Keynote Presenters

Carol Corrigan - Justice, California Supreme Court.  Former Assistant District Attorney

Justice Corrigan was confirmed as Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court on January 4, 2006 by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Her first judicial appointment was in 1987 as Judge in the Oakland, Emeryville, Piedmont Judicial District, where she was then elected by voters in 1988. She was appointed as Judge in the Alameda County Superior Court in 1991 and elected by voters in 1992. From 1994 to 2006 she served as Associate Justice for the California Court of Appeal, first Appellate District, Division Three.

She earned her B.A. magna cum laude from Holy Names University in 1970 and her J.D. in 1975 from the U.C. Hastings College of the Law. At Hastings, Justice Corrigan served as Law Journal Note and Comment Editor. She quickly commenced her career in public service as a Deputy then Senior Deputy District Attorney for Alameda County from 1975 to 1987.

Among her notable service to the profession, Justice Corrigan served as a member of the California Judicial Council from 1997 to 2001 (Jurist of the Year in 2003); as Chair of the Judicial Council Task Force on Jury Instructions from 1997 to 2005; as a member of the Commission on the Future of California’s Courts from 1991 to 1994, as a member of the Governing Board of the Center for Judicial Education & Research from 1994 to 1997; as a member of the President’s Commission on Organized Crime from 1983 to 1986; and as Special Consultant to the President’s Task Force on Victims of Violent Crime in 1982.

She was an adjunct Professor of Law at U.C. Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law from 1984 to 1987, and 1990 to 1994; at U.C. Hastings College of Law from 1981 to 1987 and in 1989; at University of San Francisco School of Law from 1988 to 1990; and at University of Puget Sound School of Law in 1981. She has served on the faculties of California Judicial College since 1988; Continuing Judicial Studies Programs since 1989; and the National Institute of Trial Advocacy since 1981. She received the Distinguished Faculty Award at the National Institute of Trial Advocacy in 1997.

Justice Corrigan has served on the board of Directors for Holy Names College since 1988 and as Chair from 1990-2005. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Saint Vincent’s Day Home, and served on the Board of Directors for Goodwill Industries of the Greater East Bay, 1985-1989.

James Cole - Deputy Attorney General of the United States

James Cole was sworn in as the Deputy Attorney General on Monday, January 3, 2011. Mr. Cole first joined the Department in 1979 as part of Attorney General’s Honors Program and served for 13 years - first as a trial attorney in the Criminal Division, and later as the Deputy Chief of the Division's Public Integrity Section, the office that handles investigation and prosecution of corruption cases against officials, and employees at all levels of government. At Public Integrity Mr. Cole tried a number of notable cases, including prosecution of a U.S. District Judge, a member of Congress, and a federal prosecutor.

He entered private practice in 1992 and was a partner at Bryan Cave LLP from 1995 to 2010, specializing in white collar defense. He served as a court-appointed independent monitor to a large insurance company to establish and oversee corporate compliance programs and ensure it adhered to laws and regulations. He also counseled businesses on securities, regulatory, and criminal law issues.

While in private practice in 1995, Mr. Cole was tapped to serve as Special Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. In that role, he led an investigation into allegations that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich had improperly used tax-exempt money for partisan purposes and misled the Committee in its inquiry. His investigation led to a bipartisan resolution that was approved by an overwhelming majority of the full House, and resulted in a formal reprimand of Speaker Gingrich and a requirement that he pay penalties.

Mr. Cole has been a member of the adjunct faculty at Georgetown University Law Center, teaching courses on public corruption law and legal ethics, and has lectured at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He is a former chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) White Collar Crime Committee and served as the Chair Elect of the ABA Criminal Justice Section. He received his B.A. from the University of Colorado and his J.D. from the University of California-Hastings.

Jeff Adachi - Public Defender for City and County of San Francisco

Jeff Adachi is the Public Defender of the City and County of San Francisco. Before being elected as Public Defender in March 2002, Mr. Adachi worked as a deputy public defender in San Francisco for 15 years and in private practice for 2 years. From 1998-2001, he served as the Chief Attorney of the office. He has tried over 150 jury trials, including numerous serious felony and homicide cases, and has handled over 3,000 criminal matters throughout his career, including some of the Bay Area’s highest profile cases.

As the only elected Public Defender in the state of California, and one of few elected public defenders in the United States, Mr. Adachi oversees an office of 93 lawyers and 60 support staff. The office represents over 23,000 people each year who are charged with misdemeanor and felony offenses. The office has a $25 million dollar budget, and provides a panoply of innovative programs to its clients, including Drug Court, Clean Slate expungement services, and a full-service juvenile division. The office also has one of the country’s top intern programs for law students and graduates.

Mr. Adachi served on the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigents and is a member of the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He is the co-author of Chapter 25: Immunity for Testimony, in the California Criminal Law Procedure and Practice book, and a past board member of the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice and the San Francisco Bar Association. He is a past president of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area and the San Francisco Japanese American Citizen’s League. He has been a certified criminal law specialist since 1991. Mr. Adachi has also taught with BAR/BRI bar review for 15 years and has published five books on passing the bar exam.

In 1992, Mr. Adachi received the California State Bar Association’s Hufstedler Award for public service. In 1997, Mr. Adachi received the Asian American Bar Association’s Joe Morozumi Award for exceptional legal advocacy, and in 2003, was honored by the Asian American Bar Association of the Silicon Valley. In 2000, Mr. Adachi received the Mayor’s Fiscal Advisory Committee’s Managerial Excellence Award. In 2006, Adachi received the California Public Defender Association’s Program of the Year Award, and IN 2007, the American Bar Association’s national Dorsey award for excellence in public defense. In 2007, Adachi was the recipient of the prestigious California Lawyer Attorney of the Year award (CLAY) for his work in the field of prisoner reentry.

Mr. Adachi graduated from Hastings College of the Law in 1985 and attended undergraduate studies at U.C. Berkeley. He lives in San Francisco with his wife Mutsuko and daughter Lauren.

Professor Roy Little - Institute for Criminal Justice and Seminar Director. Former federal prosecutor and current criminal litigator

Professor Little came to UC Hastings in 1994 after a distinguished 12-year career as a practicing litigator, criminal defense and prosecution lawyer, and appellate lawyer. He is today a nationally recognized authority on criminal litigation ethics, federal criminal law, appellate litigation, and constitutional issues. On three occasions he has been awarded the “Best Professor” designation by the UC Hastings third-year class.

Professor Little chairs and serves on various committees in the American Bar Association and Federal Bar Association; annually publishes a Review of the Supreme Court’s Term: Criminal Cases for the ABA; and serves as Reporter to the ABA’s Task Force to Revise the Criminal Justice Standards, Prosecution and Defense Functions. He also occasionally serves as an expert witness in litigation matters; provides commentary on current legal issues for various print and electronic media; and maintains an Of Counsel position for appellate matters with the international law firm of McDermott, Will & Emery.

After graduating from Yale Law School, Professor Little served as law clerk to U.S. District Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer (Washington DC); Justice Potter Stewart (ret.), working on matters before the First, Third and Sixth Circuit Courts of Appeal; and Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. Professor Little also clerked for Justices Powell, Stevens, and Chief Justice Burger—a unique one-year experience.

Professor Little then practiced privately at Miller, Cassidy, Larroca & Lewin in Washington D.C. In 1987, he joined the U.S. Department of Justice’s Organized Crime & Racketeering Strike Force as a Trial Attorney. In 1989, he became the Appellate Chief for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California, and has now argued over 60 federal and state appeals while briefing many more. In 1996 to 1997, Professor Little took a leave of absence from UC Hastings to serve as an Associate Deputy Attorney General in Washington D.C. under Attorney General Janet Reno and Deputy AG Jamie Gorelick.

Professor Little was born and raised in New Jersey and has three children. He used to run marathons and can occasionally be seen in running regalia, still staggering along.