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Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law's Tenth Annual Wm. Matthew Byrne, Jr. Judicial Clerkship Institute March 18 - 20, 2010

Judicial Faculty

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

Carol Bagley Amon

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 American Bar Association Joint Commission to Evaluate the Model Code of Judicial Conduct. Judge Amon is presently an adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School where she teaches a seminar in federal sentencing. 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, an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice.

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

Karon Owen Bowdre

Judge Bowdre received her bachelor's degree, cum laude, from Samford University and her law degree, cum laude, from Cumberland School of Law. 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 Charles R. Breyer
United States District Court for the Northern District of California

Charles R. Breyer

Judge Breyer received his A.B. in 1963 from Harvard College and his JD in 1966 from Boalt Hall School of Law. Upon graduation from law school, Judge Breyer clerked for Oliver J. Carter, chief judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. He then served as an assistant district attorney in San Francisco until 1973, when he was appointed assistant special prosecutor, Watergate Special Prosecution force. He entered private practice in 1974, specializing in the defense of white-collar criminal cases. Judge Breyer is also an adjunct professor at Hastings College of the Law. He was appointed to the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California in 1997 by President Clinton.

The Honorable Audrey Brodie Collins
Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Central District of California

Audrey Brodie Collins

Judge Collins received her undergraduate degree from Howard University, a masters degree from American University, and a JD from UCLA Law School. She joined the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office in 1978. During her 16 years in that office, she became the first African-American women to become a head deputy, assistant bureau director and assistant district attorney. She was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California by President Clinton in May 1994. She became chief judge of the Central District of California in 2009. Judge Collins is a lifetime member of the National Bar Association, WLALA, and California Women Lawyers.

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

Jeremy D. Fogel

Judge Fogel received his B.A. from Stanford University and his JD, cum laude, from Harvard University. Judge Fogel was in private practice in San Jose, 1974-1978, and was founder and directing attorney, Mental Health Advocacy Project, Santa Clara County Bar Association Law Foundation, 1978-1981. 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.

The Honorable Paul L. Friedman
United States District Court for the District of Columbia

Paul L. Friedman

Judge Friedman was law clerk to Judge Roger Robb on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to Judge Aubrey E. Robinson, Jr., on the U.S. District Court. He previously was an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, an assistant to the solicitor general of the U.S., associate independent counsel for the Iran/Contra Investigation, a partner in the firm of White & Case, and the managing partner of its Washington, D.C. office. Judge Friedman is a past president of the District of Columbia Bar. He is a member of the American Law Institute, its council, and the executive committee of the council; he chairs ALI's program committee and is an advisor to its Model Penal Code Sentencing Project.

The Honorable Harris L. Hartz
United States Court of Appeal for the Tenth Circuit

Harris L. Hartz

Judge Hartz has been a member of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals since December 2001. From 1989 to 1999 he was a judge on the New Mexico Court of Appeals, serving as chief judge from 1997 to 1999. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, where he was Case and Developments Editor of the Harvard Law Review. He received his AB degree from Harvard College summa cum laude in physics. He was one of nine members of his college class elected to Phi Beta Kappa in their junior year. Judge Hartz is a member of the U.S. Judicial Conference's Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure. He served as chair of the Appellate Judges Conference of the ABA in 2004-2005. He has been active in the American Law Institute since 1993.

The Honorable Brett Kavanaugh
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia

Brett Kavanaugh

Judge Kavanaugh was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2006. He graduated from Yale College and Yale Law School. He served as a law clerk to Judge Walter Stapleton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and for Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. From 1992-1993, he worked as an attorney in the Office of the Solicitor General of the United States. Judge Kavanaugh was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis in Washington, D.C. from 1997 to 1998 and again from 1999 to 2001. From 2001 to 2003, he served as associate counsel and then as senior associate counsel to the president. From July 2003 until his appointment to the court in 2006, he was assistant to the president and staff secretary to President Bush. Since joining the court, he was assistant to the president and staff secretary to President Bush. Since joining the court, he has taught courses at Harvard Law School and Georgetown University Law Center.

The Honorable Royce C. Lamberth
Chief Judge, United States District Court for the District of Columbia

Royce C. Lamberth

Judge Lamberth graduated from the University of Texas with a B.A. degree in 1966 and from the University of Texas School of Law in 1967. He served as a captain in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the U.S. Army from 1968 to 1974. After service at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and in Vietnam, he served in the Litigation Division of the Office of the Judge Advocate General of the Army at the Pentagon from 1971 to 1974. He served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia from 1974 to 1987. He was chief of the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office, 1978 to 1987. He was appointed U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia in 1987 and assumed his current position as chief judge in 2008.

The Honorable Nanette K. Laughrey
United States District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri

Nanette K. Laughrey

Judge Laughrey received her bachelor's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and her JD from the University of Missouri at Columbia (UMC). She has served as an assistant and deputy attorney general for the State of Missouri and as a municipal judge for the City of Columbia. From 1983 to 1996 she was a faculty member at the UMC Law School, where she served as the William H. Pittman Professor of Law. She has been a member of the Eighth Circuit Model Jury Instruction Committee, the Electronic Case Filing Committee, and the Local Rules Committee of the Western District of Missouri. She is a current member of the American Law Institute.

The Honorable M. Margaret McKeown
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Margaret McKeown

Judge McKeown was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by President Clinton in 19998. She attended the University of Madrid, the University of Wyoming, and the Georgetown University Law Center. Judge McKeown serves as chair of the Judicial Conference of the U.S. Codes of Conduct Committee. She also is the Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Committee on Federal Judicial Improvements. She serves on the ABA World Justice Project Commission, the board of the Advisory Board of the American Judicature Society, the American Society of International Law Judicial Advisory Board, and as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

The Honorable Thomas M. Reavley
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Thomas M. Reavley

Judge Reavley was appointed U.S. Circuit judge for the Fifth Circuit in 1979. He took senior status in 1990. He earned a BA from the University of Texas and a JD from Harvard Law School. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1943 to 1946. He formerly served as county attorney, Nacogdoches County, 1951; secretary of state for Texas, 1955-1957; district judge for the 167th District, 1964-1968; and as a justice for the district judge for the 167th District, 1964-1968; and as a justice for the Supreme Court of Texas, 1968-1977. He served as a member of the Committee on Court Administration of the Judicial Conference, 1984-1987. In 1987 he was appointed to the new Committee on Federal-State Jurisdiction and became chair in 19990. He was chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Asbestos Litigation, 1990-1991. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the American Law Institute.

The Honorable Pamela Ann Rymer
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Pamela Ann Rymer

Judge Rymer brings experience on both the district court (1983-89) and the circuit court (1989-present) to the Institute. She has served on the Commission on Structural Alternatives for the Federal Courts of Appeals, the Federal Judicial Center's Committee on Appellate Judge Education, the Judicial Conference of the U.S. Committee on Federal- State Jurisdiction, and the Ad Hoc Committee on Gender-Based Violence. In 1990 she served as the chair of the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference. She is a graduate of Vassar College and Stanford University School of Law, and was a partner with two Los Angeles law firms prior to moving to the district court bench.

The Honorable Deanell Reece Tacha
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Deanell Reece Tacha

Judge Tacha was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in December of 1985. Judge Tacha served as chief judge of the Tenth Circuit from January 2001 through December 2007. Named a White House Fellow in 1971, she was assigned as special assistant to Secretary of Labor James D. Hodgson. The following year, she joined the law firm of Hogan & Hartson in Washington, D.C. In 1974, she joined the University of Kansas School of Law Faculty. She was appointed as a U.S. Sentencing Commissioner from 1994 to 1998, and she chaired the Judicial Division of the ABA from 1995 to 1996. From 1990 to 1994 and again from 2001 to 2005, she served as chair of the U.S. Judicial Conference Committee on the Judicial Branch. She has received the Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award and the American Bar Association's John Marshall Award. She earned degrees from the University of Kansas and the University of Michigan.

The Honorable J. Clifford Wallace
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Clifford Wallace

Judge Wallace graduated from San Diego State University and the University of California at Berkeley School of Law. He was sworn in as a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of California in 1970; elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1972; chief judge of the Ninth Circuit from 1991 to 1996, and took senior status in 1996. He was a scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Smithsonian Institution and was a member of Advisory Panel to American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research's 10-year project to Study the Constitution, 1977-1987. He is the author of 40 professional articles and has lectured widely nationally and internationally.


Bankruptcy Faculty


The Honorable Barbara J. Houser
Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Texas

Barbara J. Houser

Upon graduation from law school, Judge Houser practiced bankruptcy law with Locke, Purnell, Boren, Laney & Neeley and Sheinfeld, Maley & Kay, before taking the bench in 2000. She was elected a Fellow of the American college of Bankruptcy and currently sits on its Board of Directors. She was elected to the National Bankruptcy Conference in 1996 and serves as a member of its Executive Committee. Judge Houser has recently been named the president of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges. A member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, she serves as a cochair of the committee on Court Administration. Judge Houser is a contributing author to Collier on bankruptcy and the Collier Bankruptcy Manual. The National Law Journal named her one of the 50 Most Influential Women Lawyers in America in 1998. She received her JD from Southern Methodist University Law School.

The Honorable Margaret Mahoney
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of Alabama

Margaret Mahoney

Judge Mahoney was appointed U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of Alabama in 1993. She served as chief judge from 1996 to 2003. Before serving in the state of Alabama, she was a bankruptcy judge in Southern District of Texas and also in the District of Minnesota. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Mahoney was a partner with Weil, Gotshal & Manges. She is a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy, a former editor-in-chief of the American Bankruptcy Law Journal and a member of the board of governors of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges. Judge Mahoney received her BA from the College of St. Catherine, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and her JD with honors from the University of Minnesota Law School.

The Honorable Steven Rhodes
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan

Steven Rhodes

Judge Rhodes recently completed a term as chief judge. From 1997 to 2004 he also served on the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Sixth Circuit, the last three years as chief judge. Judge Rhodes was appointed to a new four-year term on the BAP beginning January 1, 2008. He has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan Law School Teaching bankruptcy law, and is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. A past member of the American Bankruptcy Institute Board of Directors, he also served as ABI's vice president-research grants. Judge Rhodes received his undergraduate degree from Purdue University and his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School.

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

Barry Russell

Judge Russell serves as Chief Judge Emeritus on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Central District of California in Los Angeles. Appointed in 1974, he served as chief judge from January 2003 to December 2006, later serving on the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel and becoming its chief judge from September 1999 to December 2001. Judge Russell has been a member of the faculty of the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, D.C., since 1977, and frequently lectures to the bankruptcy judges throughout the United States. He has been the author of West's Bankruptcy Evidence manual since August 1987. A member of the American Bankruptcy Institute Board of Directors, he received both his BS and JD from UCLA.


Academic Exchange


Akhil Reed Amar
Southmayd Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale Law School

Akhil Reed Amar

Professor Amar is considered by many to be the most outstanding constitutional law scholar of his generation. As an undergraduate, he attended Yale College, where he majored in history and economics, won many prizes, earned a perfect grade point average, and was a star debater. Later, as a student at Yale Law School, he served as editor of the Yale Law Journal. Professor Amar is the author of several distinguished scholarly books and law review articles, and is one of the most frequently quoted academics in America. His most recent book is American Constitution: A Biography.

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

Erwin Chemerinsky

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 and he was on the USC faculty for over 20 years. Dean Chemerinksy 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 six books and over 100 law review articles. He regularly argues appellate cases, including in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Robert J. Pushaw
James Wilson Endowed Professor of Law

Robert J. Pushaw

Professor Pushaw earned a BA from La Salle College and a JD from Yale University. Professor Pushaw clerked for Judge James Buckley of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and then worked as an associate for Davis Wright Tremaine in Seattle. Joining the University of Missouri School of Law faculty in 1992, he taught Constitutional Law, Federal Courts, Contracts, and Estates and Trusts. In 1998 he won the Blackwell Sanders Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award as the law school's top teacher. In 2000 he received the William Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence.

Judith Resnik
Arthur Liman Professor of Law, Yale Law School

Judith Resnik

Professor Resnik is the Arthur Liman Professor of Law at Yale Law School, where she teaches about federalism, courts, procedure, and local and global interventions to diminish inequalities. Her recent books include Federal Courts Stories (with Vicki C. Jackson)(2009) and Migrations and Mobilities: Citizenship, Borders, and Gender (co-edited with Seyla Benhabib)(2009). She has chaired the sections on Procedure, on Federal Courts, and on Women in Legal Education of the American Association of Law Schools. In 2001, she was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, in 2002, a member of the American Philosophical Society, and in 2008, she was given the Outstanding Scholar of the Year award by the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation.

Kenneth W. Starr
Duane and Kelly Roberts Dean and Professor of Law, Pepperdine Caruso School of Law

Kenneth W. Starr

Kenneth W. Starr is counsel to the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where he was a partner from 1993 to 2004, specializing in appellate work, antitrust, federal courts, federal jurisdiction, and constitutional law. From 1983 to 1989 he was a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He served as the Solicitor General of the United States from 1989 to 1993. He was formerly a partner with the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Having received his B.A. from George Washington University in 1968 and his M.A. from Brown University in 1969, Dean Starr graduated from Duke Law School with a JD degree in 1973.