Paralegal Studies

The Honorable Jacob Blea III is a Superior Court Judge in Alameda County.  He is a former Presiding Judge of Family Law and is currently the Supervising Judge of the Pleasanton Court. Judge Blea maintained an extensive Civil Litigation, Family Law, and general law practice before his appointment to the bench in 1998.

Judge Blea is also a past president of the Alameda County Bar Association. Judge Blea has been a member of CSUEB’s Paralegal Studies faculty since 1986 teaching Civil Litigation, Introduction to Law, and Family Law. He is a graduate of CSUEB, where he also received his teaching credential He received his JD from UC Berkeley School of Law-Boalt Hall.

Dwight Dickerson, Esq., sincerely believes as professionals that we have a duty to bring along the next generation of professionals. The joy of teaching is to inspire students to move forward with the desire of learning and doing and not be afraid to take risks. Life is not about the ultimate destination but the journey getting there and what we experience and learn along the way.

Dickerson is the Director of the Paralegal Studies Program at California State University, East Bay and a former member of the ABA Standing Committee on Paralegals Approval Commission and an active member of and presenter for The American Association for Paralegal Education.

He has been a member of the faculty of the CSUEB Paralegal Studies Program since 1991, and is an instructor of Contract Law and Nonprofit Law. Dickerson graduated from Brandeis University with honors majoring in American & Urban Studies and received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. He has been an active member of the State Bar of California since December 1977, specializing in real estate, consumer, business, and non-profit law related matters.

Jeff D. Feinberg, Esq., is a solo practitioner teaching Civil Litigation in the Paralegal Studies Program at California State University, East Bay.  Before starting his own practice, Feinberg was senior counsel at Toschi, Sidran, Collins & Doyle, where he specializes in first and third party auto liability, personal injury, premises liability, and subrogation defense. He earned his BA in Political Science and Economics from the University of California, San Diego, and his J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law.

Michael Greathouse is a 1981 graduate of Pepperdine University School of Law. He has been a practicing attorney in the State of California since 1981. Greathouse has tried approximately 20 criminal and civil jury cases to completion in state and federal court. He has prepared and argued numerous motions in state and federal courts in real estate, personal injury, business, and employment cases. Greathouse is an experienced appellate attorney who has handled appeals in state and federal court. He has also worked as General Counsel for a nutritional and high technology map company.

Greathouse has been teaching on a part-time basis for the past nine years in CSUEB’s Paralegal Studies and Human Resource Management programs. He teaches Legal Research and Writing and Electronic Discovery in the Paralegal Studies program. He teaches Discrimination Law and Wage and Hour Practice in the Human Resource Management program. His teaching philosophy is teaching students practical skills that will help them succeed as paralegals. Students learn through direct participation, writing exercises, and visual presentations that teach the basics of research and writing.

Edward M. Lai practices in the areas of employment and general liability defense, construction defect, and Americans with Disabilities defense. He also brings with him experience as an insurance claims representative at several national insurance carriers.

Lai has had overwhelmingly successful results in jury and bench trials in state and federal courts and arguing civil appeals before the California District Court of Appeal. He has represented building contractors, developers, small business owners, national corporations, and individuals alike in the defense of various general liability and business litigations.

Lai is also very active in the East Bay community. In addition to being an associate professor at Cal State East Bay, he is a Special Master for numerous Bay Area Counties and a commissioner with the City of Oakland Rent Board. Lai is secretary of the Board of Directors for the Alameda County Meals on Wheels, president of the Redwood Heights Neighborhood Association, and an oral board assessor for the Oakland Police.

Alexander H. Lubarsky, LL.M., Esq. is a practicing litigator and a legal technology enthusiast. Upon graduating from law school, Lubarsky co-founded Community Legal Centers in East San Jose to provide low cost immigration, bankruptcy, family law, and criminal defense representation to low income immigrant communities. He also consults on litigation software solutions and e-discovery practices to corporate legal departments and law firms of all sizes.

Lubarsky has consistently been active in legal technology. In 2003, he was elected to the California State Bar Law Technology Executive Committee. He is a certified trainer/consultant in the four major litigation support applications: Catalyst CR , Summation, Concordance, and CaseMap. Lubarsky is EnCase Certified and spent several years as a Director for Guidance Software – the world’s leading computer forensic software manufacturer. Further, he has taught litigation support courses to students at various law schools and paralegal schools throughout California. He has remained a member of the paralegal education faculty at California State University, East Bay for over a decade. Lubarsky is a regular speaker on the topic of litigation support systems and electronic discovery as well as computer forensics. He has presented at multiple legal technology conferences and State Bar events throughout the nation.

He has held past positions with Summation Legal Technologies, ZANTAZ Guidance Software, Catalyst Repository Systems, and TERIS. He assists small law firms and solo practitioners implement technology to allow them to compete ‘head-on’ with AMLAW 200 large law firms. He has authored various articles for legal technology publications such as the electronic discovery chapter of CEB’s Internet Law, Law Office Computing, and The Bottom Line. He is currently authoring the textbook Computer Applications for the Paralegal for Aspen Law and Business Publishers. Lubarsky has trained and consulted to hundreds of law firms, corporate legal departments, and government counsel offices.

Thomas Ogas practices criminal and family law. He has been a criminal defense attorney for more than ten years. In that time, he has personally handled thousands of cases, from misdemeanors to juvenile offenses to serious felony matters, and tried more than 40 cases before a jury. Ogas’ success rate in trial is unusually high. He has won more than 60 percent of his cases, including winning cases where the potential punishment is life in prison. This is an outstanding success rate in the field of criminal law, a field where District Attorneys win 90 percent or more of their trials.

Ogas has served as Judge Pro Tem in the Small Claims and Traffic Division of the Alameda County Superior Court. He is an adjunct professor at Cal State East Bay's Paralegal Studies Program where he teaches Criminal Law. He has previously taught a course in Investigation for Paralegals.

In 2010, Ogas was the recipient of the Alameda County Bar Association Barristers Distinguished Service Award. He has served on the Alameda County Bar Association Board of Directors and chair of the Barristers Executive Committee. He is past president of Cherry City Toastmasters in San Leandro, overseeing a club that received the President’s Distinguished Award (the highest possible award for excellence) during both years of his term.

Ogas volunteers his time by providing free legal services to the San Leandro community through the Lawyers in the Library program that he started. The program provides monthly pro bono clinics to the community on all legal matters.

He also volunteers in the annual High School Mock Trial competitions where he serves as a scorer and presider. For six years, he previously coached his own High School Mock Trial team, the team from his home town of Exeter, California.

Ogas earned his J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law and his BA in Communications from Pepperdine University.

As an experienced trial advocate, Geoffrey Steele spends a great deal of his time representing his clients in courts around the Bay Area and in Southern California. He has served on or chaired many Bar Sections for the Contra Costa Bar Association including the Litigation Section, the Corporate and In-House Counsel section, and the Pro Bono Section as well as being the President of The Law Center a non-profit organization providing pro bono legal services to the working poor which also runs programs for the Contra Costa Courts and assists elders with legal issues including Elder Financial Abuse. Starting off his career as a New York Actor in the early 70s attending the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Geoffrey moved westward after attending his sister’s wedding in San Diego and falling in love with California. He moved to Northern California where he went to law school and has been with firms as diverse as McKenna & Cuneo; Brobeck Phleger & Harrison; Morgan Miller & Blair; and was the founding member of Nevin Ramos & Steele, and Steele, George, Schofield & Ramos among others. Geoffrey has appeared before the California Courts of Appeal and the Federal District Courts and Federal Courts of Appeal. He is now a solo practitioner in Contra Costa County as well as of Counsel to Gizzi Reep Foley in Solano County.

Carol Thornberry is a paralegal and the coordinator of the Paralegal Internship classes for the Paralegal Studies program. She also teaches the Introduction to Paralegalism class. Thornberry currently works as a real estate paralegal in a land development business. She is also a licensed realtor. Thornberry previously worked for the law firm of Burnham and Brown. Thornberry earned her Paralegal Certificate from California State University, East Bay in 1993.

Stuart West is a registered patent attorney with extensive domestic and international experience in all areas of Intellectual Property Law. West holds undergraduate and advanced degrees in electrical and structural engineering, and he is a fully-qualified and licensed solicitor and registered European attorney who speaks fluent German and French. West is also a registered professional engineer, general and engineering contractor, and real estate broker. He is licensed to practice law in California, Washington D.C. and before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Northern and Central Districts of California, the Central District of Illinois, and the Northern District of Florida. West is also a fully-qualified member of Mensa®.

West earned his J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law.

Kai Williamson, MEd, has been a paraprofessional for 31 years. She spent the first seven years of her career in a law firm working in various specialty areas including litigation, family law, corporate finance, and real estate. She then transitioned to in-house positions working for various Fortune 500 companies. Williamson currently works for Alorica Inc. as a senior international corporate paralegal and director of global corporate governance.

As the current president of the Orange County Paralegal Association, Williamson oversees the strategic direction and operations of a nonprofit organization that serves more than 600 paralegals in the region. She’s also a NALA and an ABA paralegal member, demonstrating her commitment to the profession's highest standards.

With over 31 years of experience as a paralegal and 17 years as an educator, Williamson has developed expertise in corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, legal compliance, and legal document preparation. She has handled international corporate governance for leading companies such as Alorica and Western Digital, managing global entity databases and trademark portfolios. She has also taught courses in corporate law, business law, introduction to law, and legal career skills at UC Irvine, Santa Ana College, and Cal State East Bay.

Lastly, Williamson has received multiple awards for her teaching excellence and service to the paralegal community.