OFFICERS
Sonya Mehta - President
Sonya Z. Mehta is a trial and appellate attorney with Siegel, Yee, Brunner & Mehta. She represents public and private sector labor unions, individual employees, consumers, students, and community organizations. Ms. Mehta is an experienced and committed advocate for workers’ and civil rights. She has won a six-figure jury verdict, favorable bench rulings, and significant settlements in whistleblower, discrimination, and other civil rights cases.
She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and received her law degree from the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law. Before practicing law, Ms. Mehta was the Co-Executive Director of community and workers’ organization Young Workers United (YWU) in San Francisco. At YWU, she won the first paid sick leave law in the country through a 2006 San Francisco ballot initiative.
Erica Summan - Vice President
Erica Summan is a trial attorney with Wood Smith Henning and Berman LLP. She defends clients in complex personal injury, habitability, and construction defect claims. She previously practiced in tort defense, contract law, products liability defense, pharmaceutical malpractice, property law, and corporate law.
She is also on the Executive Committee for the Trial Practice Section of Alameda County Bar Association. She earned her J.D. from Southwestern Law School and her B.A. from UC Santa Barbara. While in law school, she interned for Vice Dean Anahid Gharakhanian and was awarded for her devoted work in representing minorities in the legal field.
Nan McGarry - Treasurer
Nan McGarry focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation with an emphasis on construction litigation and insurance coverage disputes. Nan represents clients in all states of litigation, from early phases of case assessment through trial.
Nan’s pro bono practice focuses on tenant advocacy an asylum proceedings. While working at the Community Legal Serves in East Palo Alto through Pillsbury’s Stimson Legal Fellowship, she represented tenants in eviction and rent increase proceedings. While in law school, Nan also worked for the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, where she represented indigent clients in the areas of housing, wage an hour, and family law.
Directors
Abby Harrington Putzulu
Abby Harrington Putzulu is an associate in Fisher Phillips’ San Francisco office. She represents employers in all aspects of labor and employment law.
Prior to law school Abby worked as a teacher and a school administrator in both Nashville, TN and Washington, D.C. During her time in law school, Abby gained experience in the Individual Representation Clinic litigating a wage and hour case in Santa Clara Superior Court. She was the Executive Notes Editor for the UC Hastings Women’s Law Journal, Vice President of the Women’s Law Society, served on the Hastings Curriculum Committee, and competed on the Trial Team.
Elizabeth Schwartz
Elizabeth Schwartz is an associate with Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost (F3). She represents school districts in California primarily focusing on special education and student services issues. She serves as the Office Managing Associate in F3’s Oakland office. Elizabeth earned her undergraduate degree from Miami University and her J.D. from the University of Oregon. Before attending law school, Elizabeth taught second grade in Oklahoma City, OK.
Jean Hyams
In the world of worker’s rights advocacy, Jean is a recognized leader. She is the recipient of the 2019 Joe Posner Award as Attorney of the Year for the California Employment Lawyers association. In 2018, the 1300-member strong also bestowed on her its prestigious Leadership Award. Although her litigation practice is devoted to representation for employees, Jean has also served as a mediator in employment and disability access lawsuits for over 15 years.
Lee Maranto
Lee Maranto is the principal attorney at Maranto Law, PC in Oakland, CA. He brings his diverse career background in student affairs and diversity and inclusion to his practice areas of: criminal defense, estate planning and trust matters, domestic violence and elder abuse restraining orders and student conduct proceedings in higher education. Lee is originally from Los Angeles and received his B.A. from UC Santa Cruz and his J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law. When not advocating for his clients, Lee enjoys hanging out with his two children, playing poker and enjoying all the awesome things the Bay Area has to offer. Lee is a proud Oakland resident.
Mariah Weaver
Mariah serves as the media chair, check out WLAC’s new website! Mariah is a law clerk at Freeman, Mathis & Gary. Mariah earned her undergraduate degree from Bard College and her J.D. from UC Law, San Francisco (formally UC Hastings). In law school, Mariah served on the board of the Journal on Gender & Justice. Before attending law school, Mariah worked in the tech sector.
Maggie Calonge
Maggie Calonge is proud to be re-joining the Executive Board of WLAC having served as Treasurer previously in 2017-2019. Maggie trial attorney working as a Deputy District Attorney on the Felony Trial Team in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, where she has served the people of Alameda County for eleven years. When she is not working, Maggie is a runner who enjoys spending time with her two young and spirited daughters.
The Honorable Noël Wise - Judicial Liaison
Noël Wise was appointed to the California Superior Court, County of Alameda, by Gov. Brown in 2014. She currently serves as the Supervising Judge of the Appellate Division and the Acting Supervising Judge of the Civil Division where she also has a Civil Direct Calendar Department. After her judicial clerkship she joined the United States Department of Justice through the Honors Program and served as a Trial Attorney in Washington D.C. and an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern Dist. of California. In addition to work in private practice and as in-house counsel, she has taught at numerous law schools including Berkeley and Stanford. She has written various articles including America’s Judiciary Doesn’t Look Like America: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/10/americas-judiciary-doesnt-look-like-america/616692/. Judge Wise also serves on the board of Girls Inc. of Alameda County, the Alameda Food Bank, and Legal Access Alameda.
The Honorable Tamiza Hockenhull Stone - Judicial Liaison
Tamiza Hockenhull Stone was elected to the Alameda County Superior Court bench in June of 2022. Prior to her current service as a Judge, she served the people of Alameda County as a Superior Court Commissioner for almost seven years. Judge Hockenhull Stone has also served as an Administrative Law Judge. Prior to her judicial career, she served as an Adjunct Professor at University of California College of Law (San Francisco), a Deputy City Attorney in San Francisco and as a Director of a Court Appointed program while managing her own law firm. Judge Hockenhull Stone has been a board member of the Charles Houston Bar Association and Earl Warren Inns of Court (Past President). She is passionate about mentoring young lawyers and educating young people about their civic duty, the legal profession and the judiciary. Thus, in recent years, Judge Hockenhull Stone has managed the court’s annual Law Day program and festivities.