I received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Louisville/Brandeis School of Law and a Diploma in Advanced International Legal Studies from the University of the Pacific/McGeorge School of Law. My graduate studies were completed at the University of Salzburg, and I was employed as an intern by a maritime law firm in London.

I was a partner in a law firm in St. Croix, Virgin Islands for 10 years before opening my own general practice. While in St. Croix I served as President of the Virgin Islands Bar Association.

I’ve practiced law in Sonoma for 10 years—my offices are located at 620 Broadway—and I am a member of the State Bar of California. I appear in civil, criminal, and admiralty trials and appeals in both Federal and State courts, and I have served as a judicial arbitrator for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and Marin County Superior Court.

Sondra and I were founders and former owners of Chipshape Cookies & Yogurt with retail stores on the Plaza and in San Rafael. I am a member of the Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce, and I have served as a director.

Perhaps my proudest moment as a citizen of Sonoma was when I authored the successful 1999 voter initiative known as Measure A, which prohibited the development of Upper Mountain Cemetery as a resort hotel.

Over the years I have been active in civic affairs in a number of ways; and am a:

• founding member of the North of the Mission Neighborhood Association and serve as a director.
• member of the Trails Committee of the Community Services and Environmental Commission, and served as a member of the Architectural Review Commission.
• founding member of the Sonoma Hillside Preservation Alliance and a member of the Sonoma League for Historic Preservation.