Santa Clara University

Arthur Schmidt '59 writes: "After over ten years of retirement, I've gone back to work as one of three editors, helping Robert Zemeckis edit his latest film, Flight,  with Denzel Washington. Zemeckis and I did eight films together, including Forrest Gump, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, and the Back to the Future trilogy."

Frank C. Damrell Jr., ’59 a retired federal judge in Sacramento, joined the Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy law firm.

Damrell, 73, who retired in October after 14 years as a U.S. District judge, heads the Cotchett firm’s new Sacramento office. The Cotchett firm, based in Burlingame, specializes in pursuing high-profile lawsuits against big defendants.

Damrell led a successful law firm in Modesto before he was appointed to the federal judgeship by President Clinton in 1997. Damrell serves on a committee with California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye that is planning a summit for later this year in Sacramento focusing on restoring civic education in public schools. He intends to spend time in Washington, pressing Congress to create additional judgeships in Sacramento and elsewhere.

John Hall ’61 writes: “I recovered from malignant melanoma during the past three years, am now healthy again with good blood results. Wrote a just-published book, Beating Cancer Can Be Fun, [filled with] cancer surviving strategies for first-time diagnosed cancer patients, available as an e-book on Amazon or Nook at Barnes and Noble or as a hardback or soft. If you know anyone with cancer, have them call me regarding the nutrients and supplements I take to stay healed. I still am an active therapist for kids and adults, just contracted with TriCareWest to counsel traumatized veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan."

Daniel E. Hanley MBA ’67, J.D. ’74 is still in private law practice in San Jose doing estate planning, probate, and business law. He practices with his son Sean Hanley, who does bankruptcy and debt relief. Dan recently became a grandfather with the birth of Brynn Hanley (daughter of Brian Hanley). Dan is happly married to Judi (since 1974). They live in Saratoga, Calif.

Mary D. Hood '70, J.D. '75 is now director of the Heafey Law Library. For the Law School's centennial celebration compiled a bibliography of law faculty scholarship which was just published -- Santa Clara Law: A Century of Santa Clara Law Faculty Publications, 1911-2010. It can be found online on Santa Clara Law Digital Commons: http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1041&context=facpubs

Carolyn Antonini Cardinalli ’70, M.A. ’73 retired from teaching Spanish at Amador High School in Pleasanton, Calif., in July 2011. She and husband John live in Pleasanton. Both are retired, travelling and helping babysit two grandsons, John Daniel Cardinalli 3 1/2 years and Kevin Cardinalli 1 1/2 years.

Lisa “Lia” Cacciari ’77 is publishing the literary historic novel Hieros Gamos later this year. Cacciari, a medievalist and anglophile of longstanding, plans to follow with publication of the saga Fyr Boren. Both works are set in the north of England during the Middle Ages.

Jim Shaw ’78 is in his 16th season as the varsity surf coach for St. Augustine High School in San Diego. Jim is also a CPA in San Diego, maintaining a tax firm in the downtown area. Jim is married to Joy Shaw, CPA and has three children, including Jessica Shaw ’13, who is in her junior year at Santa Clara.

Michael Geraghty J.D. ’78, an Anchorage attorney, will be Alaska’s next attorney general. Geraghty was born and grew up in Fairbanks before joining his current Anchorage law firm in 1979. 

Geraghty has received national recognition in his handling of cases in personal litigation and construction law. He is a commissioner with the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. The appointment will go to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees for consideration.

The full legislature will have to approve the appointment in a joint session,  although Geraghty can begin the job before then.
 

Andy Ackerman ’78 is an executive producer for NBC’s Whitney, which the network gave a full-season order after the show’s success this fall.

Whitney, starring standup comedian Whitney Cummings as an unmarried woman living with her boyfriend, has performed well at 9:30 p.m. Thursday following The Office. In its two airings, the show has held steady by averaging a 2.9/7, with 6.1 million total viewers.

Randolph E Breschini MBA '79 is CEO of Rift Valley Group with headquarters in Harare Zimbabwe. The Group consists of 18 agro-industrial companies operating in Mozambique, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe with more than 20,000 employees, 1 million acres of land, 14 factories, and revenues nearly $200 million.

Michael J. Bowler ’79 published a novel called A Boy and His Dragon, which is set in the cities of San Rafael and San Francisco in the year 1970. It’s available on Amazon as a paperback or Kindle download. He has another novel coming out in March or April through Outskirts Press entitled A Matter of Time. The principle setting for this novel is Santa Clara University in the year 1986. It also involves the sinking of Titanic. So Santa Clarans and Titanic-philes should enjoy this book, especially if they attended the university in the early eighties.

Robert James Higgins ’80, J.D. ’94, a former deputy county attorney, has been appointed to the Navajo County Superior Court. The appointment was announced by Gov. Jan Brewer. It fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Carolyn C. Holliday.

“Robert touts a level of professional experience outside of law that is rare among judicial candidates,” said Governor Jan Brewer. “In addition to a strong legal background, he was a teacher for many years and is a philanthropist in his community. He is well-rounded and well-equipped to serve the Court and the community.”

Higgins has practiced civil and criminal law in Navajo County for 17 years. He has an extensive legal background, including experience in criminal law, transactional matters, and civil litigation. He also has a broad range of expertise in estate planning and contractual issues, child dependency cases, personal injury matters, and forcible detainer actions.

Higgins completed his undergraduate degree from Santa Clara University in 1980 and received a master's degree from Arizona State University in 1988. He graduated from Santa Clara University Law School in 1994. He was admitted to practice in 1994 and admitted to the bar the same year. Higgins was an English teacher at Brophy College Preparatory for seven years prior to attending law school.

“He has been active in education efforts in his community,” says gubernatorial spokesperson Ann Dockendorff, “as he founded St. Anthony School in 1997 and continues to serve as a Board member. Additionally, Mr. Higgins is a volunteer with the White Mountain Tuition Support Foundation, for which he currently serves as President. He also has volunteered with St. Francis Parish on the White Mountain Apache Reservation, and has worked on several pro bono cases for White Mountain Apaches.”

Patricia Gallagher '80 writes: "Recently joined San Francisco General Hospital Foundation as Director of Strategic Gifts. My focus is to support the campaign for the new Acute Hospital and Trauma Center. The Foundation raises awareness and funds for care, education and research at SF General, our Public Hospital and Level 1Trauma Center."

Richard S. Falcone J.D. ’80 has returned to the Orange County, Calif., law firm Littler Mendelson, P.C., the nation's largest employment and labor law firm representing management.

Falcone rejoins Littler from the Los Angeles office of Payne & Fears, LLP, where he was the managing partner. He specializes in employment law and litigation, and has experience representing management in state and federal courts and administrative agencies. His clients span a number of different industries, including technology, home health care, and entertainment.

He has handled matters involving all aspects of employment law and litigation, such as wrongful termination, discrimination claims, sexual harassment, wage and hour, trade secrets misappropriation, unfair competition, labor relations, occupational safety and health, and workplace violence. In addition, Falcone advises employers on issues related to state and federal employment and labor relations law, including litigation avoidance, employee terminations, workplace investigations, drafting compensation and severance packages, proprietary information protection, reduction-in-force, and workplace violence.

"We are so excited to welcome Rich back to Littler," said Fermin Llaguno, the managing shareholder of the firm's Orange County office. "Rich's thirty-plus years of traditional labor and employment litigation experience fit perfectly into our local growth strategy, as do his wide-ranging expertise and leadership skills. Rich's homecoming is sure to be a very happy one for him, the firm, and most importantly, our clients."

Falcone speaks regularly on various employment law subjects, including e-discovery, leaves of absence, sexual harassment, union organizing, and litigation overview. He is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the American, California, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Santa Clara County Bar Associations.

"In the end, Littler is the best place for both me and my clients," Falcone said about his return to the Firm. "I look forward to putting my experience into practice here, and helping to expand the capabilities of our Orange County office."

Falcone received his J.D. from University of Santa Clara Law School and B.S. from Tusculum College cum laude. He is admitted to practice in the states of California and New Jersey.

Trina C. de La Chapelle ’80 adopted her foster child, a girl named Carla, 10 years old, on Oct. 26, 2010. She is happy to be a mom for the first time at 53 years old. They live in Santa Rosa, Calif.

Davide Vieira ’81 retired from IBM in 2011 after thirty years of service. Among many highlights was his stint as webmaster for the IBM Year 2000 Technical Support Center. Davide and wife Theresa (Freitas) '80 celebrated another milestone in 2011 -- their thirtieth wedding anniversary. They became sweethearts in Dale Mugler's Advanced Calculus class in 1978 and solved countless mathematics problems in O'Connor Hall's Sussman Room on their way to earning degrees in mathematics.

David Strong J.D. '81 writes: "I continue serving as managing partner at Branson, Brinkop Griffith & Strong in Redwood City. Last year we opened our branch office in Phoenix, Ariz., managed by fellow Santa Clara alum John Campo '88, J.D. '91. We are an insurance coverage, civil litigation, and business firm serving clients throughout California, Arizona and nationally."

Steve L'Esperance ’81 recently celebrated 25 years with Kellogg Company in sales. He and his wife, Shawn (Stinson) ’82, now live in Castle Rock, Colo., outside of Denver, with their son Scott. Their daughter Kelly is working on her doctorate in Physical Therapy at Marquette University and son James lives and works in Manhattan.