Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice

who we are

Our Board of Directors
	Estela M. de Llandos Carlson, Esq. – LACLJ Board President Laura Genao, Esq. – LACLJ Board Treasurer Naomi H. Kobayashi Esq. – LACLJ Board Secretary Adam Bass, Esq. Joel R. Bennett Jennifer Brockett Robyn C. Crowther , Esq. Michael M. Farhang , Esq. Rodrigo A. Guerra, Jr. Esq. Peter Manzo, Esq. Adam Pines, Esq. Nancy Ramirez, Esq. Mary Ann Todd, Esq. Jonathan M. Zasloff, Esq.
Estela M. de llandos carlson , Esq. – LACLJ Board President
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.

laura genao , Esq. – LACLJ Board Treasurer
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.

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.

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.

pete manzo, esq.
Peter Manzo is the Director for Strategic Initiatives for the Advancement Project, a civil rights advocacy organization and a Senior Research Fellow with the Center for Civil Society in the UCLA School of Public Affairs. He is the author of numerous articles and reports on legal, management, and policy issues affecting nonprofits and philanthropy. Previously, he was the Executive Director and General Counsel of the Center for Nonprofit Management in Los Angeles. He is a graduate of Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley.

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.

mary ann todd , Esq.
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.

jonathan m. zasloff , Esq.
Jonathan M. Zasloff, a professor of Law at UCLA School of Law since 1998, teaches Torts, Land Use, Environmental Law, Comparative Urban Planning Law, and Legal History. Jonathan obtained his J.D. from Yale Law School. He also holds a Ph.D. in the history of American foreign policy from Harvard and a Masters in Philosophy in International Relations from Cambridge University. He currently also serves as a member of the board of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (a state agency charged with purchasing and protecting open space), and Friends of Israel's Environment. Jonathan lives in the San Fernando Valley with his wife, Kathy, and their new daughter.