The Business Transactions Group provides business transactions advice and support to the Office of the President, campuses, medical centers, and national laboratories. The group advises on business and corporate structures; competitive bidding; complex business, finance, and energy projects; and international initiatives. The group also advises on non-profit organization, charitable giving and tax matters.
Group Members:
Tina Combs, Deputy General Counsel
Scott Abrams, Senior Counsel
James Agate, Senior Counsel
Bill Eklund, Senior Counsel
Mary MacDonald, Senior Counsel
Barbara Rhomberg, Counsel
The Charitable Giving and Nonprofit Organizations Group supports Institutional Advancement at the Office of the President and development offices on all ten campuses to help increase private support for the University's teaching, research, and public service mission. The group handles all estate and trust matters in which donors named the UC Regents as a beneficiary of their estate plans, and provides legal support for planned gifts such as charitable remainder trusts, charitable gift annuities, and pooled income funds. The group also provides counsel on permissible uses of restricted funds and provides nonprofit tax and corporate work to support the University's auxiliary nonprofit organizations which reduces the legal costs which they might otherwise incur.
Group Members:
Barbara Rhomberg, Counsel
The Construction Group provides construction-related legal services to UC's multi-billion dollar annual construction program on the campuses and medical centers. The group's transactional work includes working with clients to develop strategic policies, contracts, and procedures (including competitive bidding) for the University's numerous construction projects. Much of the group's work involves analyzing and resolving disputes with architects, contractors, and surety bond companies. The group also provides legal support in proposing and opposing legislation affecting the University's construction program.
Group Members:
Holly Ackley, Senior Counsel
David Bergquist, Senior Counsel-UCSF
Michael Cole, Assistant Campus Counsel - UCB
Stephen Morrell, Managing Counsel
The Educational Affairs and Campus Services Group advises and counsels campuses and the Office of the President on a wide variety of issues involving students, faculty, and academic life, such as admissions, fees, financial aid, housing, student conduct, research compliance, and faculty and Academic Senate matters.
Attorneys in the group serve as the general legal advisers for UC Merced, the Division of Agricultural and Natural Resources, and for Privilege and Tenure Committees throughout the system.
Group Members:
David Birnbaum, Chief Deputy General Counsel
Katina Ancar, Counsel
Ellen Auriti, Senior Counsel
Bill Eklund, Senior Counsel
Elisabeth Gunther, Senior Counsel
The Governance Group provides legal services in the areas of governance (including open meeting, delegation of authority, and parliamentary issues), the Public Records Act, and conflict of interest. The Regents is a major client of the group, as well as the Office of the President and the campuses.
Group Members:
Kathleen Quenneville, Principal Counsel
Nancy Hamill, Senior Counsel
Stella Ngai, Counsel
Maria Shanle, Senior Counsel
Cynthia Vroom, Senior Counsel
The Health Law Group supports the medical centers, medical schools and faculty practice plans operated by the University of California. The group also supports the following units of the Office of the President: the Office of Ethics, Compliance, and Audit Services; the Office of Health Sciences and Services; and the Office of Research Policy. Attorneys in the group provide advice on a complex array of federal and state laws governing the furnishing of clinical care, billing for clinical services, the conduct of health science research, and the structuring of health care transactions.
Group Members:
Max Reynolds, Deputy General Counsel
Meghan Archdeacon, Senior Counsel, UCLA
Jane Boubelik, Chief Health Sciences Counsel, UCLA
Auburn Daily, Principal Counsel
Shari Faris, Senior Counsel, UCLA Health System
David Levine, Health System Counsel, UCD
Rachel Nosowsky, Principal Counsel
Anna Orlowski, Chief Health Sciences Counsel, UC Davis
Carrie Recksieck, Principal Counsel, UCLA Health System
Peter Schneider, Chief Health Sciences Counsel, UC Irvine
Rani Singh, Principal Counsel
Ann Sparkman, Deputy Campus Counsel for Health Affairs, UCSF
Diane Wynshaw-Boris, Senior Campus Counsel, UCSF
Technology Transfer
The Technology Transfer Group supports ten campus technology transfer and sponsored projects offices, the UCOP Office of Research and Graduate Studies, and the UCOP Office of Federal Governmental Relations, in their efforts to bring the benefits of University research to the public. The activities encompassed by "technology transfer" include University partnerships with industry (including patent and intellectual property licensing) to transform technological breakthroughs made by University inventors into new products and services in the commercial marketplace.
Group Members:
Nancy Chu, Senior Counsel
Bill Eklund, Senior Counsel
Rita Hao, Senior Counsel
Marty Simpson, Managing Counsel
Trademark and Copyright
The Trademark and Copyright Group provides copyright and trademark services to the Office of the President and serves as a resource to the campuses and medical centers. The group provides transactional services (e.g., providing advice, reviewing and drafting license agreements, identifying trademark and copyright infringement, and sending and responding to cease and desist letters) and dispute resolution. The group also advises on the use of the University of California name and unofficial seal. It oversees domestic and international counsel retained to register and enforce University trademarks.
Group Members:
Rita Hao, Senior Counsel
Mary MacDonald, Senior Counsel
The University is responsible for the management of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory under a management and operations contract with the Department of Energy. The University also participates as a major partner in the limited liability companies established for the management of the Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories under contracts with the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. The Office of the General Counsel provides support in coordination with laboratory counsel for the national laboratories.
Group Members:
Bill Eklund, Senior Counsel
Norman Hamill, Senior Counsel
The Labor, Employment and Benefits Group advises the 10 campuses, the Office of the President, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on a full range of employment, labor and benefits matters affecting the University's 160,000 person workforce.
Group Members:
Karen Petrulakis, Deputy General Counsel
Mia Belk, Counsel
Barbara Clark, Principal Counsel
Stephanie Leider, Senior Counsel
Ina Potter, Senior Counsel
Leslie Van Houten, Senior Counsel
Allison Woodall, Managing Counsel
The Land Use and Environmental Health and Safety Group works with the Office of the President, the ten campuses, associated Natural Reserve System holdings, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to provide legal advice and support for environmental and land use review of campus construction and real estate projects, and environmental health and safety matters.
Group Members:
Kelly Drumm, Senior Counsel
Tony Garvin, Senior Counsel
Elisabeth Gunther, Senior Counsel
The Litigation Group represents the University and oversees outside counsel in all litigation except for patent litigation. The litigation group works in cooperation with the Business Transactions and Land Use Groups on construction and environmental cases. The litigation group also participates in appellate cases and in other adversarial proceedings including writs, internal administrative hearings, and representation of University witnesses in depositions or trials.
Group Members:
Karen Petrulakis, Deputy General Counsel
Holly Ackley, Senior Counsel
Eric Behrens, Senior Counsel
Michael Goldstein, Senior Counsel
Norman Hamill, Senior Counsel
Sunil Kulkarni, Senior Counsel
Valerie Shelton, Senior Counsel
Cynthia Vroom, Senior Counsel
Richard Wilson, Senior Counsel
Margaret Wu, Senior Counsel
Elisabeth C. Yap, Senior Counsel
The Real Estate group provides legal advice and assistance to campuses and the Office of the President on a wide variety of real estate transactions. The group negotiates and drafts major commercial leases, acquisition agreements, and ground leases. On many transactions, the group does not retain outside counsel but instead uses in-house legal expertise to provide cost efficient service to University clients.
Group Members:
Scott Abrams, Senior Counsel
James Agate, Senior Counsel
Lloyd Lee, Principal Counsel
Janet Norris, Senior Counsel