Advisory Board

The Lowell Milken Institute’s advisory board consists of highly successful lawyers and business people, who make invaluable contributions by identifying emerging challenges and opportunities in the world of business law and policy. Their strategic vision is critical to the Institute’s efforts to find innovative ways to train the next generation of leaders in the field.

James D. C. Barrall
Jim Barrall is the Senior Fellow in Residence at Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy. He was a partner in the Los Angeles office of Latham & Watkins for 30 years. A recognized expert in the areas of executive compensation and corporate governance, Jim has lectured at the Law School, UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and the Wharton School’s Aresty Institute of Executive Education. A graduate of UC Davis and UCLA School of Law, Jim is a member of the Law School’s Board of Advisors and founding chair of the UCLA Law Firm Challenge.

Keenan Behrle
Keenan Behrle has focused his professional life on real estate. After practicing law with the Pacht Ross firm, he joined Westminster Capital Group LLC, a private investment firm, where he served as Director and Executive Vice President, among other positions. Keenan is an avid supporter of UCLA and has served in numerous leadership positions including president of the UCLA Foundation (2000-02) and chair (2002-04); member of the UCLA Foundation Board of Directors (1977-2007 and 2009-present); and chair of the UCLA Annual Fund (1991-95). He is a graduate of UCLA School of Law.

Patrick S. Brown
Patrick S. Brown is a partner in Sullivan & Cromwell’s General Practice Group. He is a leading transactional lawyer, and his broad-based practice covers public and private mergers and acquisitions transactions; public and private offerings of equity and debt securities, including initial public offerings (representing both issuers and underwriters); and general corporate, corporate governance and securities advice to numerous clients. Patrick represents clients in diverse industries including financial services, technology, alternative investment management, real estate, and healthcare. He has been regularly recognized as an outstanding lawyer by Chambers USA and the Legal 500 US. He is a frequent speaker on a wide range of topics including M&A and financial institution regulation. His presentation on how to conduct due diligence is a student favorite in Lowell Milken Institute’s Lunch and Learn series. Patrick is a graduate of both UCLA and UCLA School of Law.

Matthew Fawcett
As NetApp’s senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary, Matt Fawcett is responsible for all of the Company’s legal affairs globally. He led the transformation of NetApp’s legal department into a globally-recognized, high-performance organization with a unique commitment to innovation. He is both a frequent speaker and author on the topics of innovation, leadership, and management issues broadly. Matt serves on the Board of Directors of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, and various for profit and non profit advisory boards. He received his J.D. from UCLA School of Law and a B.A. from UC Berkeley.

Joshua L. Green
Josh Green is Vice President, Corporate Development and Administration, Carbon, Inc., a revolutionary 3D printing company. He is also a general partner with Mohr Davidow Ventures, a venture capital firm located in Menlo Park. He has also served as the Chairman of the National Venture Capital Association. During an earlier 25-year legal career in Silicon Valley, Josh built two law firms to 120 lawyers each and advised many legendary startups in the computer, internet, telecommunications, biotech and medical device industries. A graduate of both UCLA and UCLA School of Law, Josh founded the UCLA Venture Capital Fund and was the UCLA undergraduate commencement speaker in 2001.

William Kahane
William Kahane is a co-founder of AR Global, a global real estate asset manager. He has been active in the structuring and financial management of commercial real estate investments for over 40 years. Bill is the former CEO of a number of publicly-listed real estate companies and has held board positions for numerous AR Global sponsored companies. He served on the board of Catellus Development Corp., including for two years as its non-executive chairman. Previously, he was a managing director in the investment banking department of Morgan Stanley, specializing in real estate. Bill began his career in 1974 as a real estate lawyer, practicing in the public and private sectors. He received a B.A. from Occidental College and, in addition to his law degree from UCLA School of Law, he has an M.B.A. from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

Scott Klein
Scott Klein is a founding partner and co-Chief Investment Officer of Beach Point Capital Management, a multi-billion dollar alternative asset manager with offices in Santa Monica, New York and London. Scott has over 20 years of experience in managing high yield bonds, bank loans and distressed debt portfolios as well as restructuring companies. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and UCLA School of Law, Scott serves on the Board of Governors of Cedars Sinai Medical Center.

Brian S. Lee
Brian Lee is the co-founder of BAM Ventures, an investment platform that supports new ventures. Experienced in internet entrepreneurship, he is also founder of LegalZoom.com, ShoeDazzle and The Honest Company. Before embarking on his business career, Brian practiced tax law with the Los Angeles office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP, and was a manager at Deloitte and Touche, LLP.  Reflecting his interests, Brian is particularly focused on the Law School’s work in the area of entrepreneurship. Brian is a graduate of both UCLA and UCLA School of Law.

Stan Maron
Stan Maron is a founding partner of Maron & Sandler, and specializes in corporate and tax law. Prior to founding Maron & Sandler, Stan was a partner at Buchalter Nemer Law firm. Stan has served as a director of privately held companies including a European real estate development company and a provider of early child care learning company and its affiliates. In those roles, he has been called upon to provide insights and advice on accounting and financial reporting matters and executive compensation as well as providing views on corporate governance, major corporate transactions and risk management. Stan is a member of the board of trustees of the Southern California and Nevada Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, and is a graduate of UCLA School of Law.

Michael Masin
Mike Masin is a former Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Citigroup, a former Vice Chairman and President of Verizon Communications and a former senior partner of O’Melveny & Myers LLP. Mike has served on a number of major corporate boards, including Citigroup, Verizon Wireless, and Banco Popular, and on numerous foundation and non-profit boards, including his current membership on the Law School’s Board of Advisors and the UCLA Foundation Board of Governors. He is a graduate of Dartmouth and UCLA School of Law.

Lowell Milken
Lowell Milken is chairman and co-founder of the Milken Family Foundation; chairman and founder of the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching; co-founder of Knowledge Universe Education, the international leader in early childhood education; and chairman of Heron International, a global property development company. A graduate of UC Berkeley and UCLA School of Law, Lowell was named the 2009 UCLA Law Alumnus of the Year for Public Service. In 2011, his commitment made possible the Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy.

Greg Nitzkowski
Greg Nitzkowski is the managing partner for Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP and a member of the firm’s Real Estate Department, where he represents domestic and foreign financial institutions, investment funds, pension funds and private investors in commercial real estate financing, investment and secondary market transactions. Greg serves on the UCLA School of Law Board of Advisors and is active in a variety of community and charitable organizations. Greg is a graduate of Harvard College and UCLA School of Law.

Rick Runkel
Rick Runkel is a longtime legal leader in Silicon Valley. He is the general counsel and corporate secretary of Mountain View-based Synopsys, the global leader in electronic design automation and semiconductor intellectual property. Synopsys provides software and services that enable the design and testing of silicon chips. He previously served as the GC and a senior executive at numerous medical and healthcare technology companies, including Affymetrix, Intuitive Surgical and VISX. He is a former managing partner of the San Francisco office of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton. Rick has taken a leading role in UCLA Law alumni activities in the Bay Area and beyond. In 2018, Rick was honored as a UCLA Law Alumni of the Year.

Carl Sanchez
Carl Sanchez is a partner in the Corporate Practice of Paul Hastings and is chair of the Global Mergers and Acquisitions Practice. He is resident in Paul Hasting’s San Diego Office. In 2013, he was named Deal Maker of the Year by The American Lawyer and is ranked as a leading lawyer by Chambers USA, The Legal 500 US and International Financial Law Review 1000, among others. He is a graduate of UCLA School of Law.

Richard Sandler
Richard Sandler is executive vice president and a trustee of the Milken Family Foundation and a partner in the law firm of Maron & Sandler. He serves on the boards of numerous for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, including KU Education, Inc., Knowledge Schools, Inc., Heron International Limited, the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles (as chair), the University of California at Berkeley Foundation, the Milken Institute and the UCLA School of Law Board of Advisors. Richard is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UCLA School of Law.

Robert F. Serio
Robert Serio is a partner in the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, resident in its New York Office, and a member of the firm’s Litigation Department, where he serves as one of the three national co-leaders of the firm’s Securities Litigation Practice Group. Rob is a co-editor of the Practising Law Institute’s treatise on securities litigation, entitled Securities Litigation: A Practitioner’s Guide. His practice involves complex commercial and business litigation, with an emphasis on securities class actions, shareholder derivative litigation, SEC enforcement matters and corporate investigations. Rob is a graduate of Harvard College and UCLA School of Law.

Ralph Shapiro
Ralph Shapiro is chairman of Avondale Investment Partners. Ralph serves on the UCLA School of Law Board of Advisors and the board of directors of the UCLA Foundation. He is a member of the board of the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA, the United Cerebral Palsy Research and Education Foundation, the Spastic Children’s Endowment Foundation and the Scripps Research Institute, and he is a former member of the executive board for the Medical Sciences at UCLA. Ralph holds both his undergraduate and law degrees from UCLA.

Evelyn Aguilar Shimazaki
Evelyn Shimazaki has spent much of her career at the leading technology firms in Silicon Valley. She is Associate General Counsel of Pro Unlimited @ Facebook. Prior to joining Facebook, she has served as Chief Counsel, Commercial for Tesla and Senior Counsel at Apple. Evelyn is a Founding Board Member of UCLA Law Women LEAD, and she is a graduate of UCLA School of Law.

Anita Y. Wolman
Anita Wolman has spent much of her career in financial services. She was most recently Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of CU Bancorp, the holding company of California United Bank. Prior to joining CUB, Anita was Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of California Commerce Bank, an affiliate of Citibank. Earlier she was Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of Pacific Century Bank, N.A. a subsidiary of Bank of Hawaii Corporation and its predecessor California United Bank. Anita received both her undergraduate degree and law degree from UCLA.