News About Marisa Chun

MARISA CHUN TAPPED FOR TOP JUSTICE POST

San Francisco, April 20, 2009 - Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass LLP Partner A. Marisa Chun has been appointed to serve as Deputy Associate Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, starting May 1, 2009. Ms. Chun, who has practiced at the Coblentz firm for nearly a decade, brings civil litigation and leadership experience, in returning to the Justice Department, where she began her legal career.

The Associate Attorney General is the third-ranking official at the U.S. Department of Justice. The Office of the Associate Attorney General advises and assists the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General in formulating and implementing the Department's policies and programs pertaining to a broad range of civil justice, federal and local law enforcement, and public safety matters. The Office oversees the Department's civil litigating components, including the Antitrust, Civil, Civil Rights, Environmental and Natural Resources, and Tax Divisions. A Principal Deputy and four Deputies, including Ms. Chun, will assist Associate Attorney General Thomas J. Perrelli with respect to his responsibilities.

Richard R. Patch, the Firm's Litigation Chairman, said, "We are thrilled that Marisa has been selected by the Obama Administration for this position. Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass has a longstanding tradition of public service and we are proud that Marisa will be continuing this Coblentz tradition, by serving the nation."

Ms. Chun joined Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass in 1999 and became a partner in 2003. She practices complex civil litigation, with an emphasis on business litigation, consumer protection and unfair business practices actions, appellate litigation, and employment law. At Coblentz, she has worked on a wide variety of cases in the federal and state courts, including disputes involving breach of contract, business torts, unfair competition and antitrust, cable and telecommunications, trade secrets, employment, securities, and First Amendment claims.

"I am honored to have this opportunity to serve the American people and the Justice Department at this critical time in our history," said Ms. Chun. "At the same time, I will miss my colleagues at Coblentz very much. Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass has always stood for excellence in lawyering and the best values of our profession, so I hope to apply what I have learned here in Washington, D.C."

Ms. Chun first joined the Department of Justice in 1992, through the Attorney General's Honors Program. She served as a Trial Attorney and Senior Trial Attorney in the Civil Rights Division, from 1992 to 1996, where she investigated and prosecuted public employers for violations of federal civil rights laws.

Ms. Chun has been actively involved in the legal community. She has served as Chair of the State Bar of California's Federal Courts Committee, Chair of the Bar Association of San Francisco's (BASF) Litigation Section, a Lawyer Representative for the Northern District of California to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, and President of the Korean American Bar Association of Northern California. She was appointed by Chief Judge Vaughn Walker to the Northern District's Federal Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Review Panel, which recommended the re-appointment of Magistrate Judges Edward Chen and Richard Seeborg. Her pro bono work at Coblentz has included serving as a mediator for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Ms. Chun received her B.A. from Yale University, summa cum laude, in 1987. She graduated from Harvard Law School, cum laude, in 1991, where she served as Developments Editor of the Harvard Law Review. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert Boochever of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

News from Sasawati Paul

Saswati Paul wrote in to share some of her recent news: She recently joined GreenbergTraurig's Silicon Valley Office as Of Counsel in the Global Benefits and Compensation Group. She will continue to focus on ERISA fiduciary issues and matters involving the U.S. DOL. Saswati and her husband Nathan Krishnan have been living in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1997 and have two kids (Anika (7) and Amit (4)). Nathan is a software developer. She would love to hear from friends visiting the Bay Area and can be contacted at spaul@aya.yale.edu or pauls@gtlaw.com.

This I Believe - Judith Warner Blog & a Piece by Bruce Feiler

I found this article, referred to me by one of our classmates, to be a fitting meditation on this holiday season, particularly as it kicks off with a reference to one of our classmates, Bruce Feiler, and an article he just wrote in Gourmet. Click here for Bruce's article.

At this stage of our lives, we have set up our own traditions -- morphing those of our parents and maybe the families of our husbands, wives, significant others, or partners into our own unique commemoration of major holidays and observances. I hope you find these articles interesting.

This I Believe - Judith Warner Blog - NYTimes.com

LA Class Get Togeher -- April 28

On April 28, we'll be having a class get together.

When: April 28 from 7:00 to ??

What: We'll start off with drinks and appetizers at the bar. If people are so inclined, we'll all head to dinner.

Where: Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica, CA. Click here for directions.

RSVP: Please RSVP to Tim Harkness at happado@hotmail.com.

Hope to see you there!

A visit to LA

I was in LA recently and had time to have dinner with some classmates. Ethan Goldstine and Gideon Brower joined me for dinner the first night in town. Ethan runs a website design firm for non-profits and Gideon is a screenwriter and both of them live in LA. We had a really a great time catching up.

My second night in town, I had dinner at the home of classmate Hanna Weg, with her family. Hanna is a screenwriter who has a movie in production called The Beautiful and the Damned, which is essentially a history of our class. Well, actually, that's not it at all. It is a period love story based on the relationship of writers F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre. The film revolves around the Jazz Age icons Fitzgerald, famed for writing "The Great Gatsby," and Zayre known for living large, soaring high and crashing hard. Although they were both the toast of the town during the roaring '20s, their courtship and marriage was festooned with jealousy and acrimony with both parties using the relationship as the basis for their various novels.

I had such a good time in LA, that I am going back at the end of April -- and we're having a Class Dinner. For everyone in LA, please save the date: April 28. More details soon!