OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Jordana Furman has her own private law practice.  In addition, she volunteers countless hours at the ELDR Center. 

After graduating from law school, Jordana volunteered at the Legal Aid Society of Orange County and the Public Law Center. 

Jordana holds an undergraduate degree from California State University Long Beach, a MBA from  Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University and a law degree from the Fowler School of Law at Chapman University.

Carol is a civil rights lawyer and advocate. Carol graduated from Douglass College in 1968 and the People’s College of Law in 1978. She spent twenty years working for the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, most recently as Senior Staff Counsel. 

Since 1997 Carol has served as the lead attorney on several cases representing the homeless against the City of Los Angeles. She litigated the landmark cases including Jones vs. City of Los Angeles, Lavan v. City of Los Angeles, and Desertrain v. City of Los Angeles. She has also tackled similar issues in Orange County.

Carol serves on the board of directors for several organizations that advocate for proactive approaches to civil rights issues, including the National Police Accountability Project. She regularly gives talks on her work and is currently an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School where she teaches a civil right practicum. Carol was recognized as a highly accomplished Super Lawyer for civil rights for 2004-2021 and was named California Lawyer of the Year for her work on behalf of unhoused persons and those exercising First Amendment rights to protest against the government. 1 year of service.

Reza Torkzadeh is a nationally recognized plaintiff’s trial attorney at TorkLaw who has dedicated his professional career to the pursuit of justice by exclusively representing victims in personal injury and wrongful death cases. Reza has handled numerous high-profile cases in both state and federal courts, and has served in leadership roles in litigation at the national level. He has been featured for legal commentary by the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles Daily Journal, San Francisco Daily Journal, New York Daily News, Metro News, Christian Science Monitor, KUSI TV, and many other news outlets and publications.

Reza is a frequently invited guest speaker and has lectured across the country on the practice of law and the civil justice system. He is a proud Honorary Board Member of the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Charity, an active member of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, and President’s Club Member of the Consumer Attorneys of California.

Reza is the co-author of the book, Accidents Happen: A Consumer’s Guide to the Personal Injury and Wrongful Death System, which is now it its second edition and continues to receive wide acclaim and endorsement from the legal community.

​ Akhil ​is an associate attorney with ​DLA Piper focusing on antitrust, appellate, healthcare, and technology-related issues. He has extensive experience in federal court, having completed several significant federal trials and two federal judicial clerkships. Akhil holds a ​Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biochemistry from the University of California at Riverside. 

Before law school, ​he taught ​for and eventually co-ran the Southern California LSAT program for a national standardized test preparation company. ​Akhil received his law degree from the University of California at Irvine, and he was the research editor and lead article editor for UC Irvine Law Review. ​He also was an elected fellow with the American Bar Foundation. 

Akhil served on the board of directors for several other organizations including the Orange County Coalition for Diversity in the Law, Public Law Center Advocates, Thurgood Marshall Bar Association, ​and UC Irvine School of Law Dean's Circle​. 5 years of service.   

​​Rebekah Thomas is an associate in CDF’s Orange County office where she practices labor and employment law. ​She​ has broad experience in civil litigation, including employment and business litigation. ​​​

She graduated from Emory University School of Law and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Ohio Dominican University. ​She started her legal career at the Legal Aid Society of Orange County where she specialized in representing victims of violence in family law and related matters. In 2021, Rebekah was named ​"Top Young Diverse Lawyers of Orange County" by Orange County Coalition for Diversity in the Law. She received the Liskaa award in 2008 and White Caster scholarship in 2009. 

She served as president with the Thurgood Marshall Bar Association and program chair for the Orange County Bar Association's Racial Justice Task Force. Rebekah also ​is currently an adjunct professor at Santa Ana College teaching courses in Legal Terminology and Business Environment. 

  Richard McNeil is a partner in the Environment & Natural Resources Group and the Commercial Litigation Group at Crowell & Moring LLP.  Rick is a trial attorney with numerous jury, bench and administrative trials to his credit, particularly in the areas of environmental, land use, tort and product liability, real estate and business litigation. 

Rick is recognized for his knowledge about CEQA (the California Environmental Quality Act) and  has served as lead counsel or co-counsel in numerous CEQA cases through the trial and appellate phases. 

Rick is a member of the American Law Institute, where he contributes to the current revision of the Restatement of the Law, 4th, Property. 

The City of Newport Beach  appointed Rick to the Water Quality and Coastal Tidelands Committee. Rick just completed a six-year term as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Orange County Bar Association while remaining the Co-Chair of the OCBA’s Diversity Committee. Rick on the the Board of Directors for Legal Aid of Orange County and is the Chair Emeritus of the Pacific Chorale, a symphonic choral organization that provides free after-school music education to inner city children. 

   Denise Carter is the global vice president of Diversity and Communications at designory. Denise leads their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives and oversees Corporate Communications globally. Before that, Denise worked as The Torklaw Firm’s Chief People Officer and LawWorks’s Chief Community Officer where she led development and implementation of the firm's people and culture strategy and the business development and marketing team while she ensured the smooth running of ongoing operations. 

Denise holds an undergraduate degree from University of Colorado Boulder, a MBA from University of Denver - Daniels College of Business and a law degree from the Loyola Law School, Loyola Marymount University.  

  Porsche is a Regional Assistant Chief Counsel with State Compensation Insurance Fund. 

She received her law degree from Pepperdine Law School and a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Policy and Management from the University of Southern California. Porsche is an executive board member of the Thurgood Marshall Bar Association and Chief Financial Officer for the Thurgood Marshall Bar Association Foundation. New member.