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GUCL Faculty

Faculty Profiles

The faculty at Glendale University College of Law represents a cross-section of accomplished legal practitioners including judges, corporate attorneys, Assistant United States Attorneys, city and district attorneys, and solo practitioners.  Their law school alma maters’ are equally varied and noteworthy.

Most faculty members are “adjunct” or part-time law professors.   Adjunct professors are accomplished legal professionals with a passion for teaching.  A benefit students derive from studying with adjuncts is the opportunity to learn how the legal theory discussed in class is applied in current practice.

The faculty at Glendale University College of Law is accessible both during and outside of class.  Senior faculty members maintain offices on campus and give generously of their time to students.  Adjunct faculty members can be reached by phone or e-mail and will set appointments with students as requested.

Faculty Listing

Michael M. Babikian

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law
B.A., University California, Irvine, 1993
J.D., University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, 1997
LL.M., University of San Diego, 1999
M.B.A., University of Southern California, 2004

Professor Babikian is President and CEO of Transamerica Insurance Brokerage. He is responsible for the marketing and sales of life and long term care products to independent general agents, brokers and direct marketers.  Prior to his 2012 promotion to President, he served as Chief Product Officer and Executive Vice President for Transamerica Brokerage. He joined Transamerica in 2003 as an advanced marketing consultant and was later promoted to Vice President, Strategic Marketing Services. His prior experience was as an attorney, working for KPMG, the California Franchise Tax Board, the IRS, and a tax law firm. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Glendale University College of Law and serves as Chairman of the Board of the Children's Music Fund. Professor Babikian joined the faculty in 2000. (Taxation)

The Honorable Michael D. Carter

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law
B.A., Morehouse College, 1986
J.D., Tulane Law School, 1990

Judge Carter began his legal career in the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office.  During his 13 year tenure there, he tried some 68 felony jury trials.  In 1991 he and two other Deputy District Attorneys prosecuted four LAPD officers for their conduct during the beating of Rodney King.  Later, he was assigned to Central Trials, Juvenile, Special Prosecution and the prestigious Hardcore Gang Divisions.  He spent six years in the Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Division, bringing dozens of rapists and child molesters to justice.  Outside of the courtroom, Judge Carter is on the Board of Directors for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles and the Inland Empire.  He also participated in the Legal Enrichment and Development program, serving as a crime-prevention instructor to fifth graders for seven years. In November 2003, former Governor Gray Davis appointed Judge Carter to the Los Angeles County Superior Court. He currently presides in the Criminal Division of the Burbank Superior Court.  Judge Carter joined the faculty in 2006.  (Trial Advocacy, Criminal Law Analysis)

Laurie C. Collins

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law
B.A., University of California, Los Angeles, 1980
J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law, 1985

Professor Collins retired from state service in September 2012. She currently practices part-time in the fields of real property acquisition and public agency law. From 1994-2012 Professor Collins acted as Chief Staff Counsel for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority. Her duties included the negotiation and documentation of parkland acquisitions. She also advised the Governing Boards as to all legal matters and supervised litigation. Prior to joining the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Professor Collins was Associate Counsel at First American Title Company of Los Angeles and Assistant Counsel at Chicago Title Insurance and Safeco Title Insurance Companies. Professor Collins joined the faculty in 1996. (Real Estate Acquisitions and Finance; Environmental Law; Remedies; Real Property)

David H. Friedman

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law
B.A., University of Michigan, 1995
J.D., Loyola Law School, 1999

Since graduating from Loyola Law School in 1999, Professor Friedman has developed a specialized practice in civil litigation, family law, and post-judgment collection cases. As a family law attorney, he drafts and argues Orders to Show Cause for Custody, Visitation, Child and Spousal Support, and attorney's fees. He handles discovery for all phases of civil and family law matters, defends and takes depositions and appears at trials and hearings. Professor Friedman continues to support his clients in the collections process after a judgment has been awarded and takes appropriate steps on his client's behalf to levy personal property, bank accounts, and stock brokerage accounts. He is a member of the Family Law Section of the L.A. County Bar Association, the Beverly Hills Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the Los Angeles County Family Inn of Court. Professor Friedman joined the GUCL faculty in 2010. (Community Property, Family Law, Torts)

The Honorable Michael A. Knish

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law
BA, Wake Forest University, 1982
MA, Cal State University Los Angeles, 2000
JD, Whittier College School of Law, 1991

While teaching high school English and Economics, Judge Knish attended law school part-time, earning his JD magna cum laude and serving as Notes and Comments Editor of the Whittier Law Review. Between 1995 and 2003, he worked as a Deputy Public Defender for San Bernardino County and was selected as Public Defender of the Year in 2000 (nominated in 1997, 1998, and 1999). Also in 2000, he was assigned to the Death Penalty Unit, taking several capital murder cases to jury trial. Elected as Commissioner by San Bernardino County Superior Court Judges in 2003, he managed a very busy calendar - 140 cases a day. His ability to review mountainous files and make thoughtful decisions led to his appointment to the San Bernardino Superior Court by Governor Jerry Brown in 2012. Judge Knish teaches paralegal courses at Mt. San Antonio College and Cal State Los Angeles. He joined the faculty at Glendale in 2008. (Wills, Contracts)

David R. Krause-Leemon

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law
BS, San Diego State University, 1991
JD, University of San Diego School of Law, 1996

Prior to attending law school, Professor Krause-Leemon gained valuable business experience as the operations manager of a multi-million dollar business with over 200 employees. His success continued in law school where he became Assistant Editor of the San Diego Law Review, earned awards for Oral Advocacy in Constitutional Law, Torts, Criminal Law, was named Best Oral Advocate in the Jessup International Law Competition, and ultimately graduated cum laude. Admitted to the Bar in 1996, he became an Associate Attorney for the litigation law firm of Stutz, Gallagher, Artiano, Shinoff & Holtz. In 1998, he became a partner at the law firm of Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps, LLP, focusing in real estate, business and insurance litigation with an emphasis in contracts, business torts, commercial and residential real estate, and construction disputes. Professor Krause-Leemon joined the faculty in 2008. (Real Property)

Herman B. Lancaster

Professor Emeritus of Law
B.A., Chicago State University, 1965
M.A., Rosary College, 1968
J.D., De Paul University, 1972

Upon his retirement in May 2010, Glendale University College of Law honored Professor Herman B. Lancaster as its first faculty member to be conferred with the title of Professor Emeritus.

Professor Lancaster began teaching at the law school in 1973.  During his remarkable thirty-seven year career as a professor of law, he taught an exceptional range of courses including: Advanced Studies, Agency & Partnership, Aspects of Civil Litigation, Bankruptcy, Community Property, Law Review, Legal Research and Writing, Products Liability, Professional Responsibility, and Torts. Professor Lancaster has achieved what few law school faculty in the United States achieve; he has taught the substantive law of Torts each year for thirty-seven years.

Professor Lancaster serves as Director of the Legal Institute Law Consultancy and has consulted on bankruptcy and probate cases as well as with various groups including law firms, legal educators, legal writers, and bibliographers.  He participated in the White House program for Drug Abuse Prevention and the Special Action Office for Drug Abuse Prevention.  Professor Lancaster is an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and a mediator for the United States Central District Bankruptcy Court.

As Professor Emeritus, Professor Lancaster will no longer teach substantive law courses. He will, however, remain active in the law school community and will continue to team teach the Advanced Studies Course.

Albert H. MacKenzie

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law
B.A., California State University, Long Beach, 1966
J.D., Glendale University College of Law, 1970

Throughout his 30-year career as a Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles County, Professor MacKenzie has prosecuted more than 100 felony jury trials and hundreds of trials in state and federal courts.  His assignments with the D.A. have included the Major Fraud Division, the Central Trial Division, and the Organized Crime Division.  He has received numerous honors including the distinguished Prosecutor of the Year Award in 1995 presented by the Los Angeles County Association of Deputy District Attorneys. Professor MacKenzie is one of the authors of The Crime Victims Justice Reform Act which became law in 1990. In 2010, he retired as a D.A. and is currently counsel in the Office of the Investigator General of the L.A. Metropolitan Transit Authority. He joined the faculty at Glendale University College of Law in 2004. (Criminal Procedure, Evidence)

Steven Marcus

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law
B.A., University of California, Los Angeles, 1998
J.D., Glendale University College of Law, 2004

Professor Marcus graduated from Glendale University College of Law with Honors.  He served as Editor of the Glendale Law Review and is a member of the Editorial Board.  Upon his admission to the bar in 2005, and after 12 years experience as a law clerk/senior paralegal, he was promoted to Senior Associate Attorney at Ivener & Fullmer LLP, a nationally recognized immigration law firm.  In November 2006, Professor Marcus accepted the position of Assistant Chief Counsel with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  (Advanced Studies Program, Legal Writing & Research I).

The Honorable Jared D. Moses

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law
BFA, New York University, 1983
JD, UC Davis School of Law, 1993

Judge Moses graduated from NYU with honors in Drama and worked as a professional actor earning credits in film and commercials. He later graduated from UC Davis School of Law in the top 5% of his class and was a member of Order of the Coif. Between 1994 and 2004, Judge Moses served as a Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney where he tried over 70 jury trials to verdict. For 5½ years, he was a prosecutor in the Hardcore Gang Division where he tried over 24 jury trials, including 16 gang murders. He then brought his prosecutorial skills to the DA's Training Division between 2006 and 2008. He was elected to the bench in 2008 and currently presides in the Alhambra Superior Court. Judge Moses is an advocate for developmentally disabled children and provides counseling and support for parents of children diagnosed with autism. Judge Moses joined the faculty in 2007. (Criminal Law, Evidence)

The Honorable Sam Ohta

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law
BA, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1985
JD, Loyola Law School, 1989

Born in Yokohama, Japan, Judge Ohta's graduation from law school and foreign language skills coincided with a surge in Japanese investing in American assets. He became an associate at Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue as Japanese banks needed American law firms to help them with their transactions. Transactional law, however, did not fulfill Judge Ohta's desire to help people and make a difference. In 1991, he became a Deputy City Attorney in the LA City Attorney's Office where over four years he served as a prosecutor as well as civil attorney. In 1994, he joined the LA County District Attorney's Office as a Deputy District Attorney spending the majority of his tenure handling a heavy load of murder trials with the hardcore gang division. In 1998, Judge Ohta was appointed to the Los Angeles Municipal Court by Govorner Pete Wilson and was elevated to the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 2000 where he now presides over major felony trials. Judge Ohta joined the faculty at Glendale in 2012. (Criminal Law, Constitutional Law).

David Ruiz Riera

Assistant Professor of Law
B.A., Universitat de Barcelona, 1998
M.A., Universitat de Barcelona, 2000
J.D., Glendale University College of Law, 2006

Native to Barcelona, Professor Ruiz began his career in academics teaching Spanish to middle and high school students. He earned a Master of Arts in Law (the Spanish equivalent of a Juris Doctor) and then became a University Teaching Assistant. His aspirations brought him to the United States where he enrolled at Glendale University College of Law. As a law student, he distinguished himself by earning Academic Achievement Awards in seven subjects, by becoming a published member and Editor in Chief of the Glendale Law Review, and ultimately graduating with High Honors. After earning his Juris Doctor in 2006, he was invited to join the GUCL faculty and work as a full-time law school administrator. In 2012, Professor Ruiz transitioned from academics to the practice of law (Advanced Document Drafting, Advanced Studies Course, Advanced Studies Program, Law Review, Legal Method and Examsmanship a, Legal Writing and Research I).

D. Jay Ritt

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law
B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1985
J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, 1988

Since graduating from law school in 1988, Professor Ritt has continuously practiced business and white collar criminal litigation.  From 1988 to 1995, he was a litigation associate at Quinn, Kully and Morrow.  In 1995, he and two colleagues formed the law firm of Besinger, Ritt & Tai.  The focus of his most recent representation involves issues ranging from breach of contract and employment matters to fraud, ERISA, and intellectual property disputes.  He has also been active in the representation of inmates on death row, pursuing habeus corpus relief in the Federal Courts.  Professor Ritt joined the faculty in 2006. (Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure)

Harry Safarian

B.S., California State University, Northridge, 1996
J.D., Loyola Law School, 1999

A trial attorney, Professor Safarian's practice focuses on litigating complex business, real estate, serious injury and wrongful death matters. He has handled hundreds of cases in both state and federal court from the initial pleading stage as well as through trial and appeal. Many were high-profile cases including representation of A-List celebrities and professional athletes. In 2011, 2012 and 2013, Professor Safarian was named a "Super Lawyers Rising Star," an honor reserved for 2.5% of attorneys under 40. Professor Safarian has also served as a Pro Tem Judge for the Los Angeles Superior Courts and volunteers his time as a settlement officer at the request of Superior Court Judges. Professor Safarian, a father of three, is an active member of the Glendale community, volunteering as an AYSO soccer and youth basketball coach. Professor Safarian joined the GUCL faculty in 2012 (Products Liability and Civil Procedure).

David B. Simpson

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law
BA, University of California, Los Angeles, 1979
JD, University of California School of Law, Los Angeles, 1982

Professor Simpson is a founding partner of Wolflick and Simpson, a boutique law firm specializing in labor and employment litigation and mediation since 1990. An expert with 26 years of experience in the field, his firm has been retained by major employers including Raytheon Company, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, and Ross Stores, Inc. While an accomplished litigator, Professor Simpson is also committed to mediating disputes whenever possible; he has trained as a mediator at Pepperdine, UCLA, the U.S. District Court, and the Second Appellate Division. He has conducted both private and panel mediations in employment, ERISA, civil rights, disability and other specialty civil cases. An aspiring author, he anticipates completing a text in 2009 about detecting lies in legal proceedings. Professor Simpson joined the faculty in 2008. (Employment Law, Pretrial Practice)

Christine K. Son

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law
B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1996
J.D., University of California School of Law, Los Angeles, 2002

Professor Christine K. Son is Associate General Counsel at DineEquity, Inc., the parent company of Applebee's International Inc. and International House of Pancakes, LLC.  As head of the Litigation and Compliance group, Professor Son is responsible for a wide array of legal matters, including complex class actions, employment issues, regulatory agency review, personal injury, and general corporate compliance.  Professor Son started her legal career at Sidley Austin, LLP and after eight years promoted to Senior Counsel for Roll Global, a privately held company based in Los Angeles with multiple brands in the food and agriculture sectors including FUJI Water, POM Wonderful, Teleflora, Neptune Pacific Lines, and Paramount Farms. Professor Son joined the faculty in 2010. (Professional Responsibility of Attorneys).

Terry L. White

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law
B.S., San Jose State University, 1979
J.D., University of California, Los Angeles, 1983

From 1984 to 2009, Professor White served as a Deputy District Attorney with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.His distinguished career as a prosecutor has included assignment to the Special Investigation Division where he served as lead prosecutor in the People v. Powell (the Rodney King case).  Professor Whites’ other assignments have included T.R.A.P. (major auto theft taskforce), Major Narcotics and Forfeiture Division, Organized Crime and Anti-Terrorist Division., and Advisor to the Los Angeles County Grand Jury.  He was Deputy in Charge of the El Monte and Newhall Area Offices, supervising all criminal filings and prosecutions in El Monte, South El Monte, Temple City and the Santa Clarita Valley.  He has lectured extensively about prosecution and has been appointed to various committees by the State Bar of California. In 2009, Professor White joined the City of Santa Monica District Attorney's Office as Chief Deputy City Attorney in charge of the Criminal Division. Professor White joined the faculty in 2005.  (Evidence, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure)

David J. Wilson

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law
A.B., University of California, Santa Barbara, 1977
J.D., University of Southern California, 1988

Professor Wilson has practiced civil litigation in Los Angeles throughout his 25-year career in law.  He began as an associate for the international law firm of White & Case, developing an appellate law expertise.  He joined Manning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester LLP in 1996, where he is a partner in the Appellate Department, and General Counsel to the firm.  He has been a Certified Appellate Law Specialist by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization since 2003.  He is co-author of the Lexis Practice Advisor on Insurance Coverage.  In April 2012, he was chosen out of 250 contestants at an open audition to sing the National Anthem at Dodger Stadium before the game with the Washington Nationals.  Professor Wilson joined the faculty in 2012 (Appellate Advocacy).

Delores Yarnall

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law
B.S.L., Glendale University College of Law, 1991
J.D., Glendale University College of Law 1992

Following seven years of studying and performing theater world-wide and eleven years in the real estate industry, Professor Yarnall made a third career change by studying law.  Shortly after graduation from law school, she interned with the City Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, defending the City of Los Angeles in the Police Litigation Unit.  From 1993-1997, she was a Research Attorney for The Honorable Joseph Kalin (Ret.) of the Los Angeles Superior Court.  In 1997, Professor Yarnall began her career as Associate Counsel with Engstrom, Lipscomb & Lack, and moved up to the position of Trial Counsel with Binder & Associates in 1999.  In 2004, she became Of Counsel at the law firm of Mardirossian & Associates serving as a senior trial lawyer specializing in catastrophic injury and wrongful death civil litigation.  In 2006 she opened the Law Offices of Delores Yarnall and is now in private practice.  Professor Yarnall joined the faculty in 1992.  (Criminal Law; First Amendment Rights; Legal Writing & Research III; Saturday Seminars, Civil Procedure).