Daehnke was honored to receive the Charles R. English Spirit Award from the LACBA Delegation and the Matthew S. Rae Outstanding Section Leader Award for her leadership of the LACBA Litigation Section.

Daehnke is an Associate of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and serves on the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles Chapter and Chair of Women in ABOTA (WABOTA). She is board-certified by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys (ABPLA) and board-certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA). She is a Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and Chairs the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel (ASCDC) CACI Committee. Daehnke served on the Los Angeles Superior Court Central Civil Bench/Bar Liaison Committee for many years and is a member of Chancery Club.

Daehnke received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola Marymount University and her law degree from Gonzaga University School of Law (cum laude) where she was a Thomas More Scholar.

Sarah Kelly-Kilgore is the executive partner of Holland & Knight's Newport Beach office and a member of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice. Kilgore focuses her practice on high-stakes litigation matters and complex business disputes.

Kilgore has experience litigating cases in a broad range of practice areas, including fraud, business torts, defamation, contracts, federal agency enforcement actions, unfair competition and corporate governance disputes. She has been lead counsel in a number of high-profile cases involving significant national and international public attention, including matters reported in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The Boston Globe.

In addition, Kilgore regularly advises business entities on compliance and regulatory matters and issues of employment law, including sexual harassment, discrimination and wrongful termination. Her clients include public companies, private businesses, executives and celebrities.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Kilgore was the managing partner for the Los Angeles office of an elite boutique trial law firm.

While in law school, Kilgore was the editor-in-chief of the American Criminal Law Review and an associate editor of the Annual Survey of White Collar Crime. She was also a member of the Georgetown Moot Court Team.

Romy Schneider is an accomplished intellectual property, media, labor, and employment attorney specializing in feature film, television, digital media, consumer products, publishing, music, and guild labor relations. Schneider is currently in the role of Director, Corporate Business and Legal Affairs for Legendary Entertainment. In her current role, Schneider oversees the legal and business affairs for Legendary’s film and television (including the Dune and Monsterverse franchises) consumer products licensing, interactive games and location-based entertainment licensing, music licensing, advertising and the publishing of art books, comics, and graphic novels through the Legendary Comics division. Prior to her current position, Schneider has held in-house legal positions at major studios and media companies such as Activision-Blizzard, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, New Line Cinema, and the BBC. She also held a seven-year tenure as head of financial assurance and business representative at the Screen Actors Guild. Over the years, Schneider has been a frequent panelist at various bar association panels, entertainment media industry events, universities, and film festivals. Schneider is proud to serve as a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association President’s Advisory Committee on Women in the Legal Profession and as a founding board member of the Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law Alumni Association at Southwestern University School of Law. Schneider is the author of the biography entitled, “Elizabeth L. Kenney The Lost History of the First Woman to Practice Law in the City of Los Angeles.” She received both an LL.M. and J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law, a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA, and is licensed to practice law in both California and New York.

Carolin Shining has over twenty-five years of experience fighting for the rights of injured consumers and the elderly. She currently specializes in elder law, trust litigation, contested conservatorships and cases involving elder and dependent adult abuse. She also has experience representing large numbers of injured plaintiffs such as cancer-related mass torts, mass arbitrations and biochemical patent litigation. Through her hard work, she has produced over $65 million in verdicts and settlements for her clients.

Shining is a tireless advocate for consumer rights and has been given numerous awards for her fighting for the rights of injured persons. In 2020, Shining was appointed to the State Bar of California’s Para-professional Working Group as the Consumer Attorneys of California’s representative. Shining was the lone voice in opposing the final report, concluding that it would have created a two-tier system of justice. Her views were vindicated as the California Legislature sided with her and rejected the proposals. She routinely stands up for the creation and maintenance of the highest standards for attorney training and representation as the best way to provide access to justice.

Shining is a Trustee for the Los Angeles County Bar Association, including being active on a number of committees including being the chair for the Future of Lawyering Committee. She is on the Board of Governors for the Consumer Attorneys of California, and a frequent speaker at CAOC and CAALA events. She has been awarded the CAOC Presidential Award in 2021 and 2022, and the CAALA Presidential Award in 2021. She was nominated for the CAALA Ted Horn lifetime achievement award in 2022. Shining has been published in the Daily Journal, LA Lawyer Magazine, the CAOC Forum and the CAALA Advocate on matters relating to consumer rights.

She is a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Law (J.D., 1990) and Michigan State University (B.Sc., Biochemistry, 1987) and has been a Registered Patent Attorney since 1990. She is licensed to practice law in the states of California and Illinois, and admitted in the Northern, Central, Eastern and Southern Districts of California, the Northern and Central Districts of Illinois, and the Eastern District of Michigan.

Angela Zanin is a Partner in the Los Angeles office of Lewis Brisbois and Vice Chair of the Surety and Fidelity Practices. She specializes in insurance coverage litigation, surety law, insurance fraud, and underlying insurance claims related to wild fires, pollution, intellectual property, and construction defects. She is a member of the firm’s Italy Practice.

Zanin serves on the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA), the Executive Committee of the Litigation Section, and is active in the President’s Advisory Committee on Women in the Legal Profession (PAC-Women), serving as Chair of the Judicial Pipeline Committee. “My commitment to LACBA and its values are strong. Meaningful bar participation makes me a better, well-rounded lawyer. LACBA serves as a leader for lawyers and bar associations across the country in its commitment to the U.S. Constitution, the California Constitution, our judiciary, and the legal profession.”

In 2024, Zanin co-founded the Los Angeles County Unity Bar (LACUB), an alliance of bar associations dedicated to promoting diversity in the judiciary. The LACUB consists of ten member organizations, the Asian Pacific American Bar Association (APABA), Black Women Lawyers Association (BWL), Italian American Lawyers Association (IALA), Japanese American Bar Association (JABA), Langston Endorsement Org. (LEO), Mexican American Bar Association (MABA), Philippine American Bar Association (PABA), South Asian Bar Association of Southern California (SABA-SC), Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association (SCCLA), and the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles (WLALA). In its short history, the LACUB takes pride in its endorsement of over 40 candidates appointed to the California Court of Appeal, U.S. District Courts, Los Angeles Superior Court, and Orange County Superior Court.

Zanin participates in the California Unity Bar and its Executive Steering Committee. She was honored to serve on the Welcome Committee for the California Unity Bar and LACUB Fireside Chat in February 2026 with Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor of the U.S. Supreme Court, Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero of the California Supreme Court, and Chief Judge Mary Murguia of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, at Occidental College.

In 2023, Zanin was President of IALA. She is active in the American Bar Association, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice, Extra Contractual Subcommittee, and the California Lawyers Association, International Law Section.

PREVIOUS HONOREES:

Kristin Adrian has served at the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for Los Angeles based American Realty Advisors, a registered investment advisor managing in excess of $11 billion of commercial real estate on behalf of its institutional clients and investors, since 2006. She is responsible for overseeing the firm’s Legal, Compliance and Human Resources functions and serves as a member of the firm’s Leadership Team. Adrian oversees a wide variety of outside counsel who assist the firm in matters such as real estate transactions, leasing, fund formations, on-going securities offering of interests in the firm’s open-ended commingled real estate funds, insurance disputes, litigation, environmental review, due diligence, and human resource matters. Adrian addresses compliance with the Investment Advisers Act of 1940; responds to regulatory requests; and ensures compliance with the firm’s policies and procedures and the laws.

Prior to joining ARA, Adrian was a Senior Vice President, General Counsel for Nestlé USA, where she was responsible for legal matters associated with its U.S. operations, including those related to acquisitions and divestitures and oversaw a large legal department. She was lead in-house counsel on multiple major acquisitions, including two that were subjected to regulatory challenges by the Federal Trade Commission, each requiring a divestiture prior to achieving Hart-Scott-Rodino approval. During her period as General Counsel, Nestle invested heavily in the US and Adrian was tasked with the integration of multiple legal departments around the country that were part of acquired organizations, helping the company to achieve the required synergies from the acquisitions, without exposing it to legal liabilities.

Prior to joining Nestle, Adrian was a Partner with the law firm of Bronson, Bronson & McKinnon, where she was responsible for legal advice in the areas of corporate and securities laws.

Adrian served as the President of the Los Angeles County Bar Association from July 2023 through June 2024 and currently serves as the Immediate Past-President. Adrian was first elected to the Board of Trustees of LACBA in July 2017; was appointed Assistant Vice President of the Executive Committee of the Board in 2018; was re-elected to the Board in July 2019; was elected Vice President in 2020; served as Treasurer from 2019 - 2021, also serving on the Audit and Finance Committees of the Board; was elected Senior Vice President in 2021, and was elected as President-Elect in 2022, assuming the Presidency in July of 2023.

Finally, she is a member of the Organization of Women Executives, a member of Chancery Club, a member of the Annandale Golf Club, a mother of two grown children, one grandchild, and is an avid golfer.

Justice Lee Smalley Edmon serves as the Presiding Justice of Division Three in the California Court of Appeal's Second Appellate District. Appointed in 2014, she was unanimously confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments after receiving an "exceptionally well qualified" rating from the Judicial Nominees Evaluation Commission.

Before her appellate tenure, Justice Edmon made history as the first female Presiding Judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court from 2011 to 2012. Her judicial career on that court spanned from 2000 to 2015, during which she held roles such as Assistant Presiding Judge and Supervising Judge of the Civil Departments.

Prior to joining the bench, Justice Edmon practiced civil litigation for 19 years, focusing on business litigation. She was a partner at Dewey Ballantine LLP from 1990 to 2000 and an associate at Adams, Duque & Hazeltine from 1981 to 1987.

Throughout her career, Justice Edmon has been actively involved in various judicial and legal committees. She has served on the Judicial Council of California, contributing to the Task Force on Trial Court Fiscal Responsibility and the Trial Court Budget Working Group, among others. Her leadership extended to roles within the Los Angeles Superior Court, the California Judges Association, and the National Conference of Metropolitan Courts.

In recognition of her contributions, Justice Edmon received the 2023 Distinguished Service Award from the Judicial Council of California. This honor reflects her commitment to enhancing the administration of justice and supporting efforts to diversify California's judiciary.

Justice Edmon's dedication to public service and the legal community has left a lasting impact on California's judicial system.
 

Theresa Macellaro is a business and entertainment litigator who handles high-profile litigation, including mediations, arbitrations
and trials, in state and federal court. She has been recognized for more than ten years by her peers as being one of Southern California’s “Super Lawyers,” an honor bestowed on the top five percent of her profession. A Forbes entity selected and interviewed Macellaro as one of “America’s Most Influential Women”, as did a Fortune entity as one of “America’s “Best CEOs and Best Corporate Lawyers.” Los Angeles City Beat Magazine has called her a “Powerhouse Litigator.” The Los Angeles Lakers and Comerica Bank jointly presented Macellaro with their “Best of Los Angeles Women’s Business Award for Women of Entrepreneurship” for excelling in a legal field traditionally dominated by men (sports law). Macellaro was recently honored with the Marquis Who’s Who Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Metropolitan News-Enterprise honored her in January 2025 as one of their Persons of the Year. Macellaro and her cases can be read about in many publications, including the Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Metropolitan News-Enterprise, New York Daily Journal, and Chicago Tribune, among others.

Macellaro received her law degree from New York University School of Law after graduating Phi Beta Kappa with Honors from Smith College. Her experience includes interning at the United States Attorney’s Office (S.D.N.Y.) and externing for a Federal Court Judge (Hon. Peter K. Leisure, S.D.N.Y). She learned litigation skills working at New York's Cravath, Swaine & Moore, where she spent the first four years of her career. Macellaro is a recognized authority on litigation skills and tactics. She taught litigation skills at Rutgers Law School, chaired an American Bar Association national committee, was the Editor of an American Bar Association national publication, and is a frequent panelist and speaker, including speaking twice at American Bar Association Annual Conventions. Macellaro is Past President of the Italian American Lawyers Association, and currently serves as Co-Chair of the Multicultural Bar Alliance of Southern California and Co-Chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Animal Law Section. She has served on the Board of Directors of many organizations including Public Counsel, the American Judicature Society, In Defense of Animals, and the Philharmonic Council of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She is a former Commissioner for the City of Los Angeles, a position appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by City Council.

Macellaro lives in Los Angeles with her husband and several rescued animals.
 

Stacie Neroni graduated from Loyola Law School in 1999 and immediately joined the largest solely healthcare law firm in the state, where she practiced for 18 years, rising from associate to partner to eventually becoming one of the only two female equity partners in the firm at the time. Five years ago, Neroni moved her practice to join the healthcare practice at Davis Wright & Tremaine. Neroni is a trusted advisor to her healthcare clients, providing them expert, practice advice and helping them navigate the highly technical licensing and governmental payment regulatory environment. Neroni has been recognized numerous times over the years for her hard work, dedication and client service by being listed on the Super Lawyers’ Super Lawyer list and Top Women Attorneys of Southern California list. She has also been listed on the Daily Journal’s Top Women Lawyers and Top Health Care Lawyers lists and the Law 360 Best Lawyers list.

Throughout her career, Neroni has been dedicated and committed to supporting a wide range of pro bono and volunteer activities. Among other things, Neroni provided pro bono assistance finalizing adoptions for both the Alliance of Children’s Rights and Public Counsel’s Children’s Rights Project. She also worked with Lawyers for Good Government and Choice Tracker on pro bono projects related to reproductive health rights. Neroni spent over 125 hours volunteering at the California Wildlife Center’s neonatal intensive care unit in 2024. Most recently, Neroni has focused her efforts on supporting LACBA’s Diversity in the Profession Section by serving on the section’s executive committee as Secretary, Treasurer, Vice Chair and now Chair. Neroni also holds a trustee position on the LACBA’s board. Working with the Diversity in the Profession Section has allowed Neroni the opportunity to use her legal and organizational skills in a way that she feels can make a real difference to those that are generally less advantaged. She finds this work incredibly rewarding.

PREVIOUS YEARS:

Professor Goodman joined the Pepperdine faculty in 2001. She teaches Evidence, Constitutional Law, Racial Justice, Trial Practice and Comparative Anti-Discrimination Law. She has participated in the Sudreau Global Justice Program in both Uganda and India, and taught in the London Program. Professor Goodman also has taught courses in Community Outreach/Youth Mentoring, Criminal Law, and Trial Preparation and Settlement. She serves as an advisor to the American Constitution Society Chapter, and formerly served as adviser to the Black Law Students Association, and Women's Legal Association, and as a mock trial team coach. Professor Goodman writes on equal protection topics, including implicit bias, algorithmic bias, affirmative action, preferences, diversity and racial privacy, as well as evidentiary and criminal law issues. The second edition of her book, California Evidence, in Aspen's Examples and Explanations series, as well as the Seventh edition of the Mendez, Goodman and Mainero Evidence textbook are now available.

While at Stanford Law School, Professor Goodman served on the board of directors for the Annual Women of Color and the Law Conference, worked as a teaching assistant in the political science department, and was an assistant editor for a new journal on gender issues. After law school, she worked as an associate at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips (1991-93) and Gipson, Hoffman & Pancione (1993-1995), engaging in civil litigation in state and federal courts. In 1995, Professor Goodman began teaching at UCLA, and created and taught a course in lawyering skills for public interest attorneys.

Professor Goodman was elected to the prestigious American Law Institute in 2023. She also serves on Board of the National Conference of Women' Bar Associations, previously as Vice President of Finance, and Treasurer. Professor Goodman served as the Vice President of Diversity, Inclusion, and Outreach of the Los Angeles County Bar Association for two years.  She is a former chair of both the AALS Litigation Section and of the Evidence Section. She served on the board of Schools on Wheels, a local nonprofit that provides tutors and school supplies for homeless youths, and currently serves on the board of the Western Center on Law and Poverty. She has been an officer of the Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, the 2016-2017 President of California Women Lawyers, and the 2017-18 President of its Foundation. Professor Goodman is a frequent speaker on the subject of diversity, equity, inclusion, and implicit and algorithmic bias.

Professor Goodman is now based at Pepperdine's new campus outside of Vevey Switzerland, and commuted to London each week in the fall to teach Constitutional Law for the London Program. As a newly elected member of the American Law Institute, she is looking forward to playing a larger role in legal policy both in the United States and abroad.

Judge Jessner is the current Presiding Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court. She was appointed to the Los Angeles Superior Court in 2007. She had served as Assistant Presiding Judge, Supervising Judge of the Civil Division, Assistant Supervising Judge of the Civil Division, and Supervising Judge of the Mental Health Courthouse. She had also served in the Criminal Division.

In 2017, Judge Jessner was appointed by the California Supreme Court to serve on the Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinions (CJEO). She is also a member of the Information Technology Advisory Committee and the Civil and Small Claims Committee of the Judicial Council. She is actively involved in teaching and developing ethics curriculum for new judges and has served on the Qualifying Ethics Work Group. She also teaches the Civil Law Update and Basic Civil Law Overview seminars for the Rutter Group.

Judge Jessner is a founding member of the Association of African American California Judicial Officers, as well as a member of the National Association of Women Judges and the Trusteeship, which is the Southern California chapter of the International Women’s Forum.

Before her judicial career, Judge Jessner gained experience as a litigation associate at Sheppard Mullin. She was an Assistant United States Attorney for 11 years with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. She was also in-house counsel for The Boeing Company and an Assistant Inspector General for the Los Angeles Police Commission.

Lydia Liberio, Esq. LLM MCIArb MBA PMP RMP CFE, is a multifaceted legal professional with a distinguished career that spans civil litigation, mediation, arbitration, and education in complex corporate, employment, insurance, real estate, and family matters. With her extensive background in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), including an LLM in ADR from USC, Liberio excels as a mediator, arbitrator, and litigator across various administrative agency settings. She is recognized for her expertise as a certified risk manager, fraud examiner, and agile project and program manager, bringing invaluable in-house legal department management and contract compliance experience to her roles.

As the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Abraham Lincoln University, Liberio stands out as a leader and innovator in academic support, faculty development, and curricular innovation. Reporting directly to the Chief Academic Officer, she plays a crucial role in overseeing all aspects of academic affairs, from curriculum maintenance to faculty and student support, underscoring her commitment to educational excellence. Her responsibilities extend to student orientation and retention, collaborating closely with the Dean of School of Law and other institutional personnel in strategic planning and management.

In addition to her administrative achievements, Liberio is a dedicated professor and mentor, influencing the next generation of legal and business professionals through her work as a curriculum designer for law, paralegal, criminal justice, criminology, business, and project management programs. Her contributions to the legal community are further enriched by her volunteer work as a pro bono mediator for the US EEOC & L.A. County Dept. of Consumer & Business Affairs and her participation on the LASC Judge Pro Tem Panel, where her wisdom and expertise continue to make a significant impact.

Gretchen Nelson's illustrious career in law began after graduating from Georgetown University Law Center in 1983, a journey inspired by her father, James A. Nelson, who instilled in her a fervent passion for justice. Admitted to the State Bar of California in January of 1984, she initially honed her skills at Morgan, Wenzel & McNicholas in Los Angeles, focusing on insurance defense. Her dedication to seeking justice was profoundly demonstrated in 1986 when she represented families affected by a tragic midair collision involving an Aeromexico jet and a private plane, offering not only legal representation but emotional support to the bereaved families.

Her legal journey took a significant turn in 1988 when she joined Corinblit and Seltzer, pivoting her focus towards representing class claimants in antitrust and securities fraud claims. After the firm disbanded a decade later, Nelson continued her practice independently until joining forces with Kreindler & Kreindler to open their Los Angeles office, alongside Stuart Fraenkel.

Throughout her career, Nelson has contributed significantly to the California legal community. Her service includes a three-year term on the Board of Trustees for the State Bar of California, where she made history as the organization’s first Treasurer from 2012 to 2013. Her leadership roles extend to being a past President of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and serving as the Chair of its Litigation Section. Additionally, she is an emeritus member of the Board of Governors of the Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles, reflecting her enduring influence and commitment to the legal profession.

Nelson's efforts have consistently focused on promoting diversity within the legal field and supporting female attorneys in balancing their professional and family lives. In 2015, she co-founded Nelson & Frankel LLP with Mr. Fraenkel, where she continues to specialize in complex class action litigation, business tort claims, and representing victims of maritime accidents. Her remarkable career is a testament to her unwavering dedication to justice and her impactful contributions to the legal community.

Karina B. Sterman, Partner in Greenberg Glusker’s Litigation and Employment Law Departments, is a creative and ardent advocate for her clients. Her practice includes representing businesses in wage and hour class action and PAGA lawsuits as well as in discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, and other employment disputes. In addition to her role as Chair of Los Angeles County Bar Association's Diversity in the Profession Committee, Sterman is actively involved in professional affiliations such as serving as Chair on the Primerus Women Lawyers Section Executive Committee, a Member on the Primerus Labor & Employment Practice Group Executive Committee, and as a Former Board Member for StepUp Women's Network (Los Angeles).

Her commitment extends beyond her professional endeavors as she dedicates her time as a Pro Bono Volunteer for Alliance for Children’s Rights and as an Event Volunteer for CASA DC. With a strong track record of recognition, Sterman has been consistently listed in Southern California Super Lawyers for Employment Litigation from 2014 to 2024 and previously as a Rising Star in Employment Law from 2005 to 2012. Her high level of professional excellence is underscored by the "AV Preeminent" rating from Martindale Hubbell, signifying the highest standards in legal expertise, communication skills, and ethical conduct as recognized by her peers.

Sterman is not only a seasoned attorney but also a published author and a sought-after speaker on employment and intellectual property law. Her dedication to legal education is evident in her role as the former California Women Lawyers District 7 Governor. Sterman earned her J.D. from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law in 1997 and her B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1993.

LACBA member Deborah Chang is the founder and managing partner of Athea Trial Lawyers LLP, a national law firm that promotes women trial lawyers, and a partner at Chang | Klein LLP, located in the Los Angeles area. Both firms have been recognized as one of the 2022 “Best Law Firms” by U.S. News and Best Lawyers. Chang was awarded the 2022 “Lawyer of the Year” for Personal Injury Litigation Plaintiffs for the Los Angeles area. She is the immediate Past President of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and the Past President of the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC).

Chang has obtained some of the largest verdicts and settlements throughout California. She is the recipient of the 2019 California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year (CLAY) Award and has been selected as one of the 2023 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America and one of the 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers. She was selected by the National Law Journal/ALM as one of the Elite Trial Lawyers in the inaugural Elite Women of the Plaintiffs’ Bar category and was also included in The American Lawyer’s Titans of the Industry.

Janet Hong has a wealth of experience in criminal defense, having conducted over 40 trials in New York and California, including several homicides. Janet is a California State Bar Certified Criminal Law Specialist and has drafted questions for the California State Bar Criminal Specialist examination. She is an adjunct lecturer for the Criminal Justice Clinic at UC Irvine Law School where she trains and advises law students representing clients in misdemeanor cases.

At Columbia University, Hong played Division I basketball for the Columbia Women’s Basketball Team. Inspired by the Ethnic Studies movement at her school, she majored in African American Studies. She graduated from Columbia magna cum laude. At USC Law School, she served as the President of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, competed in the Hale Moot Court Honors Program, and worked with inmates in the Post-Conviction Justice Clinic.

She also regularly volunteers as a judge for local high school and college mock trial competitions. Hong is a founding board member of The K.W. Lee Center for Leadership, a youth leadership program in Koreatown that trains high school and college students in the art of community organizing.
 

Noelle Natoli

Noelle Natoli is a member in Clark Hill’s Los Angeles office. She assists clients in complex personal injury matters, particularly those arising out of trucking and elder abuse claims, with extensive experience from pre-litigation investigation and emergency response to post-trial law and motion. Natoli prides herself on her ability to listen directly to her client and aide them in achieving their goals by navigating complex litigation for the client’s benefit. She excels in the courtroom by focusing on the importance of credibility and impeachment issues through exhaustive investigative and research efforts, serving the interests of both the clients and their insurance carrier.

Her free time is spent volunteering for the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles’ Executive Committee, as well as Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee for the Trucking Industry Defense Association. She also has a degree in History and American Multi-Cultural Studies from Sonoma State University.
 

Susan L. Formaker is the General Jurisdiction Division Chief Administrative Law Judge for the Office of Administrative Hearings for the State of California, where she oversees a central administrative tribunal serving hundreds of state and local agencies. Before becoming an administrative law judge in 2008, Formaker was a civil litigator. She began her career in private practice and then went in-house, serving as Senior Counsel in the Bank of America Office of General Counsel and then as First Vice President and Assistant General Counsel in the Washington Mutual Legal Department, where she also served on the Legal Department Diversity Committee.

Formaker has served on the Board of Governors of California Women Lawyers for over 17 years and on the Board of Governors of the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles for a total of over 15 years. She also serves as Co-Chair of the Administrative Judiciary Committee of the National Association of Women Judges, has served on the LACBA-WLALA Joint Task Force on the Promotion and Retention of Women in the Legal Profession, and was a member of LACBA’s Bioethics Committee.

Formaker joined the faculty of the National Judicial College in 2010 and regularly teaches for the college. She was named a 2010-2011 Woman of Achievement by California Women Lawyers and is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Formaker received her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and is a graduate of the UCLA School of Law.

A partner at Hill, Farrer & Burrill, Julia Birkel has more than 35 years of litigation experience, most of which has focused on trust and estate litigation and trials, including elder financial abuse, undue influence, will and trust disputes, and conservatorships.

An active member of LACBA, Birkel served as 2019-2021 term trustee, is a current Counsel for Justice trustee, and a member of the Cy Pres sub-committee. She serves on the Membership Development and Diversity and Inclusion Committees of the LACBA Trusts & Estates section and is a member of the Advisory Recommendation Committee related to the Public Guardian and LPS conservatorships.

This bar year, she was appointed to LACBA’s President’s Advisory Committee on Women in the Legal Profession and to the Programs Committee. She is co-chair of the Homeless Service Initiative, has served on the Court Liaison Committee, and filled multiple leadership roles within the Trusts and Estates Section. Birkel is a member of the South Bay Bar Association and has served as a Volunteer Settlement Officer for the Los Angeles Superior Court, Probate Department.
 

For more than 13 years, Indira J. Cameron-Banks was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles, working for federal crime victims and consumers. She directed large federal investigations into the fraudulent mortgage lending and securitization practices at the root of the 2008 financial crisis resulting multi-million-dollar settlements. Her leadership at the U.S. Dept. of Justice led to her appointment on national DOJ working groups focused on financial fraud and financial recovery, internal auditing teams, and as faculty at the DOJ’s national training center.

During the global pandemic, Cameron-Banks left her federal appointment to direct a county-wide legal services program dedicated to the most vulnerable tenants and those experiencing homelessness.  She was also appointed to the California State Board of Pharmacy and is serving on the Enforcement and Standard of Care subcommittees.

In addition to volunteering time with Los Angeles Superior Court programs, Cameron-Banks volunteers for numerous professional organizations, including LACBA’s Presidential Advisory on Women in the Legal Profession.
 

Jessica Kronstadt is a Deputy District Attorney at LA County District Attorney’s office Sex Crimes Division. She is the Immediate Past President of the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles and was recognized as their “Changemaker of the Month” in April 2018. She was named a “Top 40 Under 40” lawyer and acknowledged by Los Angeles Magazine as a “Rising Star” in public interest.

Kronstadt earned her B.A. from Yale University and her J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. She has worked as a litigation associate at Latham & Watkins and as a staff attorney at Bet Tzedek Legal Services.

She is a member of LACBA’s President’s Task Force on Racial and Social Justice. Previously, she worked on the association’s Executive Committee of the Criminal Justice Section and as a leader within the California Young Lawyers Association, Young Lawyers Division of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers, and the Bet Tzedek New Leadership Council. In 2022, Kronstadt was honored as a Wonder Woman by the Jewish Free Loan Association.
 

In her private practice, Roxanne Wilson defends employers in complex class action suits, including those claiming violations of California and federal wage and hour laws, and misclassification of independent contractors and exempt employees. She has achieved favorable resolution of large class actions seeking pay for training, missed meal and rest break periods, overtime, commissions, and off-the-clock work. She has successfully represented corporate clients in employment litigation.

Wilson is a current co-chair of LACBA’s Presidential Advisory on Women in the Legal Profession and over the last decade has served as an assistant vice-president, trustee, and on the executive committee. In 2016, she received LACBA’s Jim Robie Award for Professionalism and Civility She is engaged in a number of other professional organizations, including with her alma maters.

Pardis Zomorodi, of Latham & Watkins LLP, serves as the Deputy Office Managing Partner for the Century City office. Her practice focuses primarily on the federal income taxation of corporations and partnerships, including real estate investment trusts, and media and entertainment companies.  

Ms. Zomorodi is regularly involved in financing and other transactions for the motion picture, television, and related entertainment industries. She also has an expertise in taxation of real estate investment trusts, and has represented a number of real estate investment trusts in connection with formation transactions, securities offerings, and ongoing operational matters.
 

Honey Kessler Amado, Principal at the Law Offices of Honey Kessler Amado, is a Beverly Hills-based certified appellate law specialist and legal consultant. For over 30 years, she has appealed or defended her clients’ trial-court decisions before the California Courts of Appeal and California Supreme Court. She has been privileged to work on a number of landmark cases that have molded California law.  Ms. Amado views the law as the unspoken partner in her relationship with clients.  

On the trial and appellate levels in family law cases, Ms. Amado consults on issues anticipated for appeal, advises on the merits of a case for appeal, and edits complex memoranda of points and authorities and appellate briefs.  Ms. Amado has written and spoken extensively in the areas of family law, appellate law, and legal writing.  In 2012, she was a visiting, adjunct professor in Family Law at the University of Osijek, Faculty of Law in Osijek, Croatia, where she also gave a workshop on writing, attended by students and professors.

Ms. Amado has been part of numerous LACBA committees, including past Chair of the Los Angeles Lawyer Editorial Board, member of the State Appellate Judicial Evaluations Committee, and the Appellate Courts Committee.  She also serves on the Court of Appeal, Second District’s Settlement and Mediation Panel.     

Long active in the Los Angeles community, Ms. Amado sits on the Board of Directors of the CSUN Foundation (California State University, Northridge) and is the immediate past president of her synagogue, Temple Isaiah, in west Los Angeles.  She is also a pro bono attorney with the Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project of Catholic Charities of Los Angeles.  

Ms. Amado has three adult children, two of whom are married; and she was married for 34 years to the late Ralph A. Amado, Commissioner of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
 

Liz Arce, Partner at Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, focuses her practice on a wide array of labor and employment cases in state and federal trial and appellate courts, and handles matters in arbitration and before administrative agencies. Liz has successfully represented employers in matters ranging from single plaintiff lawsuits to wage and hour class and collective actions. Her litigation experience includes numerous successful summary judgment motions, defeating class certification, and decertifying collective actions.  

When she is not defending litigation matters, Liz advises employers on diverse employment matters such as wage and hour, disability accommodations, public safety, employee discipline, disability retirements, and anti-discrimination, harassment and retaliation laws. At the center of her employment counseling practice is auditing employer policies and practices for compliance with wage and hour laws, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act.  

Liz is also a dynamic trainer who is motivated by her commitment to the firm's clients and her passion for employment law. In addition to presenting to the firm's consortiums, Liz also frequently speaks at regional, statewide and national conferences on a variety of employment-related topics. Liz currently serves on LACBA’s Labor and Employment Law Section Executive Committee and was on the Planning Committee for LACBA’s 2018 and 2019 Labor & Employment Law Symposium.
 

Heather E. Stern is a Partner with Parker Ibrahim & Berg LLP, where she practices real estate-related litigation and represents financial institutions in connection with financial services-related litigation matters. She has substantial experience litigating matters pertaining to construction loans, letters of credit, guaranties, reverse mortgages, and the underwriting, origination, servicing and sale of residential mortgages. Ms. Stern also assists real property owners and others in the real estate industry with their real property disputes. Her practice includes handling purchase and sale contract and disclosure related litigation; adjoining property owner litigation such as boundary and easement disputes; commercial landlord-tenant matters; partition actions; eminent domain; and partnership/joint venture disputes among real estate investors. She has also served as an expert witness on the standard of care in handling a real estate litigation matter and has spoken on topics, and authored numerous articles, in her field of expertise.  

Ms. Stern is the 2018-2019 President of the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles (WLALA), which will be celebrating its 100th Anniversary in September of 2019. She is also a member of the Governing Committee of Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB). She served on the Editorial Board of Los Angeles Lawyer magazine for over 10 years, including as one of the Coordinating Editors of the annual Real Estate issue for four years.  She also serves on the LACBA/WLALA Joint Task Force on the Retention and Promotion of Women Lawyers, which she Co-Chaired from 2016-2018.
 

Tina Shim is a Deputy City Attorney for the City of Los Angeles, and is currently assigned to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power where she handles a variety of matters, including environmental and privacy laws. She also has extensive experience in California Public Records Act matters. Ms. Shim began her career as a misdemeanor prosecutor, focusing on domestic violence and child abuse cases. She formerly served for six years on the board of the Asian Pacific City Attorneys Association and now serves on LACBA’s Judicial Appointments Committee. Ms. Shim attended Amherst College in Massachusetts and University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. She was featured on the cover of the January 2015 issue of Los Angeles Lawyer magazine.

Cynthia Tregillis is the Deputy General Counsel of Contracts, Products and Intellectual Property for Western Digital Corporation, a global data infrastructure leader that markets its products under the G-Technology, HGST, SanDisk, Tegile, Upthere, and WD brands.  Ms. Tregillis currently manages the Legal Department’s teams that have responsibility over commercial transactions and business support, product development and marketing, and intellectual property.  Her team is located in the United States, Europe, Israel, Japan, China, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.

Ms. Tregillis established the trademark and brand protection group for Western Digital in October 2012. From December 2015 until September 2016, Ms. Tregillis was the Interim Chief Intellectual Property Counsel with global responsibility for development of Western Digital’s patent portfolio, trademark portfolio, and trade secrets and brand protection programs.  With the acquisition of SanDisk, Ms. Tregillis was named Vice President of Global Brand Protection and Trademarks for all of Western Digital’s brands, a position she held until she became Deputy General Counsel.  

Ms. Tregillis is the Chair for the USC IP Institute, an annual conference established 15 years ago that addresses cutting-edge topics in IP law.  Ms. Tregillis is the first female chair and first in-house chair of the Institute.  

Prior to joining Western Digital, Ms. Tregillis was an Attorney of Counsel working in the Orange County and Los Angeles offices of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, and a Partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP and Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly LLP. Ms. Tregillis’ private practice focused on trademark infringement and patent infringement cases in federal court and before the International Trade Commission.
 

Janella Gholian, Special Counsel at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP,  concentrates her practice in litigation matters, with particular emphasis in labor and employment matters, including wrongful termination, retaliation, discrimination, harassment, breach of contract and wage and hour claims. She has experience advising clients on human resource needs, including hiring, termination, employment handbooks, policy implementation and other similar strategic decisions. Ms. Gholian has significant experience drafting settlement/severance agreements, executive contracts/compensation agreements, employment contracts and non-solicitation/non-compete agreements. She also has participated in a number of pro bono matters, including domestic violence/restraining orders, civil and probate cases. Janella currently volunteers with LACBA’s Domestic Violence Legal Services Project.  

While attending law school, Janella served as editor of the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review.
 

Judge Mary Thornton House retired from the Los Angeles Superior Court in September 2018 after serving for 22 years. She has started her third career as a private neutral for Alternative Resolution Centers (ARC). Starting out in the Pasadena Municipal Court handling criminal cases, Judge House quickly transitioned to civil and probate assignments in Pasadena and the Stanley Mosk Courthouse.

Judge House has been honored throughout her career by many organizations. In 2004, Los Angeles County honored her as one of its ‘Women of the Year’ and she was named Judge of the Year by the Pasadena Bar Association. In 2008, the California Judges Association awarded her the Bernard S. Jefferson Award for Excellence in Judicial Education. In 2011, the San Fernando Valley Bar Association awarded her the Excellence in Judicial Administration award for her leadership in getting California’s Expedited Jury Trials legislation passed, the development of the current universal judgment form, and simplification of small claims pleadings. In 2013, the San Fernando Valley Bar Association named her their Judge of the Year.

Judge House was Dean of California B.E. Witkin Judicial College which provides for education of all judicial officers in California. The college is a nationally recognized institution and exemplar for judicial education where she has been an instructor and seminar leader since 1997. In 2007, Yale Law School selected her to teach at their China Law Center in Beijing, China, courses on small claims and limited civil procedures to selected judges from throughout China.

Judge House was an Assistant City Attorney and civil litigator for the City of Los Angeles. She graduated from UCLA and received her Juris Doctorate from the University of San Diego. Judge House is a member of the Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine Editorial Board. Her article profiling Presiding Judge Kevin Brazile will be featured in the April Edition.
 

Eva Freel is an associate at Foley & Lardner LLP. She is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice.  

Eva served as a summer associate with Foley, where she gained legal experience in the area of patent law. Prior to joining Foley, Eva was a judicial extern at the Central District of California’s Patent Pilot Program, where she worked for a panel of federal judges on patent cases. She also worked for the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law at its pro bono initiatives, including Startup Legal Garage Clinic, Trademark Law Clinic, and Patent Law Clinic. Eva currently volunteers with LACBA’s Domestic Violence Legal Services Project.

Valeria Granata is a litigation attorney at Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman and Dicker LLP’s Los Angeles office. Her practice focuses primarily on general liability, personal injury, real estate and commercial litigation. 

Ms. Granata has extensive trial experience, representing corporate and individual clients. She successfully litigated several cases in the Los Angeles Superior Court. She also successfully settled numerous civil matters at mediation. For her trial achievements, Ms. Granata was named SuperLawyers Rising Star in 2017 and 2018.

  Ms. Granata earned her LL.M in 2014 with honors from Loyola Law School and her J.D. in 2012 from the Catholic University of Milan. She is licensed to practice law in California and New York.

Ms. Granata has been appointed to the LACBA Diversity Committee and to the LACBA Attorney Client Mediation and Arbitration Services Committee. She also served as Vice President of the Italian American Lawyers Association in 2017.
 

Maria Hall is a civil rights lawyer and director of the Los Angeles Incubator Consortium (LAIC), a legal incubator that supports recent graduates of Loyola, UCLA and Southwestern Law Schools as they build sustainable, community-based solo practices. LAIC’s mission is to increase access to affordable legal services and justice.

Now in its fifth year, LAIC has nurtured the development of 52 solo community lawyers in a variety of practice areas. Its participants speak 23 different languages, and they have together contributed more than 6,000 pro bono hours to LA’s most vulnerable populations.

Maria became a solo attorney in 2005, two years after graduating from USC Gould School of Law. During her post-graduate fellowship at Communities for a Better Environment, an environmental justice organization in Southeast LA, she saw firsthand how thousands of Angelenos lacked access to affordable lawyers. She then decided to build a firm representing low and modest income clients in the areas of civil rights, housing, and environmental health and justice. She later expanded her practice to include employment law.

In 2018, Maria founded Lawyers and Communities Together (“Lawyers ACT”), a nonprofit organization that pairs “private public interest” lawyers with social services agencies to implement grassroots community lawyering projects and policies. The group's first project is to provide "legal triage" for a year to program participants of South Bay Center for Counseling in Wilmington. 

Maria is the immediate past president of the board of the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild and is the current vice president of the board of the Mexican American Bar Foundation. She also serves on the board of the Friends of the LA Law Library. She is an active LACBA member, and enjoys serving on both its Lawyer Referral Service Advisory Committee and its Access to Justice Committee.

Maria received the USC Latino Law Students Association’s Inspirational Alumnus Award in 2017 and Southwestern Law School’s Public Service Program Award in 2018.
 

Saundra K. Wootton is litigation partner with Kutak Rock LLP.   She has litigated a number of complex matters in both state and federal court, including claims related to anti-trust/unfair competition, real estate disputes, product defect, employment, environmental, toxic torts, catastrophic injuries and professional malpractice (legal and design professionals).  Her diverse civil litigation experience enables her to effectively serve and advise her clients on a broad range matters both inside and outside of the courtroom.  She has lectured and authored numerous articles/alerts on breaking legal developments.

Saundra also enjoys serving to advance Kutak Rock LLP’s robust diversity and inclusions initiatives and its pro bono initiatives.

In the community, Saundra dedicates her time as a member of LACBA’s Diversity in the Profession Committee.  She has been actively assisting LACBA with its efforts to promote diversity and inclusion at all levels in the legal profession and in advancing LACBA’s invitation to all legal employers to adopt its “Pledge to Promote Diversity.”  She has also participated in the coordination, facilitation and/or presentation of collaborative legal educational programs and many pipeline mentoring programs facilitated by LACBA’s Diversity in the Profession Committee, Southwestern Law School and/or the National Conference of Puerto Rican Women. 

Born in Sacramento, California, Saundra earned her B.A. Degree in Communications with Distinction from the University of the California, San Diego, in 1998.   During her tenure at UCSD, she was the recipient of President’s Washington D.C. Scholarship and interned in the Domestic Violence Unit for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Washington D.C.   Saundra received her J.D. from Southwestern Law School in 2002.  During her tenure at Southwestern Law School, she was a recipient of the Schumacher Minority Leadership Scholarship.  Saundra also taught remedies to law students at Southwestern Law School.
 

Ms. Berry is an accomplished criminal defense attorney who practices in both trial courtrooms and before the appellate courts. Her practice involves a wide range of cases, including the defense of the accused in simple misdemeanor misconduct and those accused of capital murder. She credits her precise and persuasive motion and appellate writing to her clerkship with the California Attorney General’s Office, Criminal Appeals Section, while attending Loyola Law School in the early 1990’s. Her vast experience in the trial courts is a culmination of trying over 50 cases before a jury.

Ms. Berry currently sits as an executive board member of the Indigent Criminal Defense Appointments (ICDA) Program, an arm of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, which provides indigent criminal defendants legal representation when the County’s public defenders’ offices cannot accept the appointments. There, she collaborates with other board members to address policy matters and concerns of the panel members. She also sits as a member of the Billing and Discipline Committee for the same organization. Ms. Berry is actively engaged in, and sits on the Board of, the Criminal Courts Bar Association, an organization of criminal defense attorneys, judges, prosecutors, law students and private individuals, whose stated goals are the protection of individual rights and liberties, improvement of the Criminal Justice System, and continuing education of the Criminal Defense Bar. She is a former Chair of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association’s (SFVBA) Criminal Law Section, where for four years she organized events and MCLE programs that benefit criminal law practitioners. She currently sits on the Attorney Referral Service Committee for the SFVBA.

Ms. Berry is a guest speaker, providing criminal law presentations to civil law firms, high schools, the Daughters of the Revolution, and the defense bar. She is currently preparing presentations in association with the Los Angeles Law Library. She is the mother of two, the step-mother of two, loves running marathons and has climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro.
 

Vidhya joined ICLC as its Pro Bono Coordinator in January 2015 and is currently its Director of Pro Bono. Prior to joining ICLC, she practiced complex commercial litigation for over five years at the law firms of Crowell & Moring LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Vidhya handled a variety of matters relating to antitrust, real estate, contracts, environmental law, and insurance. Vidhya also maintained an active pro bono practice, representing a variety of clients on issues such as immigration, guardianship, and housing law. Vidhya is active in the legal community, currently serving on the board of the Women Lawyer’s Association of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Access to Justice Committee. She was a member of the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California (SABA-SC), a president of SABA-SC’s Public Interest Foundation, a board member of the South Asian Network, and a member of the State Bar of California’s Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services.

Vidhya received degrees in Political Science and Psychology from UCLA and her J.D. from UCLA.
 

Mary McKelvey, Principal at Polsinelli, is a fierce and highly respected trial attorney who is influential in every aspect of her career, i.e. in litigating difficult cases for national and global clients, in handling high stakes pro bono cases, in successfully assuming leadership positions at the state and local bar levels, in supporting the next generation of women lawyers, in mentoring at-risk non-lawyer women, and in proactively volunteering in the community. In addition to extensive trial experience, Mary has wide range of experience in all stages of litigation including trial preparation, taking and defending percipient and expert witness depositions, developing innovative case handling strategy during discovery, and drafting complex pleadings and arguing dispositive motions in both state and federal court. Mary masterfully presents complex facts, concepts, medical vocabulary, historical data, scientific data, and other complicated issues in ways that jurors and judges can understand and use to arrive at fair and just decisions.

Mary has a deep passion for pro bono work and serves as the Pro Bono Coordinator for Polsinelli’s Los Angeles office. In her own words, “Doing pro bono work has allowed me glimpses into realities I would not otherwise have encountered. It has allowed me a multi-dimensional perspective on important issues such as immigration policies and the effectiveness of our criminal justice system. It has allowed me to assist others that I would never even have had the privilege of encountering but for my handling of their matter on a pro bono basis.”
 

Michele is a partner in Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP’s Labor and Employment group. She has extensive experience efficiently and effectively litigating single -plaintiff discrimination and multi-plaintiff cases in state and federal courts. She also has extensive national jury trial and arbitration experience. She litigates state and national wage and hour class actions, and discrimination and harassment claims under state and federal law. Michele also provides advice and counsel with respect to California and FLSA wage and hour issues, FMLA, CFRA and ADA issues and leave policies, WARN requirements, and non-solicitation and non-compete agreements. She prepares responses to EEOC and DFEH administrative charges and has represented employers in connection with Department of Labor audits. She has experience handling arbitrations before the FINRA and private arbitrators. Her practice also includes speaking for in-house attorneys, human resources professionals and supervisors, conducting sexual harassment training for employers, drafting employment agreements and developing and implementing employee policies.
 

On January 2, 2019, Jenny Farrell became the Executive Director of Mental Health Advocacy Services. Mental Health Advocacy Services (MHAS) is a private, non-profit organization established in 1977 to provide free legal services to people with mental health disabilities. MHAS assists both children and adults, with an emphasis on obtaining government benefits and services, protecting rights, and fighting discrimination. MHAS also serves as a resource to the community by providing training and technical assistance to attorneys, mental health professionals, consumer and family member groups, and other advocates. Finally, MHAS participates in impact litigation in an effort to improve the lives of people with mental disabilities.

Jenny previously served as Director of External Relations of the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice, a nonprofit legal aid agency that provides free legal services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.  At LACLJ, Jenny served in a hybrid role as the organization’s Director of Development, Director of Communications, and Director of Pro Bono & Volunteers.  Jenny directed the fund development and marketing strategy for LACLJ, including Annual Fund, Major Gifts, Special Events, and Law Firm and Corporate Sponsorships. Jenny also oversaw LACLJ’s communication strategies and worked closely with LACLJ’s Board of Directors and Leadership Council to increase financial and volunteer resources for LACLJ’s core services and raise awareness of LACLJ among leaders in the legal, business and philanthropic communities. Finally, Jenny connected private law firms and practitioners to LACLJ by supervising the placement of family law and immigration pro bono cases with both attorneys and law students.

Prior to joining LACLJ, Jenny was an attorney at Panish Shea & Boyle LLP, where she focused her practice on litigating complex personal injury, wrongful death, product defect and police brutality cases.

Jenny received her Bachelor’s degree in Government from Smith College, where she graduated cum laude in 2003. Jenny spent five years working at non-profit organizations for environmental, consumer and public health issues before heading to law school. She received her J.D. from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law in 2011. While in law school, Jenny was named the 2011 Public Interest Student of the Year and awarded the Mason C. Brown Award for her commitment to public interest issues and talent for trial work.
 

Ms. Coelho is a distinguished business attorney with international experience. She is amongst a handful of attorneys nationwide who have successfully handled both corporate transactions and litigation matters in California and India. Ms. Coelho has successfully litigated a broad range of complex business, corporate, and real estate cases and obtained multi-million dollar settlements for her clients. She has handled all aspects of federal and state court litigation, mediations, and arbitrations. Ms. Coelho heads the firms India Practice and represents domestic and Indian clients in US-India cross border transactions, litigation, and arbitrations. Her clients include biotech, technology, and energy companies.  

Ms. Coelho was featured on the cover of the Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine. She has been invited to lecture at the UCLA Law School, USC Law School, Loyola Law School, and Los Angeles County Bar Association. She is the author of "Fundamentals of an American Lawsuit (For Business)" - a handbook on how a case progresses in American courts from initiation until trial/settlement. She is the Chair Elect of the Litigation Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. She was appointed to the LACBA President’s Advisory Committee on Women in the Legal Profession. She runs half marathons, sails, and is a patron of the LA Philharmonic.
 

Amber Healy, Partner at Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, focuses her practice on the defense of employers and management in high stakes employment litigation. She has extensive experience litigating wage and hour class and representative actions in state and federal courts throughout California. She has also litigated novel issues concerning the Private Attorneys General Act before both the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the California Court of Appeal.  Ms. Healy represents clients in all major industries and heads her firm’s Complex Litigation Team.  

Ms. Healy also counsels clients on issues concerning equal pay, employee discipline, privacy, wrongful termination, retaliation, whistleblower, discrimination, harassment, and prevailing wage issues. She frequently represents clients in proceedings before administrative agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Department of Labor, Department of Fair Employment and Housing, and the California Department of Industrial Relations. Ms. Healy currently serves on LACBA’s President’s Advisory Committee on Women in the Legal Profession.
 

Ms. Phillips was the first woman president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association (1984). She received LACBA's highest honor--The Shattuck-Price Outstanding Lawyer Award (1991)--for her extraordinary contribution to improving the administration of justice in Los Angeles County. Ms. Phillips is now a partner at Phillips Jessner in Los Angeles and specializes in family law and civil litigation.

Hon. Margaret M. Morrow (Ret.) was president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association in 1988. She received LACBA's highest honor--The Shattuck-Price Outstanding Lawyer Award (1997)--for her extraordinary contribution to improving the administration of justice in Los Angeles County. Hon. Morrow was appointed to the United States District Court for the Central District of California by President Bill Clinton in 1998. Prior to the appointment, she was a partner in the Los Angeles office of Arnold & Porter. She is currently President and CEO of the nation's largest pro bono law firm, Public Counsel.

Margaret P. Stevens was president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association in 2016. Margaret has served as a trustee, president of the Barristers, Finance Committee Chair, and as a member of the Judicial Evaluation Committee. She is a founding and managing partner of Daehnke Stevens LLP and works in the Los Angeles and San Francisco offices.

Danette Meyers was president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association in 2008. Danette has served as a trustee, chair of the Criminal Justice Section, member of the Delegation to the Conference of Delegates, and as a member of the Judicial Evaluation Committee. She is currently Deputy District Attorney at the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Andrea Sheridan Ordin was president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association in 1991. Andrea received LACBA's highest honor--The Shattuck-Price Outstanding Lawyer Award (2011)--for her extraordinary contribution to improving the administration of justice in Los Angeles County. She is now senior counsel at Strumwasser & Woocher.

Justice Laurie D. Zelon was president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association in 1995. Justice Zelon served on LACBA's Federal Courts Committee, Judiciary Committee, Access to Justice Comittee, as well as being a former Board of Trustee member. Justice Zelon currently serves as an associate justice of the California Court of Appeal.

Linda L. Curtis was president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association in 2014. Linda previously served as chair of LACBA's Business and Corporations Law Section. She has also served on LACBA's Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section Executive Committee. Linda is currently a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's Los Angeles office.

Judge Patricia Schnegg was president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association in 1999. Judge Schnegg was awarded Judge of the Year by LACBA's Criminal Justice Section in 2012. Judge Schnegg retired after 15 years of service for the Los Angeles Superior Court in 2014. Judge Schnegg is currently a neutral for Judicate West.

Edith R. Matthai was president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association in 2005. She received LACBA's highest honor--The Shattuck-Price Outstanding Lawyer Award (2014)--for her extraordinary contribution to improving the administration of justice in Los Angeles County. Edith is a founding partner of the law firm Robie & Matthai. The firm handles complex cases at the trial and appellate levels with an emphasis on business disputes, insurance litigation and the representation of attorneys.

Patricia Egan Daehnke was president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association in 2013. Patricia received the Matthew S. Rae Outstanding Section Leader Award for her service as Chair of the Litigation Section, and she is a past Chair of the LACBA Delegation to the Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations. Patricia is a founding partner of Collinson, Daehnke, Inlow & Greco.

Miriam Krinsky was president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association in 2002. Miriam was the first lawyer from the public sector to hold this position. Ms. Krinsky is currently executive director for Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP). FJP brings together newly elected local prosecutors as part of a network of leaders committed to promoting a justice system grounded in fairness, equity, compassion, and fiscal responsibility.

Gretchen M. Nelson was president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association in 2007. Ms. Nelson was also past chair of LACBA's Litigation Section. Gretchen is currently of counsel at the law firm of Kreindler & Kreindler LLP. Gretchen is one of the founding members of their Los Angeles office, and she continues to practice in the area of complex class action litigation.

Justice Lee Smalley Edmon was president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association in 1998. Justice Edmon has a rich history with LACBA. She is a former president of the Barristers Section, named one of LACBA's Trailblazers of the Bar (2011) and received LACBA's Outstanding Jurist award in 2013. Justice Edmon is a former Presiding Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court. She is currently Presiding Justice of Division Three of the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District.