Our faculty brings a wealth of experience in almost every facet to the law to the classroom. As teacher-practitioners, they also provide up-to-date professional perspectives, as well as legal developments. And they all share a commitment to our students – in the classroom and beyond.
Kenneth M. Begun
B.S., 1981, University of California, Berkeley
J.D., 1986, John F. Kennedy University
Wills and Trusts
Mr. Begun is a certified specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate from the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization. In 1995, he earned a Diploma in Trial Advocacy Skills from the National Institute for Trial Advocacy at Notre Dame Law School. Mr. Begun is a partner in the firm of Frankel & Goldware, LLP, in San Ramon. His practice specializes in working with individuals, couples and families to plan their estates, including the use and implementation of trusts, wills, powers of attorney and other estate planning instruments and techniques. Mr. Begun has been a private arbitrator as well as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association (inactive, 1996).
Cyndi Berck
B.A., 1980, University of California, Los Angeles
M.P.P, 1985, University of California, Berkeley
J.D., 1986, University of California, Berkeley
Cyndi Spindell Berck is Assistant Professor and Director of Legal Writing. She studied history as an undergraduate at U.C.L.A. and earned degrees in law and public policy at U.C. Berkeley. Prof. Berck has represented plaintiffs in employment and tort litigation, worked with public agencies to implement labor and social welfare regulations, taught paralegal studies, and worked in journalism.
Anthony P.X. Bothwell
B.S.F.S., 1966, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service
M.S., 1968, Boston University School of Public Communication
J.D., 1998, John F. Kennedy University
The Law of War, US Patriot Act
Mr. Bothwell has published studies in the Thurgood Marshall Law Review, the John F. Kennedy University Law Review, the Guild Practitioner, The Annual Survey of International and Comparative Law, and journals in Britain and Bosnia. He has been cited as an authority in briefs filed with the U.S. Supreme Court and the United Nations Economic and Social Council. He has served as an American Bar Association delegate to the European Parliament and the International Court of Justice and has lectured throughout the United States and Austria.
Geoffrey F. Brown, Dean
B.A., 1964 University of California, Berkeley
J.D., 1970, San Francisco Law School
Criminal Law
Dean Brown recently joined John F. Kennedy University after completing a six-year term on the California Public Utilities Commission, to which he was appointed by then-Governor Gray Davis in 2001. Prior to his term on the CPUC, he was the Public Defender for the City and County of San Francisco from 1979 to 2001, publicly elected to the position six times. He has taught Evidence and Constitutional Law at several Bay Area law schools and sat on the Board of Trustees of San Francisco Law School.
C. Randall Bupp
B.A., 1971, Cornell University J.D., 1975, Hastings College of the Law
Business Associations, Bankruptcy Law
Mr. Bupp was in private practice, emphasizing debtor/creditor transactions and litigation with a special focus on representation of creditors, trustees and debtors in bankruptcy. He also regularly assisted clients with business structuring and transactions. He worked in-house for a regional bank for 12 years before entering private practice over 20 years ago and was founding partner of Kornfield, Paul and Bupp, a noted bankruptcy law boutique firm in Oakland. Mr. Bupp regularly lectures professional and trade groups on bankruptcy law and has been involved in children's programs for almost 20 years. He is currently with the firm of Bardellini, Straw and Cavin in San Ramon.
Thomas W. Cain
B.A., 1974, University of California, Berkeley
J.D., 1979, Golden Gate University
Civil Procedure, Secured Transactions, Mediation Skills Training
Mr. Cain, a partner in the law firm of Owens and Cain in Walnut Creek, focuses his practice on general civil litigation and business law practice, including personal injury, real property, estate planning, probate and corporations. He is developing a structural theory for alternative dispute resolution based on Japanese custom. Mr. Cain lived in Japan for one year where he taught conversational English.
Jay Chafetz
B.A., 1976, University of California, San Diego
J.D., 1980, Hastings College of the Law
Torts
Mr. Chafetz was in the top 10% of his graduating class at Hastings College of the Law, where he was on law review and received the Order of the Coif. He has a general civil litigation practice in Walnut Creek.
Paul Delucchi
B.S., 1991, University of California, Berkeley
J.D., 1995, Santa Clara University
Criminal Procedure
Since 1996, Mr. Delucchi has served as a deputy district attorney with the Alameda County District Attorney's Office. During this time, he has served in all of the branch offices and spent two years on the felony trial team where he tried a variety of cases. He has also provided training to various law enforcement agencies throughout the county.
Nancy Engle
B.A., 1977, California State University, Hayward
J.D., 1998, John F. Kennedy University
Introduction to Law, Legal Writing and Analysis
Ms. Engle is an attorney in private practice with an emphasis in the legal needs of non-profit arts organizations and emerging artists. She has served as the managing artistic director of the Douglas Morisson Theatre for over 24 years. She sits on advisory boards for both the Chabot College Performing Arts Center and the Hayward Unified School District. Ms. Engle is a past president of the Hayward-Funabashi Sister City Committee and is a member of California Lawyers for the Arts and the United States District Court for the Northern District of California Historical Society.
Virginia M. George
B.A., 1981 University of California, Davis
J.D., 1984, University of San Francisco
Evidence, Advanced Evidence, Criminal Procedure, Wills & Trusts, Elder Law Clinic Professor George currently teaches Evidence and is the Director and Supervising Attorney of the Elder Law Clinic at JFK School of Law. She has a limited private practice, specializing in estate planning, probate, and elder law and is Of Counsel the Walnut Creek law firm of Richardson & Wilhelmy. Prior to joining the private sector, she worked as a deputy district attorney for Contra Costa County for over fourteen years. During her tenure at the District attorney’s Office, Professor George prosecuted felony offenders, particularly focusing on the prosecution of sexual assaults committed against children. At the time of her departure from the District Attorney’s Office, she had prosecuted over 180 criminal trials to verdict. She is currently on the Board of Directors for the Contra Costa Bar Association, past board member of the Conference of Delegates for the State Bar and past president of the Contra Costa Senior Legal Services.
Steven R. Feller
Law Library Director
JD, 1996, John F. Kennedy University
BA, 2000, University of California, Berkeley
MLIS, 2003, San Jose State University
Before joining JFK University as the Director of the Law Library, Professor Feller was a reference librarian and adjunct faculty member at Golden Gate University, where he assisted library patrons with electronic research and taught classes on legal research and writing. Previously, Professor Feller served as a reference librarian at the California Judicial Center Library in San Francisco.
L. Timothy Fisher
B.A., 1992, University of California, Berkeley
J.D., 1997, University of California, Berkeley
Trial Advocacy
L. Timothy Fisher is an associate with the law firm of Bramson, Plutzik, Mahler & Birkhaeuser, LLP, in Walnut Creek, where he specializes in consumer and securities class actions and complex business litigation. He graduated with highest honors from the University of California at Berkeley and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Richard A. Frankel
B.A., 1972, University of California, Davis
J.D., 1982, John F. Kennedy University
Business Associations
Mr. Frankel practices business law with the law firm of Frankel & Goldware, LLP, in San Ramon. He became an attorney after an extensive career in the airline and computer industries where, as a senior executive, he gained wide experience in national and international business transactions. He is on the board of directors of several Contra Costa County civic organizations and has served as a hearing officer for Contra Costa and Yolo counties and president of the Contra Costa County Bar Association.
James C. Glassford
B.S., 1966, United States Military Academy at West Point
J.D., 1974, Golden Gate University
Contracts, Professional Responsibility
Mr. Glassford was an associate with Naphan and Burge and a partner with Naphan and Glassford, both in Oakland, prosecuting a wide variety of personal injury cases before becoming a solo practitioner in 1987. He was a captain in the United States Air Force until 1970 and received the Bronze Star.
Katy Gronowski
B.A., 1982, University of California, Berkeley
M.B.A., 1987, Santa Clara University
J.D., 1987, Santa Clara University
Community Property
Ms. Gronowski is a partner in a small firm in Lafayette specializing in family law and estate planning matters. Currently, she is president of the Woman's Section of the Contra Costa County Bar Association.
William H. Hanson
A.B., 1985, University of California, Berkeley
J.D., 1988, Columbia University
Real Property, Civil Rights
Associate Professor Hanson, a core faculty member, worked as an associate for the law firms of Davis, Graham & Stubbs in Denver, Colorado before accepting an appointment as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Colorado. He served as judicial clerk to Justice William H. Erickson (retired) of the Colorado Supreme Court and has been a law professor at the University of Colorado and Gonzaga University. Professor Hanson served as Assistant Director of the Institute for Civic Leadership at Mills College in Oakland and is actively involved in the development of Community Solutions Network, Inc., a nonprofit organization that supports community collaboratives and networks. He currently practices law in Point Richmond, focusing on civil rights, labor and employment law.
Lisa Stiles Hutton
B.A., 1994, Chico State University
J.D., 1999, John F. Kennedy University
Introduction to Law
Ms. Hutton was formerly with Rankin, Sproat, Mires, Beaty & Reynolds as an associate attorney, practicing civil litigation, specifically insurance defense in the areas of employment, professional liability and construction injury. She has been a member of the School of Law faculty since 2000, teaching a variety of legal writing courses.
Timothy M. Hyden
B.A., 1982, University of California, Davis
J.D., 1986, McGeorge School of Law
Torts, Business Associations, Constitutional Law, Advanced Torts
Mr. Hyden is in private practice in San Ramon in a civil litigation-based practice, including business and real estate litigations, probate litigation, construction litigation and family law. Before going into private practice, Mr. Hyden worked for Carr, McClellan, Ingersoll, Thompson & Horn and Touche Ross & Company. He also teaches Business Law and Employment Law for the University of Phoenix.
Charles H. James
A.B., 1962, University of California, Berkeley
J.D., 1965, University of California, Berkeley
Criminal Procedure
Mr. James is a former public defender of Contra Costa County. A highly experienced trial lawyer, he has handled a large number of serious felony matters and is certified by the California State Bar as a specialist in criminal law. He has lectured widely on trial tactics and has served on the Board of Directors of the Contra Costa Legal Services Foundation and as president of the California Public Defenders' Association.
Chris Gus KaniosB.A., 1976, San Francisco State University
J.D., 1980, New College of California
Torts
Professor Kanios is a member of the School of Law's core faculty. From 1986-1996 he was dean of New College School of Law, where he was also on the Board of Trustees. Professor Kanios is the founding president of the Association of California Accredited Law Schools, an organization comprised of the deans of all the state-accredited law schools.
William Kolin
B.A., 1970, Northern Illinois University
J.D., 1974, Chicago-Kent College of Law
Juvenile Law
Judge Kolin was in private practice from 1974-1994. He was a Municipal Court judge for Contra Costa County from 1994-1997, and is presently serving as a Superior Court judge for the county.
David M. Krashna
A.B., 1971, University of Notre Dame
J.D., 1974, University of California, Berkeley
Drugs, Courts and Society
Judge David Krashna was elected to the Superior Court of Alameda County in November 2000. He previously served as a Court Commissioner of that court from 1992 to his election. He practiced law for 17 years as a Legal Services Attorney and private attorney specializing in criminal defense, personal injury, and civil rights. Judge Krashna teaches various classes at the California Center for Judicial Education and Research, B.E. Witkin Judicial College of California, and the National Judicial College. He serves as a member of the Alameda County Superior Court ACCESS Committee, has presided in the Oakland Drug Courts, including Proposition 36, and currently has a general criminal assignment.
Bridgit LawleyB.A., 1975, LaSalle University
M.A./A.B.D., 1980, San Francisco State University
J.D., 1989, Hastings College of the Law
Civil Procedure, Remedies, Wills and Trusts, Evidence
Professor Lawley was admitted to practice before the California state and federal courts in 1989 and the State of Washington state and federal courts in 1991. After working as a judicial extern for Federal District Court Judge Thelton E. Henderson, Prof. Lawley devoted five years of her practice to the issues of domestic violence and child abuse. In addition to her full-time faculty position at JFK University School of Law, she also teaches at other local law schools.
Paul T. Lufkin
B.A., 1986, University of California, Santa Barbara
J.D., 1989, University of California, Berkeley
Constitutional Law
Mr. Lufkin is a judicial staff attorney for Associate Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar at the Supreme Court of California. Formerly, he practiced civil litigation with Morrison & Foerster (San Francisco) and Mori Sogo Law Offices (Tokyo). He has published and taught at McGeorge School of Law in the field of Immigration and Nationality Law and on litigation topics. Presently, he volunteers as Managing Editor with the Refugee Law Center (Boston) and is a member of the Tibet Justice Center (Berkeley) and Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom.
Bettina T. Miller
Technical Services Librarian
B.A., 1979, University of San Diego
M.L.I.S., 1995, San Jose State University
Ms. Miller works with the assistant law librarian to maintain the card catalog and online catalog and participates in the processing of library materials. She also assists in cataloging, reference service and collection maintenance. Before coming to JFK University, Ms. Miller worked as a law firm librarian and as evening circulation supervisor at the University of San Diego Legal Research Center.
Jane C. Minor
Assistant Law Librarian
B.A., 1968, University of California, Berkeley
M.L.I.S., 1986, University of California, Berkeley
Ms. Minor is the assistant librarian of the Law Library, where her responsibilities include the cataloging of legal materials, the provision of reference services and the development of the library collection. She preciously worked at the South Alameda County Law Library in Hayward and in Special Collections at St. Mary's College, where her cataloging responsibilities focused on the Oxford Book Catalog.
Jane Bond Moore
A.B., 1959, Spelman College
J.D., 1975, University of California, Berkeley
Employment Law, Gender Bias and the Law
Jane Bond Moore has worked in private practice and for both the federal and local governments. She served as both deputy general counsel and general counsel for the Oakland Unified School District for a period of 11 years. Ms. Moore also maintains a private practice in employment law.
David N. Nyssen (On Leave)
B.A., 1987, University of Southern California
J.D., 1990, University of California, Davis
Appellate Advocacy, Criminal Procedure, Advanced Criminal Procedure Mr. Nyssen works as a senior research attorney for the Criminal Central Staff of the California Supreme Court. As a staff attorney, he analyzes petitions for review, original pretrial and habeas corpus writs, and emergency stays in criminal law matters; researches relevant criminal law and procedure issues; identifies conflicts and issues of statewide importance; evaluates the merits of the issues presented; offers recommendations to the court; and delivers oral presentations to and prepares weekly memoranda for the justices. Mr. Nyssen lectures extensively on California Supreme Court procedures to practicing attorneys throughout the state.
Genevieve S. Orta
B.S., 1990, Syracuse University
J.D., 1996, University of San Francisco School of Law
Community Property, Wills and Trusts
Ms. Orta is a partner with Osterloh & Orta, LLP. Her practice focuses on advising clients regarding estate planning, trust administration, business succession, wealth preservations, and related taxation issues. Ms. Orta graduated magna cum laude from University of San Francisco School of Law and was a member of the Law Review and a recipient of the Queen’s Bench scholarship and Dean’s Tuition Scholarship. She is a member of the Asian American Bar Association and the Trust and Probate section of the Alameda County Bar Association. Ms. Orta has been in private practice for the past 10 years.
Julia G. Partridge
B.A., 1973, University of California, Berkeley
J.D., 1978, Hastings College of the Law Contracts
Ms. Partridge is a judicial staff attorney with the California Court of Appeal, where she reviews appellate records and briefs and prepares memoranda for the justices. She is a generalist, working in all areas of the law. Ms. Partridge has worked as an associate in a general civil litigation firm and was a staff attorney for the Veterans' Administration. She formerly taught Legal Research and Writing and Advanced Research and Writing in the legal assistants program at California State University, Hayward. In 1998, Ms. Partridge was elected Teacher of the Year by the students of John F. Kennedy University School of Law.
Daniel J. Russo
B.A., 1972, State University of New York, Binghamton
J.D., 1997, John F. Kennedy University
Criminal Law
Mr. Russo is a partner in the law firm of Morton and Russo in Vallejo, specializing in criminal law. He served as president of the Solano County Bar Association in 1986 and as a member of the governing board of Solano County Legal Assistance. He has been a certified California criminal law specialist since 1985 and is a 1980 graduate of the Hastings College of Criminal Advocacy. Mr. Russo has tried numerous homicide cases, including three special circumstance cases.
Roy Scheingart
B.S., 1974, California State University, Hayward
J.D, 1979, San Francisco Law School
Trial Advocacy
Mr. Scheingart has been a deputy district attorney with the Alameda County District Attorney's Office since 1983, successfully prosecuting over 100 jury trials including murder, rape, robbery and burglary. Mr. Scheingart has been selected to the Career Criminal Division of the DA's office, prosecuting criminals charged with serious and dangerous felonies.
Kathyrn A. Schofield
B.A., 1990, College of William and Mary
M.A., 1993, University of California, Davis
J.D., 1999, University of California, Davis
Trial Advocacy
Kathyrn A. Schofield is an associate with Bramson, Plutzik, Mahler & Birkhaeuser, LLP, specializing in consumer and securities class actions. She was previously a judicial extern with the California Court of Appeal, Third District; a judicial extern with the United States District Court, Eastern District of California; and a law clerk with Murphy, Pearson, Bradley & Feeney.
James A. Sims, Jr.
B.A., 1979, Gettysburg College
J.D., 1983, Southwestern University School of Law
Sports Law
Mr. Sims is one of the leading sports attorneys in the country. Since 1988, his law firm and sports management company have negotiated the NFL contracts and marketing deals for some of the National Football League's biggest stars, including Jamal Anderson, Rob Burnett, La'Roi Glover, Deltha O'Neal and Takeo Spikes. Mr. Sims began his legal career in the banking and financial industry and is currently a frequent lecturer and panelist on sports law subjects at seminars, conferences and educational institutions. He is a board member of several sports and entertainment organizations and has served as an advisor to the NFL Players Association Agent Advisory Committee.
Audrey Smith
B.A., 1981, University of California, Irvine
J.D., 1984, University of Santa Clara
Trial Advocacy
Ms. Smith is in private practice in San Francisco. Prior to opening her own law firm, she served as a senior research attorney for the California State Court of Appeal, was a partner in the law firm of Wartnick, Chamber, Harowitz, Smith and Tigerman, and was an associate with the Cartwright Law Firm. She has extensive trial experience as sole/lead counsel in civil jury trials.
James T. Straw
B.A., 1973, University of California, Los Angeles
J.D., 1977, Southwestern University School of Law
Real Property
Mr. Straw is a partner in the firm of Bardellini, Straw & Cavin in San Ramon. Prior to going into private practice, he served as house counsel to Chicago Title Insurance Company and The Travelers Real Estate Investment Department. He formerly served on committees of the California Land Title Association and has lectured at education seminars conducted for escrow and title officers throughout the state. Mr. Straw is a member of the real property sections of the state and local bar associations. His current practice concentrates on litigation and transaction aspects of escrow, title insurance, leasing, lending and other real estate matters. He has taught Real Property at John F. Kennedy University School of Law since 1981.
Allan D. Tobias, M.D.
B.S., 1959, University of Illinois
M.D., 1963, Chicago Medical School
J.D., 1991, John F. Kennedy University Health Law Before entering law school, Dr. Tobias was with St. Luke's Hospital as full-time Medical Director of Performance Improvement and Physician Services, worked as a urologist for the Kaiser Permanente Medical Group, and was Chairman of the Department of Surgery for Mt. Diablo Medical Center. Dr. Tobias was also a member of the United States Air Force, where he worked in General Medical, OB/GYN and Surgical Clinics.
