Ninth Annual Law Rocks Los Angeles (2020)

QUICK LINKS: Bands / Nonprofits / Judges / Photo / Video

Friday and Saturday, March 6 & 7, 2020
Whisky A Go Go
$160K raised

Friday Winner & Judges’ Choice Award: Castle of Funk of Cox, Castle & Nicholson for United Friends of the Children

Saturday Winner & Judges’ Choice Award: Attractive Nuisance of Allen Matkins / Buchalter for California Strong

Law Rocks took over the Whisky this past weekend, with 11 bands of rock star laywers battling it out for local nonprofits. Competition was fierce, the sets were awesome, and the Whisky was packed with fans.

Law Rocks wouldn't exist without the support of all the bands and firms - major thanks to every participating band! Thanks also to the Whisky team, the Rock Panel of Judges, and our nonprofit guests. None of this would be possible without our sponsors, making the show possible - thank you to Perkins Coie; Raines Feldman; JAMS; Buchalter; Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete; Glancy Prongay & Murray; Allen Matkins; casetext; McNicholas & McNicholas; Pillsbury; Vega & Rivera; Cox Castle Nicholson; Cytovance Biologics; Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp; Project Farma; Secretariat; Perez & Caballero; and Wolf Greenfield.

Thanks for everything, LA! See you next year for our 10th anniversary event…

FRIDAY BANDS

Bands / Nonprofits / Judges / Photo / Video

Featured
The Appeals
The Appeals

With talent from Vega & Rivera, LLP; Perez & Caballero, APC; McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP; Practus, LLP; Law Offices of Patricia Higuera
Rocking Saturday for Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic

Confidential
Confidential

Featuring legal talent from Buchalter; Travelers
Rocking Saturday for Little Kids Rock

Confidential is a rock band straight out of Irvine with a splash from south of the border. What started as a four man "Dad" band is now a five piece rock n' roll all night good time show comprised of: Jason Goldstein (Bass Guitar, Shareholder, Buchalter), Bob Dato (Lead Guitar/Mandolin, Of-Counsel, Buchalter), Abram Rodriguez (Lead Singer, Teacher, Mayfair High), Patty "Snaps" Oceguera (Drums, Legal Interpreter) and Matty West (Rhythm Guitar, Teacher, Coach, Author). There always remains a chance of one or more "special guests."

The Confidential set list offers a broad range of appeal for music aficionados - from the novice to rock diehards like us. And remember, no matter what happens before, at or after a Confidential show: "Your Secret Is Safe With Us."

Down By Law
Down By Law

With legal talent from Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete; Reed Smith
Rocking Saturday for LACBA Counsel for Justice

As hard-core devotees of the Starland Vocal Band, we first met at the Annual SVB Convention in Dubuque in 2012. Upon realizing that we that we all worked for the same law firm, we spontaneously broke into a 4 and a half-part harmony of “Afternoon Delight.” After that, we knew that we had to form our own band to make awesome music together. Our motto: OBOS!

Lodestar
Lodestar

Featuring legal talent from Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP
Rocking Saturday for Kind, Inc. (Kids in Need of Defense). Kind helps ensure that no child appears in immigration court without high quality legal representation.

Lodestar is a hard rock band that won both the overall competition and the Judges’ Choice Award at night one of Law Rocks LA 2019.

Marc Godino, guitarist for Lodestar, is a senior partner at Glancy Prongay & Murray, and along with bassist Daniel Cubert have been playing music together for over 40 years. Combined with drummer John Ferrigno from Hooper Lundy & Bookman, percussionist/attorney Melissa Wright, and  vocalist/attorney Gary Yones, Lodestar promises to deliver a high energy, guitar driven rock experience.

Privileged Communications
Privileged Communications

Starring legal professionals from Perkins Coie
Rocking Saturday for City of Hope

Four-time Law Rocks champion Privileged Communications formed in early 2013 to represent Perkins Coie in the Law Rocks competition in Hollywood, California against other firms such as Latham & Watkins and DLA Piper. Privileged Communications comprises partner Michael Wise on lead vocals, partner Joe Hamilton on guitar, partner Lara Dueppen and counsel Oliver Gold on keyboards and drums, respectively, and non-Perkins attorney Niall Fordyce on bass. While Privileged Communications does not have any available recordings currently, the group is in contract discussions with several large record labels and expects to perform at the Super Bowl Halftime Show within the next few years.

Attractive Nuisance
Attractive Nuisance

Los Angeles
Starring legal talent from Allen Matkins and Buchalter
Rocking for California Strong
Featuring an appearance by Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun

Attractive Nuisance roared onto the Whisky stage in 2014 for its inaugural Law Rocks! set. The Nuisance won the Judges' Choice Award in 2016 and won both the Saturday night concert and the Judges' Choice Award in 2017, 2019, and 2020. The Nuisance has played gigs all over Southern California, from Agoura Hills to Hermosa Beach. Law Rocks is thrilled that the Nuisance is bringing back its mosh-inspiring sound in support of California Strong, which provides financial and beneficial aid to individuals and groups in California affected by natural disasters or other tragic and extraordinary events.

SATURDAY BANDS

Featured
The Appeals
The Appeals

With talent from Vega & Rivera, LLP; Perez & Caballero, APC; McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP; Practus, LLP; Law Offices of Patricia Higuera
Rocking Saturday for Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic

Confidential
Confidential

Featuring legal talent from Buchalter; Travelers
Rocking Saturday for Little Kids Rock

Confidential is a rock band straight out of Irvine with a splash from south of the border. What started as a four man "Dad" band is now a five piece rock n' roll all night good time show comprised of: Jason Goldstein (Bass Guitar, Shareholder, Buchalter), Bob Dato (Lead Guitar/Mandolin, Of-Counsel, Buchalter), Abram Rodriguez (Lead Singer, Teacher, Mayfair High), Patty "Snaps" Oceguera (Drums, Legal Interpreter) and Matty West (Rhythm Guitar, Teacher, Coach, Author). There always remains a chance of one or more "special guests."

The Confidential set list offers a broad range of appeal for music aficionados - from the novice to rock diehards like us. And remember, no matter what happens before, at or after a Confidential show: "Your Secret Is Safe With Us."

Down By Law
Down By Law

With legal talent from Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete; Reed Smith
Rocking Saturday for LACBA Counsel for Justice

As hard-core devotees of the Starland Vocal Band, we first met at the Annual SVB Convention in Dubuque in 2012. Upon realizing that we that we all worked for the same law firm, we spontaneously broke into a 4 and a half-part harmony of “Afternoon Delight.” After that, we knew that we had to form our own band to make awesome music together. Our motto: OBOS!

Lodestar
Lodestar

Featuring legal talent from Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP
Rocking Saturday for Kind, Inc. (Kids in Need of Defense). Kind helps ensure that no child appears in immigration court without high quality legal representation.

Lodestar is a hard rock band that won both the overall competition and the Judges’ Choice Award at night one of Law Rocks LA 2019.

Marc Godino, guitarist for Lodestar, is a senior partner at Glancy Prongay & Murray, and along with bassist Daniel Cubert have been playing music together for over 40 years. Combined with drummer John Ferrigno from Hooper Lundy & Bookman, percussionist/attorney Melissa Wright, and  vocalist/attorney Gary Yones, Lodestar promises to deliver a high energy, guitar driven rock experience.

Privileged Communications
Privileged Communications

Starring legal professionals from Perkins Coie
Rocking Saturday for City of Hope

Four-time Law Rocks champion Privileged Communications formed in early 2013 to represent Perkins Coie in the Law Rocks competition in Hollywood, California against other firms such as Latham & Watkins and DLA Piper. Privileged Communications comprises partner Michael Wise on lead vocals, partner Joe Hamilton on guitar, partner Lara Dueppen and counsel Oliver Gold on keyboards and drums, respectively, and non-Perkins attorney Niall Fordyce on bass. While Privileged Communications does not have any available recordings currently, the group is in contract discussions with several large record labels and expects to perform at the Super Bowl Halftime Show within the next few years.

Attractive Nuisance
Attractive Nuisance

Los Angeles
Starring legal talent from Allen Matkins and Buchalter
Rocking for California Strong
Featuring an appearance by Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun

Attractive Nuisance roared onto the Whisky stage in 2014 for its inaugural Law Rocks! set. The Nuisance won the Judges' Choice Award in 2016 and won both the Saturday night concert and the Judges' Choice Award in 2017, 2019, and 2020. The Nuisance has played gigs all over Southern California, from Agoura Hills to Hermosa Beach. Law Rocks is thrilled that the Nuisance is bringing back its mosh-inspiring sound in support of California Strong, which provides financial and beneficial aid to individuals and groups in California affected by natural disasters or other tragic and extraordinary events.

THE NONPROFITS

QUICK LINKS: Bands / Nonprofits / Judges / Photo / Video

ROCK PANEL OF JUDGES

Bands / Nonprofits / Judges / Photo / Video

Featured
Trey Alexander
Trey Alexander

Trey is a survivor of 10 years in the Radio Industry during it final heyday. He was a music director and afternoon drive DJ at various stations throughout the midwest before being scooped up by MTV in the 90's because he kinda looked like Alan Hunter. It wasn't long after arriving in New York that Nirvana, ended Trey's MTV stint. Everyone was going grunge and he was unable to grow any facial hair. He moved on to other areas of the entertainment industry, but is proud of some of his past escapades, such as playing golf with Journey, drinking several gallons of beer with Brian Johnson of AC/DC, and being fired from "Friends" for saying something stupid to Jennifer Aniston. He is most proud of his former world record of Hot Tub Sitting (4 days at 105 degrees). He thanks his wife for being so patient when it came time to have children.

Marc Cimino
Marc Cimino

Marc Cimino is Chief Operating Officer of Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG). Since joining in 2015, he has led the company’s global business strategy, overseeing public policy and business development. In 2017, he played a key role in negotiating and securing Facebook’s first-ever licensing deal with a major music publishing company, creating an entirely new revenue stream for songwriters on the world’s most popular social media platforms across Facebook, Instagram and Oculus. He has been instrumental in UMPG’s signings of iconic artists including Bruce Springsteen, Jack White, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, Prince, Linkin Park, Dave Matthews Band, Disney Music Group, and R.E.M., among others.

A respected industry executive with more than 20 years of experience in both publishing and recorded music, Cimino previously worked at Warner Bros. Records for a decade where he rose from Vice President to Executive Vice President. In this position, he served as head of Business and Legal Affairs and A&R Administration, playing an integral role in directing the organization's strategy in both traditional and new business initiatives.

Laura Ferreiro
Laura Ferreiro

Laura Ferreiro is the founder Music for Good and M4G Media, which connects brands and musicians with reputable non-profits, helps tell their stories, and promotes musicians and the good causes they care about most. She previously served as West Coast Editor of British music magazine NME, and is a longtime music journalist contributing to Yahoo, the Los Angeles Times, Variety, LA Weekly, IGN.com, Nylon and Rolling Stone. She has also worked extensively in marketing, communications & PR, with brands including Red Bull and Gretsch Guitars, and non-profits such as WaterAid, Easterseals, MALDEF and the Levitt Foundation. When she’s not scribbling away or attending shows, she enjoys hiking and making pottery.

Shawn Dailey
Shawn Dailey

Shawn Dailey has been a professional touring and recording musician since the age of 17. Most recently he played bass for Courtney Love / Hole. He has also toured and recorded with several other critically acclaimed rock bands. He currently serves as Executive Director for the Take Me to The River Music Education Initiative, a charity that seeks to inspire a deeper understanding of civil rights, music history, and cross-generational collaboration.

Joe Trofino
Joe Trofino

Joe Trofino is the Deputy General Counsel and a senior executive in the Legal Affairs Department at ICM Partners, one of the world’s largest talent and literary agencies with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and London, where he focuses on general corporate legal matters including litigation, real estate, employment, business development and legal policy matters. The agency represents creative and technical talent in the fields of motion picture, television, books, music, live performance, branded entertainment, and new media. Mr. Trofino has been working for ICM Partners since 2008, and currently lives in Culver City with his wife Melissa, son/future NHL #1 draft pick Crosby and daughter Mila.

Chris Poole
Chris Poole

Chris Poole is President and Chief Executive Officer of JAMS, the largest provider of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services worldwide.

Poole joined JAMS in 2006 and since that time has led the organization through an unprecedented period of growth, which also helped elevate the ADR industry as a whole. In his role as President and CEO, Poole works closely with senior management and the highly-trained panelists who own the company. He is actively involved in recruiting high-profile ADR talent to the JAMS panel and overseeing the operations and marketing functions across all locations worldwide.

Poole’s extensive business experience in the legal industry makes him uniquely qualified for the head post at JAMS. Prior to joining JAMS, Poole was CEO at Thomson Elite, part of The Thomson Corporation. Under Poole’s leadership, Thomson Elite, the software division of Thomson’s $3-billion Legal and Regulatory Market Group, grew to be one of the most successful suppliers to the legal industry. At Thomson, he was responsible for overseeing multiple product lines with 800 employees. During his tenure, Elite dominated its core market and became a global leader in legal software, achieving a market share of over 60 percent of the largest law firms in the world.

Poole was COO of Elite Information Systems from 1995 to 1998, Chair and CEO of Elite Information Group from 1999 to 2003, and President and CEO of Thomson Elite from 2003 to 2006. Before joining Elite, Poole was Executive Director of Latham & Watkins LLP in Los Angeles. Latham is one of the largest law firms in the world, with more than 2,600 attorneys in 30 offices around the globe. He served as Executive Director from 1993 to 1995, and prior to that, he was the firm’s Director of Technology from 1989 to 1993.

Poole was the recipient of the 2002 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He earned his B.A. in Economics from Harvard University in 1979 and his M.B.A. in Computers and Marketing from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA in 1984.

He is based in the JAMS Irvine Headquarters and lives with his family in Southern California.

Devon Engel
Devon Engel

Devon Engel is Vice President and General Counsel of General Dynamics Mission Systems, which is headquartered in Fair Lakes, Virginia. With approximately 13,500 employees worldwide, Mission Systems develops and delivers mission critical life saving products and systems across land, sea, air, space and cyber domains.

Devon earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology from Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. He earned his law degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he graduated with honors and was a member of the Law Review.

Devon started his legal career at Crowell & Moring in Washington, D.C., where he specialized in government contract law. In 1996, Devon moved to Scottsdale to go in-house with Motorola. That business was sold to General Dynamics in 2001 and is now part of General Dynamics Mission Systems. Devon has been active in the government contract legal community throughout his career and has published numerous articles and lectured frequently on government contract and other legal topics.

Devon is also very active in his community. He was a member of the Board of Directors for DrugFreeAZKids.org for ten years, serving as Chairman of the Board for three years. He has also been a long time supporter of the United Way, the American Diabetes Association, Law Rocks, Sentinels of Freedom and numerous other charitable organizations. While in private practice in DC, Devon provided pro bono legal services on adoption matters, including the successful opposition of a high profile petition to the Supreme Court.

Devon splits his time between DC and Scottsdale, where he and his wife Carla have four kids between them. To unwind, Devon enjoys playing golf and tennis with his kids, cycling, hiking and reading. He is also a bass player and plays in a rock and roll cover band in Scottsdale called Retro-Active and an original band based in Atlanta called Several Dudes. Devon has won Law Rocks in DC and Phoenix with two different bands.

Greg Doll
Greg Doll

Greg Doll is the founding partner of Doll Amir & Eley, a 20-lawyer litigation firm with offices in Los Angeles and Manhattan Beach. He has been a drummer for 30 years, playing professionally on the Sunset Strip in the 90s. His lawyer band, Big Dicta, played Law Rocks for the last six years, taking home the top prize in 2015 and the Judges’ Choice award for four of the six years. Big Dicta got a chance to play in the Law Rocks 10-year anniversary show in London this past summer, which, when they were asked how fun it was on a scale of 1-10, responded, unsurprisingly, “11.” Big Dicta is taking a year off this year to focus on their aging rock star conditions such as tinnitus and tendinitis, but are super psyched to return to the fun next year!

Dan Flores
Dan Flores

Dan Flores is an Executive Vice President and the head of litigation at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., where he is responsible for managing all litigation and pre-litigation disputes for the company worldwide, responding to government investigations/inquiries, advising on antitrust and FCPA compliance, production-related claims, and risk management. Prior to joining MGM, he practiced in the Los Angeles office of Gibson Dunn in the areas of entertainment, intellectual property, and antitrust law. Dan received his J.D. degree from Columbia Law School in 2002 and graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Music from the University of Nevada Las Vegas in 1999. He serves on the board of the Jazz Education Network, the leading organization supporting college and high school jazz educators and students, and he has previously served on the President’s Council at the Colburn School. Dan currently plays tenor saxophone with Gary Greene and His Big Band of Barristers, an institution in the Los Angeles legal community that has allegedly been declared as America’s #1 Legal Band by the American Bar Association. Once upon a time he could also play clarinet, guitar, bass, and piano reasonably well but now he is admittedly kind of a hack. Dan’s favorite non-lawyer band is Fishbone.

Peter Von Haam
Peter Von Haam

Peter von Haam is a government ethics specialist and former Deputy Attorney General at the California Department of Justice. A native of Georgia, Peter formed a band in Athens in the mid-1980s. That group (Rude Boy Romance) headlined at the fabled 40 Watt Club, opened for Widespread Panic at the slightly-less-fabled Uptown Lounge, and headlined at the final music festival at “The Church”. At some point, Peter let his older (and wiser?) friends talk him into leaving that gig for the more conventional life of a full-time college student in California. He kept his passion and love of rock music through college, law school, and work. Peter currently performs as the bass guitarist for Friends You Can Kill (facebook.com/friendsyoucankill), an LA-based industrial rock band, and Benjamin the Wolf (benjaminthewolf.com), an LA-based indie rock band. He also dabbles in alt-country music composition, home studio recording, and senseless collecting of guitar gear.

PHOTOS

Bands / Nonprofits / Judges / Photo / Video

VIDEO

Bands / Nonprofits / Judges / Photo / Video

Miss the show? Just want to relive it? Sit back and enjoy each set!

NIGHT ONE

Coming soon!

NIGHT TWO

Coming soon!

QUICK LINKS: Bands / Nonprofits / Judges / Photo / Video