Verdict Authors
Verdict authors range from internationally known practitioners and law professors to judges and attorneys in large and small firms. Many of Verdict’s authors participate in local CCLP programs providing legal advice and education to low-income workers. The volunteer attorneys also provide articles and insight into the volatile concerns of the day affecting 99% of the U.S. population who are served by only 5% of the attorneys in the country. Below is a small sampling of the hundreds of contributors to Verdict.
Irving Botwinick
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Irving Botwinick is founder of Serving by Irving, Inc. Specializing in serving legal papers on the hard-to-find, he once scrubbed up as a surgeon to serve a doctor in the operating room. He’s climbed fire escapes, engaged in cab chases, and members of his staff gained access to the board room of a major corporation by pretending to deliver a Strip-O-Gram.
Irving Botwinick began in the investigative field in 1964 when he worked with the United States Air Force in the investigative section of Air Force Special Units. He later became an investigator for insurance companies. As a supervisor and manager of claims,his duties included investigating cases.
From 1974-77, Mr. Botwinick was the administrator of the law firm of Kravet, Hoefer & Ryan. In 1977, he founded Serving by Irving, Inc. which is currently the world’s leading specialist in process serving. He is the founder and past president of the New York State Professional Process Servers Association, and is a founding member of the National Association of Professional Process Servers. He is a licensed private investigator and member of the Society of Professional Investigators. He has appeared as an expert in the field of process serving and investigations on numerous TV and radio Programs, in addition to being called as an expert witness in numerous court cases. Mr. Botwinick has been a lecturer at many colleges.
Mr. Botwinick is a member of the Board of Directors of National Coalition of Concerned Legal Professionals and also of New York State CCLP.
Racquel Brown, Esq.
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Racquel Brown-Gaston is an Associate Professor of Law & Ethics in the School of Business and Public Administration at the University of the District of Columbia. She previously taught at Medgar Evers College, a City University of New York institution. She is a graduate of Boston University and the University of Miami School of Law in Miami, FL and is admitted to the practice of law in New York. As an attorney for the past 20 years, Ms. Brown-Gaston specializes in business formations, contracts, commercial law, estate planning, mediation, non-profit law and real estate. Her clients include non-profit corporations, closed corporations, partnerships, LLCs, small businesses seeking government contracts, and individuals. She is both a published scholar and a commercial author and has continuously served on non-profit Boards. She also donates her time as a pro bono attorney for the most vulnerable in society, including through being a member of New York State Coalition of Concerned Legal Professionals.
Erwin Chemerinsky, Esq.
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Erwin Chemerinsky is Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Prior to assuming this position, from 2008-2017, he was the founding Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law and Raymond Pryke Professor of First Amendment Law at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, with a joint appointment in Political Science. Before that, he was the Alston and Bird Professor of Law and Political Science at Duke University from 2004-2008 and was a professor at the University of Southern California Law School from 1983-2004, including as the Sydney M. Irmas Professor of Public Interest Law, Legal Ethics, and Political Science. He frequently argues appellate cases, including in the United States Supreme Court. Dean Chemerinsky is a graduate of Northwestern University and Harvard Law School. In 2016, he was named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2017, National Jurist magazine again named Dean Chemerinsky the most influential person in legal education in the United States.
Lynda J. Grant, Esq.
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Lynda J. Grant is a partner with The GrantLawFirm, PLLC, in New York City and has been representing consumers, investors and others wronged by corporate misdeeds for over 40 years. She graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. from the State University of New York at Buffalo and holds a J.D. from Cornell Law School. She is admitted to practice in the State of New York, the Eastern and Southern Districts of the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Ms. Grant is a member of New York State CCLP.
James L. Kaller, Esq.
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James L. Kaller is a sole practitioner based in Oakland, California. He is a California State Bar-certified specialist in Estate Planning, trust and Probate Law and also has an active general practice. He is licensed as an attorney in California, Texas and the District of Columbia.
Mr. Kaller is a member of the Board of Directors of the Bay Area Coalition of Concerned Legal Professionals and regularly provides legal advice and assistance at CCLP’s Legal Advice Sessions.
Mr. Kaller received his B.A. from Harvard University (1977) and his J.D. from the University of Texas (1980). From 1980-82 he served as an attorney for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, a U.S. government agency that administers and enforces a pension insurance program. He has been in general civil and estate practice since then.
Robert F. Kane, Esq.
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Robert F. Kane is a member of the Board of Directors of Bay Area CCLP and an active participant in CCLP’s Legal Advice Sessions. He is a graduate of the University of California at Davis Martin Luther King School of Law, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif and was an editor of the Law Review. Mr. Kane served as an intern at the San Mateo District Attorney’s Office and for U.S. District Court Judge Thomas MacBride in Sacramento. He is currently a sole practitioner in San Francisco engaged in civil and criminal litigation and the general practice of law involving trial, appellate and transactional work and has been practicing law since 1976. He is admitted to practice in California and Hawaii and before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Mr. Kane is the co-author of California Pretrial Practice & Forms, James Publishing, which is in its 11th edition. He is a Judge Pro Tem in San Francisco Superior Court, as well as a Mediator and Arbitrator. He is also an adjunct professor at UC Law San Francisco (formerly Hastings College of the Law).
David M. Katz, Esq.
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David M. Katz is an attorney based in Rockland County, New York. He maintains a practice concentrating in debtor/creditor law and is passionate about helping working people with their legal issues. He has a B.A. in European History from City University of New York, Queens College and a J.D. from Elizabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. He is a member of New York State CCLP and volunteers for both Legal Advice and Know Your Law Sessions. He is also New York State CCLP’s regular MC at its events.David M. Katz is an attorney based in Rockland County, New York. He maintains a practice concentrating in debtor/creditor law and is passionate about helping working people with their legal issues. He has a B.A. in European History from City University of New York, Queens College and a J.D. from Elizabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. He is a member of New York State CCLP and volunteers for both Legal Advice and Know Your Law Sessions. He is also New York State CCLP’s regular MC at its events.
John P. Leschak, Esq.
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John P. Leschak is the principal attorney of Leschak & Associates, LLC, an immigration and deportation defense law firm located in Freehold, NJ. Mr. Leschak received his juris doctor degree from Hofstra University School of Law, where he graduated cum laude and received the “Citation of Excellence” in labor and employment law. He is a member of the New York and New Jersey State Bars, as well as being admitted to the New Jersey Federal District Court, the New York Federal District Court for the Southern District and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Leschak is a member of the State Bar Association of New Jersey, New York State Bar Association, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, New Jersey Advocates for Immigrant Detainees and Monmouth County Coalition for Immigrant Rights. For many years Mr. Leschak also served on the board of directors of Casa Freehold, an immigrant rights organization based in New Jersey.
Elana R. Levine, Esq.
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Elana R. Levine is an attorney with AlderLaw, P.C. in Los Angeles. She is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara and Southwestern Law School. Licensed since 2004, her practice has been devoted to employment, consumer and business litigation.
Sean R. Olender, Esq.
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A member of the Bay Area Coalition of Concerned Legal Professionals’ Board of Directors, Sean R. Olender practices employment and immigration law in Santa Cruz. He received his juris doctor degree from University of San Diego and his undergraduate degree from University of California at Santa Barbara.
Mr. Olender’s writings have been published in the San Francisco Attorney magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, Verdict magazine and other publications.
César Róchez-Reyes,
Honduran attorney
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César Róchez-Reyes, Esq., was born in San Pedro Sula, Honduras and graduated from the National Autonomous University of Honduras with a degree in law. By Legislative Decree, Mr. Róchez-Reyes is a Cultural Ambassador of Honduras to the United Nations. Since 2005 he has been a part of the World Association of Former United Nations Interns and Fellows (WAFUNIF), the only NGO created by the United Nations as a “Messenger of Peace.” Mr. Róchez-Reyes is also the Legal Adviser, Artistic Producer and performer with Black Men Soul Cultural Group, a musical ensemble that has performed Garífuna music on prestigious stages throughout Central America and Mexico. Mr. Róchez-Reyes is a member of the Board of Directors of NCCLP.
Geoffrey H. Schotter, Esq.
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Geoffrey H. Schotter is licensed to practice law in New York State and is admitted to practice before the United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of New York and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He received a BA from Cornell University and completed a joint JD/MA program in law and legal history at Case Western Reserve University, where he was an editor of the Case Western Reserve Law Review and a founding member of the Case Western Reserve Journal of Law, Technology and the Internet. Mr. Schotter is a managing partner in Schotter Millican, LLP, a firm that practices claimant’s side workers’ compensation in New York CIty.
Eric A. Seiff, Esq.
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Eric A. Seiff is a graduate of Yale University and Columbia University Law School. Mr. Seiff joined the predecessor to Amini, LLC in November 2015. Initially trained as an appellate prosecutor under the leadership of New York County District Attorney Frank S. Hogan, he has briefed and argued more than one hundred appeals in the state and federal courts and has obtained complete jury acquittals in eight of his last nine criminal trials.
Mr. Seiff served as Assistant District Attorney in New York County from 1962 to 1967; Assistant Counsel to the Agency for International Development from 1967 to 1972; General Counsel to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services; Deputy Chief of the Criminal Defense Division of the Legal Aid Society of New York City from 1974-1975; Special Assistant Attorney General in 1975, where he served on Governor Carey’s task force, which investigated and publicly reported on the misconduct of the Attica prosecutors; and a member of the New York State Investigation Commission from 1975 to 1979, serving as Chairman from 1978-1979.
Dana S. Shilling, J.D.
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Dana Shilling received her juris doctor degree from Harvard Law School and is the author of more than 20 books. Her works include, among others, The Lawyers Desk Book, The Complete Guide to Human Resources and the Law, Essentials of Trademarks and Unfair Competition and 60 Minute Financial Planner. Her articles on legal and financial issues have appeared in such magazines as Vogue, CFO, Working Woman, Cosmopolitan, Aging Today, Estate Planning Studies and others. She is retired from practice in New York State. Ms. Shilling is a member of New York State CCLP.
Michael E. Tigar, Esq.
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Michael E. Tigar is Emeritus Professor of the Practice of Law at Duke University School of Law, and Professor Emeritus of Law at Washington College of Law, American University, Washington, D.C. He was Acting Professor of Law at UCLA and Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Law at The University of Texas. He has been a lecturer at dozens of law schools, judicial conferences and bar associations in the United States, Europe, Africa and Latin America, including service as Professeur Invité at the faculty of law of Université Paul Cezanne, Aix-en-Provence. He is a 1966 graduate of University of California, Berkeley, School of Law where he was first in his class, Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review and Order of the Coif.
He has authored or co-authored thirteen books, three plays, and scores of articles and essays. He has argued seven cases in the United States Supreme Court and about one hundred federal appeals and has litigated cases in twenty-two states in state and federal courts.
Mr. Tigar is listed in Professor John Vile’s book, Great American Lawyers: An Encyclopedia (2001), as one of 100 “great” lawyers in United States history. In 1999, the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice held a ballot for “Lawyer of the Century.” Mr. Tigar was third in the balloting, behind Clarence Darrow and Thurgood Marshall. In 2003, the Texas Civil Rights Project named its new building in Austin, Texas (purchased with a gift from attorney Wayne Reaud), the “Michael Tigar Human Rights Center.”
Cassius C. Titus, Esq.
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Cassius C. Titus holds a B.A. from University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from University of California, Berkeley School of Law. His practice focuses on legal issues related to intellectual property transactions, particularly the development and licensing of emerging electronics technologies. He is admitted to practice in California and is a member of New York State CCLP.
Albert Van-Lare, Esq.
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Albert Van-Lare, Esq., earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with triple honors from Queens College of the City University of New York and a Masters degree in Politics and Government from St. John’s University. He obtained his Juris Doctor degree from New York Law School. He is admitted to practice law in the states of New York and New Jersey and before several U.S. District Courts and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First, Second and Third Circuits. Mr. Van-Lare’s practice includes Civil Rights Law, Employment Law and Immigration Law.
He is a former member of the New York State Bar Committee on Professional Discipline and a member of the subcommittee that analyzed discovery rules for attorney discipline in all 50 states, leading to a detailed report and recommendations to the New York State Bar. Mr. Van-Lare has been honored by several organizations for his advocacy on behalf of working people in New York.
Prior to opening his law offices, Mr. Van-Lare was an officer, executive board member, staff representative, recording secretary and a trustee of the Communications Workers of America, Local 1180. For 12 years he represented workers in negotiations, arbitrations and administrative trials. He assisted the union in building solidarity teams and in organizing members to advance their collective and institutional interests through negotiations and activism in the workplace and in the political arena. He was also a representative of the union at the New York City Central Labor Council.
Mr. Van-Lare is a member of the Board of Directors of New York State CCLP.
Jonathan A. Weiss, Esq.
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Jonathan A. Weiss, Esq., attended the University of Chicago Law School, where he was elected to Law Review, and obtained his LLB at Yale Law School. After managing Neighborhood Legal Services Project in Washington, D.C., from 1965-1966, Weiss received a Fulbright Research Fellowship to Italy, served as a guest lecturer at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel, after which he dedicated himself for the next forty years to legal representation of the low-income population of New York City, first through MFY Legal Services and then as director of Legal Services for the Elderly. He has argued twice before the U.S. Supreme Court, including in Wyman v. James, where Chief Justice Warren Burger pronounced Mr. Weiss’ oral argument the best he had heard that year. Mr. Weiss was also one of the lead counsels in Goldberg v. Kelly. Cardozo Law School has an annual Award for Public Interest Service established in Mr. Weiss’ name.
Salomon Zavala, Esq.
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Salomon Zavala is the founder and managing attorney at Zavala Law Group and Executive Director of Ollin Law.
A first-generation Chicano, Mr. Zavala was raised by his single Mexican immigrant mother in the Florence District of South Central Los Angeles during the 1980s and 90s. He witnessed first-hand the consequences of mass incarceration and tough-on-crime policies. Those early memories fuel his passion for his legal work and commitment to justice.
Mr. Zavala graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law after earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Amherst College. His awareness of the injustices of the American legal system inspired him to co-found Ollin Law in 2013, which infuses indigenous justice principles into the adversarial and punitive structure of the U.S. justice system. Mr. Zavala’s work in and out of court focuses on prison reform/abolition, alternatives to incarceration and indigenous peoples’ rights. Mr. Zavala’s civil rights practice helps clients with a range of matters, including wrongful convictions, police brutality cases, prison litigation and resentencing hearings. He also helps deportees with criminal justice and immigration issues. He has conducted legal clinics and trainings on these and other topics throughout the U.S. and Mexico.
Mr. Zavala serves on the boards of various community-based nonprofits, including Tzicatl Community Development Corporation, an indigenous community development organization, and The Community Based Public Safety Collective, a victims/survivors advocacy and community safety organization. Mr. Zavala is a member of CCLP and has provided legal advice at CCLP’s sessions.
Bob Zellner
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Born and raised in south Alabama, Bob Zellner was one of a select group of Americans personally recruited by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to organize in the civil rights movement. Bob was a charter member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and its first white field secretary. Arrested 25 times in five states, Bob was charged with everything from criminal anarchy in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to “inciting the black population to acts of war and violence against the white population” in Danville, Virginia. During Mississippi Freedom Summer of 1964, Bob joined Rita Schwerner in the investigation by SNCC and CORE of the disappearance of civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Rita Schwerner’s husband, Mickey Schwerner. In 1967 Bob joined the staff of the Southern Conference Educational Fund (SCEF), where he organized Grass Roots Organizing Work (GROW), an anti-racism project for workers in the Deep South.
Bob Zellner graduated from Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1961, with a BA in Sociology and Psychology. From 1963 to 1965, Zellner studied race relations in the Graduate School of Sociology at Brandeis University. He taught the history of activism at Long Island University until his retirement.
Bob remains a dedicated human rights activist, training new generations on non-violent direct action, and speaking and writing on the “victories, struggles and heartbreaks” of the Civil Rights Movement. His memoir, The Wrong Side of Murder Creek, A White Southerner in the Freedom Movement was published in 2008. The book won the 2009 Lillian Smith Book Award, which honors those authors who, through their outstanding writing about the American South, carry on Smith’s legacy of elucidating the condition of racial and social inequity. In February, 2021 the movie Son of the South was released, based on this book.
James W. Zion, Esq.
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James W. Zion, Esq., is a member of NCCLP’s Board of Directors. He is a graduate of the Columbus School of Law of the Catholic University (J.D. 1969) and was an adjunct professor in the Department of Criminal Justice of Northern Arizona University. His practice of law included advocacy in the Navajo National judicial system and international fora. He was a long-time international law advisor to the National Indian Youth Council. The focus of his practice has been international and American Indian law. He has published copiously on those subjects.