List of University of San Francisco School of Law alumni

For a list of notable University of San Francisco graduates, see List of University of San Francisco people.

This is a list of notable alumni of the University of San Francisco School of Law.

Academia

• Ifeoma Ajunwa (2007), writer and professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law
• Edward Imwinkelried (1969), Evidence Scholar and Professor at UC Davis School of Law^[1]
• Thomas Nazario (1975), noted professor, lawyer, and scholar of human rights and international children's rights

Arts, entertainment, and journalism

• Cupcake Brown (2001), author and lawyer, wrote A Piece of Cake: A Memoir^[2]
• Emily Compagno (2006), attorney, TV host, former National Football League cheerleader, Fox News Channel contributor
• John Corcoran, speechwriter for the Governor of California and White House staffer
• Jeff Gottesfeld (1981), novelist and television writer
• Kimberly Guilfoyle (1994), former assistant San Francisco district attorney and television personality^[3]
• Gini Graham Scott (1990), author
• Dick Spotswood (1973), journalist and politician

Athletics

• Tatiana Lysenko (2005), Ukrainian gold medalist at the 1992 Summer Olympics and world champion gymnast
• Marcus McElhenney (2014), lawyer and bronze medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics
• Juliet Starrett (2003), two-time whitewater rafting world champion and CEO of CrossFit San Francisco
• Andy Wolfe, lawyer and noted college basketball player

Business

• Byington Ford (did not graduate), noted real estate developer
• Hekani Jakhalu Kense, businesswoman and social entrepreneur
• Lloyd Levitin (1961), businessman and professor
• Marjorie Scardino (1975), CEO of Pearson PLC, and the first woman to head a top 100 firm on the London Stock Exchange^[4]

Government and politics

Members of Congress

John Burton

John F. Shelley

Thomas C. Lynch

• John Burton (1960), long-serving politician, member of the United States House of Representatives (1974-1983), California State Assembly (1965-1974; 1988–1996); California State Senate (1996-2004); and Chair of the California Democratic Party (1973-1974; 2009–2017)^[5]
• John F. Shelley (1932), member of the United States House of Representatives (1949-1964), Mayor of San Francisco (1964-1968), and member of the California State Senate (1939-1947)^[6]

Members of state legislatures

• Randy Iwase (1974), member of the Hawaii Senate (1990-2000)
• Susan C. Lee (1982), member of the Maryland House of Delegates (2002-2015) and Maryland Senate (2015–present)^[7][8]
• J. Eugene McAteer, member of the California Senate (1959-1967)
• Bill Monning (1976), member of the California State Assembly (2008-2012) and California State Senate (2012-2020)
• Arthur Ohnimus (1921), Chief Clerk of the California State Assembly (1923-1937; 1941–1967)
• Frank S. Petersen (1951), member of the California Senate (1963-1967) and Judge on the Del Norte County Superior Court (1966-1988)
• Terrance W. H. Tom, member of the Hawaii House of Representatives (1982-1998)

Federal offices

• Patricia A. Shiu (1982), Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (2009-2016)

State and territorial executive offices

• Ron Knecht (1995), Nevada State Controller (2015-2019) and member of the Nevada Assembly (2002-2004)
• Sylvia Luke (1995), 16th Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii (2022-present) and member of the Hawaii House of Representatives (1999–2022)
• Thomas C. Lynch (1929), 25th Attorney General of California (1964-1971) and District Attorney of San Francisco (1951-1964)
• Leo T. McCarthy (1958), Lieutenant Governor of California (1983-1995); member and Speaker of the California State Assembly (1969-1982); member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (1964-1968)
• Bill Schuette (1979), Michigan Attorney General (2011-2019), member of the United States House of Representatives (1985-1991), and Justice of the Michigan Court of Appeals (2003-2009)^[9]
• Faoa Aitofele Sunia (1975), Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa (2003-2013)

Municipal and local offices

• Angela Alioto (1983), civil rights attorney and member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (1989-1997)^[10]
• Matthew R. Beauchamp (1984), District Attorney of Colusa County, California (2016–present)^[11]
• David Brady (1976), District Attorney of Trinity County, California (2020–present)^[12]
• Mike Guingona, member of the Daly City, California City Council (1993-2018)
• Michael Hennessey (1973), long-serving Sheriff of the City and County of San Francisco (1980–2012)^[13]
• John C. Houlihan, Mayor of Oakland (1961-1966)
• Suzy Loftus (2005), interim District Attorney of San Francisco (2019-2020)
• William J. Quinn (1925), Chief of the San Francisco Police Department (1929-1940)
• Jill Ravitch (1987), District Attorney of Sonoma County, California (2011–2022)^[14]
• Anne Marie Schubert (1989), District Attorney of Sacramento County, California (2015–2023)^[15]
• Katy Tang (2017), member and President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (2013-2019)
• Joseph E. Tinney (1933), member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (1961-1966) and San Francisco City Assessor (1966-1979)
• Brendon Woods (1996), Public Defender of Alameda County, California (2012–present)

Judicial and legal figures

According to the university's website, as of 2025 over 340 alumni have been appointed or elected as judges.^[16]

National supreme court justices

• Daniel Foley (1974), Justice of the Supreme Court of Palau (2013–present) and Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals (2000-2016)^[17]

Federal judges

Saundra Brown Armstrong

Roger D. Foley

• Saundra Brown Armstrong (1977), judge on the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (1991–present)^[18]
• Roger D. Foley (1946), former long-serving chief judge on the United States District Court for the District of Nevada (1962-1996) and Attorney General of Nevada (1959-1962)
• David Warner Hagen (1959), former judge on United States District Court for the District of Nevada (1993-2005)^[17]
• George Bernard Harris (1926), former judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (1946-1983) and San Francisco Municipal Court (1941-1946)
• Mark N. Olds (1945), judge on the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii
• Edward Joseph Schwartz (1939), former judge and chief judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California (1968-2000)
• William Thomas Sweigert (1923), former judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (1959-1983) and the San Francisco County Superior Court (1949-1959)

State supreme court justices

Ming Chin

Martin Jenkins

Buell A. Nesbett

Raymond L. Sullivan

Mary Jane Theis

• Ming Chin (1967), former justice of the Supreme Court of California (1996-2020)^[19]
• Martin Jenkins (1980), justice of the Supreme Court of California (2020–present), California Courts of Appeal (2008-2019), and United States District Court for the Northern District of California (1997-2008)^[20]
• Buell A. Nesbett (1940), former justice and first chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court (1959-1970)
• Raymond L. Sullivan (1930), former justice of the Supreme Court of California (1966-1977) and California Courts of Appeal (1961-1966)
• Mary Jane Theis (1974), justice and chief justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois (2010–present)^[21]

State appellate court justices

• Herbert L. Ashby (1958), former justice of the California Courts of Appeal (1972-1992)^[22]
• John E. Benson (1955), former justice of the California Courts of Appeal (1986-1994) and San Francisco County Superior Court (1974-1986)^[23]
• Preston Devine (1927), former justice of the California Courts of Appeal (1966-1974)^[24]
• Robert L. Dossee (1960), former justice of the California Courts of Appeal (1979-1998) and San Francisco County Superior Court (1972-1979)^[25]
• Norman H. Elkington (1927), former justice of the California Courts of Appeal (1959-1988)^[24]
• Carl Evans (1950), former justice of the California Courts of Appeal and Fresno County Superior Court^[26]
• Daniel M. Hanlon (1964), former justice of the California Courts of Appeal (1992-2000) and San Francisco County Superior Court (1978-1992)^[27]
• Barbara J.R. Jones (1974), former justice of the California Courts of Appeal (1996-2020) and San Francisco County Superior Court (1992-1996)^[28]
• Robert F. Kane (1952), former justice of the California Courts of Appeal (1971-1979), San Mateo County Superior Court (1969-1971), and the United States Ambassador to Ireland (1984-1985)
• Donald B. King (1958), former justice of the California Courts of Appeal (1982-1996)^[29]
• John B. Molinari (1933), former justice of the California Courts of Appeal (1962-1977) and on the San Francisco County Superior Court (1950s)^[24]
• Joanne Parrilli (1974), former justice of the California Courts of Appeal (1995-2007) and on the Alameda County Superior Court (1988-1995)^[30]
• James Richman (1965), justice of the California Courts of Appeal (2006–present) and Alameda County Superior Court (1997-2006)^[17]
• Maria P. Rivera (1974), former justice of the California Courts of Appeal (2002-2018) and Contra Costa County Superior Court (1996-2002)^[28]
• Allison M. Rouse (1948), former justice of California Courts of Appeal (1971-1988) and San Francisco County Superior Court (1967-1971)^[31]
• James Ward (1959), justice of the California Courts of Appeal (1996–present)
• Charles Wilson (2002), justice of the California Courts of Appeal (2021–present) and Santa Clara County Superior Court (2014–present)^[17]

Federal offices

• Kevin V. Ryan (1984), former United States Attorney for the Northern District of California (2002-2007)

Other legal figures

• Tom Asimou (1998), lawyer specializing in missing persons cases
• Thomas Anthony Durkin (1973), criminal defense attorney
• Vincent Hallinan, lawyer and political candidate
• Jay Leiderman (1999), criminal defense attorney
• Mark Massara, environmental lawyer and activist
• Karen Parker (1983), human rights lawyer
• Chan Chung Wing (1918), immigration lawyer and the first Chinese American in California

Military

• Frederick J. Kenney, rear admiral and former judge advocate general of the United States Coast Guard

Further reading

• Abrahamson, Eric. The University of San Francisco School of Law, A History, 1912-1978. The University of San Francisco, 1987.
• Ziajka, Alan. Legacy and Promise: 150 Years of Jesuit Education at the University of San Francisco. The University of San Francisco, 2005.
• Ziajka, Alan. The University of San Francisco School of Law Century. The University of San Francisco, 2012.
• Ziajka, Alan. USF Firsts, Facts, Honors, and Achievements 1855-2017. The University of San Francisco, 2017.