Kevin L. Cole will take over as dean of the University of San Diego School of Law on April 1. A leading scholar in the areas of evidence and criminal law and procedure, Cole has served as interim dean since July 2005.
"Cole is clearly an outstanding choice," said Julie Sullivan, USD's vice president and provost. "He has earned the confidence and respect of the law school faculty, alumni, students, the Board of Trustees and the law school's Board of Visitors."
Cole joined the University of San Diego School of Law faculty in 1987. In 1991, he became a tenured full professor. A decade later, in 2001, Cole was appointed associate dean. Cole is enthusiastic about the opportunity to serve as dean.
"This is an exciting time for the school," he said. "The USD School of Law is an extraordinary institution. We have never been stronger. And we have the potential to become even more prominent on the national scene, which will also benefit the San Diego region."
Cole served as reporter for the Committee on Forfeiture in Drug Offense Cases of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. He is the co-author of both the "Federal Sentencing Guidelines Handbook" (Shepard's/McGraw-Hill) and the "Federal Sentencing and Forfeiture Guide" (Del Mar Legal Publishers). He has been a visiting professor of law at Georgetown University.
Cole received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1983, where he was executive editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. After graduation, he clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and practiced law in Philadelphia before coming to San Diego.
Stephen Perrello, a member of the San Diego County Bar Association for 30 years, died March 14 after a battle with brain cancer. He was 59.
Perrello earned his J.D. from the University of Buffalo School of Law, and his Ph.D. in Criminal Justice at Rutgers University. A member of Pi Kappa Alpha, he also was invited into the Criminal Defense Lawyers Club.
Perrello was the primary force behind a recent landmark decision that recognized the civil rights of parolees. In addition, he participated in a case that successfully invalidated a sales tax aimed at generating revenues to build more jails. In recent years, he focused on scholarship and teaching, and will be missed by colleagues and students at Alliant University. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the UU Men's Fellowship at First Unitarian Universalist Church in Perrello's name.
California Western School of Law will host the 2006 Western Law Professors of Color Conference, Friday through Sunday. The conference, titled "Pale Promises: Confronting the Rights Deficit," will help foster the production of critical knowledge on socio-legal issues of special significance to communities of color. Many of the pieces presented will relate to the legal rights deficit in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, and will be published by the California Western Law Review and the California Western International Law Journal.
"Hurricane Katrina destroyed lives and communities," said California Western professor Laura Padilla. "However, it also demolished the illusion that the obstacles facing poor families and neighborhoods is not our problem. This conference will provide a forum to discuss what everyone can and must do to help recover and rebuild."
The executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Barbara Arnwine, will be the conference keynote speaker. Arnwine played a major role in the effort to enact the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and is a recipient of the National Bar Association's Equal Justice Award.
The registration fee is $190. Interested attendees can register at www.cwsl.edu/wlpc.
An opening reception will be held Friday from 5:30-8 p.m. at California Western. To RSVP for the reception or for additional information, call Debra Compton at (619) 525-1466 or e-mail dxc@cwsl.edu.
Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear has been ranked as the top IP law firm headquartered in the Western United States for trademark and copyright matters. In an international survey conducted by Euromoney's Managing Intellectual Property (MIP) magazine, the firm was ranked highest in both litigation and prosecution in the trademark and copyright specialties.
This survey comes on the heels of the magazine's February survey, which named the firm as the leader in patent law headquartered in the West. The survey results were compiled from nominations submitted by nearly 4,000 IP practitioners worldwide.
The survey appears in the March 2006 issue of MIP. On a nationwide basis, Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear tied for second in the Trademark/Copyright Prosecution category, as well as in the Trademark/Copyright Litigation category in the United States. The firm also tied for second in the patent prosecution category and tied for third in the patent litigation category.
Ana Himelic has joined the family law practice group of Klinedinst PC. The family law group focuses on serving the personal legal needs of clients appearing before family court.
Klinedinst's family law attorneys are involved in prenuptial agreements, divorce, custody hearings and family mediation. Klinedinst lawyers also draft wills and trusts, and handle probate and estate settlement issues for both heirs and trustees.
"We are so pleased to welcome Ana Himelic to the Family Law team," said Bonnie M. Simonek, who chairs the family law group. "She has the skill, compassion, attention to detail and patience that are hallmarks of a good family law attorney."
The executive committee of Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps LLP has appointed San Diego-based partners Brian Fish and Robert Buell as co-leaders of the firm's real estate practice group.
Stacy Chen is one of six first-year law students across the county to be selected for Fish & Richardson PC's Diversity Fellowship Program. Each student will receive a $5,000 academic scholarship, mentoring by members of the firm, and a paid 2006 summer associate position in the Fish & Richardson office of the student's choice.
Chen, who is a student at the University of Chicago Law School, will work in the firm's San Diego office. She has a B.S. in electrical engineering from Princeton University.
The other recipients of Fish & Richardson's First Year Law Diversity Fellowship Program are Syed Fareed, Antony Haynes, Melissa Martinez, Nelly Umeh and Keeley Vega. The firm launched the program in the fall of 2005.
Fish & Richardson received more than 220 applicants for five fellowship positions. Due to the overwhelming response from qualified candidates, the firm decided to expand its original framework and grant six scholarships instead of five.
Amy Romaker has joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as the law firm's director of client service teams and will be based in Del Mar Heights. Romaker was most recently director of client development at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.
Romaker's role at Sheppard Mullin is to further develop the firm's client team program, including strategic planning, training, technology support, profitability analysis and measurement.
Romaker earned a J.D. from California Western School of Law in 1984 and a L.L.M. in Taxation from University of San Diego in 1988.
