FBA Chapter Promotes Federal Court Practice
By Kris Burks

The Federal Bar Association's Sacramento Chapter welcomes anyone who practices in federal court or is otherwise interested in federal law and/or federal practice to join our chapter. Local FBA members include attorneys practicing in large and small firms, in-house counsel at corporations and government agencies, government lawyers (state and federal), law professors, and members of the judiciary.

What Does The FBA Do?

The FBA's mission is to promote the quality of the federal practice of the local bar and maintain close, supportive ties with the federal bench. The FBA is made up of local chapters across the United States. Each year the Sacramento Chapter sponsors a series of luncheon presentations by legal scholars, practitioners, authors, experts from other fields, and members of the federal bench on issues affecting and relating to federal practice. Past programs have addressed topics such as the role of the media, cyber-crime, federal judicial appointments, significant decisions of the United States Supreme Court, anti-terrorism, litigating state initiatives in federal court, and recent revisions to the federal rules.

The Sacramento Chapter also sponsors receptions honoring members of the federal bench and distinguished members of the federal bar. The FBA offers a unique opportunity to network with other federal practitioners, interact with members of the federal bench, and learn about legal issues affecting federal practice from leaders in the field. For membership information, go to www.fedbar.org.

The next luncheon program will be held September 18, 2002, at the Sacramento Club and will address "The Use (and Potential Abuse) of Protective Orders in Federal Court." The program will feature a distinguished panel comprised of United States District Court Judge David F. Levi, Professor Richard Marcus, and federal practitioner Kim Mueller. Judge Levi was appointed to the district court in 1990 and currently serves as the Chair of the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Professor Marcus holds the Horace O. Coil Chair of Litigation at Hastings College of the Law and enjoys national prominence is the field of federal civil procedure. In addition to being the co-author of two civil procedure casebooks and several volumes of Federal Practice and Procedure, he has written dozens of law review articles on a variety of topics, including the use of protective orders in federal court. Kim Mueller will serve as the program moderator. Ms. Mueller is a local practitioner specializing in intellectual property and internet law. Ms. Mueller's practice includes assisting clients in the protection and enforcement of trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets in federal and state courts. In the course of doing so, she has drafted and negotiated numerous proposed protective orders. For more information on this luncheon program, contact Debbie Anderson of Downey, Brand, Seymour & Rohrer at (916) 441-0131.

Meet the FBA Officers

President Matthew W. Powell is a partner in the firm Wilke, Fleury, Hoffelt, Gould & Birney. He joined the firm in 1984 and became a partner in 1991. Mr. Powell is a litigation partner practicing in both state and federal court. Defined broadly, Mr. Powell's expertise is complex business litigation. However, Mr. Powell specializes in defending professional liability actions against accounting firms.

Immediate Past President Matt Jacobs joined Downey, Brand, Seymour & Rohwer as a partner in 2000 after serving three years as the Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, and nine years in the U.S. Attorney's Office overall. He has also worked as an associate at Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Rabkin & Falk in San Francisco and as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division in Washington, D.C. At Downey, Brand, Mr. Jacobs's practice emphasizes civil and criminal trials, including complex commercial, trade regulation, and land use litigation and white collar and environmental criminal defense. In 2000, he served as Special Counsel to the California Assembly in its investigation of then-California Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush. Since 1997, Mr. Jacobs has served as a member of the Sacramento City Planning Commission. He is also an attorney delegate to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference.

Vice President Robin Taylor works as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of California. She joined the office in 1997, and currently prosecutes financial fraud cases, including mail and wire fraud, investment, internet, and other economic crimes, in the White Collar crime Unit. She has handled over ten jury trials, three bench trials, and argued five cases before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. From 1992 to 1997, she was an associate at Downey, litigating civil and criminal fraud, business and employment cases. Ms. Taylor currently serves as a mentor through Volunteers In Parole, on the Sacramento County Bar Judicial Council, and participates in the Milton L. Schwartz Inn of Court program. She served on the board of directors of People Reaching Out from 1992 through 1999, and participated in the Open Doors of Justice program.

Treasurer & Co-Chair of Programs Kim Mueller has been in private practice since 2000, and formerly was with the Sacramento office of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. In her practice, Ms. Mueller focuses on providing strategic counseling and representation in the areas of intellectual property and internet law, primarily to medium-sized and small clients. In the intellectual property arena, she assists in the protection and enforcement of trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets, and has litigated the range of "IP" matters in federal and state courts. In the recent past, Ms. Mueller has taught Cyberlaw and Copyright Law courses at UC Davis' King Hall School of Law and at McGeorge Law School. Ms. Mueller currently serves as a Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Conference, and as a member of the Eastern District of California's Judicial Advisory Committee. She co-chaired the Eastern District Conference in 2001. Ms. Mueller is a member of the Executive Committee of the California State Bar's Intellectual Property Section, and a former Chair of the Intellectual Property Section of the Sacramento County Bar. She served on the Sacramento City Council from 1987 to 1992. In 2001, Ms. Mueller was appointed to serve as the Public Member on the California OSHA Standards Board.

Secretary Tory Griffin is a senior associate at Downey Brand. Prior to joining Downey, Brand in 1997, he served as a law clerk to Chief United States District Court Judge William B. Shubb. At Downey, Brand, Mr. Griffin handles a broad range of matters in both federal and state courts, with an emphasis on business, employment, trade secret and intellectual property litigation.

Co-Chair of Programs Kris Burks is an associate at Mennemeier, Glassman & Stroud. Ms. Burks joined Mennemeier, Glassman & Stroud in 2001, after serving as the senior law clerk to United States District Court Judge Frank C. Damrell, Jr. for four years. Ms. Burks' practice focuses on commercial, intellectual property, trade secret, and employment litigation. Prior to clerking, she worked as an associate at Damrell, Nelson, Schrimp, Pallios, Pacher & Silva in Modesto. Ms. Burks has taught Legal Process at McGeorge School of Law and is a former member of the Anthony M. Kennedy American Inn of Court. She currently serves on the 2002 Planning Committee for the Eastern District Conference.

Board Member At Large David Ditora is a partner at Goldsberry, Freeman & Swanson. Mr. Ditora's current practice consists of representing hospitals and psychiatric facilities in medical malpractice cases, representing insurance companies in bad faith litigation and coverage matters, and representing businesses in business, commercial, and intellectual property litigation. Mr. Ditora has trial experience in state and federal courts. Prior to joining the Goldsberry firm, Mr. Ditora practiced at Diepenbrock, Wulff, Plant & Hannegan for 13 years. Mr. Ditora formerly served as President of the Barrister's Club, a member of the Sacramento County Bar Council, and a member of the CEB Joint Advisory Committee.

Bankruptcy Representative Antonia Darling is the Assistant U.S. Trustee for the Sacramento Division of the Office of the U.S. Trustee, which is a component of the U.S. Department of Justice. The office oversees all bankruptcy cases filed in the Sacramento Division of the Eastern District of California, and seeks to ensure full compliance with the law and rules, investigates and takes action against fraud and supervises all bankruptcy trustees. Ms. Darling previously served as California State Bar Senior Litigation counsel and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Western District of Louisiana where she primarily prosecuted white collar crime. Ms. Darling is a frequent speaker on the topic of bankruptcy procedure and bankruptcy fraud and regularly serves as a lecturer on trial advocacy as well as other bankruptcy related topics at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina.

Criminal Law Representative Malcolm Segal represents corporations and individuals in complex white collar crime investigations in state and federal court. His practice also includes complex business litigation and the representation of professionals in legal malpractice actions. Prior to entering private practice in 1980, Mr. Segal served as an Assistant District Attorney for four years in New York County and then for nine years as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, culminating with his appointment as First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California. Mr. Segal is currently an attorney representative for the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference and is a member of the American Bar Association, California White Collar Crime Committee. He has served as a member of the Eastern District Civil Justice Reform Act Committee, as Chairperson of the Criminal Justice Act Panel for the Eastern District of California, and on a number of other federal panels. He also serves as a Pro-Tem Settlement Judge and Arbitrator in Sacramento County.