Staff Biographies

Fairuz Abdullah, Associate Director for Public Interest, Clerkship, and LL.M. Programs

(415) 581-8867; e-mail Fairuz

Fairuz began her legal career advocating for indigent clients. As a litigator she has practiced Family Law and Juvenile Dependency law. She received her B.A. in Political Science from U.C. Santa Cruz and her J.D. from the University of San Francisco, School of Law. Prior to becoming a member of the bar in 2006, she worked at the Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good where she worked on public policy issues involving Dispute Resolution and Mediation in California. She is committed to diversity issues in the legal field and serves on the boards of a number of minority bar associations. In this capacity she has helped to create, staff and volunteer at legal clinics as well as develop seminars on career advancement. Her career services portfolio includes the LL.M. students, judicial clerkships, and public interest fellowships.

Anna Borg, Senior Administrative Secretary

(415) 565-4619; e-mail Anna

Anna is our front desk person! She greets students, answers the phone, posts job notices, makes appointments and posters, and edits the Career Corner. She runs a small record company and sells handmade jewelry to fund extended road trips. As a San Francisco native, Anna enjoys urban landscape photography, pho noodles, and a good cup of coffee.

Louise Francis, Associate Director, Graduate Class Advisor

(415) 565-4714; e-mail Louise

Louise advises 3Ls and recent graduates and plans programs on job search strategies, counsels students and alumni generally, and assists with judicial clerkships. She is a UC Hastings alum who clerked for U.S. District Court Judge D. Lowell Jensen and then practiced commercial litigation in San Francisco for over 15 years, first at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton’s SF office and then at Heller Ehrman LLP. As a shareholder in Heller Ehrman’s Insurance Coverage Litigation practice group, she managed that firm’s San Francisco office in the late 1990s. While she practiced she was involved in recruiting, coaching and managing legal professionals, leading training seminars, and guiding attorney development practices. In 2003, she started her own consulting business coaching private practice associates and partners in a variety of practice management areas, and consulted part time with UC Hastings from 2007 to 2011. Louise earned her B.A. at Swarthmore College. She is a New York native who has lived in California for nearly 30 years.

Eliza Leoni, Recruiting Coordinator

(415) 565-4619; e-mail Eliza

Eliza coordinates recruiting efforts, moderates UC Hastings' online recruiting system, provides valuable assistance in locating resources in the office, and updates the Career Office’s web resources. Additionally, she generates alumni information reports that students can use for networking purposes and answers an array of questions over the telephone and in person. Eliza earned her B.A. in Theater from Willamette University and can be seen singing and acting on Bay Area stages in her spare time.

Phil Marshall, Alumni Mentor Program Director

(415) 565-4826; e-mail Phil

Phil directs the UC Hastings Alumni Mentor Program and counsels students and alumni. His legal experience includes positions with the California Superior Court, the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, the Marin County Public Defender’s Office, as well as civil rights enforcement at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He also has taught business law at the College of Notre Dame. Phil earned his J.D. here at UC Hastings (‘92), and his B.A. from the George Washington University.

Annabrooke Temple, Associate Director for Career Development

(415) 565-4779; e-mail Annabrooke

Annabrooke counsels students and alumni, gives workshops and plans career programs. Originally from the East Coast, she received her B.A. degrees in English and Latin American Studies from Colgate University, then moved to San Francisco and earned her J.D. here at UC Hastings (‘00). Annabrooke provided direct representation to diverse clients in San Francisco non-profits for ten years before joining the career office.

Sari Zimmerman, Assistant Dean for the Office of Career & Professional Development

(415) 565-4856; e-mail Sari

Sari leads the staff in the development and implementation of training and recruitment programs, manages the department’s budget, and trains and counsels students. Sari began her UC Hastings tenure as the Alumni Mentor Coordinator (1996-98) and then as the Associate Director for Career Development (1998-00). She has additional teaching and counseling experience from the Georgetown University Law Center. Prior to UC Hastings, she was a telecommunications associate in a Washington D.C. law firm. A California native, she holds both her J.D. and her B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University.