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The Sixteenth Annual Wm. Matthew Byrne, Jr. Judicial Clerkship Institute March 17 - 18, 2016

Judicial Faculty

Carol Amon

The Honorable Carol Bagley Amon
Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York

Since April 5, 2011, Judge Amon has served as Chief Judge of the Eastern District and serves on the Judicial Conference of the United States. Judge Amon was a member of the Judicial Committee on Codes of Conduct from 1993 to 2001 and chair from 1998 to 2001. She also served as an advisor to the ABA Joint Commission to Evaluate the Model Code of Judicial Conduct. She is a graduate of William and Mary and the University of Virginia School of Law. Prior to her appointment to the district court in 1990, Judge Amon served as a U.S. Magistrate, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice.

Duane Benton

The Honorable Duane Benton
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Judge Benton became a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on July 8, 2004. Judge Benton served on the Missouri Supreme Court from 1991 until 2004, including as Chief Justice from 1997 to 1999. Previously, he practiced law from 1983 to 1988, and served as Missouri's Director of Revenue from 1989 to 1991. He is a 1972 graduate of Northwestern University and a 1975 graduate of Yale Law School, where he was managing editor of the Yale Law Journal. From 1975 to 1979, Judge Benton served with the U.S. Navy as a judge advocate. While in the U.S. Navy, he earned an MBA from Memphis State University, becoming a CPA in Missouri in 1983. Judge Benton earned an LLM from the University of Virginia in 1995. Judge Benton has been an adjunct professor at Westminster College, the University of Missouri–Columbia School of Law, and Vanderbilt University School of Law.

 

The Honorable André Birotte Jr.
United States District Court for the Central District of California

In August 2014 Judge André Birotte Jr. was sworn in as a federal district judge for the U.S. District Court, Central District of California. Judge Birotte had served as U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California since his appointment in 2010 by President Barack Obama. From 2003 to 2010, Judge Birotte served as Inspector General of the Los Angeles Police Department. From 1999 to 2001, he worked as an associate at Quinn Emanuel, where he represented clients in white-collar crime and commercial litigation matters. Prior to joining Quinn Emanuel, Judge Birotte served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Central District of California from 1995 to 1999 and as a deputy public defender in Los Angeles County from 1991 to 1995. Judge Birotte holds an undergraduate degree from Tufts University and a JD from Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law.

Karon Owen Bowdre

The Honorable Karon Owen Bowdre
United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama

Judge Bowdre received her bachelor's degree, cum laude, from Samford University and her law degree, cum laude, from Cumberland School of Law. Judge Bowdre served as a law clerk for the Honorable J. Foy Guin, District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama. She taught at Cumberland School of Law from 1990 until she took office in November 2001. Judge Bowdre was director of the legal research and writing program at the school and taught courses in insurance law, torts, professional responsibility, and appellate advocacy. Prior to joining the law faculty, Judge Bowdre practiced law with the Birmingham law firm of Rives & Peterson, handling numerous trial and appellate matters in state and federal court.

 

The Honorable Thérèse Wiley Dancks
United States District Court for the Northern District of New York

Judge Dancks is a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of New York. At the time of her appointment in February 2012, she was a founding partner in the law firm of Gale & Dancks, LLC, where her practice centered on civil litigation and trial work. She was associated with the law firm of Mackenzie Hughes, LLP in Syracuse, New York, from 1991 to 1997. Judge Dancks graduated magna cum laude from LeMoyne College in 1985 and earned her JD degree cum laude from Syracuse University College of Law in 1991. She is a native central New Yorker and assists local community and professional organizations, with an emphasis on helping providers of legal services to the indigent and poor, bar associations, and higher education institutions. Judge Dancks is a past president of the Central New York Women's Bar Association and established the chapter's award-winning Domestic Violence Legal Assistance Clinic during her term. She served as chair of the Hiscock Legal Aid Society Board of Directors and has coauthored articles for the Syracuse Law Review.

Jennifer Dorsey

The Honorable Jennifer Dorsey
United States District Court for the District of Nevada

Judge Dorsey was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada in 2013. Before taking the bench, she was a partner in the civil litigation firm of Kemp, Jones & Coulthard LLP, which she joined immediately after receiving her JD from Pepperdine in 1997. While in private practice, Judge Dorsey was selected to serve on the Nevada Supreme Court's Committee on Professionalism, was listed among the Top Women in Litigation and Nevada's Legal Elite, and held Martindale-Hubbell's highest AV rating for competency and ethics. She is a member of the UNLV Foundation's Advisory Board and the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law Board of Visitors. She teaches judicial writing for law clerks and externs as an adjunct professor at UNLV's Boyd School of Law.

Jeremy D. Fogel

The Honorable Jeremy D. Fogel
United States District Court for the Northern District of California

Judge Fogel received his BA from Stanford University and his JD, cum laude, from Harvard University. Judge Fogel was in private practice in San Jose from 1974 to 1978, and was founder and directing attorney, Mental Health Advocacy Project, Santa Clara County Bar Association Law Foundation from 1978 to 1981. In 1981 he was appointed to Santa Clara County Municipal Court and appointed to Santa Clara Superior Court in 1986. He is a frequent lecturer on ethics, discipline, and professional conduct for both bench and bar and a lecturer at Stanford University Law School. He was appointed to the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California in 1998. Since October 2011, he has served as Director of the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, D.C.

 

The Honorable Phillip S. Gutierrez
United States District Court for the Central District of California

Judge Gutierrez was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in 2007. Prior to joining the federal bench, Judge Gutierrez served for 10 years as a Superior Court judge in Los Angeles Superior Court and a Municipal Court judge in Whittier Municipal Court. Judge Gutierrez graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1981 and from the UCLA School of Law in 1984. After graduating from law school, he worked in private practice, specializing in complex business litigation, professional malpractice liability, and insurance coverage issues. In 1988, he joined the law firm of Cotkin & Collins, where he became the managing partner of the Santa Ana, California offices.

Sandra Segal Ikuta

The Honorable Sandra Segal Ikuta
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Judge Ikuta was confirmed as a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 2006. Before becoming a U.S. Circuit Judge, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed her to be Deputy Secretary and General Counsel of the California Resources Agency in January 2004. Prior to her political appointment, Judge Ikuta was a partner at the Los Angeles office of O'Melveny & Myers. She joined the law firm in 1990 as an associate and became a partner in 1997. She specialized in environmental and natural resources law. She previously served as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, 1989 to 1990, and Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, 1988 to 1989. She received her JD from the UCLA School of Law and a master of science from Columbia University School of Journalism. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley. In addition to her duties as an active U.S. Circuit Judge, Judge Ikuta is the chair of the Advisory Committee on Rules of Bankruptcy.

 

The Honorable Robert A. Katzmann
Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Judge Katzmann is Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Prior to joining the federal bench in 1999, he was Walsh Professor of Government, Professor of Law and Professor of Public Policy at Georgetown University, a Fellow of the Governmental Studies Program of the Brookings Institution, and President of the Governance Institute. Judge Katzmann received his AB, summa cum laude, from Columbia College, AM and PhD in government from Harvard University, and a JD from the Yale Law School. After clerking on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, he joined the Brookings Institution, where he was a research associate, Senior Fellow, Visiting Fellow, and Acting Program Director. He chaired the U.S. Judicial Conference Committee on the Judicial Branch. Judge Katzmann received the American Political Science Association's Charles E. Merriam Award, is a recipient of the 2012 Learned Hand Medal of the Federal Bar Council, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

 

The Honorable Jacqueline H. Nguyen
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Judge Nguyen was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 2012. Judge Nguyen is the first and currently the only Asian American woman on the Federal Court of Appeals. She previously served as a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California from 2009 to May 2012 and as a Los Angeles Superior Court judge for seven years. Prior to joining the bench, Judge Nguyen was an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, including a two-year term as a Deputy Chief in the General Crimes Section. She began her legal career in private practice at the law firm of Musick, Peeler & Garrett in Los Angeles. Judge Nguyen cofounded and served as President of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association from 1999 to 2000 and has served on the boards of several bar associations. She graduated from Occidental College in 1987 and received her JD from the UCLA School of Law in 1991.

Beverly Reid O'Connell

The Honorable Beverly Reid O'Connell
United States District Court for the Central District of California

On April 15, 2013, the Senate confirmed Judge O'Connell as a federal judge to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Prior to joining the federal bench, Judge O'Connell served as a Superior Court judge at the Los Angeles Superior Court and was the supervising judge of the North Valley District. Judge O'Connell also previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California and as the Deputy Chief of the training section, training all new Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Greater Los Angeles area. Before serving as a prosecutor, Judge O'Connell was an associate at the law firm of Morrison & Foerster, specializing in litigation. Judge O'Connell also serves as an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School and Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law, teaching basic and advanced trial advocacy skills. She earned a BA from UCLA in 1986, and graduated, magna cum laude, in 1990 from Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law.

Jimmie V. Reyna

The Honorable Jimmie Reyna
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Judge Reyna serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Prior to his appointment, Judge Reyna practiced international trade and customs law and policy in Washington, D.C. for over 25 years with Stewart & Stewart (1986-1998), and Williams Mullen (1998- 2011). Judge Reyna served on the U.S. roster of dispute settlement panelists for trade disputes under NAFTA Chapter 19 and the World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Mechanism (1995-2011). Judge Reyna is the author of two books and numerous articles on trade and customs issues and was the founder and senior coeditor of the Hispanic National Bar Association Journal of Law and Policy. Judge Reyna is a recipient of numerous awards for service to the legal profession, served as national president for the Hispanic National Bar Association and in various leadership positions in the ABA. He received a BA from the University of Rochester and a JD from the University of New Mexico School of Law.

 

The Honorable Milan D. Smith, Jr.
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Judge Smith was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in June 2006. Prior to becoming an appellate judge, Judge Smith was the managing partner at Smith Crane Robinson & Parker LLP, where his practice focused on the negotiating and documenting of complex business and governmental transactions. Judge Smith previously served as the Vice Chair of the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission, President and General Counsel of the Los Angeles State Building Authority, and Chair of the State Bar of California Real Property Finance Subsection of the Real Property Section. He serves on the board of directors for the Western Justice Center and the Ninth Circuit Judicial Circuit Historical Society. He graduated cum laude from Brigham Young University and received his law degree at the University of Chicago.

 

The Honorable John M. Walker, Jr.
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Judge Walker is a senior circuit judge, and was formerly Chief Judge (2000-2006), of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He was a district judge (1985-1989) on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York before being elevated to the Second Circuit. Judge Walker has served as President of the Federal Judges Association and as a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States. He was chair of the conference's Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability and a member of the conference's Executive, Budget, and International Judicial Relations Committees. After receiving his BA from Yale University and JD from the University of Michigan Law School, he was state counsel to the Republic of Botswana. Judge Walker served in the Marine Corps Reserves. After private practice in New York City, he served as a federal prosecutor in New York for five years before returning to private practice as a partner with the New York firm of Carter, Ledyard & Milburn. Judge Walker was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in 1981, where he served until he became a district judge.

 

 


 

Bankruptcy Faculty

Martin Barash

The Honorable Martin Barash
U.S.Bankruptcy Judge for the Central District of California

Hon. Martin R. Barash has been a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Central District of California since 2015. Prior to his appointment, Judge Barash was a partner at Klee, Tuchin, Bogdanoff & Stern LLP in Los Angeles. Following law school, he clerked for Judge Procter R. Hug, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Judge Barash is a member of ABI's Board of Directors and an ex officio director of the Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum. He has participated as a panelist for these and other legal education organizations, and has served as a guest lecturer at the UCLA School of Law and as an adjunct professor of business law at the California State University at Northridge. Judge Barash has been involved in the local legal community as a pro bono attorney with the Public Counsel Chapter 7 Reaffirmation Hearing Clinic, and is a volunteer judge for various UCLA School of Law programs. He currently serves as a director of the Junior Statesmen Foundation, a national, nonpartisan organization sponsoring civics education programs for high school students. Judge Barash received his A.B. magna cum laude in 1989 from Princeton University and his JD in 1992 from the UCLA School of Law, where he served as member, editor, business manager and symposium editor of the UCLA Law Review.

C. Ray Mullins

The Honorable C. Ray Mullins
Chief U.S.Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Georgia

Hon. C. Ray Mullins is Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta, appointed by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals on Feb. 29, 2000 and named chief judge in January 2012. Judge Mullins served as an instructor in the Management Department of Bowling Green State University's School of Business Administration from 1977-82, then joined the Toledo, Ohio, firm of Cooper, Straub, Walinski & Cramer (now Cooper Walinski), focusing primarily on civil litigation. From 1984-86, Judge Mullins taught trial practice as an adjunct professor at the University of Toledo College of Law. In 1987, he joined Kilpatrick & Cody (now Kilpatrick Stockton LLP) in Atlanta and became a partner in 1993, practicing in the firm's Financial Restructuring Group and specializing in chapter 11 matters. He also served as a member of the Trustee Panel for the Northern District of Georgia from 1995-2000. Judge Mullins is a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy, a member of ABI's Board of Directors, and a past president of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (2012-13). In March 2013, Chief Justice Roberts appointed Judge Mullins to the board of the Federal Judicial Center. He is also an advisor to the Emory Bankruptcy Developments Law Journal. Judge Mullins received his B.S. in business administration in 1974, his M.B.A. in 1977 from Bowling Green State University, and his JD magna cum laude in 1982 from the University of Toledo College of Law, where he was a member of its law review and Order of the Coif.

Barry Russell

The Honorable Barry Russell
U.S.Bankruptcy Judge for the Central District of California

Hon. Barry Russell is a Bankruptcy Judge with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, appointed in 1974. He served as Chief Judge from January 2003 to December 2006, and served on a Bankruptcy Appellate Panel from September 1999 to December 2001. He is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and has been a faculty member of the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, D.C. since 1977. Judge Russell received the American Bar Association's Franklin N. Flaschener Judicial Award in 1987 as the outstanding judge in the United States in a trial court of special jurisdiction. He was the first American invited by the Supreme People's Court in the People's Republic of China to lecture on the subject of bankruptcy law. In 2000, Judge Russell received the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Dispute Resolution Services' Emil Gumpert Judicial ADR award, and in 2004, he received the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Outstanding Jurist Award. He was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors (AIRA) in the Bankruptcy and Restructuring Field. The San Fernando Valley Bar Association awarded Judge Russell the Stanley Mosk Legacy of Justice Award, and he was awarded the Judge William L. Norton J. Judicial Excellence Award in 2013. Judge Russell received his B.S. in engineering and his JD from UCLA.

 

 


 

Academic Exchange

Erwin Chemerinsky

Erwin Chemerinsky
Dean and Distinguished Professor, University of California, Irvine, School of Law

Dean Chemerinsky is the founding dean of the School of Law, University of California, Irvine. From 2004 to 2008, he was the Alston and Bird Professor of Law, Duke University School of Law. Before that, he was on the USC faculty for over 20 years. Dean Chemerinsky regularly lectures to judges in programs for the Federal Judicial Center, the National Judicial College, and the American Bar Association. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and Harvard Law School. He is the author of seven books and over 200 law review articles. He regularly argues appellate cases, including in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Douglas W. Kmiec

Douglas W. Kmiec
Caruso Family Chair and Professor of Constitutional Law and Human Rights, Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law

Ambassador (ret.) Douglas W. Kmiec is Caruso Family Chair and Professor of Constitutional Law and Human Rights, Pepperdine University. In addition to being an author and syndicated columnist, he has served Democratic and Republican presidents alike. Upon nomination by President Obama and confirmation by the Senate, he was U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Malta, where he completed the construction of a $125.5 million embassy compound and upgraded the security and economic ties between the Mediterranean and the United States. In the face of violence in the Libyan uprisings, the ambassador successfully organized a rescue of the staff of the U.S. embassy in Tripoli and hundreds of other foreign nationals from Libya with a catamaran. Ambassador Kmiec had previously served as head of the Office of Legal Counsel (U.S. Assistant Attorney General) for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. A Fulbright Scholar (Asia), White House Fellow, and honorary degree recipient, the ambassador is a graduate of Northwestern and USC. He taught at Notre Dame for nearly 20 years and was dean of The Catholic University of America.

 

Tony Mauro
Supreme Court Correspondent for The National Law Journal and Legal Times

Tony Mauro has covered the Supreme Court for 35 years— first for Gannett News Service and USA TODAY and then, since 2000, for Legal Times, The National Law Journal, and now Supreme Court Brief, a subscription newsletter about the Court. Mauro received a bachelor's degree in political science from Rutgers University and a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Washingtonian magazine has twice included Mauro on its list of the top 50 journalists in Washington. In 1999 the American Bar Association gave Mauro a Silver Gavel Award honorable mention for his stories on Supreme Court law clerks in USA TODAY. Mauro is the author of Illustrated Great Decisions of the Supreme Court, published in 2000, and Landmark Cases, published in 2015 as a companion book to the C-SPAN series with the same name.