California Western alumnus David A. Cain ’13

Today is the day results of the February 2013 California Bar Exam are released to test takers. California Western alumnus and former student blogger David A. Cain ’13 shared the following thoughts as he waits for his results.

The nightmares started the week before bar results posted.

The California bar exam is notoriously difficult and my subconscious started sending up nightly reminders how slim my chances were, how many eggs I had loaded into this basket, and how easily I could lose my grip on it.

Each morning started at around 5:00 a.m. when my eyes would shoot open, my conscious brain would reckon with my again unfamiliar surroundings, make sense of the dark room and alarm clock glow, and start racing through the good, the bad, and the ugly of what it would mean to fail.

The first dream was your standard, run-of-the-mill anxiety dream. Something about time. Not enough of it. Some monumental task to complete. Some order misstated or misperceived. The impossibility of the Light Brigade. No specifics, just anxiety.

The second dream was the most vivid, terrifying, and literal dream I have ever had. At 45 years old (“half right” as my geometry nerd children like to say), I have had a good number of dreams. None have been as real as this. For the first time in my life, I woke up absolutely sure that I was dead.

It was dusk. Seattle area. A large, four-engine cargo aircraft had just begun its takeoff role. And I was at a dead sprint behind it, running like Tom Cruise runs in every movie I have ever seen him in: fully committed.

I would catch this plane.

And I did. I leapt and grabbed hold of the flap and flap runner just inboard of the number two pusher prop. I swung my legs up and clinched down around the flap. I was now horizontal, head to the right, feet to the left, with my left leg and arm over the top of the wing, my right arm and leg below the wing, my face pressed against the top to the trailing edge of the flap as the aircraft accelerated toward the ocean.

As I looked back and down at the runway stripes appearing below the aft fuselage, I remember doing the calculations.

If I let go now, I will survive the fall.

I might break a leg.

I might even do some serious damage, but I will survive the fall.

I can hit with my feet, roll to my ankles, knees, and hip, tuck my shoulder and spread out the G-spike with a good parachute landing fall.

I have been trained for this.

The Army had taught me how to fall off the back of something big moving fast. I would survive.

And I remember making the reasoned decision to hold on. At that moment, the aircraft rotated and lifted off. And along with it me, a 45-year-old furry koala pencil clip clinging desperately the the inboard flap.

As the aircraft climbed away from the runway over the tall firs and cut back north of the runway, I realized what a stupid decision I had made.

As the sweat from the run evaporated on my skin, and the aircraft climbed into the ocean air, I realized that I was going to die. This was not a question of if, but when. The cause would be a horse race between freezing to death, running out of air, or falling off and plummeting to my death as the aircraft continued to climb and arced south toward San Diego. As we rounded the first turn and my body started to shake, it was Freezing to Death by a full length, largely because I was buck naked.

But there was hope.

Even though this was a cargo aircraft, there were people. Fortunate for me, the cargo was a standard shipping container carrying a Mad Men ’60s Art Deco apartment in which a Gatsby-esque party was in full swing.

The engine noise was deafening.

Because the left panel of the container was solid glass, and I could see the dance floor and golden glint from the orchestra instruments, I could see that there was music. But I couldn’t hear it.

And no one could hear me.

The champagne corks flew, fine crystal flutes clinked over white tablecloths and exotic centerpieces, the band played on, and I could see the sound, but all I could hear was engine noise and the slipstream rush of air.

I had to get someone’s attention, anyone’s attention. With all limbs fully engaged down to the last philange, I could only shake my head to call attention to myself and finally, I did.

A woman in a gold dress with golden hair and long white gloves spotted me, walked over to the window, and drew a drag from her cigarette at the end of its long black holder. She was surveying me and mouthed something. I was yelling, shaking my head wildly, trying to communicate something that should have been so obvious to her.

If she did not let me in, I was going to die.

As our impossible conversation continued others started to gather behind her. Now, I was a spectacle. The men with slick hair and tuxedos shrugged and held out their hands. The women in gold and white laughed and compared gloves.

What could the silly man on the wing possibly want?

And then I heard the bird.

A bird with a call exactly like my alarm clock shows up outside my window every morning and attempts to make contact with my alarm clock for the express purpose of mating with it.

Manti Te’o is a small bird that has found its one true love in my alarm clock. Unfortunately for my wife and me, Manti believes that if he shows up early he will win my alarm clock’s heart. He is so invested in this idea that he has taken to showing up earlier and earlier.

This morning, he showed up at 4:22.

And my eyes shot open. And I was sure I was dead.

One beat is a long time in the afterworld. I clocked three full beats before I convinced myself that I was not dead, that I was not fighting for my life to break into a party where I was not wanted, that I was not falling to my death off in the Pacific off the Washington coast.

I was just waiting for bar results…

(L to R) Chair of Higgs Fletcher & Mack’s Diversity Committee Susan Hack, Student Thomas Wang, and Higgs Fletcher & Mack Diversity Committee Member Rahil Swigart ’03

The San Diego-based law firm Higgs Fletcher & Mack recently awarded a $3,500 Diversity Scholarship to second-year student Thomas Wang for his dedication to promoting diversity, helping others assimilate, and his passion for breaking down unfair social stigmas.

The Higgs Fletcher & Mack Diversity Scholarships are awarded to students who demonstrate ethical and/or civic leadership, as well as a commitment to providing services to underrepresented groups in the community. Wang, who is an Asian Immigrant, is a member of the Pan Asian Lawyer Association, the Chinese Attorney Law Association, and currently works as an intern at the San Diego County Public Defender’s Office.

“This scholarship is particularly special because it is made possible by the generous contributions from the firm itself and several Higgs attorneys–not only California Western alumni but non-alumni as well. It is great to see our firm extend a hand to a deserving student,” said Rahil Swigart ’03, a member of the Higgs Fletcher & Mack Diversity Committee.

Founded in 1939, Higgs Fletcher & Mack is San Diego’s oldest full-service law firm. The firm is proud to be an original signatory to The San Diego County Bar Association’s Diversity Pledge, and continues to be a leader in workplace diversity efforts and a strong supporter of professional development in the legal community.

Student to Advocate for Workers’ Rights During Summer Fellowship

Also last week, the Peggy Browning Fund awarded a 10-week fellowship to second year student Alexis Olbrei, who will spend her summer working with New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) in New York, N.Y.

Selected from a pool of more than 500 applicants, Olbrei believes the right to dignity in the workplace is fundamental, and hopes to fight social injustice through the practice of labor-side advocacy. As the daughter of Communications Workers of America and Transport Workers Union members, Alexis’ developed an appreciation for the power of workers as a collective early on in life. Prior to attending law school, she taught at New York City public schools and was a proud member of the United Federation of Teachers. During law school, she has interned at AFSCME Local 127 and the Employee Rights Center, a San Diego non-profit focused on workplace and immigration rights.

The Peggy Browning Fund is a not for-profit organization established in memory of Margaret A. Browning, a prominent union-side attorney who was a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from 1994 until 1997.  Peggy Browning Fellowships provide law students with unique, diverse and challenging work experiences fighting for social and economic justice.

Please join us in congratulating students Thomas Wang and Alexis Olbrei for their recent honors, and in thanking Higgs Fletcher & Mack and the Peggy Brown Fund for helping to support diversity and workers’ rights locally and nationally.

New Media Rights Executive Director Art Neill’s passion for consumer advocacy was recognized this week with his appointment to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Consumer Advisory Committee. The FCC committee works to serve the interests of consumers by soliciting their input during the regulatory process and working to improve consumer access to modern communications services.

Neill, who often takes part in regulatory proceedings at the FCC and U.S. Copyright Office, looks forward to bringing New Media Rights’ consumer-first approach to the committee.

New Media Rights Founder/Executive Editor Art Neill

“Our appointment to the FCC’s Consumer Advisory Committee gives us a place where we can share the concerns of internet users and consumers directly with regulators,” said Neill. “Good public policy starts with actually knowing what’s happening on the ground. New Media Rights focuses its efforts on helping a variety of consumers and creators often left out of conversations about public policy that affects them.”

New Media Rights recently defended San Francisco artist Jonathan McIntosh in a copyright dispute with Lionsgate Entertainment over the unlawful takedown of McIntosh’s popular “Buffy vs. Edward: Twilight Remixed” video. The program also offers copyright, licensing, and trademark expertise to internet users, and advises consumers on how protect their privacy while using a smart phone.

In addition to providing a much-needed voice for consumers on the FCC committee, Neill is excited about the hands-on training opportunities his appointment will create for California Western students interested in practicing internet and media law.

“The Committee tackles a variety of subjects, from broadband internet accessibility to improving consumers’ interaction with the FCC,” said Neill. “Through this work, New Media Rights legal interns will have an opportunity to be exposed to the regulatory and policy side of the one-to-one work they’re doing with NMR.”

To learn more about how you can support New Media Rights’ mission, click here.

Members of California Western’s Public Interest Law Foundation and the American Constitution Society with San Diego Mayor Bob Filner

On Tuesday, March 19, the Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) and the American Constitution Society (ACS) held the 17^th Annual PILF Auction, which consisted of both a silent and live component.

During the live event, jubilant emcee Professor Timothy Casey auctioned off such items as authentic Texas BBQ (shipped all the way from Austin!), front row Padres tickets, chauffeur service in a vintage Rolls Royce limousine, and even surf lessons with Professor Casey himself.

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner also stopped by to update students, faculty, and staff on his goals for the city and to tell the audience about some of the events in his young life that inspired him to become a public servant. Filner explained how meeting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as an adolescent influenced his decision to become a community organizer and Civil Rights advocate in the early 1960s. At age 18, Filner joined the “Freedom Riders” and traveled to Jackson, Miss. to protest the segregation of bus lines and bus stations in the South. When he arrived in Mississippi, he was arrested and jailed for two months. In the YouTube clip below, Filner discusses how his participation in the Civil Rights Movement changed his life.

Proceeds from the auction support PILF in promoting pro bono work through education, volunteer opportunities, and scholarships.

Mayor Bob Filner Speaks at California Western PILF Event

Over the last 10 years, California Western’s joint speaker series with UC San Diego has brought numerous legal experts representing a variety of practice areas to campus to speak with students, faculty, and staff.

This week, internationally-renowned humanitarian law expert Dino Kritsiotis visited the law school to discuss the various international laws that apply to humanitarian intervention in armed conflicts. The University of Nottingham professor addressed some of the lessons learned from the recent civil war in Libya, and explained the legal challenges facing states who want to provide aid to the rebel groups currently fighting against forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Kritsiotis raised important questions about whether using force against alleged human rights abusers has been effective in the past.

“Is it really the case that force can solve all our problems?” said Kritsiotis. “Violence is not a panacea.”

Kritsiotis also addressed the complicated issue of whether the United Nations or a foreign state is obligated to intervene in a conflict where human rights abuses are suspected to be taking place. He said there are “very few absolutes” in international law when it comes to responding to conflicts where human rights concerns exist, and cautioned against states getting too involved in another nation’s civil war.

“To intervene in a civil war means we can affect the outcome, and a nation’s right to self-determination,” said Kritsiotis.

Krisiotis, who was the Castetter Visiting Foreign Law Professor in 2011, aims his scholarship to encourage the international community to rethink the way it responds to conflicts in the future.

“Dino Kritsiotis has the rare ability  to analyze the changes in the United Nations Security Council debate over interventions and express them so eloquently in his scholarship and lectures.  He explains very complex details in a very accessible way,” said Professor James M. Cooper, director of California Western’s International Legal Studies program.

About the California Western School of Law – UC San Diego Joint Speaker Series:  

Is international law founded on a set of ethical principles? Should the practice of international law be guided by such principles? Political theorists and legal ethicists have debated these questions for centuries. The 10th Annual California Western School of Law—UC San Diego Joint Speaker Series “Morality, Humanitarianism, and International Law” examines the role of ethics and morality in international law and considers how these concepts affect the decisions of both individuals and states.

Professor James M. Cooper

With the recent death of Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, the international media is watching Latin America closely to see how the influential leader’s passing could affect the region. While many are speculating about the potential ripple effects of Chavez’ death, few in the United States have a better understanding of his influence on the world than California Western Professor James M. Cooper.

Cooper, director of the law school’s International Legal Studies Program, travels to Latin America regularly to help countries improve their legal systems, and to develop learning opportunities for California Western students. Last week, Cooper wrote an editorial for U-T San Diego about Chavez’ popularity, his connection to some of the United States biggest adversaries, and the influence his socialist political philosophy had on Latin America.

In the editorial, Cooper said “the modern-day Latin American Robin Hood’s” passing will be a “sigh of relief” for the United States government because he was one of the most vocal anti-American, anti-capitalist voices in the world. How Chavez’s death will impact Venezuela’s relationships with Cuba, Iran, China, and other allies is yet to be determined.

One of Chavez’ closest allies in South America was Bolivia President Evo Morales, whose similarly-populist approach helped him to become one of the most influential leaders in the region. According to Cooper, the socialist ideology popularized by Chavez greatly influences Morales’ rule and the structure of Bolivia’s Plurilateral Constitution.

In a prophetic twist of scheduling fate, Cooper brought Bolivian attorney Yerko Ilijic Crosa to California Western last week to discuss the country’s unique legal system, and some of the projects the Bolivian representative of Proyecto ACCESO hopes to develop with our law school and its students and faculty in the future.

Bolivia Struggling to Blend Traditions with Modern Legal System 

Speaking to a group of California Western students, faculty, and staff, Ilijic described some of the conflicts that have arisen in Bolivia since Morales’ 2005 election. With the recent enactment of a plurinational form of government meant to  preserve the traditions of Bolivia’s 36 different indigenous groups, the country faces several dilemmas that could slow its ability to develop an efficient, modern legal system. Since adopting a new Constitution in 2009, turf wars among Bolivia’s various “identity groups” have increased, and conflicts between its popular tribal justice systems and the country’s overarching rule of law create confusion about the legal rights afforded to citizens.

Bolivian Attorney Yerko Ilijic Crosa

Ilijic says little has been done in recent years to improve the living conditions for the 6 million Bolivian people currently living in poverty, despite Morales’ popularity among the poor. Additionally, Ilijic says women are routinely subjected to abuse and “the state has no responsibility to respond to violence against women.”

California Western Working to Improve Legal System in Bolivia

Ilijic is continuing collaborative projects with California Western aimed at helping Bolivian women understand they should be treated as equals to men, and addressing some of the legal conflicts that have resulted from the plurinational government.

“We must combine the old traditions with modern aspects of the rule of law,” said Ilijic. “We don’t want a clash of identities, we want a melding of them.”

As the world watches to see how Chavez’ passing could impact Latin America, California Western’s International Legal Studies Program will continue to advocate for human rights, and help to strengthen the rule of law in the region. Last year, several faculty members including Judge James Stiven and Professors Thomas Barton, Justin Brooks, Timothy Casey, and Mark Weinstein participated as instructors in a post-graduate program at the Catholic University of Bolivia in La Paz. Professor Cooper continues to work with Ilijic on a research project concerning legal pluralism and the advent of a new community justice law in Bolivia.

UC Davis Law Professor Gabriel J. Chin explains the potential effects of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on Arizona’s anti-immigration law, SB 1070

When the United States Supreme Court struck down some of the key provisions of Arizona’s controversial anti-immigration law, SB 1070, it sent a message to the states that “the power to regulate immigration is exclusively a federal power,” according to UC Davis School of Law Professor Gabriel J. Chin.

Speaking on campus this week as the California Western School of Law-UC San Diego DeWitt Higgs Memorial Lecturer, Chin outlined the what the Supreme Court’s SB 1070 ruling means for other states who want to enact similar anti-immigration laws, and previewed how the ruling could influence efforts in Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

“The good thing about SB 1070 is it asked ‘what are we going to do about this problem?’,” said Chin, whose scholarship has been cited several times by the Supreme Court. “Now, it is in Congress’ hands.”

When a California Western professor asked: “What are the states empowered to do with regards to suspected illegal immigrants?” Chin said the states have the same jurisdiction over illegal immigrants as they do over any other non-residents who are suspected of committing an illegal act in their state. He said that’s why the “investigative component,” which allows law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of people they stop, was the only provision of SB 1070 that survived the Supreme Court’s ruling.

“The U.S. could open the borders and the state’s couldn’t stop it. That’s within the federal government’s power,” said Chin.

Chin is hopeful Congress will pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation in the near future, but he said more legal conflicts could arise if the proposed legislation excludes a “pathway to citizenship” for the millions of illegal immigrants currently living in the United States.

“I don’t like the idea of having large classes of people who aren’t free and equal,” said Chin.

About the DeWitt Higgs Memorial Lecture
DeWitt “Dutch” Higgs graduated from California Western School of Law in 1934. He founded the firm of Higgs, Fletcher and Mack, one of San Diego’s leading local firms, and served as the region’s first representative on the University of California Board of Regents. The lecture recognizes his contributions to the law, education, and academic freedom and is sponsored by California Western School of Law and UC San Diego’s Earl Warren College, Law and Society Program, and the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies.

Alumni Christopher C. Walton ’04 and Colin Walshok ’07 recently recognized for their outstanding work by local magazine.

California Western prides itself on educating future attorneys who enter practice ready to meet the needs of their clients and the legal profession. Recognized for their outstanding work in the latest issue of San Diego Attorney Journal, alumni Christopher C. Walton ’04 and Colin Walshok ’07 exemplify the law school’s commitment to developing attorneys who make a positive impact early in their legal careers.

Named “Attorney of the Month” by the magazine, Walton has built a successful solo practice firm focused on personal injury and elder abuse cases over the last three years. With most of his cases coming as a result of referrals from former clients and attorneys he has interacted with in the past, Walton’s success is a direct result of his client-first approach to practice.

Walton’s passion for helping others is also benefitting recent California Western graduates through his role as Advisory Board President of the law school’s Access to Law Initiative (ALI). Through his work with the ALI, Walton is able to fulfill two of his passions in life: helping new attorneys build their own successful practices and advocating for people in need.

Walshok, recognized as the magazine’s “Rising Star of the Month,” applies  passion, discipline, and dilligent preparation—skills that also helped make him a successful golfer—to his work at Wingert, Grebing, Brubaker & Juskie, LLP. Focusing on personal injury cases, business disputes, construction cases, and legal malpractice defense work, Walshok seeks to make a significant difference in the lives of his clients regardless of the financial value of the case. Walshok is excited to use his passion for golf and legal advocacy in his firm’s new niche golf practice, which will give him an opportunity to help people who work in a sport he loves.

Join us in saluting Christopher C. Walton ’04 and Colin Walshok ’07 for being dilligent legal advocates who give back to their communities.

(L to R) Dean Niels Schaumann, President of the Supreme Court of Chile Ruben Ballesteros Cárcamo, and Professor James Cooper

California Western’s new President and Dean Niels Schaumann likes to take a hands-on approach to his job. Schaumann recently traveled to Chile with Professor James M. Cooper to see first-hand the impact Proyecto ACCESO has made in the country over the last 15 years.

During their trip, Schaumann and Cooper met with the President of Chile’s Supreme Court Rubén Ballesteros Cárcamo, Ambassador Pablo Cabrera, director of the country’s Diplomatic Academy, and Minister of Justice the Hon. Patricia Pérez Goldberg, who has agreed to speak at California Western’s Spring 2013 Commencement in April.

“I enjoyed meeting with members of Chile’s legal and political leadership during my visit. I look forward to continuing to work with Professor Cooper and our partners in Chile to develop more international legal education programs in the future. I am proud of the work Proyecto ACCESO has done in the country, and am excited about the unique learning opportunities the program creates for our students and legal professionals throughout Latin America,” said Schaumann.

Dean Niels Schaumann with the Hon. Patricia Pérez Goldberg, Minister of Justice of Chile

Cooper and Schaumann also met two of the cofounders of Proyecto ACCESO, Chile’s interim National Public Defender Claudio Pavlic Veliz, and attorney Angel Valencia, who both continue to serve as professors in the oral advocacy programs California Western offers throughout the Americas. Dean Schaumann and Professor Cooper also visited with Dr. Walter Eckel of the Heidelberg Center for Latin America, which is home to the law school’s Chile Summer Program.

“Over the last 15 years, the California Western community has been involved in the development of legal reform and the implementation of new laws in Chile and other Latin American countries,” said Cooper, director of the International Legal Studies Program and Proyecto ACCESO. “Our students have contributed to these important changes through their work in internships with Chile’s Ministry of Justice, Attorney General’s Office, Public Defender’s Office, and some of the country’s leading law firms. I am glad Dean Schaumann had an opportunity to see the impact California Western has made here. We look forward to continuing this important work in the future.”

To learn more about Proyecto ACCESO and the Chile Summer Program, click here and here.

3L Michael P. Hernandez’ exceptional work for the San Diego County Public Defender’s office was recognized last week when the County Board of Supervisors named him “Volunteer of the Month” for December 2012.

Photo courtesy: County of San Diego

During Michael’s 16-month internship at the County Public Defender’s office, he volunteered more than 1,200 hours researching cases, writing motions, and representing clients before a judge and jury.

Michael’s internship offered him the opportunity to work at the juvenile court in Kearny Mesa last spring, for the misdemeanor unit over the summer, and now on felony court cases downtown.

“This opportunity has allowed me to dramatically improve my advocacy skills. I cross-examined police officers, argued motions, and worked on cases from start to finish in my second year of law school,” said Michael. “The training and experience that interns receive at the San Diego Public Defender’s office is unparalleled.”

Join us in saluting Michael for being named San Diego County’s “Volunteer of the Month.” His work for the Public Defender’s office is a great example of the work California Western students are doing to help people in need while developing practical legal skills. If you are a law student who would like to learn more about internship opportunities, contact California Western’s Clinical Internship Program.

To learn more about how California Western helps prepare students for practice, visit our website.