ILONA ANTONYAN

• Former SDCBA Director
• Antonyan Miranda, LLP 
  • Family Law

  DAN BACAL

• SDCBA Board of Directors
• Solo Practitioner
  • Criminal Defense

All the Cleveland teams and the Buckeyes.

Cleveland, Ohio    Go Cavs!

  TOM BUCHENAU

• Former SDCBA Director
• Solo Practitioner
  • Business (Transactional)
  • Civil Litigation
  • Family Law
  • Probate

  ALEX CALERO

• Former SDCBA Director
• Department of Business Oversight

My son’s basketball team

San Bernardino County

  LARRY CAMPITIELLO

• Former SDCBA Director
• Cahill & Campitiello 
  • ​Business Law

That moment when the client shakes your hand or gives you a hug, and thanks you for taking good care of them. I have been blessed to experience that many times in my 30+ year career. 

Network, network, network!!! It never hurts to know people, and to have people know you. You never know where you next client referral may come from.

I am a diehard Chargers and Padres fan.

Florence, Italy. I love the art, the people, the food, and the wine. I also get mistaken for a local there. 

I grew up in Los Angeles, but have lived in San Diego now for more than 30 years and consider it to be my home. 

  STEPHANIE CHOW

• SDCBA Board of Directors
• Office of the Attorney General

Coming out of a case – whether in state or federal court, or higher or lower court – feeling as though my preparation and presentation had a positive effect on the outcome.  I love those moments, and they make the more difficult aspects of the job worth it. 

Having a great mentor or champion is almost as important as building strong professional skills and putting out good work product.  So don’t forget to prioritize making professional relationships and to approach more experienced attorneys whose abilities you admire and ask for advice.

Nearly every case I work on presents something new, which reminds me not to get complacent in my experience no matter how many years of practice, because there will always be questions I don’t know the answer to.

College football.  I should be a UCLA fan, but I always end up watching more Cal games…

 Spending a nice sunny day at Balboa Park.

 Vegas!

The LBC (Long Beach, CA)

  JODI CLEESATTLE

• SDCBA Board of Directors
• Office of the Attorney General
  • Employment Law

Ohio State Buckeyes football, my younger daughter's softball teams

Columbus, Ohio (although I actually lived in Washington, D.C., longer)

  ANDY COOK

• SDCBA Board of Directors
• Solo Practitioner
  • Family Law

  JAMES D. CROSBY ("JIM")

• Former SDCBA Director
• Henderson, Caverly, Pum & Charney LLP
  • Business Litigation

San Antonio Spurs 

Born in LA. Raised in Santa Barbara. In San Diego since I was 20. 

  RAY ESTOLANO

• Former SDCBA Director
• Solo Practitioner
  • ​Family Law
  • Criminal Defense

Successfully winning a case (dismisal of charges at a prelim) in front of my former trial advocacy professor

When I made a mistake in a case as a young prosecutor and the judge told me with a sympathetic smile, "Counsel, that is why they call it the practice of law."

Portland Trailblazers/NBA

I was born in Portland, Oregon, but grew up in Chula Vista- so I consider both my hometown. 

  JASON EVANS

• SDCBA Board of Directors
• Chair of the Forum for Emerging Lawyers
• Casey Gerry Schenk Francavilla Blatt & Penfield, LLP
  • Personal Injury

  JOSEPH FOX ("JOE")

• Murchison & Cumming, LLP, Of Counsel
  • ​Business and Real Estate Transactions
  • General Liability and Casualty

Winning my first appeal on my first trial and having the appellate decision published

Use your common sense and don't be afraid to ask for advice from an experienced attorney

Second chairing a jury trial with a new attorney and teaching him in the course of the trial

SDSU Aztecs Men's Basketball/San Diego Padres

Enjoying this marvelous City and playing softball

Tel Aviv, Israel

San Diego

  LOREN FREESTONE

• SDCBA Board of Directors, President-Elect
• Higgs Fletcher & Mack, LLP
  • Employment Defense

  BOB GAGLIONE

• Former SDCBA Director
• Solo Practitioner
  • Civil Litigation
  • Business & Real Estate Transactions

When someone takes a short cut and makes a mistake.

Padres/Yankees (baseball); Knicks/Lakers (basketball); USC Trojans (college football); Chargers/Giants/Jets (pro football); Ducks/Gulls/Islanders/Kings (hockey); and Galaxy/Sockers (soccer)

Hiking at Torrey Pines State Beach, SDCBA softball and San Diego County Fair

East Meadow, NY 

  SHERYL GRAF

• Panagopoulos Embry 
  • Family Law
  • Criminal
  • Bankruptcy

Winning when the opposition said they were going to kick my a** and mop the floor with me!

Focus on doing a good job for the client – the rest will fall into place.

Being in the courtroom, listening to the judge’s ruling and rationale, gaining invaluable insight re how that particular judicial officer thinks (so I can tailor my presentation accordingly).

Gymnastics

Poland (I have a friend who lives there).

Thomas Jefferson School of Law

Kent, Washington (Seattle area)

  ROGER HAERR

• SDCBA Board of Directors
• Solo Practitioner
  • Civil Litigation

My daughter’s dance team; Irish dance

La Jolla

  SRINIVAS HANUMADASS

• SDCBA Board of Directors
• Casey Gerry Schenk Francavilla Blatt & Penfield, LLP
  • Personal Injury

  NICOLE HEEDER

• Former SDCBA Director
• Former Chair of the Forum for Emerging Lawyers
• Solo Practitioner
  • Employment and Civil Litigation

Pittsburgh Steelers

Port Jefferson, NY

  LIZZETTE HERRERA CASTELLANOS

• SDCBA Board of Directors
• USD
  • ​Associate Director for Public Service & Diversity
  • Career Development

  DANIELLE HICKMAN

• Former SDCBA Director
• San Diego County District Attorney's Office

  RICHARD HUVER

• SDCBA Board of Directors, Immediate Past President
• West Coast Resolution 
  • Mediation

Representing pro bono fire victims of the 2003 San Diego Wildfires who were underinsured, taking on their insurance companies, and then meeting with them in my office to hand them checks for sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars over what their insurance company had paid them.

Get out of your office and do the old-school face-to-face thing as often as you can.

Prepare every case as if it were going to trial, even though 95% of cases settle.

 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Southwestern in LA

 LA – North Hollywood and La Canada

  RICK LAYON

• SDCBA Board of Directors
• Solo Practitioner
  • Criminal Defense

Late 70’s, early 80’s era San Diego Chargers with Dan Fouts at the helm throwing to the likes of Kellen Winslow, John Jefferson and Charlie Joiner.  It was like watching poetry in action.

Salt water fishing/lobstering

Escondido [by way of Brawley, CA]

  STEVE LORBER

• Lorber Nelson, LLP
  • ​Estate Planning

  WELLS LYMAN

• Past President SDCBA Board of Directors
• Solo Practitioner
  • Bankruptcy
  • Family Law

Cleveland Browns

Cleveland, Ohio

  JAN K. MAIDEN

• SDCBA Board of Directors
• Solo Practitioner
  • Family Law

Encino CA

  JERRILYN MALANA

• Former SDCBA Director
• San Diego County District Attorney's Office

I had the honor of presenting the family of the legendary U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall with the UC San Diego Marshall College Medal.  It was the first time that anyone from the Marshall family had visited the college bearing his name.  As an attorney and alum, this was a very special moment for me.  

Make time to “give back” to the community as a volunteer or through pro bono services.  

I had the opportunity to observe and interact with multiple attorneys as a federal law clerk many years ago, and I remember how their behavior (good and bad) made an impression on me.

Can movie-watching be counted as a sport?!

Dinner with friends overlooking San Diego Bay

Hawaii

Chula Vista

  LILYS MCCOY

• SDCBA Board of Directors
• TJSL
  • ​Director of the Center for Solo Practitioners

  MARCELLA MCLAUGHLIN ("MARCY")

• Former SDCBA Director
• San Diego County District Attorney's Office
  • Criminal Law

Swearing in my first jury for trial as a prosecutor.

SD Padres

Breakfast at Harry’s then visiting La Jolla

Hawaii

San Jose

  RON OBERNDORFER

• Fischbeck & Oberndorfer
  • ​Real Property
  • Business Law
  • Estate Planning

Newport Beach

  DINO PARASKEVOPOULOS

• SDCBA Board of Directors
• San Diego County District Attorney's Office
  • Criminal Law

  NORY PASCUA

• Former SDCBA Director
• Solo Practitioner
  • ​Family Law

I have so many memorable moments as an attorney, I’m not sure I have a favorite

Stay hungry

Watching my students engaged in what i was teaching.  This was when I was an adjunct professor at a local university 

Used to be the Celtics, now the Warriors / basketball

Walking at the beach

Villa Escudero

Thomas Jefferson 

Philippines

  STACIE PATTERSON

• Former SDCBA Director
• Solo Practitioner
  • Professional License Defense
  • Criminal Defense

  HEATHER RILEY

• SDCBA Board of Directors, President
• Allen Matkins
  • Environmental & Land Use Law
  • Water Law
  • Endangered Species Law

Being sworn in as an attorney with my parents in the courtroom.

Meet as many people as you can – you never know who may be your next boss, colleague, opposing counsel, judge, or friend.

“Carrying bags” for senior attorneys and watching them work is a great way to see what you should and should not do.  Ask to attend meetings, court hearings, whatever with your colleagues and with attorneys you respect and admire in other firms. 

NY Yankees

 Putnam Valley, NY

  KRISTIN E. RIZZO

• SDCBA Board of Directors
• Solo Practitioner
  • Employment and Civil Litigation

 My favorite days are always settlement disbursement days, i.e. handing my client a settlement check, giving them a hug and wishing them well in the future.

Always be professional; civility isn’t just a goal to obtain sometimes, it’s a must all the time.  If you want to succeed personally and professionally in the practice of law, always be civil; respect your opposing counsel, you don’t have to agree with them, but keep it professional. Your work-life will be far more pleasant if you are cordial and respectful of opposing counsel, and likely, they will treat you with civility and respect in return.

A senior attorney whom I respected greatly told me not to sweat the small stuff, that litigation was filled with small battles, some worth fighting, some not, but what was really important was to know my case, fight hard (when warranted), let it go (when needed), know that mistakes happen, and do the best I could for my client.

 Paddle-boarding

 Poipu Beach, Kauai

 University of San Diego

San Diego – born and bred

  ANNA M. ROMANSKAYA

• SDCBA Board of Directors
• Stark & D'Ambrosio, LLP
  • Family Law

Being able to assist a client obtain a result she or he would not have been able to accomplish without my help.

Don’t ever compromise your personal or professional values. Remember why you went into the legal profession and what footprint you hope to leave on your community. 

My last presentation to the ABA Young Lawyers Division about “networking on the run” – learning how to build and cultivate professional relationships in alternative settings  

Hockey/ Red Wings 

Cycling, hiking, and just being outdoors  

This is a tough one. Probably Italy. 

Los Angeles

  JOHANNA S. SCHIAVONI 

• SDCBA Board of Directors​
• Solo Practitioner
  • Appellate Law

Kentucky Wildcats (college basketball) 

Louisville, Kentucky

  RUSSELL WASLEY

• General Practice

  JON WILLIAMS

• Former SDCBA Director
• Williams Iagmin, LLP
  • Appellate Law