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July 2022

Hasen Launches Election Law Project

Renowned election law expert and UCLA Law alumnus Rick Hasen '91, joined the law school's faculty this month and quickly launched the Safeguarding Democracy Project. Focusing on ensuring that elections in the United States remain free and fair, the project brings together a diverse set of scholars and election law experts who are united by the desire to fend off threats to free elections posed by false claims that the last presidential election was stolen and the controversial election audits and legislative proposals that followed.

See what Hasen has to share about his cutting-edge new project.

Chairs Endowed in Native American Law

The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria have donated $4.265 million to UCLA Law to create two endowed faculty chairs in Native American law, named in honor of Distinguished Professor Carole Goldberg and Graton Rancheria Tribal Chairman Greg Sarris. The contribution follows the tribe’s record-breaking 2020 gift of $15 million to UCLA Law, which created the Graton Scholars program to promote Indian law advocacy.

Read all about this visionary donation.

46th Entertainment Symposium Shines

For three Wednesdays in June, a record crowd of executives, lawyers, and other entertainment industry stakeholders joined together for the 46th annual UCLA Entertainment Symposium. The webinar series, “Fungible Hollywood: From Box Office to Bytes to Blockchain,” featured five content-rich panels and culminated in a keynote conversation between Ken Ziffren ’65 and Mary Parent, chairman of worldwide production at Legendary Entertainment.

Check out how the symposium confronted a changing business.

Alumni Advocate for a Greener Future

UCLA Law graduates Shana Lazerow '97, Jennifer Ganata LL.M. '13, and Idalmis Vaquero '21 (pictured, left, with Ganata) helped local residents score a big win when transportation officials axed a plan for an expansion of the 710 Freeway. The three alumni work at Communities for a Better Environment, an organization on the vanguard of efforts to address disproportionate exposure to environmental harms in low-income communities of color.

Hear from these alumni about their incredible impact.

Korobkin Q&A: Meet Our Interim Dean

Longtime UCLA Law professor and leader Russell Korobkin became interim dean of the law school in June, following the departure of Dean Jennifer L. Mnookin, who is off to become the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In this conversation, Korobkin talks about his priorities for the coming year, how his expertise in negotiation and behavioral law informs his work, and the one thing that you might be interested to learn about him.

Find out what Korobkin considers the "best attributes for the job."

Faculty at the Forefront

The historic conclusion of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent term included landmark decisions on abortion, guns, religion, the environment, and more. To make sense of these seismic developments, which will be felt by millions of Americans, UCLA Law faculty members have been a constant presence in the media. Franklin and Abou El Fadl on abortion. Winkler and Volokh on guns. Emerson and Wiley on the administrative state. And that's just for starters!

Get the full take from our faculty experts.

• Andrius Kontrimas ’85 joins Sheppard Mullin as a founding partner in the firm’s new Houston office.

• Kelly Cunningham ’95 joins Ervin Cohen & Jessup as a partner.

• Nedy Warren ’96 is promoted to vice president and chief operating officer of the Commerce Casino & Hotel.

• John Yslas ’96 joins the Wilshire Law Firm as senior partner.

• Veronica Sanchez ’99 is nominated to serve as a judge on the District of Columbia Superior Court.

• Andrew Merickel ’00 is named head of the San Francisco office of Knobbe Martens.

• Celeste Drake ’02 is tapped by the White House as the new deputy director of the National Economic Council for labor and economy.

• Jerry Yang ’05 is appointed to serve as a judge in the Riverside County Superior Court.

• Kate Sheets ’10 is promoted to senior vice president of strategy and business affairs at AEG Global Partnerships.

• Francis Mascarenhas ’20 joins Barnes & Thornburg as an associate in New York.

Visit our alumni website to read the latest news and submit your update.

Ingrid Eagly is cited in a U.S. Supreme Court opinion by Sonia Sotomayor in the immigration case Garland v. Aleman Gonzalez. Cary Franklin appears on the PBS NewsHour to look at what will happen with state abortion bans after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Kimberly Clausing writes an opinion piece for Bloomberg about the impact of a proposed tax increase. Blake Emerson talks to the New York Times about the implications of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on environmental regulation. Iman Anabtawi is quoted by the Hollywood Reporter on Elon Musk and Twitter, and James Park is quoted in USA Today on the state of that deal. Sharon Dolovich appears on KPFA radio to talk about “Dignity and the Carceral State.” Cara Horowitz is quoted in the Los Angeles Times about how California will fight the Supreme Court’s environmental ruling. Daniel Mayeda speaks with the Guardian about Mickey Mouse’s move into the public domain and Disney’s efforts to extend its copyright. Rick Hasen is cited in a New York Times opinion column on election law. Eugene Volokh talks to the Los Angeles Times about gun regulation following the Supreme Court’s recent decision. Andrew Verstein joins Yahoo Finance Live to talk about insider trading, crypto, and SEC regulations. Lindsay Wiley is quoted by Bloomberg Law on the administrative law and health law impacts of the Supreme Court’s environmental regulation decision. Lauren van Schilfgaarde speaks with the Arizona Republic about the Supreme Court’s impact on the sovereignty of native nations. Jon Michaels is quoted in the Globe and Mail on the impact of the January 6 hearings in Congress. Adam Winkler appears on KPCC’s AirTalk to discuss the details of and potential challenges to new gun laws. Stephen Bainbridge discusses the Elon Musk-Twitter case in a Los Angeles Times business column. And Khaled Abou El Fadl speaks with CNN about Islamic law and abortion.