Author Spotlight
This page contains profiles of select authors published through Esquire Books, Inc.
DANE S. CIOLINO
Dane S. Ciolino is the Alvin R. Christovich Distinguished Professor of Law at Loyola University College of Law. Professor Ciolino practiced with the New York City law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, LLP, and later with the New Orleans law firm of Stone, Pigman, Walther, Wittmann, LLC. He is a graduate of Tulane Law School, magna cum laude, where he served as Editor in Chief of the Tulane Law Review and was inducted into Order of the Coif. He is the co-author of Louisiana Criminal Law: Cases and Materials.
IRA L. SHAFIROFF
Ira L. Shafiroff is a professor of law at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, California. While working as a tax examiner for the IRS, he attended Southwestern Law School where he graduated manga cum laude and subsequently started his own tax and estates practice. He returned to Southwestern Law School as a professor in 1982 and also served as dean of students. Professor Shafiroff is a long time lecturer for BARBRI bar review. Professor Shafiroff has authored a treatise on federal tax procedure and a wills and trusts casebook. Most recently, Professor Shafiroff is the author of the casebook Property Law: Fundamental Principles and Moral Concerns.
BOBBY MARZINE HARGES
Professor Bobby Marzine Harges is the Adams and Reese Distinguished Professor of Law at Loyola University College of Law. Prior to his work at Loyola, Professor Harges taught at the University of Mississippi School of Law and practiced law at the New Orleans law firm of Deutsch, Kerrigan, and Stiles. Professor Harges is an experienced mediator, arbitrator, and attorney-chair of medical review panels. He is the founder of the Loyola Mediation Program, and his teaching interests include mediation and arbitration, evidence, criminal law and criminal procedure. Professor Harges is a graduate of Harvard Law School (LL.M.), the University of Mississippi (JD), and Mississippi State University (BS Engineering, cum laude). Professor Harges is the author of The Handbook on Louisiana Alternative Dispute Resolution and is the co-author of Harges and Jones' Louisiana Evidence (trial handbook) and Louisiana Evidence: Problems, Cases, and Materials.
PETER RICCHIUTI
Peter Ricchiuti is the author of Equity Research. Peter is the Assistant Dean, and has taught finance at, Tulane University's Business School in New Orleans since 1986. He started his career with the investment firm of Kidder Peabody & Company in Boston and also served as the Assistant State Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer for the State of Louisiana. He is a board member of a mid-cap, publicly traded company, and he founded the nationally acclaimed BURKENROAD REPORTS Equity Research Program (www.Burkenroad.org) in 1993, which he still operates today. He has addressed audiences in 46 states and several countries and lives in New Orleans with his wife and two sons.
BLAINE LECESNE
Since 1991, Blaine LeCesne has been a Professor of Law at Loyola University School of Law. In addition to Louisiana Civil Procedure, he teaches Criminal Law, Torts, and Trial Advocacy. Prior to his professorship, LeCesne was a partner with the law firm of Brook, Morial, Cassibry, Fraiche & Pizza and was the Deputy City Attorney for the city of New Orleans. Prior to his relocation to New Orleans, Professor LeCesne was employed by the New York law firms of Weil, Gotshal & Manges (1983-1987), and LeBoeuf, Lamb, Leiby & MacRae (1980-1983). He received both his J.D. and B.A. from Columbia University. Professor Blaine LeCesne is the author of the Louisiana Civil Procedure Cases and Materials textbook.
RUSSELL JONES
Professor Russell Jones is Vice Chancellor and the Jesse N. Stone, Jr., Endowed Professor of Law at Southern University Law Center. Among other honors, Professor Jones was named the 2010 Distinguished Professor by the Louisiana Bar Foundation, and in April 2010, Professor Jones was awarded the Louis A. Martinet Legal Foundation Outstanding Community Service Award. In 2009, Professor Jones received the Kean Miller Diversity Achievement award, and he received the 2002 Louisiana State Bar Association Stephen T. Victory Award for his article, Louisiana Evidence Article 412.2. Professor Jones is a graduate of Georgetown Law School (LL.M.) and the Southern University (JD, magna cum laude). He is the co-author of Louisiana Evidence: Problems, Cases, and Materials.
JOHN E.B. MYERS
John E.B. Myers is a Professor of Law at the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law in California. Professor Myers is one of the country’s foremost authorities on child abuse and is the editor or author of more than 8 books and over 100 articles on child abuse. He has traveled throughout the US and internationally delivering more than 400 presentations to judges, attorneys, police officers, physicians, and mental health professionals. His writing has been cited by more than 150 courts, including the US Supreme Court and the California Supreme Court. Professor Myers is the author of the casebook entitled California and Federal Evidence: Cases and Materials.
WES REBER PORTER
Wes Reber Porter is an Associate Professor of Law and the Director of the Litigation Center at Golden Gate University School of Law. He teaches Evidence, Trial Advocacy, Criminal Law and White Collar Crime in Practice. Prof. Porter created the innovative Summer Trial & Evidence Program (1st STEP), named in PreLaw’s “25 Most Innovative Ideas” and National Jurist’s “15 Innovative Experiential Ideas” and his Litigation Center is a key reason that GGU Law was ranked #19 nationally in practical training. He has authored two books: Expert Witnesses: Criminal Cases and White Collar Crime: RICO. Prior to teaching, Professor Porter served in the U.S. Navy’s Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG) with the Trial Service Office Pacific in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He then joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii as an Assistant U.S. Attorney before moving to the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. as a Senior Trial Attorney in the DOJ’s Criminal Division , Fraud Section. There, he received the Assistant Attorney General Award for Distinguished Service and directed prosecutions of securities fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) offenses and other white collar crimes, including as part of the Enron Task Force. Professor Porter is the author of Key Distinctions: California and Federal Evidence, a unique book intended as a supplement to traditional Evidence casebooks that highlights the important differences between the Federal Evidence rules and the California Evidence rules by providing a side-by-side comparison of the rule language and by providing hypothetical questions and answers for each distinction that explains how the outcome would differ pursuant each law.
D. BRAIN SCARNECCHIA
Professor Scarnecchia is Associate professor of law at Ave Maria School of Law in Naples, Florida. He chairs the Franciscan’s Department of Humanities and Catholic Social Thought, and has directed the University’s Human Life Studies and Legal Studies programs. Prior to teaching, he was in private practice and was an assistant county prosecutor. He is the author of forthcoming legal textbook discussing bioethics law.
SHARON SANDIFER, M.Ed.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer/Chairwoman of the Board of the training and business consulting firm, kiisa corporation. Sharon has been a leader in business holding executive positions with retail corporations in New Orleans, Louisiana and Houston, Texas. She has also shared her business consulting skills, pro bono, via grant writing and developmental services for various Louisiana non-profits. Sharon obtained a Masters Degree in Elementary Education from Southeastern Louisiana University. She is a lifetime educator, and experienced trainer. Sharon is a professional not only in business, but has also served the public, private, and home-school systems of Louisiana for over thirty years. She has worked in varied educational environments including those working with adolescents displaying behavioral and/or educational challenges. Sharon has also volunteered her musical talents with children for most of her adult life, through her church and within the community. She also serves her community by focusing on various housing and disability issues through a consistent involvement with various Boards of Directors, as well as community organizations. Sharon has received service awards for her continued commitment to her community. Sharon is the co-author of Customer Management: The kiisa Service Cycle.
DAVID KIVIAHO
Founder and Chief Operating Officer of the training and business consulting firm, kiisa corporation. David attended Southeastern Louisiana University and the University of South Alabama in the study of Liberal Arts. He has served as Vice-President of Operations for a national biomedical firm throughout the Southeastern United States region, as a statewide and national director for health lines in New Orleans, Louisiana and in San Francisco, California, and has served on several executive teams for business, and non-profits, since 1985. David has also served four regionally-based, and nationally recognized non-profits in the areas of volunteer management and training, program management and development, fund development and event planning/management, grant writing and management, and public relations from 1989-2009. David is a successful leader, trainer, workplace mediator, grant writer, public speaker, and business negotiator, He has been instrumental in developing and leading programmatic, developmental, and educational services for business and highly visible non-profits. He has also served on many community boards and committees for organizations combating the issues of disability, community health concerns, and housing. David is the recipient of various community service awards from civic and non-profit organizations. David is the co-author of Customer Management: The kiisa Service Cycle.
EVERETTE FINERAN
Everett Fineran is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Loyola University and is an attorney at the Frilot, LLC, law firm. Prior to joining Frilot, Mr. Fineran was an attorney at Chaffe McCall, LLP, a prestigious New Orleans defense firm established in 1826. Mr. Fineran worked in Chaffe’s civil and commercial litigation sections and participated as a member of the firm’s appellate section, assisting with research and drafting of writs and appellate briefs.
Mr. Fineran graduated magna cum laude from the Loyola University College of Business, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. While in college, Mr. Fineran was a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society and served as an officer in the University's Financial Management Association.
Mr. Fineran subsequently graduated cum laude from the Loyola University College of Law, earning a Juris Doctorate degree with certificates in both Civil and Common Law. He was also a member of the Loyola Law Review and a William L. Crowe Scholar. His article, The Louisiana Road Home Program: A Path of Unintended Consequences, was published in the Buffalo Public Interest Law Journal. Mr. Fineran also published dozens of written case briefs as well as “audio briefs” regarding the areas of civil procedure, property law, evidence, and various other subjects for a web site specializing in education for law students. He is the author of Esquire Books’ Louisiana Property supplement for law students and will be a contributing author for a college and graduate-level finance book.
FERNANDO PEREZ
Fernando Perez is Managing Director at Stark Capital Management, a private investment management firm. Prior to helping take the firm private, Mr. Perez was an Associate Managing Director with the firm when it was a division of Burnham Financial Group. His responsibilities at Stark Capital Management include qualitative and quantitative equity research and assisting with portfolio management functions. He is also a member of the Investment Policy Committee. Prior to his work with Stark Capital Management, Mr. Perez was with Goldman, Sachs & Co. as an analyst in asset management and with Prudential Insurance of America’s Jennison Associates, LLC, as a portfolio administrator. Mr. Perez graduated with an MBA in Finance from The Freeman School at Tulane University, New Orleans and earned his bachelors degree in Economics and Anthropology from Brandeis University. He is a former Equity Analyst with the Burkenroad program.
DEBRA HAAG BERGER
Debra H. Berger, JD, DNP, is an attorney who limits her practice to health care law. She also has a Doctorate in Family Medicine and is a board certified Nurse Practitioner in Family Practice. On behalf of nurse practitioners in Louisiana she is actively engaged in working with legislative issues to benefit and advance the profession, and she was appointed by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal to the Louisiana State Medical Disclosure Panel. She earned her Bachelor of Science Degree and her Master’s Degree in Nursing from Louisiana State University Medical Center in New Orleans and her Doctorate in Family Medicine degree from University of South Alabama. She earned her Law Degree from Tulane Law School in New Orleans. She is a Tulane University adjunct faculty member who has taught a medical-legal course to paralegal students, for over ten years, in the Tulane School of Continuing Studies. She is the author of Medical Legal Topics in Louisiana Law.
DANE S. CIOLINO
Dane S. Ciolino is the Alvin R. Christovich Distinguished Professor of Law at Loyola University College of Law. Professor Ciolino practiced with the New York City law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, LLP, and later with the New Orleans law firm of Stone, Pigman, Walther, Wittmann, LLC. He is a graduate of Tulane Law School, magna cum laude, where he served as Editor in Chief of the Tulane Law Review and was inducted into Order of the Coif. He is the co-author of Louisiana Criminal Law: Cases and Materials.
IRA L. SHAFIROFF
Ira L. Shafiroff is a professor of law at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, California. While working as a tax examiner for the IRS, he attended Southwestern Law School where he graduated manga cum laude and subsequently started his own tax and estates practice. He returned to Southwestern Law School as a professor in 1982 and also served as dean of students. Professor Shafiroff is a long time lecturer for BARBRI bar review. Professor Shafiroff has authored a treatise on federal tax procedure and a wills and trusts casebook. Most recently, Professor Shafiroff is the author of the casebook Property Law: Fundamental Principles and Moral Concerns.
BOBBY MARZINE HARGES
Professor Bobby Marzine Harges is the Adams and Reese Distinguished Professor of Law at Loyola University College of Law. Prior to his work at Loyola, Professor Harges taught at the University of Mississippi School of Law and practiced law at the New Orleans law firm of Deutsch, Kerrigan, and Stiles. Professor Harges is an experienced mediator, arbitrator, and attorney-chair of medical review panels. He is the founder of the Loyola Mediation Program, and his teaching interests include mediation and arbitration, evidence, criminal law and criminal procedure. Professor Harges is a graduate of Harvard Law School (LL.M.), the University of Mississippi (JD), and Mississippi State University (BS Engineering, cum laude). Professor Harges is the author of The Handbook on Louisiana Alternative Dispute Resolution and is the co-author of Harges and Jones' Louisiana Evidence (trial handbook) and Louisiana Evidence: Problems, Cases, and Materials.
PETER RICCHIUTI
Peter Ricchiuti is the author of Equity Research. Peter is the Assistant Dean, and has taught finance at, Tulane University's Business School in New Orleans since 1986. He started his career with the investment firm of Kidder Peabody & Company in Boston and also served as the Assistant State Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer for the State of Louisiana. He is a board member of a mid-cap, publicly traded company, and he founded the nationally acclaimed BURKENROAD REPORTS Equity Research Program (www.Burkenroad.org) in 1993, which he still operates today. He has addressed audiences in 46 states and several countries and lives in New Orleans with his wife and two sons.
BLAINE LECESNE
Since 1991, Blaine LeCesne has been a Professor of Law at Loyola University School of Law. In addition to Louisiana Civil Procedure, he teaches Criminal Law, Torts, and Trial Advocacy. Prior to his professorship, LeCesne was a partner with the law firm of Brook, Morial, Cassibry, Fraiche & Pizza and was the Deputy City Attorney for the city of New Orleans. Prior to his relocation to New Orleans, Professor LeCesne was employed by the New York law firms of Weil, Gotshal & Manges (1983-1987), and LeBoeuf, Lamb, Leiby & MacRae (1980-1983). He received both his J.D. and B.A. from Columbia University. Professor Blaine LeCesne is the author of the Louisiana Civil Procedure Cases and Materials textbook.
RUSSELL JONES
Professor Russell Jones is Vice Chancellor and the Jesse N. Stone, Jr., Endowed Professor of Law at Southern University Law Center. Among other honors, Professor Jones was named the 2010 Distinguished Professor by the Louisiana Bar Foundation, and in April 2010, Professor Jones was awarded the Louis A. Martinet Legal Foundation Outstanding Community Service Award. In 2009, Professor Jones received the Kean Miller Diversity Achievement award, and he received the 2002 Louisiana State Bar Association Stephen T. Victory Award for his article, Louisiana Evidence Article 412.2. Professor Jones is a graduate of Georgetown Law School (LL.M.) and the Southern University (JD, magna cum laude). He is the co-author of Louisiana Evidence: Problems, Cases, and Materials.
JOHN E.B. MYERS
John E.B. Myers is a Professor of Law at the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law in California. Professor Myers is one of the country’s foremost authorities on child abuse and is the editor or author of more than 8 books and over 100 articles on child abuse. He has traveled throughout the US and internationally delivering more than 400 presentations to judges, attorneys, police officers, physicians, and mental health professionals. His writing has been cited by more than 150 courts, including the US Supreme Court and the California Supreme Court. Professor Myers is the author of the casebook entitled California and Federal Evidence: Cases and Materials.
WES REBER PORTER
Wes Reber Porter is an Associate Professor of Law and the Director of the Litigation Center at Golden Gate University School of Law. He teaches Evidence, Trial Advocacy, Criminal Law and White Collar Crime in Practice. Prof. Porter created the innovative Summer Trial & Evidence Program (1st STEP), named in PreLaw’s “25 Most Innovative Ideas” and National Jurist’s “15 Innovative Experiential Ideas” and his Litigation Center is a key reason that GGU Law was ranked #19 nationally in practical training. He has authored two books: Expert Witnesses: Criminal Cases and White Collar Crime: RICO. Prior to teaching, Professor Porter served in the U.S. Navy’s Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG) with the Trial Service Office Pacific in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He then joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii as an Assistant U.S. Attorney before moving to the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. as a Senior Trial Attorney in the DOJ’s Criminal Division , Fraud Section. There, he received the Assistant Attorney General Award for Distinguished Service and directed prosecutions of securities fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) offenses and other white collar crimes, including as part of the Enron Task Force. Professor Porter is the author of Key Distinctions: California and Federal Evidence, a unique book intended as a supplement to traditional Evidence casebooks that highlights the important differences between the Federal Evidence rules and the California Evidence rules by providing a side-by-side comparison of the rule language and by providing hypothetical questions and answers for each distinction that explains how the outcome would differ pursuant each law.
D. BRAIN SCARNECCHIA
Professor Scarnecchia is Associate professor of law at Ave Maria School of Law in Naples, Florida. He chairs the Franciscan’s Department of Humanities and Catholic Social Thought, and has directed the University’s Human Life Studies and Legal Studies programs. Prior to teaching, he was in private practice and was an assistant county prosecutor. He is the author of forthcoming legal textbook discussing bioethics law.
SHARON SANDIFER, M.Ed.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer/Chairwoman of the Board of the training and business consulting firm, kiisa corporation. Sharon has been a leader in business holding executive positions with retail corporations in New Orleans, Louisiana and Houston, Texas. She has also shared her business consulting skills, pro bono, via grant writing and developmental services for various Louisiana non-profits. Sharon obtained a Masters Degree in Elementary Education from Southeastern Louisiana University. She is a lifetime educator, and experienced trainer. Sharon is a professional not only in business, but has also served the public, private, and home-school systems of Louisiana for over thirty years. She has worked in varied educational environments including those working with adolescents displaying behavioral and/or educational challenges. Sharon has also volunteered her musical talents with children for most of her adult life, through her church and within the community. She also serves her community by focusing on various housing and disability issues through a consistent involvement with various Boards of Directors, as well as community organizations. Sharon has received service awards for her continued commitment to her community. Sharon is the co-author of Customer Management: The kiisa Service Cycle.
DAVID KIVIAHO
Founder and Chief Operating Officer of the training and business consulting firm, kiisa corporation. David attended Southeastern Louisiana University and the University of South Alabama in the study of Liberal Arts. He has served as Vice-President of Operations for a national biomedical firm throughout the Southeastern United States region, as a statewide and national director for health lines in New Orleans, Louisiana and in San Francisco, California, and has served on several executive teams for business, and non-profits, since 1985. David has also served four regionally-based, and nationally recognized non-profits in the areas of volunteer management and training, program management and development, fund development and event planning/management, grant writing and management, and public relations from 1989-2009. David is a successful leader, trainer, workplace mediator, grant writer, public speaker, and business negotiator, He has been instrumental in developing and leading programmatic, developmental, and educational services for business and highly visible non-profits. He has also served on many community boards and committees for organizations combating the issues of disability, community health concerns, and housing. David is the recipient of various community service awards from civic and non-profit organizations. David is the co-author of Customer Management: The kiisa Service Cycle.
EVERETTE FINERAN
Everett Fineran is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Loyola University and is an attorney at the Frilot, LLC, law firm. Prior to joining Frilot, Mr. Fineran was an attorney at Chaffe McCall, LLP, a prestigious New Orleans defense firm established in 1826. Mr. Fineran worked in Chaffe’s civil and commercial litigation sections and participated as a member of the firm’s appellate section, assisting with research and drafting of writs and appellate briefs.
Mr. Fineran graduated magna cum laude from the Loyola University College of Business, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. While in college, Mr. Fineran was a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society and served as an officer in the University's Financial Management Association.
Mr. Fineran subsequently graduated cum laude from the Loyola University College of Law, earning a Juris Doctorate degree with certificates in both Civil and Common Law. He was also a member of the Loyola Law Review and a William L. Crowe Scholar. His article, The Louisiana Road Home Program: A Path of Unintended Consequences, was published in the Buffalo Public Interest Law Journal. Mr. Fineran also published dozens of written case briefs as well as “audio briefs” regarding the areas of civil procedure, property law, evidence, and various other subjects for a web site specializing in education for law students. He is the author of Esquire Books’ Louisiana Property supplement for law students and will be a contributing author for a college and graduate-level finance book.
FERNANDO PEREZ
Fernando Perez is Managing Director at Stark Capital Management, a private investment management firm. Prior to helping take the firm private, Mr. Perez was an Associate Managing Director with the firm when it was a division of Burnham Financial Group. His responsibilities at Stark Capital Management include qualitative and quantitative equity research and assisting with portfolio management functions. He is also a member of the Investment Policy Committee. Prior to his work with Stark Capital Management, Mr. Perez was with Goldman, Sachs & Co. as an analyst in asset management and with Prudential Insurance of America’s Jennison Associates, LLC, as a portfolio administrator. Mr. Perez graduated with an MBA in Finance from The Freeman School at Tulane University, New Orleans and earned his bachelors degree in Economics and Anthropology from Brandeis University. He is a former Equity Analyst with the Burkenroad program.
DEBRA HAAG BERGER
Debra H. Berger, JD, DNP, is an attorney who limits her practice to health care law. She also has a Doctorate in Family Medicine and is a board certified Nurse Practitioner in Family Practice. On behalf of nurse practitioners in Louisiana she is actively engaged in working with legislative issues to benefit and advance the profession, and she was appointed by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal to the Louisiana State Medical Disclosure Panel. She earned her Bachelor of Science Degree and her Master’s Degree in Nursing from Louisiana State University Medical Center in New Orleans and her Doctorate in Family Medicine degree from University of South Alabama. She earned her Law Degree from Tulane Law School in New Orleans. She is a Tulane University adjunct faculty member who has taught a medical-legal course to paralegal students, for over ten years, in the Tulane School of Continuing Studies. She is the author of Medical Legal Topics in Louisiana Law.