LIN Y. CHAN, PRESIDENT

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein
275 Battery St.
San Francisco, CA 94111
lchan@lchb.com

Lin Chan is a Partner at Lieff Cabraser Heimann and Bernstein LLP where she practices plaintiff-side class action litigation in employment and antitrust.  Lin also serves on the Advisory Board of the American Antitrust Institute and serves as Treasurer for the Committee to Support the Antitrust Laws.  She previously served on the Board of Directors for Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus and as Chair of the Antitrust and Business Regulation Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco.  Lin graduated from Stanford Law School and clerked for the Honorable Damon J. Keith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Court.

JOHN B. LOUGH, JR., VICE PRESIDENT

Scherer Smith & Kenny LLP
140 Geary Street, Seventh Floor
San Francisco, CA 94108
lough.law@gmail.com

John B. Lough, Jr., is an associate at Scherer Smith & Kenny LLP, where his practice focuses on employment litigation and counseling. Before being elected to the Board, John co-chaired the AABA Community Services Committee. Outside the office, John is an active alumnus of Santa Clara University School of Law. He is interested in the conceptual development of the law, having written and presented on employment law issues. John received his B.A. (Mathematics) from the University of California, Berkeley, and his J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law. He is also a member of the California and Hawaii State Bars.

KELLY MATAYOSHI, TREASURER

Farella Braun + Martel LLP
235 Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94104
415-954-4400
KMatayoshi@fbm.com

Kelly Matayoshi is a partner in Farella Braun + Martel’s Employment and Business Litigation Groups. In her employment practice, Ms. Matayoshi has successfully represented employers in state and federal court, including wrongful termination and class action wage and hour disputes. She has represented employers in the transportation and sales industries with issues arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and California Labor Code. Ms. Matayoshi’s business litigation practice focuses on complex civil litigation matters, representing clients in contract and products liability suits. Ms. Matayoshi serves on the San Francisco Leadership Team for the ABA Section of Litigation’s Judicial Intern Opportunity Program and is part of the Section of Litigation’s Young Lawyer Leadership Program for 2015-2016. She is a on the U.C. Hastings College of the Law Board of Governors' Executive Board and regularly serves as a coach for Hastings’ successful moot court teams. Ms. Matayoshi is listed among the Northern California Rising Stars by SuperLawyers for employment law. During law school, she served as an extern for Judge Edward Chen of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and as an intern for Judge Leslie Kobayashi of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii.

ANGEL GARRETT, SECRETARY

Trucker Huss LLP
One Embarcadero Center, 12th Floor
San Francisco, California 94111-3617

Angel represents plan sponsors, fiduciaries, and service providers in ERISA class action and single plaintiff lawsuits nationwide.  She has a broad range of experience in employee benefits law and fiduciary breach matters. Angel has counseled and defended clients in matters involving employer stock option plans, employee stock valuation, inclusion of employer stock in retirement plans, investment of plan assets, management and recordkeeping fees, executive compensation arrangements, disability claims, and church and governmental plans.  She has managed employee benefits and ERISA cases in all stages of litigation in state and federal courts, and before arbitration panels and administrative agencies.

Angel has been recognized as a 2015 and 2016 Rising Star by the Northern California Super Lawyers publication. She is admitted to practice in California and Michigan. Angel is also fluent in Mandarin and Taiwanese.

KEVIN BENEDICTO

Morgan Lewis LLP

Kevin Benedicto is a litigation associate at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP and a San Francisco Police Commissioner. Kevin’s areas of practice include complex litigation, cybersecurity and data privacy matters, securities investigations and litigation, business and corporate disputes, insurance coverage litigation, and toxic torts. He works with innovative clients in the technology industry, advising on issues surrounding cybersecurity, data privacy, cyberinsurance, and compliance with new laws and regulations such as the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). As a member of the Police Commission, Kevin is dedicated to effective oversight and leadership of the San Francisco Police Department, and to principles of transparency, accountability, and fairness in law enforcement.

Kevin previously served as co-chair of the AABA Civil Rights and Employment committees, and currently serves on the Board of the Barristers Club of the Bar Association of San Francisco, and the San Francisco Superior Court Committee on Elimination of Bias. He received his B.A. from UC San Diego and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. Kevin previously served as a Voting Rights Fellow at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and as a judicial extern to the Hon. Paul J. Watford of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

ROLAND CHANG

Goodwin LLP

Roland Chang is an attorney in Goodwin's Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution, White Collar Defense, and Government Investigations & Enforcement practices.  He represents companies and individuals in connection with criminal and regulatory investigations, parallel civil and administrative litigation and proceedings, complex business litigation, and FCPA compliance monitorships. He is also frequently engaged by companies and institutions to conduct sensitive and high-profile internal investigations.

Prior to joining the AABA Board, Roland served as Co-Chair of the AABA Education Committee and on the AABA Mentorship Committee. Roland was recognized as a Northern California Super Lawyers Rising Star from 2016 to 2020. Roland earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and his B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of California, San Diego.

JENNY JIN

jenny.jin@jud.ca.gov

Jenny is a Senior Appellate Attorney at the First District Court of Appeal. She works closely with various Justices in researching and drafting opinions in both criminal and civil appeals. Prior to joining the court, Jenny was a litigation attorney at a mid-size firm in San Francisco, where she specialized in Professional Liability and in particular, defense of real estate brokers.  

Prior to joining the AABA Board, Jenny served as Co-Chair of AABA’s Social Committee for two years. Jenny received her B.A. in Legal Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and her J.D. from Indiana University School of Law. While in law school, Jenny also served as the Vice President of the Asian American Law Student Organization.

GABRIEL LAU

JULIA PENG

KRITI RAJPUT

Kriti is Senior Corporate Counsel at AppDynamics (part of Cisco) where she primarily supports the transactions team. She has built her legal career as an in-house counsel generalist and gained extensive experience in product, commercial, and privacy practice areas at a variety of tech companies including Brand Metrics, LendingClub, MLSListings, CipherCloud, Oracle, and Zuora. Kriti graduated from Santa Clara University School of Law with her JD/MBA. She completed her undergraduate education from the University of California, Irvine with a B.S. in Earth and Environmental Sciences and a B.A. in Political Science. 

At AppDynamics, Kriti is part of the Community Action Challenge as the Legal representative to the Stand Against Racism and Discrimination campaign. She is an active volunteer for the Law in Technology Diversity Collaborative, which manages a 1L internship program with 20+ tech companies where the interns work 5 weeks in-house and 5 weeks in a law firm. Prior to joining the AABA Board, she was an AABA In-House Committee Co-Chair for 2 years and helped launch and conduct the Bay Area In-House Counsel Compensation Survey both in 2018 and 2020. She lives in Mountain View and enjoys spending time with her loved ones and sassy cats. 

PATTY TSAI

Weaver Austin Villeneuve & Sampson LLP
1111 Broadway, Suite 2300
Oakland, CA 94607
ptsai@wavsip.com

Patty Tsai is a patent attorney at Weaver Austin Villeneuve & Sampson LLP (WAVS). Patty’s practice focuses on preparing and prosecuting patent applications, including both US and foreign patent applications, and counseling clients on patent portfolio strategy. Her technical expertise includes chemistry and materials, semiconductor technologies, and electrochemical engineering. As a law student, Patty worked as a judicial intern for Judge Mariane Spearman in the King County Superior Court, externed at a film studio Vuguru, and interned as a SCCLA Fellow at Asian Americans Advancing Justice in Los Angeles.

Prior to joining the AABA Board, Patty served as a member of the Pathways Task Force and created the AABA Leadership Portal, and served as a Co-Chair of the AABA Education Committee. In addition to serving on the AABA Board, Patty also serves as a Board Member of Taiwan Culture & Education Foundation, Social Media Chair of the ABA Judicial Intern Opportunity Program Alumni Committee, and career coach of UCLA Law Women LEAD. Patty received her B.S. in Chemistry and B.A. in Biochemistry with minor in Mathematics from the University of Washington Seattle with College Honors, authoring an Honors thesis titled “First-principles Studies of Palladium-Catalyzed Organic Synthesis” based on her research with the Li Research Group of the Department of Chemistry, and also received the American Institute of Chemists Top Chemistry Graduating Senior Award. Patty received her J.D. from UCLA School of  Law with a specialization in Entertainment, Media, and Intellectual Property Law.

JAMES S. VILLANUEVA

James.s.villanueva@gmail.com

James is Commercial Counsel at One Finance, Inc. a neobank based in Sacramento. His practice is focused on commercial contract negotiation, intellectual property, and privacy. James has spent his entire career working in-house, first at a solar panel installation company and previously at a Santa Clara based fin tech company. He is a licensed patent attorney and also licensed to practice in New York. James received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his Juris Doctor from Albany Law School. James has previously served as a Membership Committee Co-Chair for AABA and is currently serving on the board of directors for the Filipino Bar Association of Northern California.

IRENE YANG

irene.yang@sidley.com

Irene Yang is a partner at Sidley Austin LLP focused on intellectual property litigation in the high tech and life sciences industries. She represents clients in patent cases across a variety of technologies including cases involving FRAND obligations for the licensing of standard essential patents. In addition, she has litigated cases involving trademarks, trade dress, business torts, and antitrust claims and counsels clients on IP issues. Her pro bono work encompasses immigration and asylum proceedings, veterans’ benefits claims, and employment discrimination litigation. She was recognized in 2019 as a Rising Star for intellectual property litigation by Law360 and has been named a Northern California Super Lawyer and Rising Star. She is the hiring partner for the San Francisco office of Sidley. Prior to joining the Board of Directors, Irene served as a co-chair of the Professional Development Committee for four years. She earned her J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law and a B.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University.