Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Hyatt Regency Hotel, 1200 Louisiana Street, Houston, TX 77002
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Schedule
8:30 am Breakfast & Registration
9 am – 12 pm Super Summer Seminar
1:30 pm – 4:30 pm Career Management Seminar
5 pm – 7 pm Diversity Reception
Seminar Instructors & Speakers
Tomomi Glover is the Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of PracticePro. At PracticePro, Tomomi teaches transition-to-practice skills in various workshops and seminars, provides one-on-one coaching to students and new attorneys, and offers consulting for law schools and law firms seeking to incorporate transition-to-practice training. She is also passionate about improving diversity in the legal profession and is active in developing PracticePro diversity efforts, including its Diversity Scholarship Sponsorship Program and Black History Month social media celebration. Tomomi also continues to co-teach a skills course at Berkeley Law that she developed with her co-instructor in 2011, The Junior Attorney: Expectations, Responsibilities, and Realities, and she practices employment law as Special Counsel at Littler Mendelson. Prior to these positions, she was an intellectual property associate at O’Melveny & Myers and a commercial litigation associate at Thelen. Tomomi’s experience includes all phases of litigation, including participating on three trial teams, and she has been recognized as a Northern California “Rising Star.” For her pro bono immigration work, she also received the Wiley W. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Service . Tomomi received her B.A. in Political Economy and J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, where she served as the Editor in Chief for the Berkeley Technology Law Journal.
Niki Khoshzamir is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of PracticePro, and a lecturer in the Skills Program of UC Berkeley Law. She oversees the development of training programs at PracticePro and teaches transition-to-practice skills to law students and attorneys. She also consults with law firms to strengthen training and diversity programs, including workshops and coaching programs to help diverse and first-generation associates to succeed as attorneys. Niki also leads the development of various PracticePro diversity initiatives, including the Diversity Scholarship Sponsorship Program and social media projects to raise awareness on the importance of diversity. She also provides one-on-one coaching to attorneys and law students to excel in different phases of their career. In 2011, Niki developed a skills course – The Junior Attorney: Expectations, Responsibilities, and Realities – for Berkeley Law, which she has been co-teaching since. Prior to founding PracticePro, she was a senior associate at WilmerHale where she focused her practice on intellectual property litigation and trade sanctions compliance. Niki has been recognized by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal as one of the top “40 under 40″ professionals. She is also the founder and former president of the Northern California Chapter of the Iranian American Bar Association. She received her B.S. in Biology, summa cum laude, from Texas Southern University, and J.D. from Berkeley Law.
Diversity Reception Speakers
Kourtney James Perry is the Assistant Director of Career Development for the University of Houston Law Center where she is responsible for cultivating employer relationships with the Law Center, developing career-related programming and advising students on their career choices. In this role, Kourtney is able to provide legal guidance to aspiring lawyers fulfilling a longstanding desire to turn her passion for recruiting and mentoring into a career. Prior to joining the Law Center, Kourtney practiced for six years at Vinson & Elkins LLP as an energy transactions associate. Kourtney was born and raised in Houston, Texas. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 2002, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History of Science. Upon graduation, she attended Stanford University Law School and obtained her Juris Doctor in 2005.
Bruce J. Ruzinsky is a partner at Jackson Walker LLP where he chairs the firm’s bankruptcy section, heads the Houston office litigation section, and chairs the firm’s diversity committee. He focuses his practice primarily on representing financial institutions, corporations, and other business entities in workout/restructure efforts, chapter bankruptcy proceedings, and litigation. Mr. Ruzinsky has approximately 30 years experience in representing high profile creditors, creditors’ committees, trustees, debtors, landlords, and/or asset purchasers in various industries and business environments, including energy, real estate, shipping, manufacturing, transportation, retail, entertainment, wholesale produce, heath care, and personal services. As the chair of Jackson Walker’s diversity committee, Mr. Ruzinsky has played an instrumental role in the firm’s strong commitment to diversity, exemplified by the prestigious 2014 Thomas L. Sager Award for the South Region from the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. The award is presented each year to law firms that have demonstrated sustained commitment to improve the hiring, retention, and promotion of minority attorneys.
Thanks to our Diversity Scholarship Sponsors!
