LW&R Instructors

LW&R teachers are part-time adjunct professors and working attorneys whose legal offices are off-campus.  Conference rooms are available on the fourth floor of 198 McAllister for teacher-student meetings.  Each instructor has a mailbox in room 429 of the LW&R Department.  The mailboxes are usually accessible only during regular business hours (8:15 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.).

Questions concerning a class assignment, absence, or deadline should be directed to the teachers or teaching assistants at the telephone number or email address provided to the students for this purpose.  The LW&R office will relay messages to a teacher if the teacher is not available by telephone or email.

Lou Biggio

Lou Biggio is a graduate of Hastings, where he served as a note and articles editor for the Constitutional Law Quarterly, won Best Brief in Moot Court, and taught Moot Court when it was student taught.  He has been teaching LW&R and Moot Court at Hastings since 1996, and has also taught at Empire School of Law, Napa Valley Community College's paralegal program, and continuing legal education courses for lawyers.  In the law, he has been general counsel for the Napa Superior Court, a deputy district attorney, a deputy public defender, and a civil law and appellate practitioner.  In early 2005, he had a published appellate opinion that was the first case in the nation to address suspension of professional licenses as a condition of bail, an issue tested again recently in the case of Michael Jackson’s doctor. He practices law in Fairfield, California.    

Joe Creitz

Joe Creitz graduated from Hastings in 1992 and received an LL.M. in Taxation cum laude from Golden Gate University in 2003.  

Following several years as an ERISA litigator representing labor unions, several more as a General Counsel to a web design firm, and two years as a Trial Attorney with the U.S. Dept. of Labor, Joe started his own law practice in 2005 focusing on ERISA and employment litigation, and consumer class action litigation.  

Joe began teaching Legal Writing & Research and Moot Court at Hastings in 1994, and he just can't seem to stop.  

John Dasher

John Dasher is a Staff Attorney for the habeas corpus division of the criminal central staff of the California Supreme Court.  John handles hundreds of cases a year involving a wide range of post-conviction issues.  This is John's first year teaching Legal Writing and Research at Hastings.  John graduated from Hastings in 2004 and from the University of California, Davis in 1999.  John is a Northern California native and loves to spend his free time playing golf. 

Sean F. Gallagher

Sean Gallagher graduated from U.C. Santa Barbara (Political Science/International Relations) in 1986 and Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, J.D. in 1990.  He worked for the LA District Attorney's office for 4 years from 1991 to 1995 and was assigned misdemeanor jury trials, and to the juvenile and family violence unit.  He has worked at the San Mateo County District Attorney's office from 1995 to present, including assignments in sexual assault, homicide, and political corruption.  He is currently assigned as the Deputy-in-Charge of the South San Francisco branch office.  He’s been an adjunct in LWR/Moot Court since 2007.

Steven Perez Harris

Steven Harris is Jeremy and Leia’s father and Maya’s husband.  Jeremy will be 5 on September 3... and Leia is a year old!  Maya is a licensed pyrotechnician and an accomplished event planner at Cal.

Mr. Harris graduated from Cal with honors in history, developed national policy on the ADA with the Justice Department, and was Hastings’ top oral advocate in the intra-school Snodgrass Competition.  This is his 11th year teaching LW&R and Moot Court at Hastings.  He works about 25-30 weeks a year as a one-on-one tutor for the California Bar Examination.  He is also an Essay Advantage, Performance Test Advantage, and pre-bar professor for Bar/Bri Bar Review.  He is the author of 2d editions of WINNIN’ TIME! and The Trigger List, two books about law school/bar exam preparation.  He frequently defeats slot machines and blackjack dealers in Las Vegas, and his family loves living in Alameda!  Go Bears!

Wendy Hill

Wendy Hill graduated cum laude from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1995, with a B.A. in Political Science.  In 1998, she received her J.D. cum laude from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School.

Wendy has served as a judicial law clerk since November 2001 to the Honorable Phyllis J. Hamilton of the United States District Court, currently in Oakland, California. Prior to her current clerkship, Wendy worked as an associate attorney at Cooper, White & Cooper LLP in San Francisco and clerked for a United States Bankruptcy Judge and for a state appellate court.

Sigrid Irias

Sigrid graduated from Hastings in 1986 and is a civil litigator and trial attorney with Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold LLP in San Francisco.  She likes teaching and trying cases, and thinks they have a lot in common.  In her free time she sings with Coro Hispano de San Francisco and volunteers with community-service organizations in the Bay Area legal community, including the Constitutional Rights Foundation’s high school mock trial program.

Bob Kane

Bob Kane graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1973 with a B.S. in Conservation of Natural Resources and a B.A. in History, Phi Beta Kappa.  He received his J.D. from University of California, Davis in 1976, was elected to the Order of the Coif, and was an editor of the Law Review.  Mr. Kane served as an intern at the San Mateo District Attorney’s Office and for U.S. District Court Judge Thomas MacBride in Sacramento.

Since graduating from law school, he has been in private practice in San Francisco and Tahoe City.  He is currently a sole practitioner in San Francisco engaged in civil and criminal litigation and the general practice of law.  Mr. Kane has numerous publications to his credit.  He is a member of the California and Hawaii Bars.   He also serves as a superior court judge pro tem, arbitrator and mediator.  

Mr. Kane is active in local nonprofits.  He is the President of the Board of Housing Rights and he was formerly on the Board of Legal Services of Northern California.

Paul Keller

Mr. Keller received his J.D. from University of San Francisco School of Law in 1986 and a B.A. in Political Science from Columbia College in 1983.

Mr. Keller has worked as an attorney for the United States Court of Appeals since 1987.  In 1989-90, he was a judicial law clerk for former Chief Judge Goodwin of the U.S. Court of Appeals.  In his current position as Supervising Case Management Attorney, Mr. Keller supervises a group of attorneys responsible for tracking legal issues pending before the court, prepares proposed decisions in pending appeals for presentation to panels of judges, and completes special research projects for the court.  He has taught at Hastings since 1999.

Moe Keshavarzi

Moe Keshavarzi is an associate in the Business Trials Practice Group of Sheppard Mullin Richer & Hampton, LLP. He graduated from U.C. Hastings in 2002. Moe was a member of the 2002 Hastings National Moot Court team that won the National Championship. The team received awards for best brief and for best team oral presentation in the final round. Moe was also named the Best Oralist in the Western Region and Runner-Up Best Oralist in the nation. Finally, Moe won the Justice Lewis F. Powell Medal for Excellence in Advocacy.

Chi Soo Kim

Chi Soo Kim is a Law Clerk for the Honorable Nandor J. Vadas at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.  She previously clerked for the Honorable William W Schwarzer on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and worked as a staff attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  She practiced civil litigation at Bingham McCutchen in San Francisco, focusing on complex commercial, antitrust, and intellectual property cases, and where she served as a member of the pro bono and recruiting committees.  She received her B.A. from Princeton University in 1999 and her J.D. cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center in 2004, where she was the Pro Bono and Community Service Director for the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics and the Executive Director of Georgetown Outreach, a service organization.  She lives in San Francisco with her husband and three young children.

Alexius Markwalder

Alexius Markwalder currently works as a Staff Attorney in the Motions Unit for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  Prior to her current position, she was an associate attorney with the Sturdevant Law Firm where her practice focused on consumer protection, employment and disability discrimination. She also litigated cases involving the rights and equal treatment of people with disabilities in employment, education, and health care at Disability Rights Advocates.  She has spoken at numerous state and national conferences on health care access and published several reports regarding the health care crisis for people with disabilities.

Steven Miller

Steven Miller graduated magna cum laude (Order of the Coif) from Hastings in 2004.  He is an associate in the San Francisco firm of Hanson Bridgett, where he works in the Public Agency Section.  His areas of expertise within the public agency arena include public contracts and procurements, construction law, and constitutional issues, as well as election and government ethics laws. Steven has guided public clients through complex procurements of rolling stock and high-technology equipment. He is particularly knowledgeable about the complex statutory and regulatory framework under which public transit agencies operate, including Federal Transit Administration grant conditions and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise regulations. As part of his election and government ethics practice, Steven serves as an Evaluator for the San Jose Elections Commission and also advises public clients on a wide variety of ethics issues. He is well-versed in election law and assists clients with issues including FPPC compliance and initiative drafting.

Steven served for many years on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He is a Grammy-award winning violinist and has issued more than 20 CDs and appeared on PBS and NPR. In addition to his traditional classical music performances, Steven can be heard on soundtracks ranging from Safeway meat commercials to Elmo in Grouchland.

Margaret Murray

Ms. Murray graduated from Hastings in 1987 and has practiced commercial litigation and employment law ever since.  She was a partner at Folger Levin & Kahn LLP in its San Francisco office and is now with the Law Offices of Margaret E. Murray.

Ms. Murray's employment practice encompasses all areas of evolving labor and employment law, representing primarily management in litigation, arbitration, alternative dispute resolution, administrative proceedings and appellate cases involving a wide variety of state and federal laws, including employment discrimination, wrongful termination, sex harassment, wage and hour disputes, breach of contract, and unfair business practices.  Ms. Murray also counsels employers in litigation avoidance, drafting and application of personnel policies and handbooks, negotiation and drafting of employment contracts, and compliance with labor and employment laws.  She conducts seminars for the legal and business communities on practical aspects of employment law compliance.  Her clients range from Fortune 500 companies to start-up ventures in many industries. 

Ms. Murray graduated from Brown University (B.A., with honors, 1980).  At Hastings, she was Note Editor of Comm/Ent Journal of Communications and Entertainment Law and Co-Chair of the Clara Foltz Law Society.  She has been a member of the Board of Directors of Equal Rights Advocates since 2005.  She is also a member of the Advisory Board of Center for WorkLife Law at UC Hastings College of the Law.

Ellen Obstler

Ellen Forman Obstler graduated from Hastings in 1989.  She clerked for the Ninth Circuit and the late Justice Mosk on the California Supreme Court.  She was the Chief Appellate Attorney at the San Francisco City Attorney's Office from 1997 until 2004.  In February 2008, she graduated from an environmental studies program through the Environmental Forum of Marin.  Currently, she teaches Legal Writing & Research and Moot Court at Hastings, edits the Environmental Forum of Marin's monthly e-newsletter, and copyedits Marin County's in-house quarterly newsletter, "Frankly Speaking."

David Pai

David Pai is a Deputy Attorney General at the California Department of Justice.  He represents state agencies and officials in matters involving employment and administrative mandate litigation. 

David graduated from Hastings in 2002, and served as Executive Editor of the Constitutional Law Quarterly.  Like many lawyers, he toyed with the idea of writing fiction.  Thankfully, it remains only an idea.  Today, he quenches his rumination by occasionally applying creative writing devices to his legal briefs.  He advises students to do the same only as necessary and proper, and always at their own risk. 

Michael Quinn

Michael Quinn is a Deputy Attorney General for the State of California.  He is assigned to the office's Correctional Law Section, which defends the Governor's Office and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.  Prior to joining the Attorney General's Office, he worked as an associate at Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro, where he was part of the real estate and land use practice group, and as a litigation associate at Ropers, Majeski, Kohn and Bentley.  He received his J.D. from Hastings in 2000 and his B.A. from the University of San Francisco in 1997.

Adrienne Rogers

Adrienne Rogers graduated cum laude from Harvard University in 2000.  She was a four-year member of the Women’s Swimming Team.

Adrienne graduated cum laude from Hastings College of the Law in 2003.  While at Hastings, Adrienne won the American Jurisprudence Award for Legal Writing and Research.  During law school, she externed for Justice James Lambden of the First District Court of Appeal and worked as an extern in the gang unit at the San Francisco District Attorney's Office.

After graduating from Hastings, Adrienne worked as an associate at a litigation firm for three years.  She then worked as a research attorney at the Hall of Justice, San Francisco’s criminal court.  She now works as a Senior Appellate Court Attorney for Barbara Jones, the Presiding Justice of Division Five of the First District Court of Appeal. 

She lives in San Francisco with her husband and son.  In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, reading, and attending Giants baseball games.

Nathan Scheg

Nathan Scheg is a co-founder and COO/CLO for StructuredRisk, Inc., a nationwide risk management solution for the building industry specifically designed to reduce construction defect claims and the cost of litigation. He is also Of Counsel to Senn-Law, P.C., where he specializes in real estate and construction matters.  He graduated from U.C. Hastings in 1998, where he was Notes and Comments Editor of the West-Northwest Journal of Environmental Law and Policy.  He received his B.A. from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton in 1995.  He is a native New Yorker who now lives in the East Bay with his wife and 3 children.

Chip Selan

Harold (Chip) Selan graduated from Hastings in 1982 and from the University of California, Berkeley (Phi Beta Kappa in History) in 1979. He has been teaching at Hastings since 1989 and has taught Legal Writing and Research, Moot Court, and Appellate Advocacy.

Chip is a solo practitioner whose practice focuses on personal injury and business cases at the trial and appellate levels.  He is currently a member of the California State Bar Committee on Appellate Courts. He was a member of the California State Bar Committee on the Administration of Justice from 2003 to 2008 and was the Chair of that committee in 2007-2008.

Chip was in Albania in 2008 working with the USAID Rule of Law Program in Albania. He, along with an appellate judge from the Netherlands and the former Chief Justice of the Albanian Supreme Court, presented lectures and workshops in legal writing, reasoning, and court decision writing to Albanian trial and appellate judges. He was invited to back to Albania earlier this year and taught a two-week intensive legal writing course to students at the School of Magistrates in Tirana, the Albanian capital. 

Nasha Vida

Nasha Vida is a Staff Attorney at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, where she leads the Asylum Unit and teaches a weekly yoga class.  Prior to her time at the court, she was awarded the Ralph S. Abascal Fellowship and worked at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center educating domestic violence advocates and service providers on immigration laws that protect immigrant survivors of domestic violence.  Nasha graduated from UC Hastings in 2003.  In law school she was vice president of the Hastings Public Interest Law Foundation and was a founding member of the Race and Poverty Law Journal.  Nasha received a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Michigan in 1997.

Rachel Wagner

Rachel Wagner is returning happily to Hastings where she taught LWR and Moot Court for several years in the 1990’s.  Rachel currently is in private practice in complex litigation involving public entities.  She previously served as a supervising trial attorney for the City of Oakland in varied, high value cases, and before that practiced business litigation for 15 years in the Financial District.  Rachel also has served as a mediator and settlement commissioner for the superior courts.  She graduated from Columbia Law School (NY) in 1986, served as a law clerk for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and when enthused, still talks too fast.  She lives in Oakland with two rambunctious kids.

Louise Warren

Louise Warren is a Staff Counsel at the California Coastal Commission.  Prior to working for the Commission, she was an associate at Farella, Braun & Martel, LLP, where she litigated primarily environmental and insurance cases.

Louise graduated with distinction from Stanford Law School in 2003 and is a Bay Area native who enjoys traveling and playing soccer.

Greg Wolff

Greg Wolff is Head of Staff for Justice Carlos Moreno at the California Supreme Court.  He formerly worked for Chief Justice Ronald George beginning in 1987 when Justice George was appointed to the Court of Appeal in Los Angeles.

From 1977 to 1987, Mr. Wolff was a Deputy City Attorney in the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office.  After a year in the trial division, he joined the Appellate Section of the Criminal Branch, eventually becoming supervisor of that section.  Later he moved to the Appellate Section of the Civil Branch.  He has briefed and argued more than 350 appeals and 100 writ proceedings.

Denise Yates

Denise Yates has been a Deputy Attorney General for over nine years, defending state agencies, prison wardens, and the Governor from lawsuits filed by prisoners.  Before that, she worked as a Deputy District Attorney, she was a fellow with the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, and she clerked for a federal judge in Las Vegas.  She loves teaching LW&R at Hastings.  She is a Northern California native and avid athlete.  Most weekends you can find her riding her bike on either the paved or dirt roads in Northern California, or otherwise training for a triathlon.