Laurie Ashton and Lynn Sarko

A native Californian, Laurie has a B.A. in Economics from UCSD (1987), and a J.D. from ASU Law School (1990), Order of the Coif.  Her legal practice has included transactional work, business reorganizations, and environmental and fiduciary litigation, and she is currently Of Counsel to Keller Rohrback in Seattle and Phoenix.  Laurie has been a Legal Writing Instructor, Law Journal Editor, and Adjunct Law Professor, teaching semester courses in Lawyering Theory and Practice, and Advanced Business Reorganizations.  She has been a guest lecturer in Real Estate Transactions at Harvard and Stanford law schools.  Laurie served a six year term on the Arizona State Bar Ethics Committee and is the author of many published articles, as well as the co-author of a text book on limited liability companies and partnerships.  She is a founding partner of Social Venture Partners Santa Barbara, and served as the Chair of its Executive Committee through 2010.  Growing up in a family with many foster children, she has had a lifelong passion for serving youth, and has represented families pro bono in child welfare cases as well as served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for children.  She currently serves as Vice-Chair on the Board of The Children’s Project Foundation, which is planning the construction of a residential charter school for foster youth in northern Santa Barbara County.   She also serves on the Board of The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, which is committed to a world free of nuclear weapons, and as a Trustee of the Santa Barbara Foundation.  Pursuing her interest in origins of the Universe, Laurie’s most recent academic endeavors include returning to the classroom as a student in astronomy and physics courses at SBCC and UCSB in 2007 and 2008.  She is married to Lynn Sarko and has two grown daughters (and a son-in-law).

 

Lynn Sarko is the managing partner of Keller Rohrback L.L.P. and leads the firm's nationally recognized Complex Litigation Group. An accomplished trial lawyer, he regularly serves as lead counsel in multi-party cases involving ERISA, antitrust, securities, and breach of fiduciary duty issues. He is a former federal prosecutor and since moving to private practice has been involved in numerous significant cases including the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, the Microsoft civil antitrust case, and the Enron, Worldcom and Global Crossing financial scandals. Aided in part by his M.B.A. in accounting, he has litigated complex cases involving financial and accounting fraud. Lynn received his undergraduate, M.B.A. and law degrees at the University of Wisconsin. He is a strong supporter of public service and pro bono activities.