Alice L. Kessler, Class of ’03

Alice L. Kessler ’03 is the Co-Managing Shareholder of Greenberg Traurig’s Sacramento office, where she also serves as Co-Leader of the California Government Law & Policy Group and Co-Chair of the firm’s LGBTQ+ Affinity Group. She is an accomplished legislative strategist with deep relationships among California policymakers, thought leaders, and community-based organizations. A proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, Kessler has led legislative, political, and administrative advocacy efforts for Equality California and is responsible for advancing some of the nation’s most comprehensive civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ individuals. 

At King Hall, Kessler was an active member of the Lambda Law Students Association and the King Hall Legal Foundation. 

What organizations were you involved with during law school and what impact did they have on you? 

I was most involved with the Lambda Law Students Association, and that had a significant impact on me because I ultimately decided to pursue a career in LGBTQ+ advocacy. Not long after I left King Hall, I began working with Equality California, a statewide LGBTQ+ advocacy organization. That’s where my career flourished and where I built many of the relationships I still have today. I had the opportunity to do meaningful work on issues like marriage equality and today I chair our firm’s LGBTQ+ affinity group. I made friendships through Lambda at King Hall that I still have to this day. When I was a student, Dean Johnson was very supportive of our group, and we were able to bring speakers from the legislature to campus, which sparked my interest in pursuing a legislative path.

Why did you choose to attend King Hall? 

I grew up on the East Coast in upstate New York and went to school back east. I felt a strong pull to come to California. Part of that was because my parents had lived in California, and I was actually born in Oregon. We lived on the West Coast for a short time before moving back to New York, where my parents are from, but that pull remained.

Many of California’s unique elements drew me here, including the political climate, the progressive atmosphere, and the exciting industries like entertainment, technology, and agriculture. I applied exclusively to schools in California, and as I got to know Davis, several things stood out to me. First was the public interest focus. We’re named after Dr. King, and that ethos of service was compelling to me. I had also heard many stories about how competitive and intense law school can be, but I got the distinct feeling that King Hall was different. Davis is a wonderful place to be in Northern California, close to the Bay Area and the Capitol. I’ve had an interest in government since I was young, so that was especially appealing.

Lastly, the excellent academics and faculty sealed the decision. It felt like the best all-around choice, and I’m very grateful I made it. I found the faculty to be top tier. I took courses like Civil Procedure with Professor Jim Hogan, who literally wrote the book on the subject, and had the opportunity to learn from Justice Reynoso, including hearing his personal stories, as well as Dean Johnson, whom I deeply admire. Some have even become friends and colleagues, like Professor Joslin, with whom I’ve worked with on LGBTQ+ advocacy. 

How did you become interested in your practice area?

In the summer of my 2L year, I did a clerkship with an organization called Protection and Advocacy, now Disability Rights California. I was working in their legal unit, and it just so happened that there was another student, a 3L, Virginia Knowlton Marcus ’02, who also worked there. She had gone to King Hall about ten years earlier. She completed her first two years and then left. During that time, she went on to work as the lead lobbyist for Disability Rights California.

One day, we were in a class together and struck up a conversation. She learned that I would be working at the organization for the summer and said, “Why don’t you do an internship in our legislative unit?” And so, I did. 

At the time, I knew I wanted to work in LGBTQ+ advocacy, but there are very few positions in that space. This opportunity allowed me to start as a junior lobbyist, learn the process in Sacramento, how bills become law, and gain experience with administrative and regulatory issues. This goes to show the networks that we have; it's not only the alumni and faculty that you're going to meet, but it could be one of your classmates that changes your life. Shoutout to Virginia for drawing me in. 

After law school, I did spend some time practicing law more traditionally. I worked in litigation for a couple of years, but I realized lobbying is very relationship-oriented, with more time spent engaging with people and less time pushing discovery back and forth. Because of that experience, I realized that's what I want to do.

This experience is something that probably wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been at King Hall because of its proximity to the Capitol. The California Capitol is one of the most interesting because it's a full-time legislature, prolific in its policymaking, and so many cutting-edge issues are coming out of our legislature. It's an area King Hall students should definitely pay attention to, given the wide range of roles available in state government.  

What is your favorite King Hall memory? 

My favorite memory is through the Lambda Law Students Association, where we put on a program featuring the film The Times of Harvey Milk, which told the story of his rise in politics and his assassination. Learning about Harvey Milk and watching that film totally lit a fire in me to pursue politics and advocacy. I also learned more about that path from a classmate at the time who had worked in San Francisco politics. Later, after leaving King Hall, I went on to work on legislation that established May 22 as a day of special significance in California in honor of Harvey Milk. When I look back, I think of being in the Moot Court room, surrounded by people and a space that allowed us to have those conversations, do that work, and feel supported. King Hall fostered that service-minded spirit, and it’s where the public interest seed was planted in me. 

What advice do you have for current or prospective law students? 

There’s a lot of pressure to know what your path is going to be, to have it all figured out, and to make all the right moves, especially in your first year of law school when you have the least amount of information about what you might want to do. So, my advice would be to follow your heart. Try to find the work that speaks to you, that gives you the greatest sense of fulfillment and stimulation. As lawyers, we work hard and dedicate a lot of our time and energy to our careers, sometimes at the expense of other parts of our lives. If you can find a place where you love what you do every day, that’s a recipe for a good life.

For me, I tried to follow what called to me without overthinking where I would end up. By allowing myself to dive into the things I cared about, other great opportunities followed because the work was meaningful to me personally. I think that shows when you find something you feel drawn to you can do many interesting things with your legal training. Try to focus less on what you think you should be doing and more on what makes your heart and mind sing. You have to try things out. Pursue summer internships, get involved in extracurriculars, and take opportunities to network and meet people in the profession that you look at and you say, "How do I do that? How do I get to be in a position like that?”

Of what are you the proudest? 

I’m definitely proudest of the work I was able to do at Equality California as a legislative advocate. When I started with the organization, we had very limited rights for LGBTQ+ people in California. During my time there, from 2006 to 2010, we worked on dozens of bills that completely overhauled the state’s nondiscrimination codes to ensure they included sexual orientation and gender identity. [KW1.1]We focused on areas like employment, housing, and public accommodations, which set up a lot of states to then follow California’s lead and pass similar legislation at the state level. Then when circumstances are right, change happens at the federal level as well.

When I look back at my work with Equality California, I feel that I did something greater than myself that mattered and impacted many people. I’m still involved with the organization, and that work continues.

Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.