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NEWS > Media Coverage > Alumni in the News > 2004 Stories >
November 2005
Ex-Hill staffer tapped for DHS drug post
United Press International (11/11/05)
President Bush is tapping a former House staffer to be director of the new Office of Counter-narcotics Enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security...
The White House said Friday that Bush was nominating Uttam Dhillon of California to the post, subject to Senate confirmation...
Dhillon is currently associate deputy attorney general at the Department of Justice, but before that he held a number of committee staff positions in the House of Representatives under then-Rep. Chris Cox, R-CA...
Dhillon worked most recently for Cox as majority chief counsel and deputy staff director, when the California congressman headed what was then the House Select Committee on Homeland Security...
Dhillon received his bachelor's degree from California State University at Sacramento and his master's degree from the University of California at San Diego. He received his JD from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley...
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Judge Serves Justice With Side of Wry Humor
The Recorder (11/08/05)
When Latasha Libron first appeared before Alameda County Superior Court Judge Jon Tigar in October, the judge's mood was pleasant.
"Good morning, ma'am," Tigar said with a smile. "What's your name?"
Minutes later, Libron was explaining why she missed a court hearing in her breach-of-contract case against AutoZone Inc. and several other businesses. A "consultant" was no longer helping Libron with her case, and she needed time to find a new attorney.
It was a situation that would draw at least a heavy sigh and a frown from many judges, but Tigar seemed patient.
"Everybody gets one time to miss a case management conference," he added minutes later. "You have yours."
As Tigar told attorneys in another case later that morning, there are many things he likes about being a judge. Being grumpy isn't one of them...
Tigar also doesn't miss an opportunity to inject humor into a trial, where appropriate. Gindler recalled how Tigar asked a former Genentech chief financial officer whether there were any other financial people at the company when he was there. When he said no, Tigar called him "the OFO - the only financial officer."
Tigar majored in economics and English at Williams College in Massachusetts, and upon graduating worked for a short time in advertising. After returning to Los Angeles and doing some paralegal work, Tigar became more interested in legal work and enrolled at Boalt Hall School of Law, which was also where his father graduated...
If he asks anything of lawyers who appear in his courtroom, it's probably civility and cooperation. But he doesn't expect everyone to agree on every issue...
"I hope that sometimes I'm successful at promoting professional courtesy because I believe it's the better part of the profession and because I believe most lawyers would rather live in that world," he said...
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