BOARD OF TRUSTEES

The College has an appointed 18-member Board of Trustees, which sets policy, fosters a climate of excellence, promotes the development of innovative judicial education programs and provides leadership in achieving the NJC’s mission. Trustees are dedicated individuals from diverse fields encompassing the law and the judiciary, as well as business and corporate areas.

- John Frankovich, Chair
  Reno, NV
  Managing partner of McDonald Carano Wilson LLP of Reno with a practice focusing on real property development and transactions, litigation, and public utilities law. Mr. Frankovich joined the firm in 1973 after two years with the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office. He is admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Nevada and California, including the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Member of the Board of Directors of Recreational Enterprises, Inc., the operating company for the Eldorado Hotel Casino and participates in community service through the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada; PackPAWS Advisory Board (an organization affiliated with Univ. of Nevada to promote women’s intercollegiate athletics); Reno High School Alumni Association. Mr. Frankovich has participated in numerous seminars and co-authored Major Land Use Laws in Nevada.
- Hon. Sophia H. Hall, Chair-Elect
  Chicago, IL
  Administrative Presiding Judge of the Resource Section of the Juvenile Justice & Child Protection Dept. of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois since 1995 and was Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Division 1992-1995. Elected to the Circuit Court in 1980, she served for four years in the Criminal Division, five years in the Law Division, and now serves in the Chancery Division. Judge Hall was appointed by President William Clinton to serve a three year term on the Board of the State Justice Institute in 1998 concluding in 2010. She is the past Chair of the National Conference of State Trial Judges of the Judicial Division of the American Bar Association, past president of the National Association of Women Judges, and of the Illinois Judges Association. She has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Center for State Courts. Judge Hall has appeared on television and radio and penned several articles for judicial publications, and in 2003 received the “Judicial Ethics Award” from the Illinois Judges Association and the Justice John Paul Stevens Award from the Chicago Bar Association in 2010.
- Ms. Lydia I. Beebe, Esq., Secretary
  San Francisco, CA
  Corporate Secretary and Chief Governance Officer of Chevron Corp., a position she assumed in 1995. From 2001 to 2005, the company was named ChevronTexaco Corp. Ms. Beebe worked in various legal capacities for Chevron since 1977. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas in 1974 and a doctor of law degree from the university’s school of law in 1977. She also obtained a master’s degree in business administration from Golden Gate University in San Francisco in 1980. Ms. Beebe is a member of the State Bar of California and the American Bar Association. She served on the Board of Directors of the Presidio Trust, to which she was appointed by President George W. Bush, from 2003 until 2008. From 1991-1999, she served on the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission, and was the organization’s chairperson from 1995-1999. Ms. Beebe is past Chairman for the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals and member of the Society Board, and has served on the San Francisco Municipal Fiscal Advisory Committee to the mayor and the board of trustees of Golden Gate University. She is past president and current advisory board member of the Professional Business Women of California. She also serves on the Advisory Board of Leadership California. Ms. Beebe serves on the board of directors of the Council of Institutional Investors and the San Francisco Symphony. Ms. Beebe serves on the Lincoln Club of Northern California board of directors, the Kansas University Law Alumni board of governors, and the Kansans University Endowment Association.
- Peter J. Neeson, Esq., Treasurer
  Philadelphia, PA
  Mr. Neeson, a practicing attorney for over 30 years, is a senior partner and Chair of Rawle & Henderson’s Environmental, Toxic and Mass Torts Department, where he concentrates his practice in those areas. Mr. Neeson is a frequent writer and speaker on litigation issues and is the author or co-editor of a number of publications in his field. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in Aerospace Mechanical Engineering in 1970 and from the University of Miami (cum laude with a J.D. in 1978). He was selected by his peers in an extensive nomination and polling process conducted by Law and Politics as one of Pennsylvania’s Super Lawyers in 2004 through 2009. In August of 2006, Mr. Neeson became Chair of the Tort, Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) of the American Bar Association, one of the ABA’s largest sections. He is the founder of the National Trial Academy held since 1999 at The National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada. He is also the founder of and is currently finishing the third year of the ABA TIPS Leadership Academy, which is a diversity program specifically designed to develop and train future community and bar leaders. It is the first such national bar association program of its kind. Among his many pro bono activities, Mr. Neeson was Vice Chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee for Eastern Pennsylvania for thirteen years, a member of the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Sports Congress, the past President of the Philadelphia Amateur Sports Corporation which in 1987 was the first corporation of its kind to have as its principal purpose the procurement of the summer Olympic Games to the City of Philadelphia, a member of the Executive Committee for Philadelphia Women’s Basketball 2000, an Executive Committee member of the 2003 USGA Women’s Amateur Golf Championship, a member of the Board of Directors of the Biotech Foundation, and general counsel and a member of the Board of Directors of Philadelphia 2016, Philadelphia’s effort to bid for the summer Olympics in 2016.
- Marybel Batjer, Immediate Past Chair
  Las Vegas, NV
  Vice President, Public Policy and Communications, Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., 2005-present; senior leadership posts, executive branches of two state governments; key advisory roles, two U.S. presidential administrations, the Pentagon; cabinet secretary to the Governor of the State of California, 2002-2005; Chief of Staff to Gov. Kenny Guinn; undersecretary, California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency; chief deputy director, California Department of Fair Employment and Housing; special assistant, Secretary of the Navy; President’s special assistant, National Security Affairs; deputy executive secretary, the National Security Council; assistant to Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger and Deputy Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci; director of political planning, the National Women’s Political Caucus; member, State of Nevada’s Colorado River Commission; member Nevada Security Bank, Board of Directors.
- Javade Chaudhri
  San Diego, CA
  Executive Vice President and General Counsel since 2003 for Sempra Energy, a Fortune 500 energy-services company, responsible for all legal affairs and compliance, also serving as chief environmental officer. From 2001-2003, Mr. Chaudhri served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Gateway Inc. managing legal affairs, government relations, contract administration, and ethics after serving as deputy general counsel since 1999. As senior partner in the Washington DC office of the international law firm Winston & Strawn from 1993-1999, he co-managed the international and technology practice groups. From 1989-1993. he was a partner at Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue.
  
  Mr. Chaudhri has worldwide experience in assisting private and public-sector companies transact business and undertake mergers and acquisitions projects. He has been involved in providing regulatory advice before a number of federal agencies, as well as taking part in major litigation, mediation, and arbitration matters. He has written and lectured widely on international infrastructure projects, technology, and commercial law. Mr. Chaudhri currently serves on the board of the University of California’s School of International Relations and Pacific Studies and is a trustee of the San Diego Zoological Society. He has previously served as a visiting faculty member for the International Development Law Organization in Rome and the International Law Institute in Washington D.C.
  
  Chaudhri has a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Yale University in New Haven, CT and a law degree from Georgetown University in Washington D.C.
- Hon. Larry J. Craddock
  Austin, TX
  Before he became an administrative law judge, from 1991-1992, Judge Craddock was Special Counsel (chief legal advisor) to the Texas Public Utility Commission. From 1989-1991, he was General Counsel to Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Bob Bullock (supervising all legal work related to collection of state taxes, revenue estimates, and payment of claims against the state). From 1972 -1984, Judge Craddock served on the staffs of three Texas Governors, William P. Clements, Jr. (R), Mark White (D), and Dolph Briscoe (D). He supervised a staff managing federal grant funds for Governor Briscoe and worked as an Assistant General Counsel for Governors Clements and White. From 1964 to 1972, as an Assistant Attorney General of Texas, he litigated administrative law and civil rights cases representing state agencies in state and federal trial and appellate courts. Judge Craddock holds a B.A. degree in government and economics from the University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. degree from the University of Texas School of Law. He is licensed to practice law in Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. District Courts in all four Texas districts. Judge Craddock is a member of the ABA, Judicial Division, having chaired the ALJ section and serves on the drafting committee to revise the Model State Administrative Procedure Act, Uniform State Law Commission. He has earned a Certificate of Judicial Development in Administrative Law Adjudication Skills at The NJC, is a member of the American Bar Foundation, and is Board Certified in Administrative Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (1989-present). Judge Craddock is a past president of the National Association of Administrative Law Judges (NAALJ) and is a past recipient of the NAALJ Rosskopf career achievement award. He is married with 2 daughters and 2 grandsons.
- Hon. Paul J. DeMuniz
  Salem, OR
  Oregon’s elected Chief Justice since January 2006 after election to the Supreme Court in 2001 with a 1990 to the Oregon Court of Appeals. Justice DeMuniz began in private practice in 1977 after starting his career as a deputy public defender. He was raised in Portland, OR, and after high school enlisted in the U.S. Air Force serving in Vietnam (1968-69). He earned his BS from Portland State University in 1972 and his JD from Willamette University in Salem, OR.
  
  Throughout his distinguished career, Justice DeMuniz has championed issues related to access to justice, fundamental fairness in courts, and enforcement of the rule of law in the U.S. and around the world. He gained national recognition for his successful pro bono representation of a migrant worker wrongfully convicted of murder. That case publicized how linguistic and cultural differences can unfairly penalize immigrants in the American Justice System and led to significant state and national legal reform. In 2002 DeMuniz founded a rule of law partnership with judicial leaders in the Russian Far East, assisting judicial leaders, lawyers, and law professors in implementing legal reforms to promote the enforcement of the rule of law in Russia.
  
  Justice DeMuniz is frequently asked to speak nationally and internationally on maintaining the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, judicial administration, and the funding of state courts, including the NJC’s October 2009 Jackson Lecture and the October 2010 Justice William Brennan lecture at New York University. He also has served on the on the Board of Directors of the Conference of Chief Justices and recently completed a 3-year Harvard University Executive Session for State Court Leaders in the 21st Century.
- Thomas V. Girardi, Esq.
  Los Angeles, CA
  Partner, Girardi & Keese; Associate Professor, Loyola Law School; admitted to the International Academy of Trial Lawyers; member, the Inner Circle of Advocates; Immediate Past National President, the American Board of Trial Advocates; inductee, Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame; award for outstanding public support for the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, 2003; recipient, 2004 Ted Horn Memorial Award, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles; appointed to the Judicial Council of California by Chief Justice Ronald M. George.
- Patricia Glaser, Esq.
  Los Angeles, CA
  Senior partner and head of the litigation department of Glaser, Weil, Fink, Jacobs, Howard & Shapiro, LLP. since 1988. From 1973 to 1988, associate/partner (1979), Wyman, Bautzer, Christensen, Kuchel & Silbert; L.L.B. A 1969 graduate of The American University with a J.D. from Rutgers University in 1973. Her practice focuses on commercial litigation and providing general legal advice to publicly and privately held companies in such areas as real estate, contracts, antitrust, entertainment, banking and securities. She finds her litigation practice at Glaser, Weil to be "exciting, dynamic and intellectually stimulating." In 1998, Glaser was appointed by the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court to serve on the Judicial Council Task Force on the Quality of Justice. Glaser's other activities include: Governor on the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Board of Governors; the Board of Directors for the Legal Division of the Jewish Federation; the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Music Center Theatre Group, the Board of Directors of the Geffen Theater, Vice Chair and Past President of the Western Region of the American Friends of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; the UCLA Israel Studies Program Advisory Board; and a producer of legitimate theatre productions. She also serves as a CLE lecturer and has received a variety of honors including The Los Angeles Daily Journal's 100 most influential attorneys in California, she is one of the Law Dragon's 500 top attorneys in the United States, having been selected for this honor each year since the inception of this distinction; membership in a variety of national Who's Who publications.
- Hon. Denette Mouser
  Bentonville, AR
  Justice, Supreme Court of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation; Assistant General Counsel for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Bentonville, Arkansas. 2002-present; associate in the law firm of Godwin Gruber, P.C., Dallas, Texas, 2002; associate in the law firm of Locke Liddell & Sapp, LLP, Dallas, Texas, 1999-2002; licensed to practice in Oklahoma, 1999; licensed to practice in Texas, 2000; admitted to practice in the 5th and 10th Circuit Courts of Appeal; admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Oklahoma, and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Western, and Eastern Districts of Texas; American Inns of Court; Academic Achievement Award, Appellate Advocacy; American Indian Law Review, editor, 1998-99; member, Corporate Counsel Women of Color; member, Minority Corporate Counsel Association. Chair – Committee on Public Education, Federal Bar Association, Indian Law Section; former member, Board of Directors, National Native American Bar Association; member, ABA Legal Opportunity Scholarship Committee.
- Joseph P. Petito, Esq.
  Washington, D.C.
  Partner, Washington, DC office of PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, government and regulatory affairs and state public policy group, 1989-present. Federal lobbyist and head of state government affairs, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 1986-1989. Federal lobbyist and counsel, JCP&L/GPU, 19881-1985. Senior advisor, Representative Robert G. Torricelli (D-NJ), and Governor Brendan T. Byrne (NJ). Member, American Bar Association; New Jersey State Bar Association; American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, (Consultant Section); National Conference of Lawyers and CPAs (1999-2003); Past chairman and current member of the board, American Tort Reform Association; Co-Chair, Operating Committee, Civil Justice Reform Group. Rutgers University, B.A. Seton Hall University School of Law, J.D.
- Hon. James M. Riehl
  Port Orchard, WA
  Judge, Kitsap County District Court; graduate, University of San Diego School of Law, 1975; practiced law, Kitsap County, 1975-1982; president, Washington State District and Municipal Court Judges Association, 1995-1996; past member and co-chair, Board for Judicial Administration; former member, Washington State Gender and Justice Commission; current member Washington State Interpreter Commission, 1996 Judge of the Year, the Washington State Misdemeanant Corrections Association; 1997, organized first Kitsap County Domestic Violence Summit; past-chair National Conference of Specialized Court Judges of the American Bar Association; Judicial Division liaison, American Bar Association’s Commission on Domestic Violence; past-chair, Editorial Board of the ABA Judges’ Journal; former dean, Judicial College for the State of Washington; faculty/alumnus, The National Judicial College.
- Hon. W. Terry Ruckriegle
  Breckenridge, CO
  Is a Senior Judge and mediates civil and domestic cases after retiring as Chief Judge of the Fifth Judicial District in Colorado in September 2010, having served as such since 1994. He began his judicial service in 1984 in the same district. He served as Assistant District Attorney in the 5th Judicial District 1975-84. Judge Ruckriegle practiced law in the private sector from 1974-1976. He is a member of the ABA House of Delegates, Judicial Division, and former Chair of the Conference of State Trial Judges. Judge Ruckriegle serves as Chair of the ABA/NCSTJ Trial Court Standards committee, is Chair of the Colorado Bar Continuing Legal Education Board, as well as several other committees and Boards. He has attended and taught over a dozen courses at The National Judicial College. Judge Ruckriegle presided over the controversial Kobe Bryant sexual assault case. He was named 2010 Distinguished Jurist by the Colorado Chapter of the American Association of Matrimonial Lawyers and received the Judicial Excellence Award from the Colorado Judicial Institute.
- Kim Sinatra, Esq.
  Las Vegas, NV
  Sr. Vice President & General Counsel for Wynn Resorts, Ltd. since 2006 having joined the company in January of 2004 as Sr. Vice President and General Counsel of its development activities. Wynn Resorts, Ltd. (Nasdaq: WYNN) is the premier developer and operator of full service casino resorts. The company opened Wynn Las Vegas on April 28, 2005 and Wynn Macau on September 6, 2006. From 2000-2003 Ms. Sinatra served as Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (formerly Park Place Entertainment, Inc.). She has also served as General Counsel for The Griffin Group, Inc., Merv Griffin’s investment management company, as well as the head of the company's legal, human resources, and construction and development groups. During her tenure at The Griffin Group, Sinatra was directly involved in the company's casino, riverboat gaming, hotel and television and motion picture businesses. Previously, she was a partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, specializing in the acquisition, disposition and financing of real estate and dealing with real estate assets in major corporate mergers and acquisitions. She was a partner in the Miami office of Stearns, Weaver, Miller, Weissler, Alhadeff & Sitterson, where she handled matters related to real estate, bankruptcy and restructuring. Born in Jamestown, NY, Sinatra graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Wellesley College with a B.A. in economics, and earned her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. Ms. Sinatra, her husband, and three sons reside in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- Matt Sweeney
  Nashville, TN
  A former Davidson County, Tennessee Circuit Court Judge and Presiding Judge of the district’s Trial Courts, and a current shareholder of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, P.C. He is a 1987 graduate of the NJC General Jurisdiction program. Mr. Sweeney is a business trial and appellate lawyer, mediator and arbitrator. He also counsels attorneys on questions of legal ethics and professional responsibility and is listed in Best Lawyers in America. Mr. Sweeney was Chair of the Civil Justice Reform Act Advisory Group, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee (1995-1997), and Chair of the Merit Selection Panel for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee (2007). He is a member of the Nashville Bar Association (Board of Directors, 1993-1995) and of the Tennessee Bar Association (Professional Standards Study Committee and Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, 1995-1999; Vice Chair, Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, 2000-2006). Mr. Sweeney is a member of the American Bar Association (Litigation, Antitrust Sections and Forum Committee on Franchising). He is a Fellow of the Nashville Bar Foundation and the Tennessee Bar Foundation. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of Harry Phillips American Inns of Court. Mr. Sweeney has taught trial practice as an adjunct faculty member at Vanderbilt University Law School and civil procedure as a lecturer at the Nashville School of Law. He is a regular speaker and panelist in continuing legal education programs on trial practice, ADR, and ethics and professionalism.
- Mark G. Tratos, Esq.
  Las Vegas, NV
  Managing Shareholder of the Las Vegas office of Greenberg Traurig since 2005, and co-founder of the law firm of Quirk & Tratos in 1994 specializing in contract negotiation, litigation, and prosecution of copyrights, trademarks and rights of publicity claims, entertainment law, art law, gaming, and high technology in entertainment and gaming. Mark has been a member of the adjunct faculty of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas since 1984. He currently teaches Entertainment Law, Rights of Publicity and Privacy Law, and the Law of Cyberspace at UNLV's William S. Boyd School of Law; The Business of Entertainment at UNLV's Hotel college; and Entertainment and Fine Arts Law at the College of Fine and Performing Arts. Mark and other members of the firm conduct Continuing Legal Education programs across the country on entertainment, Internet and multimedia law, sponsored by such groups as the Practicing Law Institute, The Rutter Group, the National Business Institute, the American Bar Association, and the State Bar of Nevada, among others. Mark has written numerous articles, including several on internet gaming and the distribution of entertainment content on the internet. Serves as Chairman of the Board of Visitors for the Lewis & Clark School of Law, Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Lewis & Clark School of Law, is a member of the UNLV Boyd School of Law Board of Visitors, and is on the advisory committee of the Southwestern School of Law Entertainment Program.
- Hon. John M. Vittone
  Silver Spring, MD
  John Vittone was appointed by the Secretary of State to serve on the Foreign Service Grievance Board upon retirement as the chief judge of the U.S. Department of Labor in March 2010. He served 15 years as chief judge, first becoming an administrative law judge in 1980. Prior to becoming a judge, he served on the legal staffs of the U.S. Department of Justice (Antitrust Division) and the Federal Trade Commission. Judge Vittone is an active member of the ABA and has served as the Judicial Member of the Board of Governors, Chair of the Justice Center, as a member of the Commission on Diversity in the Profession, the Commission on Law and Aging, a member of the House of Delegates, and Chair of the National Conference of Administrative Law Judges. He is also a public member of the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) and chair of the adjudication Committee for the ACUS.