Judge Douglas R. M. Nazarian has served on the Appellate Court of Maryland since January 2013. He joined the Court after five years at the Maryland Public Service Commission and fifteen years as a litigator in law firms in Washington and Baltimore. Judge Nazarian is a graduate of Yale College and Duke Law School. He clerked for Judge James B. Loken of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Judge Nazarian also serves as a Senior Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.
Karyn Polak is a long-time financial services executive and General Counsel who is focused on equitable development and mobilizing capital for broader social and economic equality. Karyn earned her BA from Washington University in St. Louis and her JD from Boston University School of Law.
Peter Romer-Friedman is a civil rights and public interest litigator. He is a principal and founder of Peter Romer-Friedman Law PLLC and was previously a partner at Gupta Wessler PLLC, a public interest appellate firm, and Outten & Golden LLP, a workers’ rights firm. After graduating from Columbia Law School, Peter clerked for Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the Ninth Circuit and served as labor counsel to Senator Edward M. Kennedy and the Senate HELP Committee.
Aliza Shatzman is the President and Founder of The Legal Accountability Project. Aliza writes and speaks regularly about judicial accountability and clerkships. Aliza earned her BA from Williams College and her JD from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. After law school, Aliza clerked in D.C. Superior Court.
Edward "Coach" Weinhaus is an attorney and a business and law professor who has taught at universities including Chicago Booth School of Business, UCLA Anderson School of Management, Washington University, Yeshiva University, and Pepperdine University. He earned his JD from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. His most recent entrepreneurial interests include founding Athena Bitcoin, which implemented bitcoin as legal tender for El Salvador, and serving as the founding Executive Director of media watchdog Association of Principled Press.
Matt Preston is a military veteran who earned his BA with honors from IUPUI and his JD with honors from Michigan Law School. Matt previously clerked in the Eastern District of Michigan and on the Michigan Supreme Court, and he is currently clerking in the Eastern District of Michigan for Judge Susan DeClercq. Next year, Matt will clerk on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Professor Nick Fromherz is a seasoned attorney, former federal law clerk, and Adjunct Professor at Lewis & Clark Law School, specializing in international environmental law, administrative law, and environmental issues in Latin America. After clerking for Judge David Lawson on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and for Judge Terence Evans on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Professor Fromherz worked as a litigating attorney for a large firm in California. He then transitioned into environmental and academic work, serving for several years as Visiting Assistant Professor at Lewis & Clark Law School and then Latin American Program Director for the Global Law Alliance for Animals and the Environment at the same institution. Currently, Nick works as an independent consultant and adjunct law professor.