Board & Staff

Robyn Lipsky has been the Executive Director of the NJCHS since June 2016. Previously, she was the Executive Director of the Northern District of California’s Historical Society and the Northern District of California’s Practice Program for ten years. She also has had the honor of serving as a law clerk in the Northern District of California for close to 18 years.

Katia Kiston is a 2020 summa cum laude graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she developed an interest in the US judicial system and legal inquiry. She aspires to build a successful career in the legal field, and is very excited to start her professional journey as part of the NJCHS team, contributing to the preservation and promotion of Western legal history.

Deb is a partner in the Boise law firm of Givens Pursley, LLP. For more than 30 years, she has represented individuals and businesses in litigation throughout Idaho and the northwest in a variety of commercial disputes. She is admitted to practice in Idaho, Washington, California, the U.S. Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and district courts in Idaho, Washington and California. Deb has served the Ninth Circuit in a variety of capacities, including as a Lawyer Representative from the District of Idaho, Chair of the Lawyer Representatives Coordinating Committee and as a member of the Ninth Circuit’s Advisory Board and Courts and Community Committee. She is a founding member of the Idaho Legal History Society and is the first Idaho member of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society’s Board of Directors.

Sonia Martin is a partner in Dentons’ Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice. She serves as managing partner of the Firm’s San Francisco office and is also a member of the Firm’s US Board. Sonia has extensive experience defending consumer class actions against insurers and financial institutions, including claims for alleged violations of California’s Unfair Competition Act, Business and Professions Code Section 17200, et seq. Sonia also defends insurers in bad faith and insurance coverage litigation. Sonia is a former lawyer representative to the United States District Court, Northern District of California

Jeff is a partner at the Cades Schutte firm in Honolulu, practicing in the area of litigation. He previously served as Chair of the firm’s Litigation Department, and has practiced law as a civil litigator at the firm since 1972. Jeff has served two three-year terms as a Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit, and was Chairman of the United States District Court Advisory (Biden) Committee. He was President of the Hawaii State Bar Association in 2007. He is also a past President of the Hawaii Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and he served a three year term as Hawaii’s representative to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Advisory Board.

Corey is a partner at Brutzkus Gubner Rozansky Seror Weber LLP in Los Angeles, California.  He is a litigator in bankruptcy, business and commercial litigation and represents creditors, bankruptcy trustees, court-appointed receivers and municipalities.  He also regularly litigates fraudulent transfer claims, including in Ponzi scheme cases, as well as breach of fiduciary duty and malpractice claims.  Corey is the Immediate Past Chair of the California Lawyers Association Business Law Section and served as a three-year term as a Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference from the Central District of California.  He received his law degree from the University of Southern California Law School, his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Notre Dame and his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Irvine.

Rita Haeusler is a partner in Hughes Hubbard’s litigation practice and head of the firm’s Los Angeles office. She has more than 30 years’ experience litigating in a variety of state and federal courts throughout California, Nevada, Arizona, the Pacific Northwest, Colorado, Tennessee, New Jersey and New York, and before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.Her practice focuses primarily on complex litigation and arbitration in the areas of consumer products, antitrust, unfair competition, intellectual property, class actions, privacy, and employment law. She received both her B.A. cum laude and her J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles. She has been a member of the NJCHS Board since 2005.