I grew up in Sacramento and graduated from Rio Americano High School. I graduated magna cum laude from UC Berkeley in an honors program and from UCLA Law School. During law school I was an extern for a federal judge in the Eastern District here in Sacramento. Since law school I have practiced here in the field of Social Security law, but in the earlier years of my practice handled a wide range of other legal cases also; my legal experience is particularly broad. I have handled criminal and civil jury trials, even adversary trials in bankruptcy court; I have handled civil rights and wrongful termination cases, real estate litigation, and both civil and criminal appeals. As my practice came to focus on disability cases, I began handling employer-provided and private disability claims (which usually involve opposing insurance companies) and government disability-retirement cases, as well.