Michael Angelo Tata, Ph.D.

editor-in-chief

Originally from Miami, Michael Angelo Tata is both a Dean’s Scholar and member of the Honors Lawyering Program at Golden Gate University. He is an independent scholar, poet, and essayist who has published domestically and abroad in aesthetic theory, social science, and poetics. His Andy Warhol: Sublime Superficiality arrived to critical acclaim from Intertheory Press and was even translated illegally into Turkish by Istanbul’s anarchist Sub Press. Most recently, he was invited to serve as guest editor for Taylor & Francis’ special philosophical collection Convoluting the Dialectical Image. He is currently writing a double memoir The Headhuntress and the Jalapeño with a colleague from Melbourne, Australia.

Allyson M. McCain

managing editor

Allyson is a fourth-year evening student, and Managing Editor of the Golden Gate University Law Review. She also serves as the Evening Vice President for GGU’s Student Bar Association. Originally from the small town of Galt, California, Allyson received her B.A. in Government from California State University, Sacramento, with a minor in Criminal Justice. She currently works as a Legal Secretary at Goodwin in San Francisco. Allyson’s Case Note was selected for publication in Issue 1 of the GGU Law Review’s 2020 Edition. In her very little spare time, she enjoys spending time with friends, family, and her Chihuahua, Bentley.

Athena Hernandez

Executive Research Editor

Athena Hernandez is a rising 3L at Golden Gate University School of Law, Class of 2021. Prior to attending law school, Athena received her B.A. in Literature at Saint Mary's College of California. Athena is a Research Editor on GGU's Law Review and is developing a Comment to be published in the Spring of 2021, surrounding a recent circuit split on the issue of Equal Protection challenges to wealth-based incarceration. Athena is primarily interested in Criminal Law. Athena is a founding member of GGU's Race & Justice Task Force.

Justice Tecson

Executive Research Editor

Justice Tecson is a member of the Class of 2021 at Golden Gate University School of Law. Prior to law school, she graduated from the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry. Her legal interests include international law, family law, and employment law.

Justin Trimachi

Executive Articles Editor

Justin Trimachi is a third-year evening student. Prior to attending law school Justin graduated Cum Laude with a B.S. in Computer Science from Seattle University. Justin plans to leverage his software developer experience into a focus on privacy and intellectual property litigation. Outside of law school, Justin enjoys wine tasting in Napa and Sonoma, travel, reading historical fiction, and going to trivia nights.

Bacilio Mendez II

executive website editor

Bacilio Mendez II is a 2020 Honors JD/MBA graduate of the GGU School of Law/Edward S. Ageno School of Business and current Dual LLM student in tax and Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law. Bacilio is also the former Director of Information and Compliance for Benjamin Madison Wealth Advisors. In 2013, Bacilio was named the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Legal Worker of the Year and was an NLG 2012 W. Haywood Burns Memorial Fellow for Social & Economic Justice (focusing on data visualization of public information). Prior to law school, Bacilio earned a Master of Library and Information Science from Pratt Institute where he served the Kings County Supreme Court, of the New York State Unified Court System, as the 2010 Nathan R. Sobel Law Library Fellow and was inducted into Beta Phi Mu (the International Library & Information Studies Honor Society). Bacilio also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Modern Dance from Oberlin College and is a member of both the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Actors' Equity Association.

Isabella Borges

Associate Editor

Isabella is a third-year student set to graduate in May 2021, and associate editor of the Golden Gate University Law Review. Prior to attending law school, Isabella received her B.A. in Communication from The University of Colorado at Boulder, with a minor in Business. This past summer, Isabella worked as a summer associate at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. Outside of law school and legal work, this native San Franciscan keeps busy coaching youth basketball at the Olympic Club, where she is also a member of the women’s national basketball team.

Shawna Doughman

Associate Editor

Shawna is a third-year student and an Associate Editor of the Golden Gate University Law Review.

Alex Rifkind

Associate Editor

Alex Rifkind is a member of the GGU Law class of 2021. He is a Bay Area native and holds a B.S. in Neuropharmacology from University of California, Santa Barbara and a M.S. in Biological Sciences from Dominican University of California. Prior to law school, Alex worked in the fields of translational and clinical research, as well as real estate investment and development. His legal interests include real estate, estate planning, and taxation and will pursue dual LLM degrees in estate planning and taxation.

Suzin Win

Associate Editor

Suzin is a third year student at GGU School of Law. Prior to law school, Suzin earned a B.A. in Economics and International Relations from Boston University. She has experience working in finance and banking, and her legal interests include business, commercial, and antitrust law. She is currently working as a law clerk for a commercial land-use firm.

Staff Writers

GGU Law Review's Lifeblood

To see the current, full GGU Law Review masthead, click here. For mastheads of prior issues, click here.