President
Eric Berg
Firm
Berg Law Group
Education
UC San Diego (B.A.)
University of Southern California (J.D.)
Experience & Practice Areas
Eric Berg is the Founding Partner of Berg Law Group, a boutique trial firm representing emerging and established companies and individuals in high-stakes disputes throughout California. Prior to founding the firm, Eric served as the Chair of the Litigation Department of Hatch and Parent and as a Litigation Shareholder with Hatch and Parent’s successor, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.
Eric obtained his BA in Political Science from the University of California San Diego in 1984, where he was selected as Student Commencement Speaker. He obtained his law degree from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law in 1987.
Community Involvement
Eric is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, an invitation-only national trial lawyer organization, where he holds the rank of Associate. He is an Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Associations National Roster of Arbitrators as well as its Panel of Construction Arbitrators. Eric also serves as Chairperson of the Bar’s Fee Arbitration Committee.
Eric is the Past Board Chair of the Tri Counties Region of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), as well as the former Chair of the ADL’s Civil Rights Committee. In 2012 Eric was presented with the ADL’s Harter-Myerson Award in recognition of his service as an outstanding community leader. He also currently serves on the Board of the Santa Barbara Jewish Federation.
President- Elect
Jennifer Gillon Duffy
Firm
Rimon Law
Education
University of California at Los Angeles (B.A.)
University of San Francisco (J.D.)
Experience & Practice Areas
Jennifer Gillon Duffy grew up in Santa Barbara and specializes in employment and family law matters (Certified Family Law Specialist). Jenn attended UCLA and then the University of San Francisco, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review and a Judicial Extern to the California Supreme Court for the Honorable Joyce Luther Kennard. Ms. Duffy is a partner in the international firm Rimôn Law.
Community Involvement
Jenn is a passionate community volunteer, paying it forward in appreciation for the people who have helped her on her own journey. She is a member of the Santa Barbara Chapter of the National Charity League with her three daughters, on the Board of Storyteller Children’s Center, and was Dream Foundation’s Volunteer of the Year in 2018. She has been named in the “Top 50 Women in Business” and “Who’s Who in Professional Services” for multiple years by the Pacific Coast Business Times. Jenn is Group Leader of one of the Santa Barbara groups of ProVisors and a member of The W Source (both national networking organizations).
Secretary
Stephen Dunkle
Firm
Sanger Swysen & Dunkle
Education
Pomona College (B.A.)
University of Southern California (J.D.)
Experience & Practice Areas
Stephen K. Dunkle is an attorney at the law firm of Sanger Swysen & Dunkle. He is a graduate of Pomona College and received his law degree from the University of Southern California Law School. His practice includes representing defendants in trials and appeals in state and federal court. He is an Appellate Law Specialist, certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. He is the chair of the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice Amicus Committee. He is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and California Appellate Defense Counsel. Mr. Dunkle’s career highlights include being part of the team of attorneys who successfully defended Michael Jackson and being one of the leaders of a group of criminal defense attorneys who volunteered their time to defeat a proposed gang injunction in Santa Barbara.
Chief Financial Officer
Erin Parks
Firm
Attorney at Law
Experience & Practice Areas
Erin R. Parks is a transactional attorney and a civil litigator based in Santa Barbara. She serves as a personal attorney; a family attorney; and general counsel for small business owners in a myriad of transactional and civil litigation arenas: California Employment Law, Estate Planning, Immigration, Probate, Trust Administration & Litigation, Real Estate, and Small Business Formations.
Erin started her Santa Barbara legal career in 1988. Her solo practice has succeeded because of her fierce tenacity, compassion for clients, attention to detail, superior writing acumen, and knowing that being a peacemaker, and an ethical officer of the court, take precedence.
She is an active member of the Santa Barbara County Bar Association (SBCBA) and the State Bar of California. Erin returned to serve on SBCBA’s Board of Directors in 2020. In 2021, she led the editorial team of SBCBA’s Santa Barbara Lawyer. Erin has been a member of the State Bar’s Labor & Employment Law Section and served on the State Bar’s Committee on Women in the Law. Erin’s fight for the progression of women’s rights is borne out by her longstanding membership in Santa Barbara Women Lawyers (SBWL), service as a past SBWL board member, and continuing SBWL mentoring committee membership.
Past President
Elizabeth Diaz
Firm
Legal Aid Foundation
Education
UC Santa Barbara (B.A)
Santa Barbara College of Law (J.D)
Experience & Practice Areas
Elizabeth Diaz is Managing Attorney for the Family Violence Prevention and Immigration Program at the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County, in Santa Barbara, focusing her practice primarily on restraining orders and other related family law and civil matters for victims of domestic violence, elder abuse, sexual abuse and Human Trafficking. Elizabeth was born and raised in Santa Barbara; Spanish was her first language. Elizabeth earned her BA in Law and Society at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and her JD from Santa Barbara College of Law.
Community Involvement
In 2017, Elizabeth received the Deborah Talmage Attorney of the Year Award, and was the first Hispanic attorney to be Santa Barbara County Bar Association President. Elizabeth was also the first president to serve for two years instead of the traditional one year term.