Joyce F. Akasaka
San Diego,CA
Overview
43
43
years of professional experience
Work History
Managing/Senior Attorney
Legal Aid Society of San Diego, Inc.
San Diego, USA
09.2008 - Current
- Supervise the Community Response Team that is comprised of two Staff Attorneys, one Senior Advocate, fourteen Advocates, and twelve Intake Specialists
- The intake specialists determine program eligibility, and the advocates and staff attorneys provide advice to clients on housing, consumer, and welfare issues
- Assist clients with filling out responsive papers and prepare clients for court
- Prepare monthly and annual funding reports for our team
- Train new staff on the law and the process of interviewing and advising clients and develop additional advice notes for our hotline
- Analyze team productivity by evaluating call volume, cases closed, and attendance to determine staffing needs
- Resulted in moving from part-time staff to exclusively full-time staff to reduce absenteeism on the team, increasing staff size from three part-time and five full-time Intake Specialists and four full-time CRT Advocates to twelve full-time Intake Specialists, fifteen full-time CRT Advocates and two full-time Staff Attorneys under my supervision
- Lead weekly and monthly meetings of staff
- Address staff performance issues
- Handle difficult callers and clients
- Return calls to non-eligible applicants who leave messages on the Grievance line
- Assist difficult walk-ins at the Midtown office location
- Developed a team process and continue to manage applicants who seek assistance through our Legal Aid website, internal referrals for additional help for clients, and referrals from other community-based organizations
- Participate in outreach events in the community
- Participate in training events for providers at local community-based organizations
- Prior to upgrading our database and telephone call delivery system, assisted with upkeep of these systems
- Successfully represented three clients at their Supplemental Security Income administrative hearings
- Each client was awarded benefits
- Assist other teams with various needs including eligibility questions, holistic services provided by Legal Aid, and conflict of interest checks
- Develop and run reports from our database system for teams
- Leadership Team
- Chairperson – Customer Service Subcommittee
- Member – Job Descriptions and Employee Evaluations Subcommittee
- Member – Training and Professional Development Subcommittee
- Co-Chairperson – Compensation Task Force
- Chairperson – Kemps Time Slip Definitions Task Force
- Member – Outreach Subcommittee
- Represented Legal Aid Society of San Diego
- Panelist at 2011 Equal Justice Conference Essential Training for Hotline Staff and Volunteers
- Panelist at 2008 Pathways to Justice Conference California Hotlines
Associate
Dyer-Kutyla LLP
San Diego, USA
06.2003 - 02.2005
- Prepared motions, oppositions to motions; trial preparation, including drafting of jury instructions and motions in limine
- Argued motions in court
- Participated in depositions of lay and expert witnesses
- Practice was general civil litigation with emphasis on medical and dental malpractice
- Experienced in wrongful death, premises liability, antitrust matters, and the representation of public entities
- Motion for summary judgment granted in antitrust matter
- Co-defendants used the motion I drafted to achieve a successful result against plaintiff
- Successfully argued against the court’s tentative ruling granting plaintiff leave to amend complaint to include punitive damages
- Prepared summary judgment motions that either won or assisted in settling the case prior to the hearing on the motion
- Served as second chair in various jury trials
Deputy County Counsel
Office of County Counsel
San Diego, USA
12.2001 - 06.2003
- Deputized as Deputy County Counsel to take to jury trial mental health conservatorship cases
- Successfully tried to verdict three jury trial cases
Litigation Paralegal
Office of County Counsel
San Diego, USA
01.1992 - 12.2001
- Drafted complaints, petitions, answers, dispositive motions, points and authorities in opposition to various motions, jury instructions, motions in limine, and appellate briefs
- Prepared trial notebooks, trial briefs, and exhibits
- Interviewed and prepared witnesses for trial
- Propounded and responded to discovery requests
- Types of cases included civil rights, wrongful death, employment, land use/environment, tax assessment, and mental health conservatorships
- Over a nine-year period, drafted Respondent’s brief in twelve cases
- In each case, the trial court’s ruling was affirmed
- Assisted during a lengthy jury trial in federal court on a civil rights case in defense of two County Sheriff’s Deputies
- The jury found for the defense
Executive Secretary to Senior Vice President, Real Estate and Development
Hilton Hotels Corporation
01.1987 - 01.1992
Secretary, Legal Department
Executive Life Insurance Company
01.1985 - 01.1987
Assistant to blind attorney
Law Offices of Bottom, Rady & Feliton
01.1984 - 01.1985
Customer Service Representative
UCLA Bookstore
01.1982 - 01.1984
Education
Juris Doctor - Best Appellate Brief
University of San Diego
Lawyer's Assistant Certificate - ABA approved program
University of San Diego
Bachelor of Arts - Political Science
University of California, Los Angeles
Skills
- Legal research
- Appellate practice
- Legal drafting
- Client counseling
- Document review
- Legal analysis
Volunteer Experience
Special Olympics, Volunteer, 1980-1984
Admissions
California Bar, 01/01/01, 216603
Timeline
Managing/Senior Attorney
Legal Aid Society of San Diego, Inc.
09.2008 - Current
Associate
Dyer-Kutyla LLP
06.2003 - 02.2005
Deputy County Counsel
Office of County Counsel
12.2001 - 06.2003
Litigation Paralegal
Office of County Counsel
01.1992 - 12.2001
Executive Secretary to Senior Vice President, Real Estate and Development
Hilton Hotels Corporation
01.1987 - 01.1992
Secretary, Legal Department
Executive Life Insurance Company
01.1985 - 01.1987
Assistant to blind attorney
Law Offices of Bottom, Rady & Feliton
01.1984 - 01.1985
Customer Service Representative
UCLA Bookstore
01.1982 - 01.1984
Juris Doctor - Best Appellate Brief
University of San Diego
Lawyer's Assistant Certificate - ABA approved program
University of San Diego
Bachelor of Arts - Political Science
University of California, Los Angeles
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