Staff
Johanna Hartwig
Executive DirectorJohanna Hartwig joined NJCHS as the Executive Director in July of 2024. Johanna brings quite a range of experience to the job, having practiced at two international law firms, worked as a law school administrator in charge of career planning, and served as the founding board chair of a civil legal services start-up. Johanna clerked on the Ninth Circuit for two years for Judge M. Margaret McKeown, serving as her appellate clerk and also as her ethics clerk for the federal judiciary’s ethics committee. Johanna grew up in Livermore, California and has had many glorious adventures throughout her life exploring the states of the Ninth Circuit. She left California to attend college at Yale, work in New York City, and then earn a joint law and policy degree from the University of Michigan. While she loved her chapters on the East Coast and the Midwest, Johanna’s heart belonged in the west, and so she returned to California to begin her law career.
Johanna would love to hear from you with ideas for NJCHS programs and collaborations. Reach out by email (johanna.hartwig@njchs.org) or through LinkedIn!
Georgia Johnson
Communications and Programs AssociateGeorgia Johnson is the Communications and Programs Associate at NJCHS, a position she has held since July 2024. She specializes in content marketing and project management. Georgia graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2024 with dual Bachelor’s degrees in English and Political Science, and she is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Communication Management from the University of Southern California.
Passionate about community engagement and justice, Georgia is dedicated to initiatives that build community power and advance opportunities. She focuses on enhancing communication and marketing efforts to support meaningful projects and increase stakeholder engagement.
Email: georgia.johnson@njchs.org
Board
Jeff Portnoy
ChairJeff 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 R. Weber
Vice ChairCorey is a partner at BG Law LLP. He is a litigator with 20 years of experience in bankruptcy, business and commercial litigation, who regularly litigates cases involving fraud, fraudulent transfers/voidable transfers and breaches of fiduciary duty, including in Ponzi scheme cases. Corey serves as a commissioner on the State Bar of California Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation (JNE Commission) for the 2022-2025 term. He also serves as an advisor on the California Lawyers Association (CLA) Business Law Section Executive Committee, is a past Chair of the CLA Business Law Section and served a three-year term as Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference appointed by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Corey 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.
Lilian Tsai
TreasurerKathleen O’Sullivan
SecretaryKatie is a partner at Perkins Coie in its Seattle office. A veteran litigator and firm and community leader, Katie helps businesses with critical legal matters. With more than 25 years of practice, Katie O’Sullivan represents businesses facing high-stakes litigation, including trial court cases and appeals. Katie began her career as a law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge Harold H. Greene and for Ninth Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown.
Sonia Martin
Immediate Past ChairSonia Martin is CEO of Dentons US and is also a member of Dentons’ Global and US Boards, the Global Management Committee and the US Region Management Committee. She is a litigator with extensive experience defending consumer class actions, including claims for alleged violations of California’s Unfair Competition Act, Business and Professions Code Section 17200, et seq. Sonia is a former lawyer representative to the United States District Court, Northern District of California.
Board
Hon. Stanley Bastian, US District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
Hon. Marsha Berzon, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Hon. David Carter, US District Court for the Central District of California
Hon. Richard Clifton, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Hon. Michael Daly Hawkins, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Hon. Michael Fitzgerald, US District Court for the Central District of California
Hon. Debora Kristensen Grasham
Hon. M. Margaret McKeown, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Hon. Mary Murguia, Chief Judge, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Hon. William Orrick III, US District Court for the Northern District of California
Hon. Mary Schroeder, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Hon. Milan D. Smith, Jr., Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Hon. Christina Snyder, US District Court for the Central District of California
Hon. Sidney Thomas, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Seth Aronson, Esq., O’Melveny & Myers LLP
Ryan Bounds, Esq., United States Department of Justice
George Brewster, Esq., Office of County Counsel, County of San Diego
John Carson, Esq., Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP
David Casey, Jr., Esq., Casey Gerry Schenk Francavilla Blatt & Penfield LLP
Matthew Close, Esq., O’Melveny & Myers
Caroline Djang, Esq., Buchalter
Dale A. Danneman, Esq., Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP
Robert Fairbank, Esq., Phillips ADR
Jeffrey Fisher, Esq., Farella Braun + Martel LLP
Margaret Foley, Esq., Foley Law Center
Paul Friedman, Esq., Morrison & Foerster
Rita Haeusler, Esq., Hughes Hubbard
Cynthia Jones, Esq., Jones Legal Group
Ron Maroko, Esq, Office of the U.S. Trustee
Tracy Morris, Esq., Federal Civil Rights Clinic
James Sigel, Esq., Davis Wright Tremaine
Robert J. Pfister, Esq., Klee, Tuchin, Bogdanoff & Stern
Heather Richardson, Esq., Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, LLP
Marc Seltzer, Esq., Susman Godfrey LLP
David Steuer, Esq., Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Gail Migdal Title, Esq., ADR Services, Inc.
Claire Wong Black, Esq., Dentons
Advisory Council
Hon. Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha, US District Court for the Central District of California
Hon. Stanley Boone, US District Court for the Eastern District of California
Hon. Magdalena Reyes Bordeaux, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California
Hon. Daniel A. Bress, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Hon. Morgan Christen, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Hon. A. Marisa Chun, Superior Court of California
Hon. Steve Cochran, Los Angeles Superior Court
Hon. Haywood Gilliam, US District Court for the Northern District of California
Hon. Philip Gutierrez, US District Court for the Central District of California
Hon. Robert Johnston, U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada (Ret.)
Hon. Robert Lasnik, U.S. District Court for the District of Western Washington
Hon. Eric D. Miller, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Hon. Troy L. Nunley, US District Court for the Eastern District of California
Hon. Richard Seeborg, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
Professor Katherine Ball, University of Idaho, College of Law
Daniel Bergeson, Esq., Bergeson LLP
Ben Feuer, Esq., Complex Appellate Litigation Group
Robert Flennaugh, Esq., Flennaugh Law
Peter Habein, Esq., Crowley Fleck Law
Laura Hurtado, Esq., Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
Robert A. James, Esq., Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
Matthew Jarvey, Esq., Snell & Wilmer
Steven Kenyon, Clerk of Court, District of Idaho
Rachel Lee, Esq., Stoel Rives LLP
Courtney Linn, Esq., Golden 1 Credit Union
Robert Lowry, Esq., Law Offices of Rob D. Lowry
Sarah MacDonald, Esq., Oracle
Sean McAvoy, District Court Executive and Clerk of Court, Eastern District of Washington
Jonathan Patchen, Esq., Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
Nora Puckett, Esq., Google
Fred A. Rowley, Jr., Esq., Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Anna Russell, JD., Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Library
Kelli Sager, Esq., Davis Wright Tremaine
Roger Townsend, Esq., Breskin Johnson & Townsend
Douglas Young, Esq., Farella Braun + Martel
Board Emeritus
Hon. Christine W. Byrd, Los Angeles County Superior Court
Hon. Diarmuid O’Scannlain, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Jerome Braun, Esq., Farella Braun + Martel LLP
Gareth Evans Esq., Redgrave LLP
Kenneth Klee, Esq., Klee, Tuchin, Bogdanoff & Stern LLP
Dean Ziehl, Esq., Pachulski, Stang, Ziehl & Jones