Current Executive Board
If you are interested in holding an executive board position or becoming involved with Berkeley’s Journal of Entertainment and Sports Law, please contact Chrissy Chong at csjchong@berkeley.edu
2012-2013 Executive Board
Editor in Chief: Jade Smith
Managing Editor: Chrissy Chong
Senior Executive Editor: Bali Kumar
Senior Submissions Editor: Tiffany Lee
Senior Articles Editor: Julia Weissman
Senior External Relations Editor: Christina Farmer
Senior Symposium Editor: Titilayo Tinubu
Article Editor(s): Nathan Piller, Frankie Garland, and Tiffany Lee
Opinions Editor: Katie Brown
Publication Editor: Elliot Shackelford
Citations Editor(s): Danielle Pierre and Tyler Garvey
Associate External Relations Editor: Michael Johnson
Associate Symposium Editor(s): Karan Dhadialla
Staff Editors: Helena Jung, Dustin McKenzie, Xiaoxi Tu, Yiqun Xue, Austin Whitney, Jerel Dawson, Mark Rutter, Cass Song, Edward Osher, Jonathan Francis, Tommy Umberg, Nydia G, Marie Boillat, Meredith Pressfield, Gladys Steffens, Angelina Balash, Natalia Mikolajczyk, and Grant Huebner.
JADE SMITH
As the current Editor-in-Chief of the Berkeley Journal of Entertainment and Sports Law, I am passionate and excited about continuing to present a unique platform for rich discourse on legal topics that affect both the entertainment and sports industries domestically and internationally. I am a native of San Diego, CA. Currently working as a summer associate at Foley & Lardner in Milwaukee, WI. Last summer, I worked at an Intellectual Property law firm in New Delhi, India. Right before starting law school, I worked in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire. Earned my MBA from San Diego State University and graduated with honors from UCLA with an individual major in “Law, Society and Business” and a minor in Public Policy/Public Affairs. Other places I have worked include: San Diego Padres, USA Field Hockey, USA Water Polo, UCLA Intercollegiate Athletics, The Honorable Jack Kemp, Barbados Cricket Association, Major League Baseball (Baseball Operations), California State Athletic Commission, Sacramento Sirens, and the San Diego City Attorney’s Office. Other interests of mine include: performing arts, food, and photography.
CHRISSY CHONG
I grew up in the East Bay, managed to complete my B.A. at UC Berkeley in two years, and I am currently a 3rd year law student at Boalt. I have been involved with the Asian Pacific American community since my pre-college days through my interactions with the St. Joseph’s Church and Chinatown YMCA. I am also an active member of the Asian American Bar Association, love mingling with people at karaoke parties, and participating in mentoring programs for underprivileged students in the Bay Area. My past activities include competitive swimming, gymnastics, and horse barrel racing. However, I now spend my time figuring out how to become an Amazing Race contestant, vacationing in Disneyland, and trying to teach my sassy dog to jump through a hula hoop. I am currently working towards my Masters in Fine Arts in 2D animation and learning how to cook from Masterchef to better embrace my Malaysian culture’s appreciation for food. “We live to eat, not eat to live!!”
BALI KUMAR
Very excited to be involved with the Berkeley Journal of Entertainment and Sports Law this year! I am originally from New York City, NY. However, I have spent time all over the Northeast and in London before coming to the Bay Area for law school. I spent my 1L summer doing litigation and transactional work at Hanson Bridgett, and am spending my 2L summer at Proskauer Rose doing mainly transactional work. My Master’s degree in International Employment Relations from the London School of Economics has shown me the importance of labor law and its relationship to sports and entertainment. My main extracurricular interest is strengthening pipeline recruiting efforts to ensure diversity within the legal profession and building networks across the legal profession to increase retention.
TIFFANY LEE
I am entering my third and final year of law school at U.C. Berkeley. This summer, I am working as a Legal Intern at Warner Brothers Entertainment in Burbank. I was awarded a JASSO scholarship for study in Japan, and am attending the University of Tokyo (Tokyo Daigaku) during July, as part of the International Alliance of Research Universities’ Global Summer Program, and will return to Warner Brothers in August. I hope to continue working in Entertainment Law and Intellectual Property in the long term. Interests include going to movies, traveling, and spending time with loved ones.
JULIA WEISSMAN
I am so excited to be the Senior Articles Editor for BJESL this year. After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.A. in English Literature, I worked for three years in Los Angeles in the entertainment industry. I started as an agent’s assistant at Creative Artists Agency, and moved into music licensing at boutique record label Chime Entertainment before beginning Berkeley Law. Currently a 3L, I am spending my time this year primarily on the journal and working for the Death Penalty Clinic. I spent this summer as a Summer Associate in the Silicon Valley office of Jones Day.
CHRISTINA FARMER
I am excited to be this year’s Senior External Relations Editor for BJESL in charge of coordinating speakers and events for UC Berkeley community. Originally from Los Angeles, I grew up in Pensacola, FL, and am now happy to be back on the West Coast. My love for movies, entertainment, sports and the law led me to joining BJESL so I could be a part of growing opportunities for those also interested in this particular area of law. I am an avid softball player and a former competitive tennis player. After receiving my degree in business law and marketing from the University of Miami, I chose to come to UC Berkeley for law school to pursue my IP and Entertainment law interests. As a rising 2L, I am spending my 1L summer as a law clerk at Sonoma County Counsel.
TITILAYO TINUBU
I’m a writer, media strategist, and lawyer in the making with ten years of combined experience in communications, public policy, and celebrity philanthropy. I was born and raised in Atlanta, GA where I learned how to make the perfect pot of grits only to move to New York City and discover that people just cared about oatmeal. As a writer and media strategist, I have written talking points for a U.S. presidential candidate and placed news stories on major television networks and radio stations including CNN, NBC, ABC, FOX, and NPR. For two years, I worked as a program associate for the New York office of Living Cities, the world’s largest foundation collaborative, where I managed relationships with program grantees, conducted policy research, and advised athletes and entertainers on how to accomplish their philanthropic goals. I summered in the San Francisco office of an international law firm and will begin a legal internship with hip-hop and fashion mogul Russell Simmons in the fall. I graduated from Spelman College with honors and earned a master’s from Columbia University. I am currently in my third year at University of California, Berkeley School of Law.
KATIE BROWN
I am excited to be the current Opinions Editor for the Berkeley Journal of Entertainment and Sports Law. I am a native of Madison, WI and have been living in San Francisco, CA for the past five years. Currently, I am a summer associate at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan in the Silicon Valley office focusing in IP Litigation. Last summer, I worked for the Contra Costa Public Defenders Office in Martinez, CA. I will be externing for Judge Alsup on the Northern District of California in the Fall, and I am looking forward to this experience. Before starting law school, I worked at Google and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. I am a graduate of the University of Wisconsin (Go Badgers!) with a degree in history. I have a passion for sports and in my free time enjoy participating in various athletic activities. The best sports league I have ever played in was trampoline dodgeball at House of Air. Currently, I am learning to play hockey and training for an upcoming hike in Banff National Park.
NATHAN PILLER
I began my love affair with sports while watching his hometown Oakland Athletics compete against the goliath New York Yankees in the 2000 baseball playoffs. Inspired by the team’s low-payroll, underdog status, I decided to take a job with the team in high school. I remember toiling away at the gargantuan task of converting the Oakland Coliseum from a baseball to a football field for the cotenant Raiders. I also played baseball for his tiny San Francisco high school, serving as Co-Captain in my final year. In college, I balanced a history major with a job as play-by-play announcer for the UCLA Bruins basketball team at UCLA student radio. I also served as Director of the Sports Department at the radio station, often hosting talk shows. In his last two years there, I tutored football players and other athletes in subjects like sociology and history, and perhaps learned more from my pupils than they did from me. My dream is to be a film critic, basketball announcer, or team general manager, but a legal career is a pretty good plan B.
FRANKIE GARLAND
I am excited to serve BJESL this year as an Articles Editor. After graduating from UC Berkeley in 2009 with a B.A. in both African American Studies and Political Science, I spent three years as a litigation paralegal at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in San Francisco. Before moving to the Bay Area I grew up splitting time between Angels Camp, CA and Pittsburgh, PA. I am focusing my studies at Boalt on Labor and Employment law and am excited to pursue a career in professional baseball. I have written for the San Francisco Giants and worked for Major League Baseball, Cal Athletics and the University of San Francisco baseball program. I am also excited to cover topics in music and entertainment law. I have played jazz bass professionally for the past ten years and was Drum Major of the Cal Marching Band during college. I am an avid music fan and still enjoy playing music of all types.
ELLIOT SHACKELFORD
It’s an honor to be working with BJESL as the Publications Editor for the 2012-13 year! My interests in the journal and in these particular areas of law have developed from my previous career as a concert pianist. I really enjoyed traveling the world, living in Atlanta, and composing and teaching between concerts. After 2500 performances, I returned to school in 2008 and received a degree in political science and international relations from Columbia. Three years of snowy winters chased me away to California, and I have really enjoyed taking the first steps toward my legal career at Berkeley. I would love to apply my entertainment experience to my future work in the law, combining both in a practice with an international scope. This summer I am serving as an extern to Judge Noonan on the Ninth Circuit, which has been a fantastic experience. I look forward to 2L year and all of its challenges and opportunities, especially doing all I can to assist the team in preparing the next issue of BJESL for publication!
DANIELLE PIERRE
I am entering my second year of law school at UC Berkeley School of Law and I am thrilled to be this year’s Citations Editor for the Berkeley Journal of Entertainment and Sports Law (BJESL). I grew up in Seattle, Washington by way of New Orleans, Louisiana and spent much of my adult life in Atlanta, Georgia. I received my B.A. in Political Science with institutional honors from Spelman College before deciding to return to the West Coast. My desire to combine my love of television, film, music, media and football with my interest in intellectual property, privacy and contract law led to me joining BJESL. I am excited to work on legal scholarship concerning current issues and trends surrounding Entertainment Law.
TYLER GARVEY
Simply put – I am a sports fanatic. Being a native New Yorker from Brooklyn, I am a huge Knicks and Mets fan. Despite our recent struggles the past few years, I still have faith. Yes, I know it is tough but I will never root for the Nets or Yankees. I received my B.A. in Humanities and Justice with high honors from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. I then decided to attend law school at UC Berkeley, where I am currently in my second year. In my free time, I play a lot of baseball and I am also a member of Berkeley Law’s Great Intramural Basketball Team, The Supreme Court. As a former summer baseball head coach, I have grown to love the management side of sports. I hope to one day combine my love of coaching, legal writing, litigation, sports, and politics into one amazing job.
