LEONE ALBERTS & DUUS - Key Persons

Anne B. Miller has been practicing law in the Bay Area for over twenty years . She has managed complex public entity, personal injury, professional liability, and business litigation in both federal and state courts. Ms. Miller has a wealth of experience in all aspects of the litigation process, including assessing the merits of a newly filed case, forming and implementing a discovery plan, drafting and arguing dispositive motions, participating in alternative dispute resolution, and trying multiple cases to verdict. She has also participated in educational panels for Continuing Education of the Bar and the Public Agency Risk Managers Association. Ms. Miller attended the University of California at Santa Barbara and graduated with Highest Honors in 1991. Thereafter, she attended the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law and graduated with Great Distinction as the Class Valedictorian in 1995. Practice Areas Civil Rights Litigation

Mr. Duus has extensive experience representing public entities in a variety of litigation matters. He has defended public entities in cases involving employment disputes in State and Federal courts, including claims for wrongful termination, constructive discharge, civil rights discrimination, harassment and retaliation, breach of contract, EEOC/DFEH, ADA and disability discrimination. Mr. Duus also represents public entities in personal injury cases and has handled a number of sports-related injury cases involving student athletes and school districts. Mr. Duus also handles litigation matters involving construction projects, zoning disputes, civil rights issues, the Ralph M. Brown Act and the California Public Records Act. Mr. Duus has handled jury trials in both State and Federal court, as well as administrative and appellate matters. Before joining Leone Alberts & Duus, Mr. Duus worked as a solo practitioner. In that capacity, he managed a variety of cases including complex civil litigation and criminal defense. Prior to attending law school, Mr. Duus taught English in Japan, and worked as a middle school and high school English teacher. Mr. Duus continues to volunteer in local schools. Born Wilmington, Delaware; admitted to Bar in 2004, Hawaii, and 2009, California. Mr. Duus became a shareholder in Leone Alberts & Duus in 2018. Practice Areas Civil Rights Litigation

Christopher Vincent is a litigator who has represented a wide variety of clients, including large and small public and private companies, government entities, and individuals. He has extensive experience in state and federal courts throughout California, as well as in mediation and arbitration. Mr. Vincent has handled all phases of the litigation process, from initial investigations through appeals, and he has provided counseling to clients on a variety of regulatory issues. Since joining Leone & Alberts, Mr. Vincent has represented public entities in matters involving civil rights claims, disability and discrimination issues, contract disputes, personal injuries, and employment matters. Mr. Vincent started his career at Latham & Watkins LLP in San Francisco after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2003. Practice Areas Civil Rights Litigation

Clariza Garcia has practiced law in California for over 25 years. She is admitted to practice before all courts of the State of California, the United States District Court for the Northern, Eastern, and Central Districts of California and the United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. She is a lifetime member of the Filipino Bar Association. After beginning her legal career at the San Bernardino County Counsel's office in 1998, from 1999 to 2016, Ms. Garcia was an associate at Los Angeles and Bay Area law firms representing private corporations and public entities in employment, wage and hour, and civil rights actions. She was an associate at the law firm of Patton Wolan Carlise in Oakland, California where she continued to represent public sector clients. In 2016, she opened her practice, Garcia DeWalt, which took over Patton Wolan Carlise' cases and clients when that practice closed. Ms. Garcia has provided advice and counsel as well as personnel policy drafting and review. She is a mediator, including appellate mediation for the Third District Court of Appeals of California. For ten years, she was pro bono counsel for the Child Abuse Listening and Interviewing Coordination Center, which conducts forensic interviews of child abuse victims as part of an interagency task force. Ms. Garcia is a graduate of Western State University School of Law and holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of California at Davis. During law school, Ms. Garcia was a Paralegal and Certified Law Clerk with the San Bernardino County Counsel's Office. Practice Areas Civil Rights Litigation

In 2000, Ms. Burson received her Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from the University of San Francisco School of Law. During law school, Ms. Burson was a member of the McAuliffe Honor Society and received the AmJur Award in Constitutional Law and the Best Brief Award in Moot Court. Between 2004 and 2008, Ms. Burson was part of the Adjunct Faculty at the University of San Francisco, where she taught Legal Analysis. She currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Legal Studies Program at John F. Kennedy University. Ms. Burson is admitted to practice before federal and state courts in California and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Mr. Johnson has 20 years of extensive litigation experience representing private and public entities in discrimination, wage-and-hour, civil rights, political reform, and governance matters. He has successfully litigated several published opinions in federal and California state courts, and has obtained numerous judgments in administrative, trial and writ proceedings. Before joining Leone Alberts & Duus, Mr. Johnson was an associate at Fisher & Phillips and Shaw Valenza, where he defended Fortune 500 companies in complex employment litigation matters. Prior to his private practice, Mr. Johnson clerked for the Honorable D. Lowell Jensen in the United States District Court, Northern District of California. Mr. Johnson received his undergraduate degree at Stanford University in 1998, and graduated cum laude from U.C. Hastings College of the Law in 2002. Practice Areas Civil Rights Litigation

Kate Morrow has practiced law in California for over 35 years. Ms. Morrow has extensive experience in all facets of litigation, including assessing the merits of a case, developing and implementing a discovery plan, actively participating in law and motion proceedings, working with expert witnesses, participating in alternative dispute resolution and completing all aspects of preparing a case for trial. Ms. Morrow's background includes real estate litigation, including representation of real estate brokers, agents and private parties in residential and commercial real estate disputes. Most recently, Kate was a senior attorney in an insurance defense firm handling catastrophic personal injury, construction defect and complex business matters from inception to trial. Ms. Morrow has received praise for her effective, efficient and strategic approach to the practice of law from clients, adjusters and many of the attorneys with whom she has worked. Ms. Morrow, a Bay Area native, attended the University of California at Santa Barbara. Thereafter, she attended Golden Gate University School of Law, where she was a member and editor of the GGU Law Review. Ms. Morrow has a certification in mediation and conflict resolution from U.C. Berkeley Extension and volunteers as a settlement mentor with the Contra Costa Superior Court. Practice Areas Civil Rights Litigation

Ms. Alberts has more than twenty years of extensive litigation experience on behalf of public entities and private corporations, including jury and court trial experience in both Federal and State courts and appellate experience before the California Supreme Court and Court of Appeal and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth and Eleventh Circuits. Ms. Alberts represents public entities in complex litigation matters involving civil rights and discrimination, tort liability, governance and statutory duties, including the Public Records Act and the Ralph M. Brown Act, business and construction disputes, land use and code enforcement, development fees, special education, writs of mandate and appeals. Ms. Alberts has obtained defense judgments in multiple writ proceedings and summary judgment on behalf of public entity defendants in civil rights, statutory compliance, special education and tort liability matters. Before joining Leone Alberts & Duus in 2006, Ms. Alberts was an associate at Jones Day and at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where she defended international corporations in complex litigation matters involving products liability, securities and accounting fraud, and business disputes. Additionally, Ms. Alberts advises public entities regarding governance and statutory compliance, including the California Public Records Act and the Ralph M. Brown Act, public construction and commercial contracting issues, civil rights, including free speech and due process, pre-litigation dispute resolution, e-discovery, and creation, amendment and implementation of policies, regulations and ordinances. Ms. Alberts is a Bay Area native. She attended Carondelet High School and graduated from Stanford University in 1994 with a B.A. in Public Policy with an emphasis in educational policy. In 1997, she received her Juris Doctorate with distinction from Emory University School of Law, where she also was elected to the Order of Coif. Ms. Alberts is a member of the State Bars of California and Georgia and admitted to practice before all federal and state courts in California, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth and Eleventh Circuits.

Ms. Darmagnac has over 25 years of extensive experience defending public and private entities in employment law matters in State and Federal courts, including claims of wrongful termination, retaliation, constructive discharge, sexual harassment, discrimination based on race, age, pregnancy, religion, disability, and sexual orientation, and failure to accommodate in violation of FEHA, Title VII, Title IX, ADA, ADEA, FMLA, and CFRA. She has also defended claims for breach of contract, interference with economic advantage, failure to exhaust, 42 USC 1983, and other civil rights claims, involving free speech and academic freedom, and wage and hour disputes. Ms. Darmagnac has participated in several jury trials and non-jury trials before the California State Personnel Board defending public entities. She has also handled appellate matters in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and California Court of Appeal. Ms. Darmagnac has obtained summary judgment or adjudication on behalf of public entity defendants in both State and Federal courts on claims of discrimination based on sex, military leave, jury leave, race, pregnancy, sexual orientation, disability, or age, as well as sexual harassment, wrongful termination, retaliation, failure to accommodate, defamation and other civil rights claims.

Mr. Leone serves the Firm in an Of Counsel capacity and is recognized as an expert in the field of public entity representation and trial practice, including general advisement to public entities regarding employment, governance and statutory compliance, including the Public Records Act and Ralph M. Brown Act, public contracting, civil rights and tort liability issues. Multiple times, he has been named a Super Lawyer by Super Lawyer Magazine in the field of public entity representation. He is an experienced mediator assisting in the resolution of a variety of cases involving personal injury, civil rights, excessive force, education law and construction defect matters. His mediation skills are called upon several times a year by the United States District Court, Northern District of California, to assist in resolving complicated cases involving alleged violation of civil rights. Mr. Leone has participated in over 30 civil jury trials and in excess of 20 court trials and arbitrations in both State and Federal courts involving claims of civil rights violations, sex, race and disability discrimination, wrongful termination, excessive force and false arrest, free speech, construction disputes, and personal injury claims, to name a few. Mr. Leone has also handled more than 10 appellate court actions, including several landmark decisions addressing the interpretation of the California Education Code, free speech, special education, violation of civil rights, public records, and discrimination based on race and sex.

Ms. Pitts has extensive experience in public entity defense with an emphasis on cases premised upon sexual molestation, negligent supervision (Education Code §§ 44807 and 44808), employment discrimination, and dangerous condition of public property. She has been lead counsel in over 20 trials in both State and Federal Court. Ms. Pitts has obtained summa ry judgment in favor of public entity defendants in cases involving employment discrimination, sexual harassment, and personal injury. She has also obtained defense judgments in administrative mandamus proceedings. While attending law school, Ms. Pitts worked as a reporter for a legal newspaper and served as a judicial extern for the Hon. Donald B. Constine, San Francisco Superior Court.

Mr. Gordon is involved in all aspects of litigation at Leone Alberts & Duus with an emphasis on pre-trial law and motion practice, appeals, and writs. Since joining Leone Alberts & Duus in 2015, he has handled cases involving a variety of issues, including civil rights, discrimination, police liability, and complex personal injuries. Mr. Gordon has obtained multiple judgments in favor of public entities through dispositive motions in both state and federal court. Mr. Gordon recently successfully briefed and argued before the California Supreme Court on behalf of several school district self insurance joint powers authorities as amici curiae. The Court issued a decision in favor of the public entity defendant overturning the lower court on a critical statute of limitations issue. In doing so, the Court adopted many of the arguments made by Mr. Gordon. Before joining Leone Alberts & Duus, Mr. Gordon clerked for the former Chief Justice of the Northern Mariana Islands Supreme Court, spent three years as a research attorney for Chief United States Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale in the District of Idaho, and most recently worked as a research attorney at the Santa Clara County Superior Court. In addition to his law clerk and research attorney experience, Mr. Gordon worked for more than a year as an attorney for the Northern California Innocence Project, filing petitions for writ of habeas corpus in California's state and federal courts. During law school, Mr. Gordon successfully wrote and argued an appeal before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Gordon is a northern California native, born in Sacramento, California. He was admitted to the California State Bar in 2009 and is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Eastern Districts of California as well as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Practice Areas Civil Rights Litigation