The University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law

The University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Lawhas promoted Kim Clarke to the position of director of its library and made other additions to the library staff. Clarke had served as Acting Library Director since June 2004, and as Head of Public Services before that for the library, which houses 500,000 books, periodicals, databases, and other reference materials.

Clarke also teaches a course on Advanced Legal Research at Pacific McGeorge and is a member of the campus team, currently evaluating the feasibility of a library renovation project. Clarke holds a law degree from the University of Manitoba, and a Masters of Library and Information Studies from the University of Alberta where she graduated as the Gold Medalist, an award bestowed to the top-ranked student.

Joining Pacific McGeorge from Loyola Law School's William M. Rains Library is Paul Howard. Paul has worked at Loyola's law library on and off since 1995, eventually serving as its Foreign and International Law Librarian. Now the Foreign and International Law Librarian at McGeorge, Paul earned his J.D. from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, and B.A. in Political Science and Economics from CSU Northridge.

Coming to McGeorge from Wyoming is Monica Sharum, also a J.D., who holds the Electronic Services Librarian position at Pacific McGeorge. Monica has worked in both the University of Wyoming's College of Law Library and Indiana University's Journalism Library. She earned both her law degree and B.S. in Accounting at the University of Wyoming.

Teri Townsend, a graduate of McGeorge, began her new role as a full-time Reference Librarian in February. Teri received a B.A. in English from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and was awarded the J.D. degree last December.

The Pacific McGeorge Law Library has a total staff of 21 serving its students and faculty. These new team members bring the total number of professional librarians to eight.

Littler Mendelson

Littler Mendelson, the nation's largest labor and employment law firm, announced the election of Matthew J. Ruggles and Dylan W. Wiseman to the status of shareholder. "Matt and Dylan are outstanding attorneys whose legal achievements and abilities have strengthened our practice," said Bruce Sarchet, Managing Shareholder of the Sacramento office. "We look forward to their continued contributions to the firm's success."

Ruggles provides advice on day-to-day matters for clients in an effort to avoid litigation on issues such as terminations, reductions in force, conducting sexual harassment investigations, employee background checks, wage and hour problems, and collective bargaining issues. He frequently conducts training seminars on a variety of employment law issues such as conducting performance evaluations, avoiding sexual harassment claims, disability accommodation, the FMLA, responding to administrative charges, workplace privacy, and other legal issues that arise from the employment relationship. Ruggles earned a B.A. degree with High Distinction in American History from UC Berkeley. He earned his law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law.

Wiseman represents employers in several aspects of employment law and intellectual property protection, including civil litigation in state and federal courts. His intellectual property protection practice includes preparing non-disclosure agreements, intellectual property assignment provisions, and non-solicitation covenants. Wiseman also defends private sector entities ranging from Fortune 500 companies to local businesses in disputes involving alleged wrongful termination, constructive discharge, retaliation, harassment, and discrimination. Mr. Wiseman received his B.A. degree, with honors, from the University of California, Davis in 1991. In 1994, he received his J.D. degree from Santa Clara University.

Nossaman, Guthner, Knox & Elliott LLP

Nossaman, Guthner, Knox & Elliott LLP announced the addition of Robert S. McWhorter as an associate in the firm's Sacramento office. McWhorter joins Nossaman from Olson, Hagel & Fishburn, LLP, where he was a member of the firm's litigation department and handled matters related to complex litigation, appellate litigation and constitutional law. Before that, McWhorter headed the commercial litigation department at Michigan's Schafer and Weiner PLLC, where he focused on commercial and real estate litigation and bankruptcy.

McWhorter received his B.A. from the University of Chicago, earned his J.D. from Wayne State University, and earned an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Boutin Dentino Gibson Di Giusto Hodell Inc.

Boutin Dentino Gibson Di Giusto Hodell Inc. announces the hiring of two new first-year associate attorneys: Adrienne Meredith and Danielle Stephens.

Meredith joins Boutin Dentino's team of skilled litigation and transactional lawyers. Meredith graduated magna cum laude with her B.A. in Economics from Rice University in Houston, Texas, in 1997. She received her law degree from UC Davis in 2004. While at UC Davis she was the recipient of the Witkin Award in both Corporate Tax and Law and Economics. She graduated as a member of the Order of the Coif.

Stephens joins the real estate group at Boutin Dentino. As an associate, she will specialize in acquisition and dispositions, commercial leasing, real estate development, and real estate finance.

Stephens graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Communications and a minor in Business from Santa Clara University in 2002. She received her law degree from Santa Clara School of Law in 2004. While studying law, she was the Symposium Editor of Santa Clara's Law Review, President of Phi Delta Phi, and law clerk for Judge James Ware, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California. Stephens graduated in the top 10 percent of her class and was the recipient of both the Witkin Award and the CALI award in Evidence.

March / April 2005