EBCLC is blessed with a dedicated board of directors, whose broad range of experience and interests serve the agency well. Most board members are graduates of Boalt Hall, and many are alumni/ae of EBCLC. All board members are active participants in their local communities, and first-rate ambassadors for EBCLC. If you are interested in serving on the EBCLC Board of Directors, please contact EBCLC Executive Director Tirien Steinbach () or Board Chair Frank A. Cialone ().

Denise Abrams, Vice Chair (Term expires 2012)

Kazan McClain Abrams Lyons Farrise & Greenwood, a Professional Law Corporation

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (1986)

M.A., Ph.D., University of Maryland (1983)

B.A., University of Rhode Island (1972)

Denise Abrams joined the EBCLC board in 2003. She is a Principal in the law firm of Kazan, McClain, Abrams, Fernandez, Lyons & Farrise, a nationally recognized plaintiffs’; law firm in Oakland where she has worked since 1984. Prior to law school, Denise taught sociology and women’s studies at the University of Maryland and Antioch College in Ohio. More about Denise

Michelle Wilde Anderson (Term expires 2012)

University of California Berkeley Law School

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (2004)

MSc, London School of Economics (2000)

B.A., Yale University (1997)

Michelle joined the EBCLC Board in 2010. She is an Assistant Professor of Law at Boalt, where her research focuses on civil rights and poverty issues in the local government context. She teaches Environmental Justice, Local Government Law, and Property. As a student at Boalt, Michelle interned in the Community Economic Development Unit at EBCLC, and she served as a student representative on the Board. More about Michelle

Stephen Bundy (Term expires 2012)

University of California Berkeley Law School

J.D., UC Berkeley (Boalt Hall) (1978)

B.A., Harvard University (1973)

Stephen Bundy joined EBCLC’s board in 2010. He is a professor of law at Berkeley Law School since 1984 and is an expert on civil procedure, complex litigation, and legal ethics. Before becoming a professor, Stephen clerked for Judge John J. Gibbons of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and was an associate at New York’s Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP, specializing in litigation. Stephen has also written extensively on the legal profession and dispute resolution in law reviews and journals. In 2011, Stephen received the Rutter Award for Teaching Distinction for demonstrating an outstanding commitment to teaching. More about Steve

Peter H. Carson (Term expires 2012)

Bingham McCutchen LLP

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (1985)

B.A., University of California, Berkeley (1980)

Peter Carson joined the EBCLC board in 2011. He is a partner in the transactional finance practice group of Bingham McCutchen, based in the firm’s San Francisco office, and co-chairs Bingham’s global pro bono practice. Prior to coming to Bingham in 2003, Peter was a partner at Cooley. Among other bar and community activities, Peter serves as chair of the board of trustees of Earthjustice and is a member of the ABA Task Force on the Civil Right to Counsel. He previously served as co-chair of the California Legal Services Trust Fund Commission and as a member of the ABA’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service as well as a member of the boards of the California Bar Foundation, Bay Area Legal Aid and the Bar Association of San Francisco VLSP Foundation. More about Peter

Christine Chavez (Term expires 2013)

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (1997)

B.A., English, University of New Mexico (1994)

Christine Chavez joined EBCLC’s board in 2005. She is a Partner in the law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in San Francisco, where she transferred after having been resident in Orrick’s Tokyo office. Chris has a general real estate and real estate finance practice at Orrick, including real estate secured lending, and the acquisition, disposition and leasing of commercial property. Prior to joining Orrick, Ms. Chavez was a real estate associate with Morrison & Foerster LLP in San Francisco and Tokyo. More about Chris

Frank A. Cialone, Chair (Term expires 2013)

Shartsis, Friese LLP

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (1994)

A.B., Brown University (1987)

Frank Cialone joined EBCLC’s board in 1998. While at Boalt Hall, Frank interned in EBCLC’s Housing practice. He is a Partner at the San Francisco law firm of Shartsis Friese LLP, specializing in complex civil litigation matters. More about Frank

Nimish Desai (Term expires 2013)

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP

J.D., UC Berkeley (Boalt Hall) (2006)

B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin (2002)

Nimish Desai joined EBCLC’s board in 2011. He is an associate at the law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP at the San Francisco office, where he practices class action and mass tort litigation. Before working at Lieff Cabraser, Nimish worked at the Sierra Club Environmental Law Program, Public Citizen, and the Center for Energy and Environmental Resources. He is also currently serving on the Board of the South Asian Bar Association of Northern California. More about Nimish

Henry L. Hecht (Term expires 2013)

University of California Berkeley Law School

J.D., Harvard Law School (1973)

B.A., Williams College (1968)

Henry Hecht joined the EBCLC board in 1997. He is a Lecturer in Residence at Boalt Hall, where he has taught skills courses since 1983. Prior to coming to Boalt, Henry served as an assistant special prosecutor to the Watergate Special Prosecution Force from 1973 to 1976 and was a special counsel with the San Francisco firm of Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe from 1977 to 1983. More about Henry

Michael S. Kwun (Term expires 2012)

Keker & Van Nest LLP

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (1998)

B.G.S., University of Michigan (1993)

Michael Kwun first joined Keker & Van Nest in 2000, and rejoined the firm in 2009 after stints as Managing Counsel, Litigation, at Google, and as a Senior Staff Attorney in the intellectual property group at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Prior to first joining Keker & Van Nest, Michael clerked for the Honorable Claudia Wilken in the Northern District of California. Michael’s practice is focused on the legal issues raised by cutting edge technologies. He has worked on many of the most-watched high tech cases of the Internet era. More about Michael

Michael J. Loeb, (Term expires 2013)

Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS)

J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law (1974)

B.A., Cornell University (1969)

Michael Loeb joined EBCLC’s board in 1991, and was the Board Chair from 1996 to 2010. He practiced employment and labor law for 30 years with two firms, Bingham McCutchen in San Francisco, where he lead the labor and employment law department before the firm’s merger with Bingham Dana in 2002, and Crosby, Heafey Roach and May (now Reed Smith). Michael joined JAMS as a full-time employment, labor ERISA and civil rights mediator and arbitrator in April 2006. He is a former President of the Alameda County Bar Association and was a recipient of the State Bar of California President’s pro bono award in 1991.. More about Michael

Daven G. Lowhurst (Term expires 2014)

Jones Day

J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law (1986)

B.A., University of California at Santa Barbara (1983)

Daven Lowhurst joined EBCL’s board in 1999. He is a partner at Jones Day’s San Francisco office where he has a broad civil trial and appellate practice, as well as extensive experience in alternative dispute resolution. He focuses on disputes involving insurance coverage and recoveries, contractual relations, construction projects, commercial landlord-tenant relations, and products liability and warranty claims. Daven has been repeatedly recognized as a Northern California “Super Lawyer” in both commercial litigation and construction. More about Daven

Linda Lye (Term expires 2014)

American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (1999)

B.A., Literature, Yale College (1993)

Linda Lye joined EBCLC’s board in 2011. She is a staff attorney at the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, where she focuses on free speech, privacy and students’ rights issues. Prior to joining the ACLU, Linda was a partner at Altshuler Berzon LLP, where she represented local and international labor unions, and litigated a broad array of labor, environmental, and constitutional law issues. Immediately after law school, Linda clerked for Judge Guido Calabresi of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the United States Supreme Court.

James R. Meehan Treasurer (Term expires 2012)

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

B.A., University of California, Santa Barbara (1989)

Jim joined EBCLC’s Board in 2007. He is a partner in the San Francisco, California office of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. As part of the Forensic Services practice, Jim specializes in assisting organizations and their counsel by providing accounting and financial advice in complex commercial disputes and investigations. His experience includes financial fraud, embezzlement and corruption investigations; and complex litigation matters, including securities fraud class actions. Jim is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensed in California, and is Certified in Financial Forensics by the AICPA (CFF).

Samuel R. Miller (Term expires 2013)

Sidley Austin LLP

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (1975)

B.A., Urban Studies/Latin American Studies, Yale University (1971)

Sam Miller joined EBCLC’s board in 1997. He is a partner in the San Francisco office Sidley Austin LLP, where he focuses his litigation practice in the areas of intellectual property, antitrust and securities law. Sam has been a faculty member of the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Information Agency’s Programs in Latin America , and a Lecturer at Boalt Hall. More about Sam

Melissa Murray (Term expires 2014)

University of California Berkeley Law School

J.D., Yale Law School (2002)

B.A., University of Virginia (1997)

Melissa Murray joined EBCLC’s Board in 2012. Melissa is a Professor of Law at Berkeley Law, where she teaches family law, criminal law, and constitutional law. Her research, which focuses on the roles that criminal law and family law play in articulating the legal parameters of intimate life, has been published in the Columbia Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Virginia Law Review, and Yale Law Journal, among others. Prior to attending law school, Melissa worked as a management consultant, specializing in strategic planning for consumer products and retail companies. Following law school, she clerked for Sonia Sotomayor, then of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, and Stefan Underhill of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. A member of the New York bar and the American Law Institute, Melissa has served as a legal commentator for local media outlets. More about Melissa

Michael K. Ng (Term expires 2014)

Kerr & Wagstaffe LLP

J.D., Harvard Law School (2001)

A.B., Harvard College (1995)

Mike Ng joined the EBCLC’s board in 2009. He is a partner in the San Francisco office of Kerr & Wagstaffe LLP, where his focus is class actions in employment, wage and hour, consumer rights and unfair competition. Mike’s experience prior to joining Kerr & Wagstaffe included public service in both government and nonprofit settings. More about Mike

Ann O’Leary (Term expires 2014)

Executive Director, Berkeley Center on Health, Economic & Family Security

J.D., UC Berkeley (Boalt Hall) (2006)

M.A., Stanford University

B.A., Mount Holyoke College

Ann O’Leary joined EBCLC’s Board in 2010. Ann is the Executive Director of the Berkeley Center on Health, Economic & Family Security and a Senior Fellow with the Center for American Progress. Prior to her role as Executive Director, Ann served as San Francisco’s Deputy City Attorney, a law clerk to the U.S Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge John T. Noonan, and was the legislative director for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. She also volunteered on the Obama-Biden Transition Team, advising the administration on early childhood education issues. More about Ann

Al Pfeiffer (Term expires 2013)

Latham & Watkins LLP

J.D., Yale Law School (1985)

B.A., St. Joseph University (1982)

Al Pfeiffer joined EBCLC’s Board in 2011. He is a partner at Latham & Watkin’s San Francisco office and a member of the firm’s Litigation Department and Global Antitrust & Competition Practice Group. He particularly specializes in claims involving dominant firm conduct and the information technologies and telecommunications areas. Over the years, he has been involved with the American Bar Association’s section on Antitrust and is currently a leader of the Committee Operations Task Force. Al has over 20 years of trial experience and has won numerous trials, arbitrations, and appeals involving antitrust and communication cases. More about Al

Kathi Pugh (Term expires 2012)

Morrison & Foerster

B.A., University of California at Berkeley (1984)

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (1990)

M.B.A., Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley (1990)

Kathi Pugh and several classmates at Boalt Hall co-founded EBCLC in 1988 under the name Berkeley Community Law Center. Kathi is currently the Pro Bono Counsel for Morrison & Foerster, responsible for administering all aspects of the firm’s extensive pro bono program. She started at Morrison & Foerster as a labor associate in the Labor & Employment Department. Kathi has served on the boards of several Bay Area nonprofit organizations. More about Kathi

Thomas Z. Reicher (Term expires 2014)

Cooley Godward LLP

J.D., Stanford Law School (1976)

M.A., University of California at Berkeley (1973)

B.A., Amherst College (1970)

Tom Reicher joined the EBCLC board in 2001. Tom is a partner in the Cooley Godward Business department and a member of the Compensation and Benefits practice group specializing in the areas of employee benefit plans, stock compensation plans and executive compensation. Before moving to California in 1997, he was a partner with the law firm of Day, Berry & Howard in Hartford, Connecticut where he served as co-chair of the Employment and Employee Benefits Group. More about Tom

Joel S. Sanders (Term expires 2012)

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (1982)

B.A., Antioch College (1976)

Joel Sanders joined EBCLC’s board in 2006. He is a partner in the San Francisco office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. His practice focuses on antitrust, including cartel matters, mergers, counseling, class actions, and private litigation, as well as other complex litigation. More about Joel

Maureen A. Sheehy (Term expires 2014)

Kilpatrick Townsend and Stockton LLP

J.D., University of Chicago (1987)

B.A., American Studies, Stanford University (1984)

Maureen Sheehy joined EBCLC’s board in 2011. She is Co-Managing Partner and a litigation partner at Kilpatrick Townsend and Stockton, where her practice focuses on complex commercial litigation and intellectual property, with an emphasis on unfair competition, patent litigation, trade secrets, and general commercial litigation. Ms. Sheehy was Chair of Townsend & Townsend & Crew prior to its merger with Kilpatrick Stockton in 2011. From 1998–2004, Ms. Sheehy was a partner with Legal Strategies Group, a litigation boutique based in Emeryville, California. More about Maureen

Steven M. Tindall (Term expires 2014)

Rukin, Hyland, Doria & Tindall, LLP

J.D. Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (1996)

B.A., Yale University (1990)

Steven Tindall joined the EBCLC board in 2006. While at Boalt, he co-directed the East Bay Workers’ Rights Clinic, which began holding clinic sessions at EBCLC in 1995. In January 2007, Steve joined the law firm of Rukin, Hyland, Doria & Tindall, where he focuses on wage and hour class actions and other plaintiffs’ class actions(including consumer cases). Before joining his current firm, Steve was a partner at Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, specializing in employment class actions, antitrust, and mass torts. More about Steven

Duane R. Valz (Term expires 2012)

Google Inc.

J.D. Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley (1996)

A.B., University of California at Berkeley (1993)

Duane Valz joined EBCLC’s Board in 2007. He is presently a senior member of Google’s patent team. In his prior position with the international law firm of Chadbourne & Parke LLP, Duane’s practice focused on all aspects of IP and business counseling for companies, investors and entrepreneurs in the clean technology, information technology and digital media sectors. Immediately prior to joining Chadbourne, he served as VP & Associate General Counsel, Global Patents, at Yahoo! Inc. In that role Duane led a team of attorneys and engineers responsible for the company’s worldwide invention harvesting, patent filings and portfolio management. In addition to advising on IP-related litigation, licensing, policy and strategic corporate development matters, he also led Yahoo’s Open Source Working Group, a cross-functional team of attorneys, engineers and business managers. Duane also has held a number of board positions, principally with non-profit organizations, including those promoting volunteerism, international justice and cooperation and legal rights for underserved populations in the East Bay and San Francisco. More about Duane

Berkeley Law Liaison

Jeff Selbin

Faculty Director

J.D., Harvard University (1989)

C.E.P., L’Institut d’Etudes Politiques (1986)

B.A., Political and Environmental Sociology, University of Michigan (1983)

Jeff Selbin joined EBCLC in 1990 as a Skadden Fellow. He founded the HIV/AIDS & Health Law practice, which he directed for 10 years. He served as Clinical Director for several years before assuming the role of Executive Director in 2002. He has co-authored a practice manual on joint guardianship in California (2001); a family law chapter in AIDS and the Law, 3rd. Ed. (1998-2004); and an article in the Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy on providing legal services to women with HIV (1998).

In 2006, Jeff was appointed Clinical Professor of Law at Boalt Hall School of Law (UC Berkeley) where he co-teaches "Community Law Practice at EBCLC," the companion seminar for Boalt students enrolled in EBCLC’s clinical program. His full-time appointment at Boalt begins July 1, 2007. He is active in local and national clinical legal education efforts, and the recipient of numerous teaching and service awards, including being named a Bellow Scholar by the Association of American Law Schools in 2003 and a Wasserstein Fellow by Harvard Law School in 2003-2004. More about Jeff