Daily Journal Names Two Grads to ‘Top 20 Under 40’ List
Two Boalt alums are among the Daily Journal’s “Top 20 Under 40” lawyers for 2006, a yearly list recognizing young stars in the legal profession throughout California. They are Kelly Dermody ’93 and Stephanie Powers Skaff ’95.
Dermody, a partner at Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, was recognized for her representation of employees and consumers in class-action cases. Last year, she served as one of the lead plaintiff’s lawyers who settled a $50 million race discrimination class-action case against Abercrombie & Fitch stores. “I have always identified with the underdog and people who have been historically marginalized and underrepresented,” Dermody said in the article.
Skaff, a partner at Farella Braun + Martel, leads a team of lawyers handling a more than $30 million false claims case against Tutor-Saliba Corp. involving public contracts at the San Francisco International Airport. She specializes in business and intellectual property litigation. Before attending Boalt, Skaff worked for a large public accounting firm in Los Angeles conducting and reviewing audits. “I’m really lucky actually that I kind of stumbled on [law] by an indirect route,” she said in the article.
(2/9/06)
