Women in Law & Leadership Summit: West
Power, Influence & Leadership That Holds Under Pressure
Women in senior legal and corporate roles are operating in environments defined by disruption, shifting expectations, and constant scrutiny. The challenge is no longer access, it’s converting position into authority, influence, and measurable impact.
This summit is built around the real mechanics of leadership at that level.
Across the day, the conversation moves beyond visibility to examine how power is built, reinforced, and sometimes quietly eroded, through the systems and decisions that shape who is heard, trusted, and advanced. It also addresses what leadership requires over time: adapting through disruption, navigating ethical complexity under scrutiny, and knowing when, and how, to reinvent.
How influence is established in high-stakes moments.
How credibility holds when pressure intensifies.
How leadership becomes durable, not situational.
*5 CLE Credits CA State
- Leading Through Disruption: Redefining Power, Purpose & Progress
- From Token to Trailblazer: Building Enduring Power for Women in Leadership
- The Currency of Advancement: Credit, Visibility and Compensation
- Who Opens the Door? Building Sponsorship Pathways That Last
- The Power of the Pivot: Reinvention and Resilience in Women’s Leadership
- Voice, Visibility & Influence: The New Metrics of Leadership Success
- Law, Leadership & Legitimacy: The Ethics Tightrope for Today’s Women Leaders
- Micro-Bias, Macro Impact: Rewriting the Culture of Leadership
- Chief Legal Officer
- C-Suite Executives
- General Counsel
- Deputy General Counsel
- Associate/Assistant General Counsel
- (Senior) Vice President, Legal
- (Assistant) Vice President
- Chief Compliance Officer
- Chief Operating Officer
- Head of Legal Operations
- (Senior) Corporate Counsel
- (Senior) Counsel
- Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer / Head of Inclusion & Belonging
Agenda
Disruption has become the new constant—from global instability to AI acceleration to shifting social norms. Women leaders are at the forefront of navigating this complexity, redefining what resilience, innovation, and purpose mean in real time. This session examines the evolving skill set required to thrive amid uncertainty—how to lead transformation with empathy, future-proof decision-making, and a sense of purpose that inspires enduring progress.
This panel will explore:
• Turning disruption into opportunity and sustained influence
• Adaptive leadership techniques for managing volatility and complexity
• Balancing innovation with empathy in organizational transformation
• Reimagining leadership to align values with progress
Despite decades of progress, women’s foothold in senior leadership remains fragile amid DEI rollbacks and shifting corporate priorities. The challenge is no longer access—it’s endurance. This session examines how women can transform visibility into lasting influence, convert symbolic roles into structural power, and lead with authenticity in environments still calibrated for conformity. The conversation moves from representation to strategy, exploring what it takes to secure real authority, build trust, and create leadership pipelines that don’t regress with the next corporate trend.
This panel will explore:
• Turning representation into enduring authority and measurable influence
• Mentorship and sponsorship strategies that prevent leadership backsliding
• Navigating evolving expectations around inclusion and leadership style
• Building political capital and executive trust in uncertain times
Shahzia M. Rahman is the Head of Corporate Legal at Block, Inc. (NYSE: XYZ), the S&P 500 financial technology company behind Square, Cash App, Afterpay, and TIDAL. In her role, she advises executives and the board of directors on corporate governance, securities law, capital markets, and strategic initiatives. She also works closely with cross-functional leadership to navigate the regulatory and governance considerations that accompany the growing use of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies across the business. Beyond advising on AI governance, she actively experiments with AI-driven tools to reimagine how legal work gets done.
Rahman brings more than two decades of experience spanning leading law firm and senior in-house roles in the technology sector. Her work centers on guiding organizations through periods of strategic transformation on a global scale while building resilient, high-performing teams.
She has also served as an adjunct professor at University of California Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings), where she taught a practical skills course on representing startup companies.
Bhakti Shivarekar is a technology attorney and data privacy leader with nearly two decades of experience navigating the intersection of commercial law, privacy, and AI governance. She currently serves as Assistant General Counsel at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, where she leads high-stakes commercial transactions and drives revenue growth across North American telecommunications markets. Over the course of her career, she has held senior legal roles at Juniper Networks, LinkedIn, and Just Global, building privacy programs, closing complex deals, and advising C-suite executives across global markets. She holds the Fellow of Information Privacy designation, the IAPP’s highest honor, as well as certifications in European and US privacy law, privacy management, and AI governance. Admitted to the California and New York bars, she is a sought-after voice on privacy, AI governance, and the evolving role of in-house counsel in technology-driven organizations. She has an LLB from ILS Law College, Pune, LLM in corporate law from the University of Pune, and LLM in IP, Commerce, and Technology law from the UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law.
Kelly Smith is a Partner at Allen Matkins in Orange County, practicing as a commercial litigator and construction lawyer. She represents developers, owners, and lenders in complex construction disputes — covering design and construction defects, project delays, and mechanics liens — while also providing strategic contract counseling to minimize risk and manage project close-out. Her construction experience spans infrastructure, commercial, hospitality, mixed-use, and residential projects, complemented by an active practice in high-stakes real estate, business, and employment disputes.
Kelly launched her career clerking for two federal judges in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California and went on to serve as a prosecutor, building deep courtroom experience that includes multiple jury trials. She is an Associate Fellow of the Construction Lawyers Society of America — an invitation-only honorary society — and a member of the National Association of Women in Construction. She has been recognized consecutively in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch from 2022 through 2026 across commercial litigation, construction law, and construction litigation. She earned her J.D. magna cum laude from the University of San Diego School of Law.
Jamillia P. Ferris is a Chambers-ranked partner and co-chair of the Antitrust & Competition Practice at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Based in Washington, D.C., she represents clients across diverse industries in high-stakes merger clearance, civil conduct investigations, and strategic antitrust matters before the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. Jamillia’s experience spans complex transactional work — including representations in major technology, healthcare, and consumer deals — and defense against hostile takeover attempts, helping clients navigate nuanced regulatory landscapes with clear, business-focused guidance.
Prior to joining Wilson Sonsini, Jamillia held leadership positions at both the Antitrust Division of the DOJ and the Federal Communications Commission, where she oversaw major merger reviews, including AT&T’s acquisition of DIRECTV. She is actively involved in shaping antitrust discourse through leadership in the American Bar Association’s Section of Antitrust Law and speaks regularly to global audiences on developments in competition law. In addition to her practice, Jamillia serves on the board of the D.C. Volunteer Lawyers Project and the Advisory Council of Lemonada Media.
Compensation tells only part of the story. The real equity gap lies in who gets credit, visibility, and advancement opportunities. Women in senior roles continue to encounter uneven recognition for comparable results—particularly in team-based or high-pressure environments. This discussion reframes equity as a holistic system encompassing pay, recognition, and opportunity flow. It examines how organizations can align compensation structures, audit recognition bias, and build cultures that reward impact, not just optics.
This panel will explore:
• How recognition gaps perpetuate pay and promotion inequities
• Concrete tools for auditing and recalibrating credit and compensation systems
• Negotiation approaches that reassert value and authority
• Embedding fairness through transparent structures and leadership accountability
Sue Bunnell is a legal leader at a global Fortune 50 company, and rounds out her days with career therapy and teaching. She leverages 20+years of experience in technology, IP, security/privacy, and regulatory compliance when counseling executives in Wells Fargo’s Chief Administrative Office related to its global operations, including incident management, physical security, and safety issues worldwide.
Ms. Bunnell is an outspoken advocate for professional development, and runs career advancement programming inside and outside Wells Fargo, including as an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco, and past stints as President/Chair of LWT: Advancing Women in Leadership and Director on the Board of the Professional BusinessWomen of California. She is a frequent host on podcasts encouraging women to stretch and grow in their careers, and enjoys speaking and facilitating presentations and workshops on effective self-advocacy and negotiation skills.
By codifying institutional knowledge and prioritizing data-driven decision-making, she builds the operational infrastructure necessary for impactful technology to thrive. Her background spans the full lifecycle of high-stakes commercial agreements—including SaaS, intellectual property licensing, and global production deals—complemented by a deep focus on navigating complex regulatory landscapes such as GDPR and CCPA.
Ashley L. Shively is a privacy and class action attorney in Holland & Knight’s San Francisco office. She also serves as the Data Strategy, Security & Privacy Practice Group Leader.
Ms. Shively counsels public and private companies on consumer protection and data privacy issues with respect to product development, sign-up and point-of-sale procedures, auto-renewals and subscription products, digital marketing, regulatory compliance, incident response, and state and federal enforcement. She regularly advises clients on operationalizing the requirements of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA), Colorado Privacy Act (CPA), Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA) and analogous state privacy statues and legislation. In addition, she counsels businesses on risk mitigation with respect to the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), Drivers Privacy Protection Act (DPPA), Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act of 2003, Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), state privacy and unfair and deceptive practices laws, and similar legal and regulatory requirements.
Ms. Shively focuses her robust litigation practice on the defense of financial institutions and businesses in consumer class and individual actions, as well as clients facing so-called mass arbitrations. She has extensive experience defending privacy, data breach, false advertising, unfair business practices, call recording and website wiretap claims, particularly under the VPPA, Federal Wiretap Act and similar state statues like CIPA.
Leadership trajectories are shaped by who gets invited into rooms where decisions are made. This session focuses on the mechanics of access: how sponsorship opens doors, transfers credibility, and builds durable leadership pathways for women. Rather than relying on informal networks or individual goodwill, the discussion centers on designing sponsorship systems that withstand leadership turnover, market shifts, and cultural pushback. It positions sponsorship as a long-term investment in leadership continuity and organizational strength.
This panel will explore:
- How access and advocacy shape leadership outcomes over time
- The role of senior leaders in transferring credibility and opportunity
- Designing sponsorship pathways that scale beyond individual relationships
- Preventing leadership backsliding by institutionalizing advancement support
Gauri Manglik is Vice President, Head of Legal, Privacy, and AI Governance at GoFundMe, where she leads the company’s global legal function, including privacy and AI governance. With nearly two decades of broad legal experience—including corporate, commercial, regulatory, and product counseling—Gauri is a strategic business partner known for her pragmatic, solutions-oriented approach.
At GoFundMe, Gauri oversees legal risk management, negotiates complex commercial agreements, and drives enterprise-wide privacy and AI Governance programs. Gauri is recognized for her cross-functional leadership and ability to build scalable legal frameworks that enable innovation while safeguarding trust and transparency. Her work is grounded in a strong commitment to integrity, accountability, and empowering teams to navigate complexity with confidence.
Ali is a partner in the firm’s Financial Services Litigation Department. Ali’s practice focuses on financial services litigation, complex commercial cases and trust and estate disputes. She successfully advocates for her clients at all stages of litigation including taking and defending depositions, drafting and arguing dispositive motions, navigating complex e-discovery issues, handling high-stakes settlement negotiations, and preparing for and taking matters to trial, as well as post-trial work if necessary. Ali has defended numerous class actions and multi-district litigation, involving all phases of class action litigation including e-discovery, class certification and class settlement. Ali has litigated numerous cases which triggered application of Articles 3 and 4 of the Uniform Commercial Code. Ali also recently successfully defended against a challenge to her client’s $18 million estate plan – which persisted up until the literal eve of trial. That defense included defending against three separate lawsuits and two appeals and resulted in a $500,000+ award of fees and costs back to the client.
Ali has additional experience assisting clients in trust and estate litigation matters involving undue influence allegations, accounting disputes, life estate valuations, inter-family disputes over distribution of assets, special trustee’s fiduciary duties in administering family trust worth over $100 million, trustee’s fiduciary duties under Hawaii law in administering family trust worth over $30 million with properties in Hawaii and California. Additionally, Ali has significant pro bono experience litigating asylum and prisoner rights’ cases.
Ali served as a law clerk to the Honorable William Alsup of the U.S. District Court of Northern District of California.
Jennifer Jeffers is a partner at Allen Matkins in San Francisco, where she focuses on land use and natural resources law for residential, healthcare, renewable energy, industrial, and mixed-use development across California. She guides private, nonprofit, and public sector clients through every phase of project development — from acquisition and due diligence through CEQA/NEPA compliance, entitlement, permitting, and construction — with a proven track record on high-profile projects including large-scale residential developments and renewable energy projects, healthcare facilities, and corporate campuses. She also brings deep fluency in state housing legislation and local referenda, helping clients stay ahead of regulatory shifts.
Jennifer’s particular strength lies in complex natural resources matters — endangered species, wetlands, and aquatic resources under the federal Clean Water Act, ESA, CESA, and California Fish and Game Code — with direct experience managing permitting before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Coastal Commission, and State and Regional Water Quality Control Boards. Her technical grounding is exceptional: she holds a J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law, an M.S. in environmental science from UC Berkeley, and a B.A. with honors in environmental biology from the University of Colorado-Boulder. Prior to practicing law, Jennifer spent years as Director of Conservation International’s Regional Marine Strategies program, implementing biodiversity conservation practices for governments worldwide. She is a two-time recipient of Bisnow Northern California’s Commercial Real Estate Power Women Award (2024, 2025).
Arthi Chakravarthy has been Chief Legal Officer since joining Enovix in April 2023. She has 20 years of experience as a business attorney for semiconductor and manufacturing companies. Most recently, Arthi was the General Counsel of Lightning eMotors (NYSE: ZEV), a zero emissions commercial vehicle manufacturing company. Previously, she served as Deputy General Counsel of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), a semiconductor company. Before Micron, she was Vice President, Commercial Legal Affairs at TiVo, Inc., a consumer hardware company. Arthi began her career at major law firms including Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Morrison & Foerster LLP. Since 2009, she has served as a Board Member of Hospital for Hope India, a non-profit hospital in rural India. Arthi received a J.D. from Stanford Law School where she served as Editor of the Stanford Law Review. She has a B.A. in Human Biology with Honors from Stanford University.
Francesca Ginexi is an Associate General Counsel at Meta. In her role, she focuses on emerging AI regulation, advising the company on new requirements, their impact and their implementation. Prior to this role, she served on various legal and policy teams at both Meta and Google, covering topics spanning privacy, content and trust-and-safety. Originally from Italy, she holds a law degree from Bocconi University (Milan) and an LL.M. from Stanford Law School.
Career paths rarely unfold exactly as planned. The most impactful leaders are often those willing to embrace change, take calculated risks, and pursue new opportunities that align with their values and long-term goals. In this candid fireside conversation, Hon. Najah Hopkins shares her journey from corporate legal leadership, including her time as Senior Counsel at Uber, to her appointment as an Administrative Law Judge with the California Department of Social Services. Through personal experiences and leadership lessons, she will explore what it means to navigate career transitions with confidence, redefine success at different stages of life, and remain open to opportunities that challenge conventional expectations. Drawing from a career that has crossed industries, sectors, and leadership roles, Hopkins will reflect on the decisions, challenges, and moments of growth that shaped her journey to the bench.
Discussion Topics:
- Evaluating risk and opportunity when considering major career transitions
- Reinvention, resilience, and redefining success throughout a leadership journey
- Building a meaningful career across industries, sectors, and roles
- Leading with confidence through periods of uncertainty and change
- The power of purpose-driven decision-making in shaping the next chapter of your career
Najah Hopkins was recently appointed to serve as an Administrative Law Judge. Her path to the role is rooted in service to others, beginning in the halls of the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, where she worked as a clinical social worker supporting crime victims and witnesses through the criminal justice process. That formative experience instilled a deep understanding of the human stakes of the law and has guided every chapter of her professional career.
She went on to earn her law degree and build a distinguished legal career spanning public service, private practice, and academia. Her public sector experience includes an administrative law position at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and a clerkship at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. She has litigated family law matters, served as a FINRA arbitrator presiding over securities disputes, and taught business law as an adjunct professor.
In the private sector, Najah held senior legal roles in the aerospace and defense industry at Raytheon and BAE Systems, negotiating government and commercial contracts and advising on International Trade Compliance. Most recently, she led commercial contracting for the global rides business at Uber.
She holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Southern California, an M.S.W. from New York University, and a J.D. and M.B.A. from Howard University. She is admitted to practice in California and New York.
Leadership longevity requires reinvention. From economic shifts and corporate restructuring to personal transitions, modern women leaders are rewriting their narratives mid-career—and emerging stronger for it. This session focuses on resilience as a strategy, not a reaction. It offers insight into recognizing inflection points, reframing setbacks, and converting change into professional renewal. The conversation elevates reinvention as a defining skill of contemporary leadership.
This panel will explore:
• Recognizing when a pivot is strategic rather than reactive
• Transforming transition periods into opportunities for growth
• Cultivating resilience and confidence amid uncertainty
• Redefining success through adaptability and forward movement
Allison Lisbonne Amadia is a senior legal, compliance, and risk executive with more than 30 years of experience operating at the intersection of strategy, execution, and governance across technology, financial services, and professional services organizations. Known as a highly effective strategic operator, Allison partners with executive leadership teams to translate business objectives into scalable, resilient operating models—using legal, risk, and compliance functions as drivers of growth rather than constraints.
Throughout her career, Allison has intentionally pivoted across roles and industries— including academia, entrepreneurship, solo and fractional General Counsel roles, and C‑suite leadership—building a rare ability to see the business from multiple vantage points. Her distinguishing strength lies in developing business‑minded teams: leaders who understand not only the law and regulation, but also the commercial, cultural, and operational realities of the organizations they serve.
Most recently, Allison served as Chief Legal & Risk Officer and Corporate Secretary at Edelman Financial Engines, the nation’s largest independent registered investment advisor. As a core member of the executive leadership team, she led numerous areas critical to the success of the company including enterprise Legal, Compliance, Risk, Cybersecurity, Regulatory Affairs, Internal Audit, and Investigations. In this role, Allison helped shape enterprise strategy, modernized risk and governance frameworks, strengthened operational resilience, and partnered with management to navigate high‑stakes business events. She also architected and implemented an enterprise‑wide AI governance framework aligned with innovation, regulatory expectations, and business strategy.
Previously, Allison served as Chief Legal & Compliance Officer at Titan Global Capital Management and as General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary at Personal Capital Corporation, guiding the company through its high‑visibility unicorn acquisition by Empower Retirement. Following the acquisition, she was appointed to the Board and served as Head of Human Resources in addition to her original responsibilities and her role was central in partnering with leadership on integration, governance, and strategic initiatives.
Earlier executive roles include General Counsel and SVP of HR at Handle Financial and EVP, General Counsel at Extreme Networks, where she led global legal operations and the acquisition and integration of a peer‑size competitor that doubled the company’s scale in six months. Across these roles, Allison consistently focused on building teams that operate with commercial judgment, accountability, and a deep understanding of business priorities.
Earlier in her career, Allison founded Amadia Pritchard LLP, serving for over a decade as a trusted advisor and outsourced General Counsel to technology companies, following prior roles at Morrison & Foerster, Novell, VeriFone, Seagate Software, and as a federal judicial clerk. Allison also taught a technology licensing course at Santa Clara Law School as an adjunct professor for several years. Widely respected for her integrity, clarity, and ability to lead through disruption, Allison has been recognized as one of the 10 Most Disruptive Women Leaders to Watch (2023) and among the Top 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology (2021). She brings a distinctive, experience‑driven perspective on leadership, resilience, and career pivots—grounded in the belief that the most durable impact comes from building business‑aligned teams that enable organizations to move faster, smarter, and with confidence.
Bailey Langner is a skilled litigator with a focus on defending tech companies, product manufacturers, and energy sector clients in product liability and personal injury cases. She litigates in state and federal court, including multi-district litigation (MDLs) and coordinated state proceedings, and represents clients in related government investigations. Bailey has significant trial, deposition, and case management experience and has helped secure important victories for clients at all stages of litigation. Bailey recently completed a secondment at a San Francisco-based tech company and gained insight into the issues companies face.
In addition to her legal practice, Bailey is active in the community. She mentors students through the Leadership Council for Legal Diversity and previously served as a trustee on her local school board. She has a robust pro bono practice, including assisting students obtain and renew their DACA status.
Bailey received her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, where she co-founded a clinical program helping underserved populations access public benefits and worked as a teaching assistant in the first-year legal writing program.
Katharine (Trina) Falace is the Napa Valley Chair of the Firm’s Litigation Practice Group, Co‑Chair of the Firm’s Wine, Beer & Spirits Industry Law Group, and a Partner in Buchalter’s Napa Valley office. Trina is a trusted legal strategist and seasoned business litigator known for delivering practical, business-minded solutions in high-stakes disputes. With extensive trial experience, she represents clients across diverse industries in complex commercial, real estate, and land use matters.
Trina represents clients in the wine and agricultural sectors, advising wineries, vineyard managers, and agricultural businesses on disputes involving easements, boundaries, contracts, and land use regulations. Her deep understanding of the industry allows her to blend courtroom advocacy with proactive counsel, helping clients navigate legal challenges while preserving vital business relationships.
Beyond litigation, Trina regularly counsels clients on conflict prevention and risk management, offering clear, actionable guidance to avoid costly disputes. Her transactional work includes drafting and negotiating winemaker agreements, vineyard management contracts, grape purchase deals, compliance issues, and water-sharing arrangements.
Known for her collaborative style and clear communication, Trina is a respected advisor for businesses seeking clarity, confidence, and results in a complex legal landscape.
Trina maintains an active presence in the Napa community through her service in a variety of leadership roles.
Renee J. Scatena is a seasoned in-house legal leader with 20+ years of experience
transforming commercial transactions teams and processes at major multinational
companies across diverse industries. The expertise encompasses leading the people,
processes, and tools used in contracting, as well as legal advice on complex transactions,
IT agreements, manufacturing and supply chain risk mitigation strategies, process
innovation, and leadership in legal operations deploying AI and contract lifecycle
management systems.
Known for her collaborative and dynamic leadership style, Renee currently leads a
global team of 34 attorneys and contract professionals at Gilead Sciences, where she is
responsible for overseeing 12,000+ contracts annually, launching AI tools, managing talent,
and integrating contracts for acquisitions. Prior to joining Gilead, Renee was Vice President
of Global Contracts at Sensata Technologies. At Sensata, Renee established a contract
center of excellence, designed CLM systems, managed global teams, and provided legal
counsel on commercial and government transactions with international technology
companies. From 2005-2021, Renee was in-house at Intel Corporation. As Associate
General Counsel and an IP Attorney, she led large teams negotiating contracts with over $20
billion in annual spending, While at Intel, she designed, implemented, and led the contract
specialist and legal internship programs, and handled intellectual property transactions.
Early in her career, Renee served as Director of Contracts at Honeywell in an aerospace
business, where she directed a high-volume international contracts team, partnered with
HR to build a world-class contracts organization, negotiated commercial and government
contracts, and designed end-to-end contract management processes.
Renee lives in San Francisco and is registered in house counsel in California, licensed
in Arizona. She is a graduate of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law in Phoenix, Arizona,
a graduate of the University of Arizona with a B.A. in Communication, and holds a Certificate
in Contract Management from George Washington University, in partnership with ESI
International.
In today’s landscape, authority is measured by influence, not title. Women leaders are leveraging their voices, ideas, and platforms to shape industries, policies, and culture. This session explores how to build authentic visibility that drives impact—transforming expertise into thought leadership and leadership into advocacy. It’s about mastering presence, expanding reach, and using influence to open doors for others while defining success on new terms.
This panel will explore:
• Building authentic executive presence across physical and digital spaces
• Expanding influence through thought leadership and storytelling
• Managing visibility with confidence and credibility in high-profile roles
• Using one’s platform to drive advocacy, mentorship, and systemic change
Linda Nyberg is a Senior Product Counsel at Google and an experienced technology lawyer specializing in artificial intelligence. At Google, she provides strategic advice on generative AI product launches in Google Cloud and model serving infrastructure, navigating complex legal and regulatory issues related to data governance, ethics, copyright, and privacy. She collaborates closely with cross-functional legal and product teams and is passionate about the responsible and ethical use of AI to drive innovation and transformation across industries.
Rike Connelly is the managing partner of the McGuireWoods Seattle office and co-leader of the firm’s Business Litigation Practice Group. Rike helps businesses navigate commercial disputes of every scale, tailoring strategy to align legal outcomes with broader business objectives and the most efficient path to resolution.
Rike represents clients in a wide array of commercial matters in state and federal courts, with distinct experience in Washington State and within the Ninth Circuit. She has particular experience with large Multidistrict Litigation and class action matters, including antitrust and Lanham Act cases, among others. Rike brings a sophisticated approach to discovery, deploying advanced e‑discovery tools, including custom multimodel continuous active learning systems and other artificial intelligence solutions, to drive down review costs while maintaining defensibility and rigor.
Beyond her commercial practice, Rike maintains an active pro bono docket, assisting individuals in immigration proceedings and supporting systemic civil rights litigation. She also serves as an editor of the annual Court Rules Annotated (Washington), covering the Superior and General Court Rules of Washington State.
For women at the helm of law firms, corporations, and public institutions, every decision is magnified through a sharper lens of scrutiny. In an era of political division and amplified media narratives, ethical leadership has never been more complex—or consequential. This session tackles the tension between authenticity, responsibility, and reputational risk. It examines how to lead decisively without compromising integrity, uphold principles amid political or institutional pressure, and transform scrutiny into strength.
This panel will explore:
• Navigating heightened ethical and reputational pressures in leadership
• Building credibility through consistency and transparent decision-making
• Leading through controversy without sacrificing core values
• Turning public challenge into an opportunity for institutional trust-building
Sarah Kelly-Kilgore is the Executive Partner of Holland & Knight’s Newport Beach office and a member of the firm’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group. Her practice centers on high-stakes litigation and complex business disputes across a wide range of industries.
Ms. Kelly-Kilgore has extensive experience litigating matters involving fraud, business torts, defamation, contract disputes, federal agency enforcement actions, unfair competition, and corporate governance issues. She has served as lead counsel in numerous high-profile cases that have drawn significant national and international attention, including coverage in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe.
In addition to her litigation practice, Ms. Kelly-Kilgore regularly advises business clients on compliance and regulatory matters, as well as employment law issues, including sexual harassment, discrimination, and wrongful termination.
Even as organizations champion equality, subtle cultural forces still determine who gets credibility, visibility, and opportunity. Small biases—how ideas are received, who’s invited to lead, who gets second chances—create massive downstream impact. This session confronts those hidden dynamics head-on, unpacking how they manifest in senior leadership and what practical reforms dismantle them. It highlights actionable systems that replace passive awareness with measurable equity and accountability.
This panel will explore:
• Identifying and addressing “second-generation” bias at the leadership level
• How micro-inequities shape team trust, culture, and client outcomes
• Building accountability into evaluation, promotion, and pay systems
• Converting cultural awareness into sustainable structural change
Khadeeja is a seasoned legal counsel with over a decade of international experience. Currently, as Associate General Counsel (Director), Technology Transactions at Rivian Automotive, she specializes in complex technology & strategic partnership agreements and provides legal counsel across business teams. Her expertise spans diverse sectors, from startups to publicly traded companies, encompassing roles in commercial & technology transactions, intellectual property, mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures & various product launches. Holding a master’s in law (Intellectual Property and Technology Law), Khadeeja has been honored as one of 100 inspiring women by Rising Beyond the Ceiling, highlighting her dedication to professional excellence and community upliftment.
Interactive discussions hosted by a topic expert.
RT 1: TBD
Hosted By: Wilson Sonsini
RT 2: TBD
Hosted By: Aroma Sharma, Partner, McDermott Will & Schulte
RT 3: The Audacity of the Ask: Asking for What Matters
RT 4: The Power of the Pivot: Reinvention in Leadership
RT 5: Backwards and In Heels: The Non-Linear Advantage
RT 6: Authentic Leadership and Building a Personal Brand
Aroma Sharma focuses her practice on a wide range of corporate and transactional matters, acting predominantly for private and emerging companies. Aroma has advised clients on mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financing, corporate and equity restructuring and recapitalizations and joint ventures in various industries, including technology and health and life sciences. She also advises clients regularly on general corporate and corporate governance matters. Aroma also has experience working on cross-border transactions, including business’ international expansion into new territories.
Speakers
Shahzia M. Rahman is the Head of Corporate Legal at Block, Inc. (NYSE: XYZ), the S&P 500 financial technology company behind Square, Cash App, Afterpay, and TIDAL. In her role, she advises executives and the board of directors on corporate governance, securities law, capital markets, and strategic initiatives. She also works closely with cross-functional leadership to navigate the regulatory and governance considerations that accompany the growing use of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies across the business. Beyond advising on AI governance, she actively experiments with AI-driven tools to reimagine how legal work gets done.
Rahman brings more than two decades of experience spanning leading law firm and senior in-house roles in the technology sector. Her work centers on guiding organizations through periods of strategic transformation on a global scale while building resilient, high-performing teams.
She has also served as an adjunct professor at University of California Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings), where she taught a practical skills course on representing startup companies.
Sue Bunnell is a legal leader at a global Fortune 50 company, and rounds out her days with career therapy and teaching. She leverages 20+years of experience in technology, IP, security/privacy, and regulatory compliance when counseling executives in Wells Fargo’s Chief Administrative Office related to its global operations, including incident management, physical security, and safety issues worldwide.
Ms. Bunnell is an outspoken advocate for professional development, and runs career advancement programming inside and outside Wells Fargo, including as an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco, and past stints as President/Chair of LWT: Advancing Women in Leadership and Director on the Board of the Professional BusinessWomen of California. She is a frequent host on podcasts encouraging women to stretch and grow in their careers, and enjoys speaking and facilitating presentations and workshops on effective self-advocacy and negotiation skills.
Gauri Manglik is Vice President, Head of Legal, Privacy, and AI Governance at GoFundMe, where she leads the company’s global legal function, including privacy and AI governance. With nearly two decades of broad legal experience—including corporate, commercial, regulatory, and product counseling—Gauri is a strategic business partner known for her pragmatic, solutions-oriented approach.
At GoFundMe, Gauri oversees legal risk management, negotiates complex commercial agreements, and drives enterprise-wide privacy and AI Governance programs. Gauri is recognized for her cross-functional leadership and ability to build scalable legal frameworks that enable innovation while safeguarding trust and transparency. Her work is grounded in a strong commitment to integrity, accountability, and empowering teams to navigate complexity with confidence.
Allison Lisbonne Amadia is a senior legal, compliance, and risk executive with more than 30 years of experience operating at the intersection of strategy, execution, and governance across technology, financial services, and professional services organizations. Known as a highly effective strategic operator, Allison partners with executive leadership teams to translate business objectives into scalable, resilient operating models—using legal, risk, and compliance functions as drivers of growth rather than constraints.
Throughout her career, Allison has intentionally pivoted across roles and industries— including academia, entrepreneurship, solo and fractional General Counsel roles, and C‑suite leadership—building a rare ability to see the business from multiple vantage points. Her distinguishing strength lies in developing business‑minded teams: leaders who understand not only the law and regulation, but also the commercial, cultural, and operational realities of the organizations they serve.
Most recently, Allison served as Chief Legal & Risk Officer and Corporate Secretary at Edelman Financial Engines, the nation’s largest independent registered investment advisor. As a core member of the executive leadership team, she led numerous areas critical to the success of the company including enterprise Legal, Compliance, Risk, Cybersecurity, Regulatory Affairs, Internal Audit, and Investigations. In this role, Allison helped shape enterprise strategy, modernized risk and governance frameworks, strengthened operational resilience, and partnered with management to navigate high‑stakes business events. She also architected and implemented an enterprise‑wide AI governance framework aligned with innovation, regulatory expectations, and business strategy.
Previously, Allison served as Chief Legal & Compliance Officer at Titan Global Capital Management and as General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary at Personal Capital Corporation, guiding the company through its high‑visibility unicorn acquisition by Empower Retirement. Following the acquisition, she was appointed to the Board and served as Head of Human Resources in addition to her original responsibilities and her role was central in partnering with leadership on integration, governance, and strategic initiatives.
Earlier executive roles include General Counsel and SVP of HR at Handle Financial and EVP, General Counsel at Extreme Networks, where she led global legal operations and the acquisition and integration of a peer‑size competitor that doubled the company’s scale in six months. Across these roles, Allison consistently focused on building teams that operate with commercial judgment, accountability, and a deep understanding of business priorities.
Earlier in her career, Allison founded Amadia Pritchard LLP, serving for over a decade as a trusted advisor and outsourced General Counsel to technology companies, following prior roles at Morrison & Foerster, Novell, VeriFone, Seagate Software, and as a federal judicial clerk. Allison also taught a technology licensing course at Santa Clara Law School as an adjunct professor for several years. Widely respected for her integrity, clarity, and ability to lead through disruption, Allison has been recognized as one of the 10 Most Disruptive Women Leaders to Watch (2023) and among the Top 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology (2021). She brings a distinctive, experience‑driven perspective on leadership, resilience, and career pivots—grounded in the belief that the most durable impact comes from building business‑aligned teams that enable organizations to move faster, smarter, and with confidence.
Khadeeja is a seasoned legal counsel with over a decade of international experience. Currently, as Associate General Counsel (Director), Technology Transactions at Rivian Automotive, she specializes in complex technology & strategic partnership agreements and provides legal counsel across business teams. Her expertise spans diverse sectors, from startups to publicly traded companies, encompassing roles in commercial & technology transactions, intellectual property, mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures & various product launches. Holding a master’s in law (Intellectual Property and Technology Law), Khadeeja has been honored as one of 100 inspiring women by Rising Beyond the Ceiling, highlighting her dedication to professional excellence and community upliftment.
Linda Nyberg is a Senior Product Counsel at Google and an experienced technology lawyer specializing in artificial intelligence. At Google, she provides strategic advice on generative AI product launches in Google Cloud and model serving infrastructure, navigating complex legal and regulatory issues related to data governance, ethics, copyright, and privacy. She collaborates closely with cross-functional legal and product teams and is passionate about the responsible and ethical use of AI to drive innovation and transformation across industries.
By codifying institutional knowledge and prioritizing data-driven decision-making, she builds the operational infrastructure necessary for impactful technology to thrive. Her background spans the full lifecycle of high-stakes commercial agreements—including SaaS, intellectual property licensing, and global production deals—complemented by a deep focus on navigating complex regulatory landscapes such as GDPR and CCPA.
Bhakti Shivarekar is a technology attorney and data privacy leader with nearly two decades of experience navigating the intersection of commercial law, privacy, and AI governance. She currently serves as Assistant General Counsel at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, where she leads high-stakes commercial transactions and drives revenue growth across North American telecommunications markets. Over the course of her career, she has held senior legal roles at Juniper Networks, LinkedIn, and Just Global, building privacy programs, closing complex deals, and advising C-suite executives across global markets. She holds the Fellow of Information Privacy designation, the IAPP’s highest honor, as well as certifications in European and US privacy law, privacy management, and AI governance. Admitted to the California and New York bars, she is a sought-after voice on privacy, AI governance, and the evolving role of in-house counsel in technology-driven organizations. She has an LLB from ILS Law College, Pune, LLM in corporate law from the University of Pune, and LLM in IP, Commerce, and Technology law from the UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law.
Renee J. Scatena is a seasoned in-house legal leader with 20+ years of experience
transforming commercial transactions teams and processes at major multinational
companies across diverse industries. The expertise encompasses leading the people,
processes, and tools used in contracting, as well as legal advice on complex transactions,
IT agreements, manufacturing and supply chain risk mitigation strategies, process
innovation, and leadership in legal operations deploying AI and contract lifecycle
management systems.
Known for her collaborative and dynamic leadership style, Renee currently leads a
global team of 34 attorneys and contract professionals at Gilead Sciences, where she is
responsible for overseeing 12,000+ contracts annually, launching AI tools, managing talent,
and integrating contracts for acquisitions. Prior to joining Gilead, Renee was Vice President
of Global Contracts at Sensata Technologies. At Sensata, Renee established a contract
center of excellence, designed CLM systems, managed global teams, and provided legal
counsel on commercial and government transactions with international technology
companies. From 2005-2021, Renee was in-house at Intel Corporation. As Associate
General Counsel and an IP Attorney, she led large teams negotiating contracts with over $20
billion in annual spending, While at Intel, she designed, implemented, and led the contract
specialist and legal internship programs, and handled intellectual property transactions.
Early in her career, Renee served as Director of Contracts at Honeywell in an aerospace
business, where she directed a high-volume international contracts team, partnered with
HR to build a world-class contracts organization, negotiated commercial and government
contracts, and designed end-to-end contract management processes.
Renee lives in San Francisco and is registered in house counsel in California, licensed
in Arizona. She is a graduate of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law in Phoenix, Arizona,
a graduate of the University of Arizona with a B.A. in Communication, and holds a Certificate
in Contract Management from George Washington University, in partnership with ESI
International.
Ali is a partner in the firm’s Financial Services Litigation Department. Ali’s practice focuses on financial services litigation, complex commercial cases and trust and estate disputes. She successfully advocates for her clients at all stages of litigation including taking and defending depositions, drafting and arguing dispositive motions, navigating complex e-discovery issues, handling high-stakes settlement negotiations, and preparing for and taking matters to trial, as well as post-trial work if necessary. Ali has defended numerous class actions and multi-district litigation, involving all phases of class action litigation including e-discovery, class certification and class settlement. Ali has litigated numerous cases which triggered application of Articles 3 and 4 of the Uniform Commercial Code. Ali also recently successfully defended against a challenge to her client’s $18 million estate plan – which persisted up until the literal eve of trial. That defense included defending against three separate lawsuits and two appeals and resulted in a $500,000+ award of fees and costs back to the client.
Ali has additional experience assisting clients in trust and estate litigation matters involving undue influence allegations, accounting disputes, life estate valuations, inter-family disputes over distribution of assets, special trustee’s fiduciary duties in administering family trust worth over $100 million, trustee’s fiduciary duties under Hawaii law in administering family trust worth over $30 million with properties in Hawaii and California. Additionally, Ali has significant pro bono experience litigating asylum and prisoner rights’ cases.
Ali served as a law clerk to the Honorable William Alsup of the U.S. District Court of Northern District of California.
Rike Connelly is the managing partner of the McGuireWoods Seattle office and co-leader of the firm’s Business Litigation Practice Group. Rike helps businesses navigate commercial disputes of every scale, tailoring strategy to align legal outcomes with broader business objectives and the most efficient path to resolution.
Rike represents clients in a wide array of commercial matters in state and federal courts, with distinct experience in Washington State and within the Ninth Circuit. She has particular experience with large Multidistrict Litigation and class action matters, including antitrust and Lanham Act cases, among others. Rike brings a sophisticated approach to discovery, deploying advanced e‑discovery tools, including custom multimodel continuous active learning systems and other artificial intelligence solutions, to drive down review costs while maintaining defensibility and rigor.
Beyond her commercial practice, Rike maintains an active pro bono docket, assisting individuals in immigration proceedings and supporting systemic civil rights litigation. She also serves as an editor of the annual Court Rules Annotated (Washington), covering the Superior and General Court Rules of Washington State.
Bailey Langner is a skilled litigator with a focus on defending tech companies, product manufacturers, and energy sector clients in product liability and personal injury cases. She litigates in state and federal court, including multi-district litigation (MDLs) and coordinated state proceedings, and represents clients in related government investigations. Bailey has significant trial, deposition, and case management experience and has helped secure important victories for clients at all stages of litigation. Bailey recently completed a secondment at a San Francisco-based tech company and gained insight into the issues companies face.
In addition to her legal practice, Bailey is active in the community. She mentors students through the Leadership Council for Legal Diversity and previously served as a trustee on her local school board. She has a robust pro bono practice, including assisting students obtain and renew their DACA status.
Bailey received her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, where she co-founded a clinical program helping underserved populations access public benefits and worked as a teaching assistant in the first-year legal writing program.
Jennifer Jeffers is a partner at Allen Matkins in San Francisco, where she focuses on land use and natural resources law for residential, healthcare, renewable energy, industrial, and mixed-use development across California. She guides private, nonprofit, and public sector clients through every phase of project development — from acquisition and due diligence through CEQA/NEPA compliance, entitlement, permitting, and construction — with a proven track record on high-profile projects including large-scale residential developments and renewable energy projects, healthcare facilities, and corporate campuses. She also brings deep fluency in state housing legislation and local referenda, helping clients stay ahead of regulatory shifts.
Jennifer’s particular strength lies in complex natural resources matters — endangered species, wetlands, and aquatic resources under the federal Clean Water Act, ESA, CESA, and California Fish and Game Code — with direct experience managing permitting before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Coastal Commission, and State and Regional Water Quality Control Boards. Her technical grounding is exceptional: she holds a J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law, an M.S. in environmental science from UC Berkeley, and a B.A. with honors in environmental biology from the University of Colorado-Boulder. Prior to practicing law, Jennifer spent years as Director of Conservation International’s Regional Marine Strategies program, implementing biodiversity conservation practices for governments worldwide. She is a two-time recipient of Bisnow Northern California’s Commercial Real Estate Power Women Award (2024, 2025).
Kelly Smith is a Partner at Allen Matkins in Orange County, practicing as a commercial litigator and construction lawyer. She represents developers, owners, and lenders in complex construction disputes — covering design and construction defects, project delays, and mechanics liens — while also providing strategic contract counseling to minimize risk and manage project close-out. Her construction experience spans infrastructure, commercial, hospitality, mixed-use, and residential projects, complemented by an active practice in high-stakes real estate, business, and employment disputes.
Kelly launched her career clerking for two federal judges in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California and went on to serve as a prosecutor, building deep courtroom experience that includes multiple jury trials. She is an Associate Fellow of the Construction Lawyers Society of America — an invitation-only honorary society — and a member of the National Association of Women in Construction. She has been recognized consecutively in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch from 2022 through 2026 across commercial litigation, construction law, and construction litigation. She earned her J.D. magna cum laude from the University of San Diego School of Law.
Laura Bushnell is a partner in our Corporate, Finance and Investments practice who specializes in counseling management and Boards of Directors of private and public companies, particularly in the life sciences and technology sectors, on capital raising matters, strategic transactions and corporate governance.
Laura has represented issuers, investors and financial institutions in numerous capital-raising transactions, including venture capital and seed financings, crossover rounds, strategic investments, initial public offerings, follow-on and secondary offerings, recapitalizations and PIPE financings.
In addition, Laura frequently serves as primary outside counsel to emerging growth companies. In this capacity, she advises management on such matters as corporate governance, disclosure and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting obligations, employment and equity compensation, fiduciary duties, strategic transactions and acquisitions, commercial agreements, and compliance with securities laws.
She is a regular speaker on a range of transactional and governance topics.
She serves on the Board of Trustees of the UC Santa Cruz Foundation and the Board of Directors of the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County. She is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council of the Jack Baskin School of Engineering, University of California Santa Cruz.
Katharine (Trina) Falace is the Napa Valley Chair of the Firm’s Litigation Practice Group, Co‑Chair of the Firm’s Wine, Beer & Spirits Industry Law Group, and a Partner in Buchalter’s Napa Valley office. Trina is a trusted legal strategist and seasoned business litigator known for delivering practical, business-minded solutions in high-stakes disputes. With extensive trial experience, she represents clients across diverse industries in complex commercial, real estate, and land use matters.
Trina represents clients in the wine and agricultural sectors, advising wineries, vineyard managers, and agricultural businesses on disputes involving easements, boundaries, contracts, and land use regulations. Her deep understanding of the industry allows her to blend courtroom advocacy with proactive counsel, helping clients navigate legal challenges while preserving vital business relationships.
Beyond litigation, Trina regularly counsels clients on conflict prevention and risk management, offering clear, actionable guidance to avoid costly disputes. Her transactional work includes drafting and negotiating winemaker agreements, vineyard management contracts, grape purchase deals, compliance issues, and water-sharing arrangements.
Known for her collaborative style and clear communication, Trina is a respected advisor for businesses seeking clarity, confidence, and results in a complex legal landscape.
Trina maintains an active presence in the Napa community through her service in a variety of leadership roles.
Sarah Kelly-Kilgore is the Executive Partner of Holland & Knight’s Newport Beach office and a member of the firm’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group. Her practice centers on high-stakes litigation and complex business disputes across a wide range of industries.
Ms. Kelly-Kilgore has extensive experience litigating matters involving fraud, business torts, defamation, contract disputes, federal agency enforcement actions, unfair competition, and corporate governance issues. She has served as lead counsel in numerous high-profile cases that have drawn significant national and international attention, including coverage in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe.
In addition to her litigation practice, Ms. Kelly-Kilgore regularly advises business clients on compliance and regulatory matters, as well as employment law issues, including sexual harassment, discrimination, and wrongful termination.
Ashley L. Shively is a privacy and class action attorney in Holland & Knight’s San Francisco office. She also serves as the Data Strategy, Security & Privacy Practice Group Leader.
Ms. Shively counsels public and private companies on consumer protection and data privacy issues with respect to product development, sign-up and point-of-sale procedures, auto-renewals and subscription products, digital marketing, regulatory compliance, incident response, and state and federal enforcement. She regularly advises clients on operationalizing the requirements of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA), Colorado Privacy Act (CPA), Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA) and analogous state privacy statues and legislation. In addition, she counsels businesses on risk mitigation with respect to the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), Drivers Privacy Protection Act (DPPA), Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act of 2003, Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), state privacy and unfair and deceptive practices laws, and similar legal and regulatory requirements.
Ms. Shively focuses her robust litigation practice on the defense of financial institutions and businesses in consumer class and individual actions, as well as clients facing so-called mass arbitrations. She has extensive experience defending privacy, data breach, false advertising, unfair business practices, call recording and website wiretap claims, particularly under the VPPA, Federal Wiretap Act and similar state statues like CIPA.
Aroma Sharma focuses her practice on a wide range of corporate and transactional matters, acting predominantly for private and emerging companies. Aroma has advised clients on mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financing, corporate and equity restructuring and recapitalizations and joint ventures in various industries, including technology and health and life sciences. She also advises clients regularly on general corporate and corporate governance matters. Aroma also has experience working on cross-border transactions, including business’ international expansion into new territories.
Arthi Chakravarthy has been Chief Legal Officer since joining Enovix in April 2023. She has 20 years of experience as a business attorney for semiconductor and manufacturing companies. Most recently, Arthi was the General Counsel of Lightning eMotors (NYSE: ZEV), a zero emissions commercial vehicle manufacturing company. Previously, she served as Deputy General Counsel of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), a semiconductor company. Before Micron, she was Vice President, Commercial Legal Affairs at TiVo, Inc., a consumer hardware company. Arthi began her career at major law firms including Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Morrison & Foerster LLP. Since 2009, she has served as a Board Member of Hospital for Hope India, a non-profit hospital in rural India. Arthi received a J.D. from Stanford Law School where she served as Editor of the Stanford Law Review. She has a B.A. in Human Biology with Honors from Stanford University.
Najah Hopkins was recently appointed to serve as an Administrative Law Judge. Her path to the role is rooted in service to others, beginning in the halls of the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, where she worked as a clinical social worker supporting crime victims and witnesses through the criminal justice process. That formative experience instilled a deep understanding of the human stakes of the law and has guided every chapter of her professional career.
She went on to earn her law degree and build a distinguished legal career spanning public service, private practice, and academia. Her public sector experience includes an administrative law position at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and a clerkship at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. She has litigated family law matters, served as a FINRA arbitrator presiding over securities disputes, and taught business law as an adjunct professor.
In the private sector, Najah held senior legal roles in the aerospace and defense industry at Raytheon and BAE Systems, negotiating government and commercial contracts and advising on International Trade Compliance. Most recently, she led commercial contracting for the global rides business at Uber.
She holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Southern California, an M.S.W. from New York University, and a J.D. and M.B.A. from Howard University. She is admitted to practice in California and New York.
Francesca Ginexi is an Associate General Counsel at Meta. In her role, she focuses on emerging AI regulation, advising the company on new requirements, their impact and their implementation. Prior to this role, she served on various legal and policy teams at both Meta and Google, covering topics spanning privacy, content and trust-and-safety. Originally from Italy, she holds a law degree from Bocconi University (Milan) and an LL.M. from Stanford Law School.
Jamillia P. Ferris is a Chambers-ranked partner and co-chair of the Antitrust & Competition Practice at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Based in Washington, D.C., she represents clients across diverse industries in high-stakes merger clearance, civil conduct investigations, and strategic antitrust matters before the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. Jamillia’s experience spans complex transactional work — including representations in major technology, healthcare, and consumer deals — and defense against hostile takeover attempts, helping clients navigate nuanced regulatory landscapes with clear, business-focused guidance.
Prior to joining Wilson Sonsini, Jamillia held leadership positions at both the Antitrust Division of the DOJ and the Federal Communications Commission, where she oversaw major merger reviews, including AT&T’s acquisition of DIRECTV. She is actively involved in shaping antitrust discourse through leadership in the American Bar Association’s Section of Antitrust Law and speaks regularly to global audiences on developments in competition law. In addition to her practice, Jamillia serves on the board of the D.C. Volunteer Lawyers Project and the Advisory Council of Lemonada Media.
Sponsors
McGuireWoods
McGuireWoods, one of the world’s leading law firms, has earned the loyalty of many longstanding clients with a deep understanding of their businesses, and broad skills in high-stakes disputes, complex regulatory and compliance matters, and corporate transactions. With 1,100 lawyers in 21 offices, the firm draws from a multitude of diverse experiences and perspectives to serve clients. Our commitment to excellence in everything we do gives our clients a competitive edge in everything they do.
Holland & Knight LLP
Holland & Knight LLP is a global law firm with approximately 1,700 lawyers and other professionals in 32 offices worldwide. The firm’s lawyers and advisors provide representation in litigation, corporate and finance, real estate and governmental matters. Interdisciplinary practice groups and industry-based teams provide clients with efficient access to attorneys throughout the firm.
Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP
Allen Matkins, founded in 1977, is a California-based law firm with more than 200 attorneys in four major metropolitan areas of California: Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego and San Francisco.
The firm’s areas of focus include real estate; construction; land use, environmental and natural resources; corporate and securities, real estate and commercial finance; bankruptcy, restructurings and creditor’s rights; joint ventures and tax; labor and employment; and trials, litigation, risk management and alternative dispute resolution in all of these areas.
Allen Matkins helps clients turn opportunity and challenge into success by providing practical advice, innovative solutions and valuable business opportunities. When clients’ challenges require experienced trial counsel, Allen Matkins has a proven track record of successful litigation before juries, judges and arbitrators.
King & Spalding LLP
King & Spalding helps leading companies advance complex business interests in more than 160 countries. Working across a highly integrated platform of more than 1,300 lawyers in 26 offices globally, we deliver tailored commercial solutions through world-class offerings and an uncompromising approach to quality and service. With more than 120 lawyers statewide, our California team includes a deep bench of bona fide, first‑chair trial lawyers experienced in high‑stakes commercial disputes, product liability and mass tort cases, and white collar and regulatory matters, combining on‑the‑ground insight with national and global strength to deliver a distinct advantage in California’s complex legal market. And offering significant runway to build and scale transactional practices in California, the firm leverages its global corporate, M&A, real estate, funds and finance, and restructuring platforms, supported by cross‑practice collaboration and immediate client access.
Buchalter
Buchalter is a full-service business law firm that has been teaming with clients for nine decades, providing legal counsel at all stages of their growth and evolution, and helping them meet the many legal challenges and decisions they face. Our clients are engaged in a diverse global economy governed by complex laws and regulations, and they trust us as advisers and business partners because we are involved in their world. They rely on our forward ¬thinking to help them resolve problems before they arise. At Buchalter, we practice in that spirit.
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is the premier legal advisor to technology, life sciences, and other growth enterprises worldwide. We represent companies at every stage of development, from entrepreneurial start-ups to multibillion-dollar global corporations, as well as the venture firms, private equity firms, and investment banks that finance and advise them. Our services include corporate law and governance, public and private offerings of equity and debt securities, mergers and acquisitions, securities class action litigation, intellectual property litigation, antitrust counseling and litigation, joint ventures and strategic alliances, technology licensing and other intellectual property transactions, tax, and employee benefits and employment law, among other areas.
McDermott Will & Schulte
McDermott Will & Schulte partners with leaders around the world to fuel missions, knock down barriers and shape markets. With more than 20 office locations, our team works seamlessly across practices, industries and geographies to deliver highly effective–and often unexpected–solutions that propel success. More than 1,200 lawyers strong, we bring our personal passion and legal prowess to bear in every matter for our clients and the people they serve.
Venue
TBA
San Francisco, CA
Pricing
| Register By | In House Counsel | Law Firms & Vendors |
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| October 22, 2026 | Complimentary for Qualifying In-House Professionals | Networking Sponsorships, contact: info@centerforceusa.com |
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- Please note that speakers and topics were confirmed at the time of publishing, however, circumstances beyond the control of the organizers may necessitate substitutions, alterations or cancellations of the speakers and/or topics. As such, CenterForce reserves the right to alter or modify the advertised speakers and/or topics if necessary. Any substitutions or alterations will be updated on our web page as soon as possible.
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