Alumni Women's Law Forum

Current AWLF Board

AWLF 2007 Board

Chair: Melinda Morgan, '95 melinda-morgan@rbmn.com
Melinda Morgan is from the law class of 1995. She also obtained her B.A. from BYU in 1991. She is currently a shareholder at Richards, Brandt, Miller & Nelson, where she practices in the area of insurance defense, primarily handling personal injury and products liability matters. She is a member of the Utah and Washington State Bars, Defense Research Institute, Utah Defense Lawyers Association, and Women Lawyers of Utah.
Chair-elect: Bronwyn Whittaker Petersen, '98 bpetersen@mohlaw.com
Bronwyn Whittaker Petersen received her B.A. from Brigham Young University in 1994 and her J.D., magna cum laude, from BYU Law School in 1998. While attending law school, Bronwyn was a member of the Order of the Coif and served on the Law Review. Following graduation, Bronwyn joined the California firm of Best, Best & Krieger as a litigation associate. Bronwyn is now a partner at Mundell, Odlum & Haws, LLP in San Bernardino, California, a firm that represents numerous clients ranging from an auto dealership with over 20 dealerships in California and Arizona, to the second largest school district in Southern California. Bronwyn's practice emphasizes business litigation. She is married and the mother of a young daughter, Dylan.
Secretary: Natacha Allred Epley, '03 n_allred@hotmail.com
Natacha Epley graduated from the BYU law school in 2003 and received her B.S. in Family Sciences from BYU in 1998. Immediately following law school, Natacha clerked for The Hon. Daniel A. Barker at the Arizona Court of Appeals. Following her clerkship, she practiced with Stoel Rives LLP, first in Stoel's Seattle office and then in the firm's San Francisco office. Natacha currently works for Stoel out of her home on a contractual basis. Her practice is in the area of commercial real estate, focusing primarily on shopping center leases and commercial loan transactions. Natacha, a dual French-American citizen, is admitted to the New York and Washington State Bars and will soon receive her admission to the California Bar. Natacha was recently married to Paul Epley and has two stepchildren, Mark and Isabelle, a mini-Schnauzer Fluffy, and a black kitty Malachi.
Past Chair: Natalie Peterson Clawson, '02 nclawson@gmail.com
Natalie Peterson Clawson graduated in the class of 2002 from BYU law school. She received her B.A. degree in Political Science from BYU in 1999. After graduating from law school, Natalie worked for BYU's Center for International Law and Religion Studies. She then clerked for Judge Steven Hansen in Utah's Fourth District Court. She currently practices estate planning and adoption law with the law firm of MacArthur Heder and Metler. Natalie and her husband Craig Clawson live in Alexandria, Virginia.
Annual Events Director: Melissa W. Rawlinson, '97 melissa.rawlinson@sage.com
Melissa W. Rawlinson graduated from Brigham Young University in 1997 and received her J.D., magna cum laude, from BYU Law School in 2001. A member of the Ohio and Arizona State Bars, Melissa is an associate at the Phoenix office of Fennemore Craig PC. She practices in the areas of business torts and commercial litigation.
Mentoring Director: Natacha Allred Epley, '03 n_allred@hotmail.com
Natacha Epley graduated from the BYU law school in 2003 and received her B.S. in Family Sciences from BYU in 1998. Immediately following law school, Natacha clerked for The Hon. Daniel A. Barker at the Arizona Court of Appeals. Following her clerkship, she practiced with Stoel Rives LLP, first in Stoel's Seattle office and then in the firm's San Francisco office. Natacha currently works for Stoel out of her home on a contractual basis. Her practice is in the area of commercial real estate, focusing primarily on shopping center leases and commercial loan transactions. Natacha, a dual French-American citizen, is admitted to the New York and Washington State Bars and will soon receive her admission to the California Bar. Natacha was recently married to Paul Epley and has two stepchildren, Mark and Isabelle, a mini-Schnauzer Fluffy, and a black kitty Malachi.
Email Group Coordinator: Jennifer Brown, '02jbrown@chapman.com
Jennifer Brown graduated in the class of 2002 from the BYU law school. She received her B.A. degree from the University of Detroit in 1997, majoring in Legal Administration. Jennifer is currently an associate in the General Litigation department at Chapman and Cutler LLP (Salt Lake City office). Jennifer's practice focus is in the areas of commercial and construction litigation. She is also a certified mediator and regularly volunteers at Utah Dispute Resolution, mediating primarily domestic issues. Before joining Chapman and Cutler, Jennifer was an associate at Mabey & Murray LC (formerly LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP) in Salt Lake City, where she was in the litigation practice group, focusing on commercial, construction and bankruptcy matters.
Website Coordinator: Karen D. Greene, '81 kgreene@brco.com
Karen Denny Greene obtained her J.D. at the BYU J. Reuben Clark Law School in 1981, simultaneously obtaining her M.S. in Sociology from BYU. An Oregon native, Karen practiced law in Oregon following graduation, later moving to the San Francisco Bay Area. From 1989 to 2006, she was associated with Morrison & Foerster LLP in a variety of administrative capacities, including Firm-wide Litigation Support Coordinator. She also worked for Fireman's Fund Insurance Company for two years as Administrator of the General Counsel's Office. She is currently a consultant specializing in litigation technology and electronic discovery at Baker Robbins & Company.3
Law School Liaison: Beth Hansen, '95 hansenb@lawgate.byu.edu
Beth graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics in December 1989. She taught junior high school for two years. When a student lit up a cigarette in class she decided it was time to do something else with her life and applied to law school. Beth graduated from the J. Reuben Clark Law School in 1995 and worked as a civil litigation attorney in Las Vegas for four years. She is currently the Director of Career Services at the BYU Law School where she has been since 1999.
California (Southern California) Regional Director: Erika Beecham, '06 elp22@byulaw.net
Erika Beecham graduated from the J. Reuben Clark Law School in 2006 and is a member of the California State Bar. In 2002, she received her B.A. degree from BYU majoring in communications Erika is currently a litigation associate in the Orange County office of Morrison & Foerster LLP.
Colorado (Denver) Regional Director: Aerie Parkinson, '04 aerie.parkinson@usps.gov
Aerie Parkinson graduated in 2004 from the BYU law school and became a member of the Utah Bar Association in 2004. She is currently employed with the U.S. Postal Service in their Denver office where she practices Labor and Employment law. Aerie is the Regional Director of the AWLF's Denver Region.
D.C. (Washington) Regional Director: Rana Lehr Lehnardt, '02 lehrlehnardt@hotmail.com
Rana Lehr Lehnardt, who received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and French from BYU in 1994, graduated from the J. Reuben Clark Law School in 2002, and obtained an LL.M. in international human rights law from Columbia Law School in 2005. Following graduation from law school, Rana clerked for Judge Terrence L. O'Brien on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. She also served as NY law and policy coordinator for the World Family Policy Center, and later worked for the ACLU's Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief as its legal advisor and coordinator. Rana has two young children, and currently provides legal services in the Washington, DC area on a contract basis, working on projects regarding such topics as tolerance, children's rights, and civil liberties.
New York (NYC) Regional Director: Emily Kunz, '97 ekunz@milbank.com
Amy graduated from BYU law school in December of 1997, and has a B.A. in Pre Law from Utah State University. She is currently practicing "Mommy-Law" at home with her three sons: McKay, 8, Jack, 4, and Gavin, 2. Prior to full time family life, Amy practiced criminal law in California. She was a Deputy District Attorney in Orange County and San Mateo County California for approximately three years, then spent a little over a year in private practice doing criminal defense. During law school, Amy was a board member of the Womens Law Forum, participated on the trial advocacy team, served as an SBA officer, and had an article published in the BYU Journal of Law and Education. Amy recently passed the Arizona Bar Exam.
Utah (Salt Lake City) Regional Director: Heather Farnsworth, '02 heather@cannonmatch.com
Heather Orme Farnsworth graduated from the J. Reuben Clark Law School in 2002 and is a member of the Utah State Bar. She received her B.S. degree from the University of Utah in 1999. Heather is currently an associate in the Salt Lake City Firm of Cannon & Match, PC, where she specializes in Social Security disability and administrative law.
Utah (Utah County) Regional Director: Kathleen Phinney, '95 ksphinney@msn.com
Kathleen Phinney graduated cum laude from the J. Reuben Clark Law School in 1995 and is a member of the Utah State Bar. She received her B.S. degree from Utah State University in 1992. Kathleen is currently a partner in the Provo, Utah firm of Higbee Ford & Phinney, LC, where she specializes in plaintiffs' personal injury matters. In addition to her participation on the AWLF Board, Kathleen is a board member of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society Pro Bono Project.
Washington (Seattle) Regional Director: Position vacant - please volunteer!