Appellate Practice Boot Camp Conference (5th Annual): Court Attorneys Teach the Do's and Don'ts (California)

Moderators:

Peg’s practice concentrates on complex civil litigation in federal and state courts with an emphasis in appellate practice. 

Peg has litigated over forty appeals and writs in state and federal court.  Peg has litigated a wide range of issues in the appellate courts including breach of contract, statutory interpretation, constitutional issues, trade secrets, unfair competition, tortious interference, malicious prosecution, and recovery of attorney’s fees.

Peg is certified by the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization as an appellate specialist.  She writes a monthly column on appellate law called “Appellate Insights” in The Daily Recorder.  In 2010, Peg was named a Northern California Super Lawyer.  In 2006, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals honored Peg with two Distinguished Service Awards for her “dynamic leadership and dedicated service” to the court. 

Prior to joining Mennemeier, Glassman & Stroud, Peg practiced law at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP and the California Attorney General’s Office.  She also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Warren J. Ferguson, a Senior Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 

In 2008, Chief Judge Alex Kozinski appointed Peg to serve a three-year term on the Ninth Circuit Advisory Board.  Previously, Peg has served as a member of the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference Executive Committee and as the Chair of the Ninth Circuit’s Lawyer Representatives Coordinating Committee.  Currently, she also is the Chair of the Judicial Advisory Committee for the Eastern District of California. 

Peg graduated with great distinction from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law.  During law school, she was the Associate Articles Editor of the Pacific Law Journal.  Peg received her B.A. with honors in Latin American Studies from Duke University. 

Mr. Shatz is certified as an appellate law specialist by the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization and is a member of  the Appellate Practice Group in the Los Angeles office of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP.  He has briefed hundreds of civil appeals, writs and petitions to the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Courts of Appeals, California Supreme Court and California Courts of Appeal, covering a variety of practice areas.  Mr. Shatz frequently contributes appellate law articles to periodicals including CEB’s Civil Litigation Reporter, Los Angeles Lawyer, California Lawyer, and the Daily Journal.  He is the Chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Appellate Courts Committee and the Vice Chair of the California State Bar's Committee on Appellate Courts.  He has been named by Los Angeles Magazine and Law & Politics Magazine as one of Southern California’s “Super Lawyers” in the field of Appellate Law, 2004-2010.

Mr. Shatz also served as Law Clerk to the Honorable Robert J. Johnston, United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Nevada and as Extern to the Honorable Dorothy W. Nelson, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  Mr. Shatz graduated magna cum laude from Pepperdine University School of Law, and was an Associate Editor of the Pepperdine Law Review and an Assistant Editor of the California Supreme Court Survey.

Faculty:

Kathleen  DeSantis has worked for the Fifth District Court of Appeal for twenty-three years.  Since 2000, Ms. DeSantis has been the Managing Appellate Court Attorney. 

Prior to that, Ms. DeSantis served as Senior Research Attorney to Presiding Justice Donald Franson, Presiding Justice Hollis G. Best, and Associate Justice James Thaxter.  

From 1985 to 1987 Ms. DeSantis served as a research attorney for the Fresno County Superior Court.  Prior to that time, Ms. DeSantis litigated at  Chern, Brenneman & Garcia in Santa Maria. 

Ms. DeSantis graduated Cum Laude from Hastings College of Law and is a Member of the Order of the Coif.   Ms. DeSantis is the Co-chair/co-editor of the Judicial Attorneys Manual 3rd edition 2004 and the 2007 revision and is on the Steering Committee of the Fresno County Bar Association’s Appellate Law Section.

Kelly Ryan has been a Senior Research Attorney at the California Court of Appeal for nearly ten years.  Prior to joining the appellate court, Kelly was a research attorney for the San Francisco Unified Trial Courts. She also served as Managing Partner of her own firm, Ryan and Ryan in San Francisco and practiced appellate law at the Law Offices of Nye, Swanson & Frank - Associate Attorney in Sacramento.

Jay-Allen Eisen has practiced law since 1969. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and a Past President of the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers. He serves on the Executive Committee of the ABA's Council of Appellate Lawyers and the State Bar Standing Committee on Appellate Courts. He was one of the first Appellate Law Specialists certified by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization, and he served on the Appellate Law Advisory Commission, which established and oversees the State Bar's appellate specialist program. He has been counsel in more than 300 appeals and appellate writs, including more than 75 that have led to published, precedent decisions.

Gina M. Calvelli has been a Senior Appellate Court Attorney since 2001.  Ms. Calvelli formerly worked for Associate Justice Richard M. Mosk (Division 5) and currently works for Associate Justice Thomas L. Willhite, Jr. (Division 4).  Between 1993 and 2001, Ms. Calvelli was a Parter at Riordan & McKinzie where she specialized in Appellate Law.  Prior to joining Riordan & McKinzie, Ms. Calvelli practiced at the San Francisco firm of Khourie, Crew & Jaeger.  Ms. Calvelli is a 1991 graduate of Stanford Law School.

Sarah Waldstein has been an appellate research attorney since 1990.  She worked for Associate Justice F. Douglas McDaniel, retired, in the Fourth Appellate District, Division Two before coming to the Second Appellate District, Division Three.  She is currently a Senior Judicial Attorney for Associate Justice Richard D. Aldrich.  Prior to joining the court, Ms. Waldstein was an Associate at Brown, Rudnick in Boston, Massachusetts.  Ms. Waldstein received her J.D. from Boston College Law School in 1988, where she served as an editor of the Environmental Law Review.

Frank J. Menetrez is a Research Attorney for the Honorable Frances Rothschild, California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 1. Prior to joining the court, Mr. Menetrez practiced appellate law at Horvitz & Levy LLP in Encino and was an Associate at Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP in Los Angeles, California. Mr. Menetrez graduated from the UCLA School of Law with multiple honors, was Editor-in-Chief for the UCLA Law Review, is a Member of the Order of the Coif and clerked for the Honorable A. Wallace Tashima, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Mr. Menetrez also holds a Ph.D. and a Masters Degree in Philosophy.