April 2022
Aslı Bâli Wins Rutter Award
Professor Aslı Bâli has received the 2022 Rutter Award for Excellence in Teaching, the highest honor for distinction in the classroom at UCLA Law. Dean Jennifer L. Mnookin presided over an in-person ceremony attended by many of Bâli’s students, colleagues, friends, and family, and at which Paul Rutter ’78 presented the prize. Bâli, who joined the law school faculty in 2009, teaches Public International Law, International Human Rights, the Laws of War, and Third World Approaches to International Law, and was the founding faculty director of UCLA Law’s Promise Institute for Human Rights. "I owe profound debt to my current and former students,” Bâli said. "They remind me anew each year that learning is a dynamic and collaborative experience.”
More from Aslı Bâli about her commitment to teaching—and learning.
Students Earn Prestigious
Gideon's Promise Fellowships
Akruti Chandrayya ’22 and Jenna Finkle ’22 have earned Gideon’s Promise fellowships. Both are students in the law school’s David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy, and they are just two of six law students across the country to receive the prestigious fellowships this year. Starting this fall, Chandrayya will join the Law Office of the Shelby County Public Defender in Memphis, Tennessee, while Finkle will be in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with Still She Rises. “I chose to apply to Gideon’s Promise to become part of the larger community of public defenders,” says Finkle, who hopes to recreate the close-knit community of public interest-minded students and faculty she finds at UCLA Law and in the Epstein Program. “Those who pursue indigent defense to help people navigate what can seem an insurmountably difficult period in their lives within a criminal system that inflicts wounds on individuals, their families, and their communities.”
Board of Advisors Welcomes New Chairs
UCLA Law’s board of advisors, the group of distinguished alumni who provide strategic input on an array of short- and long-term priorities, has elevated Samuel Fischer ’82 and Vanessa Lavely ’08 as co-chairs. They assumed leadership at the board's April meeting. They succeed outgoing chair Alicia Miñana de Lovelace ’87, who is becoming chair of the board of directors of the UCLA Foundation. “Alicia Miñana de Lovelace has been an extraordinary leader of our board of advisors,” says Dean Jennifer L. Mnookin. “Through her thoughtful and strategic approach to a range of opportunities and challenges faced by the school, she has been a valued partner. Sam and Vanessa have a pair of big shoes to fill, but I know that they will do just that. I am excited for the future and what we will all accomplish together.”
Law and Entrepreneurship:
Students Vie for LMI-Sandler Prize
Student entrepreneurs have the opportunity to compete for the Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy's LMI-Sandler Prize for New Entrepreneurs, a business-plan competition that offers $50,000 in prizes and is exclusively for teams of UCLA students. In April, teams participated in the competition's final round and gained the invaluable experience of pitching real-world ideas to lawyers, entrepreneurs, and investors. "It is powerful for law students to see the bigger picture of how the skills that they are learning at UCLA Law translate into the world of entrepreneurship," says Richard Sandler '73, executive vice president of the Milken Family Foundation, a partner at Maron & Sandler, and a founder of the competition.
Skye Donald Award Winners Announced
Amber Dean ’23 and Monica Gibbons ’22 are the winners of the 2022 Skye Donald Spirit of Community Award, the highest recognition for student service to UCLA Law. Dean and Gibbons received glowing nominations from a broad cross-section of the community, reflecting their integrity, generosity, and focus on the wellbeing of the law school family. Dean, who serves as a co-chair of the Black Law Students Association and is a member of the A. Barry Cappello Trial Team, and Gibbons, who is discourse editor for the UCLA Law Review and an active member of the El Centro Clinics and OUTLaw, were called "kind and great leaders" who "make (all) feel welcomed to our community."
In Memoriam: John A. Arguelles '54
Former California Supreme Court Justice John A. Arguelles '54, whom the law school honored in a celebration of his life and legacy earlier this year, died on April 10 at age 94. Arguelles was the first UCLA Law alumnus to serve on the state’s highest court and the second Hispanic justice on the court. A Double Bruin, he earned the 1987 UCLA School of Law Alumnus of the Year award and the 1989 UCLA Professional Achievement Award. The Arguelles family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, those who wish to honor and remember Justice Arguelles make a donation to the California Supreme Court Justice John A. Arguelles Scholarship at UCLA School of Law, which aims to make UCLA Law more accessible for leaders in the Hispanic community.
Explore the legacy of Justice Arguelles and give to the scholarship.
Student Spotlight: Ariana Bustos '22
In our Student Spotlight series, we hear from UCLA Law students about what brought them to law school, what they love about being on campus, and where they hope their UCLA Law education will take them. This month, we spoke to Ariana Bustos '22, the president of the Moot Court Honors Board and the co-chief production editor of the Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs. The Arizona native has been involved in moot court competitions—and winning them!—since her middle school days, and she loves the professional and personal skills that she learns in doing them. She also appreciates the balance of teamwork and individual achievement that comes from participating in the program. Last month, Bustos and John Cagan '22 won the Uvaldo Herrera Moot Court Competition, and she took home the prize for best advocate.
- Phillip Talbert ’89 is nominated as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California.
- Chris Mosley ’91 joins Foley Hoag as a partner.
- Elia Gallardo ’94 is appointed deputy director of legislative and governmental affairs at the California Department of Health Care Access and Information.
- Halim Dhanidina ’97 joins Werksman Jackson & Quinn as partner.
- Salvador Mendoza Jr. ’97 is nominated to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
- Ana Damonte ’01 joins Martin Marietta Materials as assistant general counsel.
- Bijan Esfandiari ’02 is promoted to senior shareholder and a member of the board of directors of Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman.
- Ahmand Johnson ’05 joins Greenspoon Marder as a partner.
- Gabrielle Rabinovitch ’06 is appointed interim CFO of PayPal.
- Jason Breen ’07 joins Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as a partner.
- Jennifer Yoo ’07 joins Fenwick & West as a partner.
- Chris Kolosov ’09 joins Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton as a partner.
- Sarah-Eve Pelletier ’10 is named the first sports integrity commissioner of the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada.
- Antonio Kizzie ’11 joins Snell & Wilmer as an associate.
- David Crane ’15 joins Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete as an associate.
- Caleb Jackson ’18 joins the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law as policy counsel.
- Ayan Jacobs ’19 joins Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete as an associate.
- Meha Raja ’19 joins Lewis & Llewellyn as an associate.
- Roz Sedaghat ’20 is named head of legal and business affairs at the film production company Wavelength.
Visit our alumni website to read the latest news and submit your update.
May 13: UCLA Law's 71st Commencement
Janai Nelson '96, the president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, will deliver the commencement address as we celebrate the Class of 2022 in-person in Dickson Court next month. All are welcome to join!
June 8, 15 & 22: 46th Annual UCLA Entertainment Symposium
The Ziffren Institute is pleased to announce this year's keynote speaker, Mary Parent, producer of the Academy Award-winning film Dune, plus a who's-who of industry experts, discussing NFTs, the ethics of artificial intelligence, and more.
September 30: UCLA Law Women LEAD Summit
Save the date for the 2022 LEAD Summit! The summit is open to all students, faculty, staff, and alumni of UCLA Law. Event details and registration information to be announced, so follow UCLA Law Women LEAD for updates.
October 14-16: Reunion 2022
Join us as we come together to celebrate UCLA Law's honored classes. Catch up with old friends and favorite professors. Stay tuned for details or contact Harli Hamm at hamm@law.ucla.edu for more information.
Lindsay Wiley and Jill Horwitz publish an op-ed in the New England Journal of Medicine on federal emergency declarations. Adam Winkler on the legal battle developing between Gov. Ron DeSantis and Disney. Kate Mackintosh appears on ABC News to discuss Russia, War Crimes, and Ukraine. Jon Michaels speaks to the New York Times on the polarization of states. Paul Bergman is quoted by the AP on police shootings. Eugene Volokh is cited in Reuters about SEC gag orders. Ahilan Arulanantham speaks to Bloomberg Law about Biden v. Texas. Lindsay Wiley appears on NPR’s Morning Edition to discuss the mask mandate ruling. James Park is quoted in the Wall Street Journal on Elon Musk's SEC battle. Michael Karanicolas is quoted in NBC News on YouTube content moderation. Sharon Dolovich is quoted in the Los Angeles Times on the pandemic jail population.
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