The Emeritus Trustee designation, created in 2018, pays tribute to outstanding former trustees and recognizes their institutional memory of the NJC and its development, community reach, economic well-being and importance to the legal community. Emeritus trustees are invited to board meetings (as non-voting members) and to events at the direction of the current chair or president.
Marybel Batjer
Sacramento, CA
Marybel Batjer has joined California Strategies, a lobbying firm. She previously served as the first secretary of the California Government Operations Agency (CalGovOps). She held senior leadership posts as chief policy adviser to Schwarzenegger and as chief of staff to Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn of Nevada. Additionally, she served as special assistant to the secretary of the Navy during the George H.W. Bush administration and as President Reagan’s special assistant for national security affairs. She has served on various boards and commissions and has been nationally recognized for her leadership in public service. She received her bachelor’s from Mills College in California and studied international public policy at the graduate level at Johns Hopkins University. She also studied national and international security at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Hon. Janet Berry (Ret.)
Reno, NV
Hon. Janet Berry (Ret.), the first Nevadan to serve as chair of the NJC Board of Trustees, has taught in more than two-dozen courses at the College and in 2000 received the Nevada District Judges Association Distinguished Jurist Education Award for her outstanding commitment to judicial education. Judge Berry co-hosted a weekly television show from 1994 to 1999, “The Language of Law,” which educated the public about the justice system. Judge Berry received her bachelor’s in criminal justice from California State University at Sacramento and a J.D. from Tulane University. She received a Master of Judicial Studies from the NJC in 1997.
Hon. Sophia H. Hall
Chicago, IL
In 1992 Hon. Sophia H. Hall became the first woman to serve as the Presiding Judge of any Division or District of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. She also became the first woman in 20 years to serve in the Criminal Division and then in the Chancery Division. She now serves as the Administrative Presiding Judge of the Resource Section of the Juvenile Justice and Child Protection Department of the Circuit Court of Cook County. Judge Hall received her J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law and her bachelor’s from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Wisconsin.
Kim D. Hogrefe
Washington Township, NJ
Kim D. Hogrefe has formed a LLC to pursue opportunities as a mediator, arbitrator and consultant. He is certified as a mediator by the Straus Institute of Dispute Resolution/Pepperdine School of Law and has mediated over 125 cases for a volunteer Court program in New Jersey. Mr. Hogrefe is certified by ARIAS-U.S. as a reinsurance arbitrator and mediator (www.arias-us.org). He has served as a party appointed arbitrator in several insurance coverage disputes and has served as the Umpire in reinsurance arbitrations.
He recently completed a term as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the National Judicial College and currently serves on the Board’s Finance and Nominations and Governance Committees. He was a Senior Vice President of Chubb & Son and had responsibility for the dispute resolution process and management of claims under insurance and reinsurance policies in lines of business including Cyberliability, Directors and Officers (D&O), Errors and Omissions, Fidelity and Surety, Fiduciary Liability, Financial Lines and Employment Practices Liability.
He previously served as a trial attorney, supervisor and administrator in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. He investigated and prosecuted homicide and serious felony cases (including the murder of John Lennon) and tried over thirty cases to juries.
A graduate of Yale University (summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa) and the University of Pennsylvania Law School (Benjamin R. Jones and Wiley B. Rutledge Awards), he is an active member of the American Bar Association and ARIAS-U.S. He was elected as a member of the governing Council and Financial Officer of the ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS). A recipient of the TIPS Andrew Hecker Award, he currently serves on its Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Committee and on TIPS Corporate Counsel and In-House Professionals Committee. He also serves on the Arbitrators’ Committee of ARIAS-U.S. Mr. Hogrefe is a frequent speaker on the topics of cyberliability risks, mediation and arbitration strategies and D&O liability claim resolution strategies.
William H. Neukom
San Francisco, CA
William H. Neukom founded the World Justice Project in 2006 and went on to own the San Francisco Giants major league baseball team from 2008-2011. A past president of the American Bar Association, he worked as executive vice president of law and corporate affairs at Microsoft. In that role he became the company’s first general counsel and managed the company’s legal, government affairs and philanthropic activities. He is known for being instrumental in securing the landmark legal victory in the Apple Computer v. Microsoft Corporation case (1988-1995), which concerned the graphical user interface used in Microsoft’s Windows operating system. He received his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College in 1964 followed by a J.D. from Stanford Law School in 1967.
Philip G. Satre
Reno, NV
Philip G. Satre has served in leadership roles in the gaming industry for more than 25 years, including as chairman and CEO of Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., Wynn Resorts Ltd. and International Game Technology (IGT). He also chaired Nordstrom Inc., the National World War II Museum and the Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities, and he was director of the Nevada Cancer Institute. He received his J.D. from the University of California, Davis in 1975 and a Bachelor of Psychology from Stanford University. He attended the Senior Executive Development program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management.
Tony F. Sanchez III, Esq.
Las Vegas, NV
Born and raised in southern Nevada, Tony joined NV Energy (NVE), in 2007 as Senior Vice President for Government and Community Relations. Since then, Tony has overseen several departments within the NVE structure including regulatory, government and community relations, communications, economic development and major accounts, environment, and the philanthropic departments.
Before joining NVE, Tony practiced law representing a diverse portfolio of energy and other clients. Prior to the private practice of law, Tony served in state and federal government positions including as a legislative counsel for then U.S. Senator Richard Bryan, in Washington D.C., as an attorney for the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, and as Executive Assistant for the then Governor of Nevada, Bob Miller.
Tony earned his juris doctorate degree from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University and his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Matt Sweeney, Esq.
Nashville, TN
Matt Sweeney is a former Tennessee Circuit Court Judge and was Presiding Judge of the district’s Trial Courts. He was the state’s youngest trial judge when appointed to the bench. He is a professor at the Nashville School of Law. Mr. Sweeney is a recently retired business trial and appellate lawyer, mediator and arbitrator. He is a graduate of the NJC General Jurisdiction Program. He received his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of law and his A.B. from Seton Hall University.
Mark G. Tratos, Esq.
Las Vegas, NV
Mark G. Tratos is the founding shareholder of Greenburg Traurig LLP’s Las Vegas law office, home of the largest group of entertainment attorneys in Nevada. He has represented world-famous artists such as Ozzy Osbourne and David Copperfield and boxing world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. He received his bachelor’s in political science from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1974 followed by a J.D. from Lewis and Clark Law School in 1979.