Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice

who we are

Our Board of Directors
	Laura Genao, Esq. – LACLJ Board President Mary Ann Todd, Esq. – LACLJ Board Vice President Jaime B. Guerrero – LACLJ Board Treasurer Naomi H. Kobayashi Esq. – LACLJ Board Secretary Adam Bass, Esq. Joel R. Bennett Jennifer Brockett Robyn C. Crowther , Esq. Estela de Llanos Jorge deNeve Jennifer Elkayam Michael M. Farhang , Esq. Rodrigo A. Guerra, Jr. Esq. Jaime B. Guerrero Brian Hershman Nelson N. Lee Damian J. Martinez Adam Pines, Esq. Nancy Ramirez, Esq. Laura Rodriguez, Esq. Mary Ann Todd, Esq. Summer Watson
laura genao, Esq. – LACLJ Board President
Laura Genao is a Regulatory Attorney with Southern California Edison Company. Laura received her J.D. from Columbia University School of Law and an undergraduate degree from Harvard College. Before becoming an attorney, Laura was a member of Teach for America, where she taught middle and high school English, Spanish, and Journalism in Pasadena, California. She also spent a few years as a newspaper reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, where she was part of a team of reporters nominated for the 1997 Pulitzer Prize.

mary ann todd, Esq. – LACLJ Board Vice President
Mary Ann Todd is a corporate partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP. She practices general corporate law, focusing on mergers and acquisitions and securities law. She received her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she served as Articles Editor of The Yale Law Journal. She joined Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in 1994, and became a partner in January 2000. She is also involved with several local nonprofit organizations, and serves as Secretary and a member of the Board of Governors of the Fulfillment Fund.

Jaime B. Guerrero – LACLJ Board Treasurer
Jaime Guerrero is senior counsel with Foley & Lardner LLP and a member of the firm's Securities Litigation & White Collar Practice. Mr. Guerrero focuses in the areas of government enforcement actions, white collar criminal defense, accounting litigation, securities litigation, and partnership disputes. Mr. Guerrero is well-versed in accounting issues in light of his prior experience as a public accountant with Deloitte & Touche LLP before entering law school. Prior to joining Foley, Mr. Guerrero was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles, where he investigated and tried before juries different types of federal criminal cases. Mr. Guerrero served as a law clerk for the Honorable Robert J. Kelleher, United States District Judge for the Central District of California, in Los Angeles, California. Mr. Guerrero earned his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law (1997) and his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley, Haas Undergraduate School of Business (1991).

naomi h. kobayashi, Esq. – LACLJ Board secretary
Naomi H. Kobayashi is a Senior Vice President and Senior Counsel for Capital Guardian Trust Company and Capital International, Inc., which are part of The Capital Group Companies. She focuses on investment management and corporate securities matters, with a particular emphasis on private equity. Prior to joining the organization in1998, Ms. Kobayashi was an associate with Latham & Watkins in Los Angeles for four years. From 1993 to 1994, she was a law clerk with the Honorable Wm. Matthew Byrne, Jr. in the United States District Court, Central District of California. She graduated from Columbia College, Columbia University in 1990 and received her Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1993.

Adam Bass, Esq.
Adam Bass is a Senior Executive Vice President and Vice Chairman of Ameriquest Mortgage Company and Senior Executive Vice President of its holding company, Ameriquest Capital Corporation. His experience includes class action defense, loan workouts, labor relations, bankruptcy, creditors’ rights, real property litigation, and regulatory compliance. He obtained his J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law. He is a member of the advisory cabinet to the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. Adam lives in Los Angeles with his wife Amy and their two children.

Joel R. Bennett, esq.
Joel R. Bennett is a former partner at Dykema Gossett LLP, a Midwest-based firm with offices in Michigan, Illinois, Washington D.C. and California. Now a solo practicioner, his practice focuses on litigation in antitrust, intellectual property, breach of contract, unfair competition, trade regulation, partnership disputes and real estate matters. He was admitted to practice law in 1964 in Arizona and in 1968 in California. He was also admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1968. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona School of Law.

Jennifer Brockett
Jennifer L. Brockett is a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. Jennifer practices in business torts and intellectual property litigation. She has a depth of experience in trade secret litigation and counseling, and is one of the primary drafters of the CACI Model Jury Instructions regarding trade secrets, required for use in all trade secret matters tried in California. She received her A.B. in Economics from Occidental College and her J.D. from UCLA School of Law.

robyn c. crowther, esq.
Robyn Crowther is a shareholder at Caldwell Leslie & Proctor, PC, firm specializing in complex litigation. After clerking for the Hon. Gary L. Taylor on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Ms. Crowther joined Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as an associate in the litigation department. She left Gibson Dunn for Caldwell Leslie in 1998. Ms. Crowther developed her debating skills through her undergraduate years at UCLA. During the three years that Ms. Crowther debated for UCLA, the team finished first or second in the nation. Her interest in advocacy next led Ms. Crowther to law school at Georgetown, where her persuasive skills earned her the Howrey & Simon Award for Excellence in Advocacy for her work as a member of Georgetown's "Tournament of Champions" trial team.

Estela de llanos, Esq.
Estela de Llanos is the Senior Environmental Counsel of Sempra Energy in Los Angeles. Estela has worked on matters before various state and regional regulatory agencies, including the California Coastal Commission, the California Air Resources Board, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board. Estela received her J.D from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law and her B.A. from Yale University.

Jorge deNeve
Jorge deNeve is a counsel in O'Melveny's Los Angeles office and is a member of the Securities Litigation Practice. Jorge returned to O'Melveny after serving as a staff attorney at the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission's Pacific Regional Office in Los Angeles. During Jorge's tenure there, he investigated numerous cases involving allegations of financial fraud, disclosure fraud, market timing, offering fraud, and misconduct by independent accountants. During Jorge's tenure as an associate at O'Melveny, he focused on complex criminal and civil litigation, including defending accountants and a "Big Four" accounting firm. From 1999-2000, he was law clerk to the Honorable Audrey B. Collins in the United States District Court, Central District of California. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. He graduated Order of the Coif from the University of South California Law School.

Jennifer Elkayam
Jennifer Elkayam is an associate at Blecher & Collins. Since joining the firm in 2005 she has worked on complex litigation matters focusing on antitrust, class action and professional liability cases. Ms. Elkayam has represented a major Los Angeles vending machine company against The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo, Inc. alleging price discrimination and unfair competition claims. She also represented a class of California auto body shops against national insurance companies alleging a conspiracy to unlawfully fix auto repair labor rates in violation of California's unfair competition laws. Ms. Elkayam received her undergraduate degree cum laude from the University of California, Santa Barbara and received her J.D. from Southwestern Law School.

michael m. farhang, esq.
Michael M. Farhang is a partner at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Los Angeles, where he specializes in white collar criminal defense and securities matters in the Litigation Department. Prior to joining Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Mr. Farhang was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California, where he served in the Major Fraud Section. Mr. Farhang also served as a Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and participated in overseas legal assistance projects for the Department, including an assignment in Iraq in 2003. Mr. Farhang received his undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Harvard College and his Juris Doctor cum laude from Harvard Law School.

Rodrigo A. Guerra, Jr. Esq.
Rod Guerra is an attorney specializing in Corporate and Securities Law at Skadden Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP. He represents leading companies, investment banks and institutional investors in a broad range of corporate matters, including corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and restructurings. He has experience in numerous types of mergers and acquisitions, transactions, including negotiated and contested takeovers, leveraged buyouts, tender offers and joint ventures. He has represented both target and acquiring companies in transactions ranging from high profile, multibillion-dollar deals to middle market acquisitions in a wide range of industries. Rod obtained his J.D. and his MBA from UCLA.

Brian Hershman
Brian Hershman is a partner at Jones Day focusing on civil litigation and white-collar criminal defense in state and federal courts. He has experience handling witnesses and defendants in state and federal criminal proceedings and has represented numerous clients in all aspects of complex civil litigation. Prior to joining Jones Day, Brian was an assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California in Los Angeles, where he was the deputy chief of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights section and deputy chief of the Public Corruption and Government Frauds section. As a federal prosecutor, Brian maintained an unblemished trial record, obtaining guilty verdicts against all defendants in all matters that proceeded to trial. He successfully prosecuted cases involving health care fraud, defense procurement fraud, telemarketing fraud, mail and wire fraud, tax fraud, and corruption by government officials, among other crimes. Mr. Hershman is received his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from the University of California, Berkeley. He received his J.D from Yale University where he was the recipient of the Potter Steward Prize and Harlan Fiske Stone Prize.

Nelson N. Lee
Nelson N. Lee is a Vice President and Associate Counsel for Capital Guardian Trust Company and Capital International, Inc., which are part of The Capital Group Companies. He focuses on investment management and regulatory matters. Prior to joining the organization in 2002, he was an associate with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom where he practiced general corporate law, with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. Mr. Lee graduated from University of California, Berkeley in 1994 and received his Juris Doctor from UCLA School of Law in 1998.

Damian J. Martinez
Damian J. Martinez is an associate in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department of Proskauer Rose�s Los Angeles office.Since joining Proskauer Rose, Mr. Martinez has represented officers and directors of publicly-traded companies in connection with government investigations into stock options practices, insider trading, and tax shelters. Prior to joining Proskauer Rose, Mr. Martinez was a federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney�s Office in Los Angeles. During his tenure as a federal prosecutor, Mr. Martinez tried 10 federal trials to completion, including merchant fraud, complex money laundering, and international narcotics trafficking cases. Prior to his employment at the U.S. Attorney�s Office, Mr. Martinez served as a law clerk for former U.S. District Judge Carlos R. Moreno, Central District of California (who is now an Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court), and worked as an associate at a Los Angeles-based law firm.Mr. Martinez graduated from Columbia School of Law in 1998, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, a Property teaching fellow, and an articles editor for the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law. Mr. Martinez received his B.A. from UCLA, with honors, in philosophy in 1994.Mr. Martinez was born and raised in southern California. He is proficient in Spanish.

adam pines, Esq.
Adam Pines is a partner in the law firm of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. His practice focuses on complex business litigation, including unfair competition, banking and employment law, ERISA, trade secrets, fraudulent transfers, residential and commercial real estate and administrative, land use, franchise and environmental law, in all phases of litigation, including trial, appeals and complex settlements in both state and federal courts and before arbitrators and regulators throughout the country. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1990 and New York University School of Law in 1994.

nancy ramirez, Esq.
Nancy Ramirez is the Western Regional Counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), a national Latino litigation, advocacy and educational outreach institution. MALDEF advances the civil rights of Latinos through litigation in the areas of immigrants’ rights, voting rights, education, employment, language access, and public resource equity. Nancy joined MALDEF in 2007 as Regional Counsel and served as a voting rights staff attorney there from 1991 to 1997. Prior to re-joining MALDEF she was the executive director of the LACLJ from 2005-2007 and a managing attorney from 2001 to 2005. She is a 1990 graduate of Harvard Law School and 1987 graduate of U.C. Berkeley.

Laura Rodriguez, Esq.
LAURA RODRIGUEZ is a Principal at The Raben Group. In 2006, Laura moved to Los Angeles to head up The Raben Group's West Coast office. Prior to joining The Raben Group, Ms. Rodriguez was Chief of Staff to U.S. Representative Hilda L. Solis. As Chief of Staff, Ms. Rodriguez managed all aspects of the Washington, DC and California offices, and designed and executed all facets of Representative's legislative portfolio, including message development, strategy and press events. Ms. Rodriguez began her career in Washington, DC in 1995 as a Legislative Assistant for U.S. Representative Ronald Coleman, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, handling defense, foreign policy, budget and education issues. Prior to working as Representative Solis's Chief of Staff, Ms. Rodriguez served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director to U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez for five years. As Representative Sanchez's chief policy advisor, she was responsible for setting legislative priorities for the Member's House Armed Services Committee assignment, working extensively on defense issues. Raised in El Paso, Texas, Ms. Rodriguez holds a B.A. from George Washington University.

Summer Watson
Summer Watson is an associate in the Los Angeles office of Sidley Austin LLP. Since joining the firm in 2007, she has represented lenders, borrowers, purchasers, sellers, investors and joint ventures in a broad range of real estate transactions, including commercial financing, purchases and sales, and leasing matters. She previously served as law clerk to the Honorable Consuelo B. Marshall, then Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Prior to her clerkship, she was an associate in the corporate transactions group of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP where she worked on matters for public and private companies in mergers and acquisitions, film distribution and financing, debt offerings and purchases, and general corporate and securities matters, including corporate governance.