The Nominating Committee, chaired by Gregory G. Murphy of the Greg Murphy Law Firm, presents the following slate to the Council and the Section for election in August 2019:
Chair (automatic under Section Bylaws)
Diane Bosse
Special Counsel
Hurwitz & Fine, P.C.
Buffalo, New York
Diane F. Bosse practices law in Buffalo, New York. She was appointed to the New York State Board of Law Examiners in 1998 and has been its chair since 2001. She served on the Board of Trustees of the National Conference of Bar Examiners from 1999 to 2008 (chair, 2006-2007), and is presently a member of the Conference's Testing Task Force. Ms. Bosse is a past president of the Defense Trial Lawyers of Western New York and a past member of the boards of directors of the Bar Association of Erie County and of the Western New York Trial Lawyers Association.
Prior to serving on the Council, Ms. Bosse served on the Accreditation Committee for six years (2007-2013), including two years as committee chair; on the Standards Review Committee for three years (2004-2007); and on the Bar Admissions Committee for two years (2002-2004). Ms. Bosse is an elected member of the American Law Institute. Ms. Bosse received her undergraduate and law degrees from the State University of New York at Buffalo and currently serves as the Section’s Chair-Elect.
Chair-Elect
Election to a One-Year Term
The Honorable Scott Bales
Chief Justice
Arizona Supreme Court
Phoenix, Arizona
Scott Bales joined the Arizona Supreme Court in 2005 and became Chief Justice in 2014. He regularly teaches as an adjunct professor at the law schools at Arizona State and the University of Arizona. Justice Bales is also a member of the Council of the American Law Institute and formerly served as the Chair of the Appellate Judges Conference of the ABA’s Judicial Division. He is currently a member of the Council, serving as its Vice Chair, and previously served as a member and Chair of the Council’s Accreditation Committee.
After completing his five-year term as Chief Justice, Bales will retire from the Arizona Supreme Court in July 2019. This fall, he will become the Executive Director of the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (“IAALS”), at the University of Denver.
Bales was named by the American Judges Association as the 2018 recipient of the Chief Justice Richard W. Holmes Award of Merit, which recognizes “outstanding contributions to the judiciary.” He also received the 2018 Ernest C. Friesen Award of Excellence, presented annually by the Justice Management Institute to an individual who has demonstrated vision, leadership, and sustained commitment to the achievement of excellence in the administration of justice.
Before his appointment to the Court, Bales had practiced law in Arizona for nearly 20 years as both a private and public lawyer. From 2001-2005, he worked at Lewis and Roca LLP, where his practice focused on appellate and complex litigation. He served as Arizona’s Solicitor General from 1999-2001. Justice Bales also was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Policy Development, a federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office in Phoenix, and a Special Investigative Counsel for the Justice Department’s Inspector General. He clerked for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Joseph T. Sneed III on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
After graduating from Michigan State University with degrees in history and economics, he received a master’s degree in economics and his law degree from Harvard.
Vice Chair
Election to a One-Year Term
Leo P. Martinez
Professor
University of California, Hastings College of the Law
Leo Martinez is Dean and Albert Abramson Professor of Law Emeritus at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. He served as UC Hastings’ Academic Dean for twelve years and he served as the Acting Chancellor and Dean of the college in the 2009-2010 academic year. He is currently a member of the Council.
Professor Martinez is a past president of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). He has chaired or served on more than two-dozen ABA law school site evaluation visits and he has assisted ten law schools in their strategic planning. He is a member of the American Law Institute (ALI); he was one of the academic advisers on the ALI’s Principles of the Law of Liability Insurance project, and he was a member of the ABA Task Force on the Future of Legal Education that issued its final report in 2014.
Outside of academia, Professor Martinez has chaired the boards of four different non-profit organizations including KQED, Inc.; Public Advocates, Inc.; the St. Francis Hospital Foundation; and Public Media Company. He is a member of the board of CollegeTrack, a Bay Area-based organization that provides mentoring for high school students living in low-income and underserved areas and he recently finished his term as a member of the University of Kansas Chancellor’s Advisory Board.
Professor Martinez is a co-author of a leading insurance law casebook, a co-editor of a four-volume insurance treatise, and the author of many articles on tax, insurance law, and legal education that have appeared in journals including the Stanford Law Review, Tulane Law Review, Yale Law and Policy Review, and the China EU Law Journal.
Secretary
Re-election to a Two-Year Term
Antonio García-Padilla
Dean Emeritus and Professor
University of Puerto Rico School of Law
Before becoming the eighth president of the University of Puerto Rico in November 2001, Antonio García-Padilla had been dean of its school of law for 15 years. He is the president of the Puerto Rico Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation. Earlier in his career he served as law clerk to Judge Stephen G. Breyer, now Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, then serving as a circuit judge in the Federal Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and to Justice Angel M. Martín of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico.
Dean García-Padilla has served on the Section’s Accreditation Committee and currently serves as the Section’s Secretary. He has also served as a member of the council of the American Law Institute. Dean García-Padilla received his law degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law in 1978 and a master’s in law from Yale Law School in 1981.
Members-at-Large
Re-election to a Three-Year Term
David Byers
Administrative Director of the Courts
Arizona Supreme Court
Phoenix, Arizona
David Byers is the Arizona Supreme Court’s Administrative Director of the Courts. He is responsible for overseeing the operations of the Arizona Court system with over 10,000 employees and a total budget of $740M. The system also operates both juvenile and adult probation programs and 13 juvenile detention centers. Mr. Byers began his career with the court in 1978 as the first director of the Foster Care Review Board. Before being appointed administrative director by the Arizona Supreme Court in 1992, Mr. Byers was the director of the Program Services Division, director of Adult and Juvenile Probation, and deputy director of the Arizona Supreme Court.
Mr. Byers has also served as chairman of the $34B Arizona State Retirement System; and is currently a member of the State Bar of Arizona, the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission, the Arizona Prosecuting Attorney’s Advisory Council, the Governor’s Drug and Gang Policy Council, and the Department of Justice Global Advisory Committee. He is the founder and first president of the National Association of Foster Care Reviewers, and cofounder of the Arizona Friends of Foster Care Foundation.
Mr. Byers earned a B.A. from Northern Iowa University and a master’s degree from Arizona State University. He was honored with the 2012 Gabe Zimmerman Leadership Award, the 2013 Warren E. Burger Award, the National Center for State Courts’ Distinguished Service Award, the Arizona Supreme Courts Distinguished Service Award, the State Bar’s Award of Appreciation, and the Cedar Falls, Iowa 1970 Man of the Year Award.
Joseph K. West
Partner and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer
Duane Morris LLP
Washington D.C.
Joseph K. West is a partner in the trial group at Duane Morris, LLP. He also serves on the firm’s partners board and is also the firm's Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. He handles complex litigation matters and advises global companies on a wide array of matters. His clients currently include the Dubai-based Al Ahli Holding Group; Mercedes Benz-USA, Altria, Discover Financial Services, Inc. and Jabil Circuit, Inc.
Mr. West was formerly Associate General Counsel - Head of Global Outside Counsel Management at Walmart Stores Inc. where he was responsible for managing the company's relationships with its outside law firms worldwide, including oversight of over 600 law firms and a budget of over $300 million. He was also a member of Walmart’s Class Action – Complex Litigation Group wherein he helped manage a number of groundbreaking matters including the largest class action matter in U.S. history.
A nationally recognized expert on diversity and inclusion, Mr. West previously served as CEO of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA), a national advocacy group that conducts research and training on corporate diversity and inclusion issues. He has lectured and written extensively on this issue and currently represents, trains and advises numerous publicly traded companies, their boards and CEOs on issues related to diversity and inclusion and the compliance, risk management and corporate strategies associated with this important and growing area of concern. Mr. West was recently elected to the board of directors of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
Mr. West was appointed by ABA President Paulette Brown to the ABA Commission on Diversity and Inclusion 360. He was a member of the ABA Task Force on the Financing of Legal Education and has served on the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession. He was also a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel's ACC Value Challenge Steering Committee and formerly served on the Arts Council of New Orleans and the Walton Arts Center Corporate Leadership Council. Additionally, former Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco appointed him to chair the Louisiana State Museum Board.
He is a graduate of Tulane Law School and formerly served as an adjunct professor of trial advocacy at Tulane. He currently lectures at the George Mason Antonin Scalia School of Law on corporate leadership and diversity and was recently retained by the school to help develop the first of its kind curriculum in corporate diversity and inclusion.
Election to a Three-Year Term
Mary Lu Bilek
Dean
The City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law
Mary Lu Bilek has served as dean of CUNY School of Law since 2016. Under her leadership, the Law School has been named “the premier public interest law school in the country” and tops the list of “the most diverse law schools in the country.” Having joined the faculty shortly after the school opened, Bilek served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for three deans and is credited with leadership in moving the school to accreditation, developing and implementing CUNY Law’s innovative curriculum, spearheading programs that increased the diversity of the Law School and the profession, and supporting the development of programs to address the justice gap.
Bilek served as dean of the University of Massachusetts School of Law from 2012-2016, charged to lead the Commonwealth’s new public law school to accreditation. Under her leadership, UMass Las saw a rise in applications and academic credentials, as well as an increase in student diversity.
Bilek served on the ABA Special Committee on the Professional Education Continuum, chaired the Section on Legal Education Diversity Committee, and has served on many ABA Site Visit Teams, chairing several. She regularly participates on the faculty of the Site Visit Team and Chair Workshops and has served on the faculty of the New Deans Workshop. She has served on the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission and the Boards of the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, the National Center for Economic Justice, and CALI. She is a member of the NYC Bar’s Council on the Profession, the Task Force on Right to Counsel, and the Committee to Enhance Diversity in the Profession.
Named as one of the Most Influential People in Legal Education by National Jurist in 2016, Bilek graduated summa cum laude from St. Mary’s College and cum laude from Harvard Law School.
David A. Brennen
Dean and Professor
University of Kentucky College of Law
David A. Brennen joined UK in 2009 from the University of Georgia School of Law where he was a professor since 2006 and from the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) where he served a two-year term as deputy director. Along with more than 20 years of experience in the classroom, Brennen is regarded as an innovator in the field of nonprofit law as it relates to taxation. He is a co-founder and co-editor of Nonprofit Law Prof Blog, founding editor of Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law Abstracts, co-founder of the AALS Section on Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law and a co-author of one of the first law school casebooks on taxation of nonprofit organizations.
Brennen received his bachelor’s degree in finance from Florida Atlantic University in 1988 and his law degree from the University of Florida College of Law in 1991, where he also received his LL.M. in tax law in 1994. In 2002, Brennen was elected to the American Law Institute where he is an adviser on its project titled, “Principles of the Law of Nonprofit Organizations.” Brennen has also served in leadership roles with AALS, the Society of American Law Teachers and the American Bar Association’s Section of Legal Education.
Brennen began his career in legal education as an adjunct professor at Florida A&M University in 1994. He also taught as a professor at Syracuse University College of Law, the University of Richmond School of Law and Mercer University School of Law prior to his last position at the University of Georgia. In addition, Brennen taught as a visiting professor at the University of Alabama and Temple University.
His law practice work began with Moody & Salzman, PA in Gainesville, Florida. He went to work with Bobo, Spicer & Ciotoli, PA in West Palm Beach, Messer, Vickers, Caparello, Madsen, Lewis, Goldman & Metz, PA in Tallahassee and the State of Florida Department of Revenue.
He has been a member of the Florida Bar - Tax Section, American Bar Association - Section of Taxation and the National Bar Association. In addition, he has served on several boards and held many special appointments, including being appointed to American Bar Association Accreditation Committee, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Reaffirmation Committee, and the boards of directors for Access Group and Hospice of the Bluegrass.
Eduardo M. Peñalver
Dean and Professor
Cornell Law School
Eduardo M. Peñalver is the Allan R. Tessler Dean and Professor of Law. He became Cornell Law School's 16th Dean on July 1, 2014. Dean Peñalver most recently served as the John P. Wilson Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School.
He received his B.A. from Cornell University and his law degree from Yale Law School. Between college and law school, he studied philosophy and theology as a Rhodes Scholar at Oriel College, Oxford. Upon completing law school, Dean Peñalver clerked for Judge Guido Calabresi of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and at the Supreme Court for Justice John Paul Stevens.
Dean Peñalver’s scholarship focuses on property and land use, as well as law and religion. His work explores the way in which the law mediates the interests of individuals and communities. His writing on property has appeared in numerous leading law journals. His book, Property Outlaws (co-authored with Sonia Katyal), published by Yale University Press in February 2010, explores the vital role of disobedience within the evolution of property law. His most recent book, An Introduction to Property Theory (co-authored with Gregory Alexander), was published by Cambridge University Press in 2011.
Dean Peñalver previously taught at Cornell Law School (2006-2012) and at Fordham Law School (2003-2006). He has also been a visiting professor at Harvard Law School and Yale Law School.
Law Student Division Member
Election to a One-Year Term
Zachary Faircloth
Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law
JD Expected May 2020
Zachary Faircloth is a law student at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law where he is a Hatton W. Sumners Scholar and serves as Editor-in-Chief of the SMU Law Review. Mr. Faircloth also participates in a variety of advocacy competitions and serves as a research assistant for Professor Hillel J. Bavli and an Academic Success Program mentor.
Prior to law school, Mr. Faircloth earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and a B.A. in Political Science with College Honors from Louisiana State University, where he served as LSU Student Body President and the only student member of the LSU System Board of Supervisors. Mr. Faircloth was a Rhodes Scholarship Finalist and recipient of the Sean O’Keefe Leadership Award, the highest award presented to an LSU senior. During his time at LSU, Mr. Faircloth also served as president of his fraternity Phi Gamma Delta, a co-founder of the LSU Club Baseball Team, and Vice President of Engineers Without Borders-LSU.
Mr. Faircloth’s past work experience includes serving as a Congressional intern for the office of Congressman Garret Graves, a control systems intern with ExxonMobil, a summer associate with Baker Botts LLP, a summer associate with Fish & Richardson P.C., and a judicial extern for Judge Sam Lindsay of the Northern District of Texas.
The election of Council officers and members will take place at the Section’s annual business meeting, Saturday, August 10, during the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
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Article IX, Section 2 of the Bylaws of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar provides that one or more additional nominations may be made for any designated seat on the Council, including officers of the Council (except Chairperson and Immediate Past Chairperson), by petition signed by not less than 50 members of the Section in good standing, not more than 10 of whom are residents of any one state. A person so nominated shall be called the "petitioner". The petition shall specify which nominee the petitioner is challenging and shall state that the petitioner has agreed to the nomination and meets the criteria for the position being sought. The petition shall be delivered in person or by mail to the Section Office at the Association headquarters and must be received no later than June 1. The Secretary shall thereupon confirm that such individual is eligible to serve if elected. If additional nominations are made, the Chairperson shall distribute to the membership a final notice of nominations as soon as practical, but no later than July 15.