SACRAMENTO — Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the appointment of his Judicial Appointments Secretary and Legal Affairs Secretary, and other members of his legal affairs team in the Governor’s Office.
Justice Martin Jenkins, 65, of, San Francisco, has been appointed Judicial Appointments Secretary in the Office of the Governor. Justice Jenkins currently serves as an Associate Justice on the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, and was appointed to this position in 2008. Prior to this court appointment, Justice Jenkins served as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California from 1997 to 2008. From 1992 to 1997, he served as a judge on the Alameda County Superior Court and previously served on the Oakland Municipal Court from 1989 to 1992. From 1986 to 1989, he was a trial attorney with the Pacific Bell Legal Department of San Francisco and from 1983 to 1986, he worked in the U.S. Department of Justice as a trial attorney. From 1980 to 1983, he worked as a prosecutor for the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $185,004. Jenkins is a Democrat.
Catherine E. Lhamon, 47, of Takoma Park, Maryland, has been appointed Legal Affairs Secretary in the Office of the Governor. Lhamon is the Chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and was appointed to the role in 2016 by President Barack Obama. From 2013 to 2017, she served as the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education. From 2009 to 2013, she served as the Director of Impact Litigation at Public Counsel, the nation’s largest pro bono law firm. From 1999 to 2009, she practiced law at the ACLU of Southern California, eventually rising to the position of Assistant Legal Director. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $200,004. Lhamon is a Democrat.
Analea Patterson, 47, of Washington, D.C., has been appointed Chief Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary in the Office of the Governor. Patterson was a partner in the law firm of Orrick, Herrington, and Sutcliffe from 2005 to 2018. She previously served as Special Assistant for Policy and Planning for California Attorney General Bill Lockyer and as Policy and Legislative Director for Lieutenant Governor Gray Davis. She also served as a law clerk for the Honorable Frank C. Damrell (ret.) on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $184,992. Patterson is a Democrat.
Kelli Evans, 49, of Oakland, has been appointed Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary for Criminal Justice in the Office of the Governor. From 2017 to 2019, she served as Special Assistant to the Attorney General at the California Department of Justice. From 2014 to 2017, she served as Senior Director for the Administration of Justice at the California State Bar. She has served as a member of federal court-appointed monitoring teams for the Oakland and Cleveland Police Departments. From 2010 to 2013, she was the Associate Director of the ACLU of Northern California, and previously served as a Senior Trial Attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $175,008 Evans is a Democrat.
Rei Onishi, 37, of Sacramento, has been appointed Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary in the Office of the Governor. He previously served as Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary in the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. from 2017 to 2019. From 2015 to 2017, he served as a Senior Policy Advisor and White House Fellow in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. From 2012 to 2015, he served as a Deputy Attorney General at the California Department of Justice, Office of Attorney General, and from 2011 to 2012 was a law clerk for the Honorable Beverly Martin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. From 2004 to 2006, he was a legislative aide and Senate fellow in the Office of State Senator Joe Simitian. Onishi is a co-founder of the Buck Fellows Program and past board member of the American Constitution Society Bay Area Lawyer Chapter. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School and a Master of Public Policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $155,004. Onishi is a Democrat.
Shubhra Shivpuri, 36, of Oakland, has been appointed Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary in the Office of the Governor. Shivpuri has served as Deputy Attorney General of the Civil Rights Enforcement Section at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General since 2017. She was a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division from 2015 to 2017 and an assistant U.S. attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office from 2011 to 2015. Shivpuri was a litigation associate at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP from 2007 to 2010. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $160,008. Shivpuri is a Democrat.
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