Business Transactions

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 organizations, charitable giving and tax matters.

Group Members:
Tina Combs, Deputy General Counsel
Scott Abrams, Senior Counsel
James Agate, Senior Counsel
Rowena R. Manlapaz, Senior Counsel

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Charitable Giving and Nonprofit Organizations

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:
Tina Combs, Deputy General Counsel
Thomas C. Schroeder, Counsel

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Construction

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:

Stephen Morrell, Managing Counsel
David Bergquist, Senior Counsel
Liana C. Epperson, Counsel
Christine Haas, Senior Counsel
Holly Ackley St. John, Senior Counsel

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Educational Affairs and Campus Services

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:
Steve Drown, Deputy General Counsel
Katina Ancar, Counsel
Ellen Auriti, Senior Counsel
Elisabeth Gunther, Senior Counsel
Nancy Hamill, Senior Counsel
Cynthia Vroom, Senior Counsel
Elisabeth Yap, Senior Counsel

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Governance

The Governance Group's primary practice areas are public accountability laws (Public Records Act and conflict of interest laws); governance (Open Meeting laws, delegation of authority, parliamentary issues, and review and interpretation of Regents items); and privacy (FERPA and the Information Practices Act).  The Regents is a major client of the group, as well as the Office of the President and the campuses.

Group Members:
Steve Drown, Deputy General Counsel
Kathleen Quenneville, Managing Counsel
Trina Mastro, Counsel 
Stella Ngai, Counsel
Maria Shanle, Senior Counsel

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Health Law

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:
Rachel Nosowsky, 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
Daniel Gerber, Principal Counsel
Kimberly Gillespie, Chief Health Law Counsel, UC San Diego
David Levine, Health System Counsel, UCD 
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

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Intellectual Property

The Intellectual Property Group advises the university on a full range of patent, copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property matters, including intellectual property-related collaborations, transactions, policy, consultations, and dispute resolution.

Group Members:
Marty Simpson, Managing Counsel
Nancy Chu, Senior Counsel
Rita Hao, Senior Counsel 
Angus MacDonald, Senior Counsel

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Laboratory Affairs

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:
Norman Hamill, Senior Counsel

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Labor, Employment & Benefits

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:
Deputy General Counsel (pending appointment)
Allison Woodall, Managing Counsel
Jennifer Chin, Counsel 
Barbara Clark, Principal Counsel
Stephanie Leider, Senior Counsel 
Ina Potter, Senior Counsel 
Shondella Reed, Counsel 
Leslie Van Houten, Senior Counsel

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Land Use and Environment Health & Safety

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
Elisabeth Gunther, Senior Counsel

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Litigation

The Litigation Group represents the university and oversees outside counsel in a broad range of adversarial proceedings, including writs, internal administrative hearings, depositions, and trials. The Litigation Group also works in cooperation with the Intellectual Property, Business Transactions, and Land Use Groups on patent, construction, and environmental cases.

Group Members:
Karen Petrulakis, Chief Deputy General Counsel
Margaret Wu, Managing Counsel
Eric Behrens, Senior Counsel
Nicole Craig, Senior Counsel
Michael Goldstein, Senior Counsel
Norman Hamill, Senior Counsel
Sunil Kulkarni, Senior Counsel
Holly Ackley St. John, Senior Counsel
Valerie Shelton, Senior Counsel 
Cynthia Vroom, Senior Counsel
Richard Wilson, Senior Counsel
Elisabeth C. Yap, Senior Counsel

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Real Estate

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 the university's clients.

Group Members:
Scott Abrams, Senior Counsel
James Agate, Senior Counsel
Liana C. Epperson, Counsel
Janet Norris, Senior Counsel

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