Board Members

Email:chair@balif.org | judiciary@balif.org

Dustin Helmer is an eviction defense litigation staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County. Dustin began his legal career as a JusticeCorp intern assisting pro per litigants with their housing and family law issues. During law school, Dustin focused his time on pro bono opportunities and court advocacy including participating in the William’s Institute Moot Court competition and placing 3rd nationally in the ABA Labor & Employment Mock Trial Competition. After graduating from law school, Dustin worked for several boutique firms practicing housing and criminal defense law until transitioning to the AIDS Legal Referral Panel where he worked as an eviction defense attorney for three years. Dustin served in several capacities on the BALIF Board including Law Student Representative, New Lawyers Chair and Judiciary Chair. Dustin received his B.A. in Criminal Justice from San Francisco State University and his J.D. at Golden Gate University School of Law with an emphasis on Pro Bono, Litigation and Criminal Law. He also is a graduate of the International Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy.

Email: diversity@balif.org | newlawyers@balif.org

Stephan Ferris is a rising 3L at UC Hastings from Las Vegas, Nevada. At eighteen, he moved to San Francisco and has enjoyed the sun shining on the city by The Bay for the past eleven years. He achieved his Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast and Electronic Communication from San Francisco State, and he created the university’s first emphasis in Law and Regulation of Media. He spent his 1L summer at the office of solo practitioner Okan Sengun, working to gain asylum for LGBT immigrants and worked as a law clerk at Outten & Golden his 2L Spring. Currently, Stephan is working as a judicial intern for the honnorable Richard L. Sippel at the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D.C. Stephan has advocated for the LGBT and HIV-positive communities on an international scale since his residency in California. He has a passion for media and during law school has developed an interest in copyright and trademark law, working his way towards a concentration in intellectual property. This year, Stephan served as the Senior Symposium editor for the Hastings Women’s Law Journal, booking panelists for the annual symposium entitled “Beyond Prevention: Defeating HIV” and will serve as the journal’s incoming Managing Editor. In addition to his work on the journal, Stephan served as President of the LGBT group OUTLAW and was recently elected to the Board of Directors of BALIF (Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom). Outside of class, Stephan enjoys horror movies, musical theatre, concerts, and drag shows.

Email: communityactivisim@balif.org | socialaction@balif.org | programs@balif.org

Rafael Langer-Osuna is a partner at Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP where they focus on two different areas of litigation. On the one hand, they try cases in state and federal courts for and against foreign sovereigns. On the other, they litigate disputes involving start up technology companies or the internet, including cases arising from online defamation, the use of copyrighted materials on social media, data breaches, data privacy, hacking, and software licensing conflicts. Rafael is barred in California and Florida and has been admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit as well as several district courts throughout the country.

Rafael dedicates a significant amount of time to studying and bettering the world around them. They maintain an active pro bono practice assisting the Transgender Law Center’s asylum efforts, working for environmental groups, winning cases for local charitable organizations, and helping to improve gender equity. In addition to serving as Co-Chair of BALIF’s Community Activism and Social Action Committee, Rafael also currently serves as a non-binary support group facilitator, director of the Western Cave Conservancy, chairperson of San Francisco Bay Chapter of the National Speleological Society, and an advisory board member for the Squire Patton Boggs Foundation.

Rafael was born in Bolivia, grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has lived all over the country. They earned degrees from Carnegie Mellon University (BA), UC Berkeley (MA in Education), and Duke (JD/MA in East Asian Studies) and studied in Hong Kong SAR and Nanjing, China. In their spare time, Rafael parents two teenagers, reads voraciously, practices Daoist arts, cooks vegetarian meals for friends, gardens, and surveys California’s caves and reefs.

Email: communityactivisim@balif.org | socialaction@balif.org | programs@balif.org

Rafael Langer-Osuna is a partner at Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP where they focus on two different areas of litigation. On the one hand, they try cases in state and federal courts for and against foreign sovereigns. On the other, they litigate disputes involving start up technology companies or the internet, including cases arising from online defamation, the use of copyrighted materials on social media, data breaches, data privacy, hacking, and software licensing conflicts. Rafael is barred in California and Florida and has been admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit as well as several district courts throughout the country.

Rafael dedicates a significant amount of time to studying and bettering the world around them. They maintain an active pro bono practice assisting the Transgender Law Center’s asylum efforts, working for environmental groups, winning cases for local charitable organizations, and helping to improve gender equity. In addition to serving as Co-Chair of BALIF’s Community Activism and Social Action Committee, Rafael also currently serves as a non-binary support group facilitator, director of the Western Cave Conservancy, chairperson of San Francisco Bay Chapter of the National Speleological Society, and an advisory board member for the Squire Patton Boggs Foundation.

Rafael was born in Bolivia, grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has lived all over the country. They earned degrees from Carnegie Mellon University (BA), UC Berkeley (MA in Education), and Duke (JD/MA in East Asian Studies) and studied in Hong Kong SAR and Nanjing, China. In their spare time, Rafael parents two teenagers, reads voraciously, practices Daoist arts, cooks vegetarian meals for friends, gardens, and surveys California’s caves and reefs.

Email: communityactivisim@balif.org | socialaction@balif.org | programs@balif.org

Rafael Langer-Osuna is a partner at Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP where they focus on two different areas of litigation. On the one hand, they try cases in state and federal courts for and against foreign sovereigns. On the other, they litigate disputes involving start up technology companies or the internet, including cases arising from online defamation, the use of copyrighted materials on social media, data breaches, data privacy, hacking, and software licensing conflicts. Rafael is barred in California and Florida and has been admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit as well as several district courts throughout the country.

Rafael dedicates a significant amount of time to studying and bettering the world around them. They maintain an active pro bono practice assisting the Transgender Law Center’s asylum efforts, working for environmental groups, winning cases for local charitable organizations, and helping to improve gender equity. In addition to serving as Co-Chair of BALIF’s Community Activism and Social Action Committee, Rafael also currently serves as a non-binary support group facilitator, director of the Western Cave Conservancy, chairperson of San Francisco Bay Chapter of the National Speleological Society, and an advisory board member for the Squire Patton Boggs Foundation.

Rafael was born in Bolivia, grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has lived all over the country. They earned degrees from Carnegie Mellon University (BA), UC Berkeley (MA in Education), and Duke (JD/MA in East Asian Studies) and studied in Hong Kong SAR and Nanjing, China. In their spare time, Rafael parents two teenagers, reads voraciously, practices Daoist arts, cooks vegetarian meals for friends, gardens, and surveys California’s caves and reefs.

Email: communityactivisim@balif.org | socialaction@balif.org | programs@balif.org

Rafael Langer-Osuna is a partner at Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP where they focus on two different areas of litigation. On the one hand, they try cases in state and federal courts for and against foreign sovereigns. On the other, they litigate disputes involving start up technology companies or the internet, including cases arising from online defamation, the use of copyrighted materials on social media, data breaches, data privacy, hacking, and software licensing conflicts. Rafael is barred in California and Florida and has been admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit as well as several district courts throughout the country.

Rafael dedicates a significant amount of time to studying and bettering the world around them. They maintain an active pro bono practice assisting the Transgender Law Center’s asylum efforts, working for environmental groups, winning cases for local charitable organizations, and helping to improve gender equity. In addition to serving as Co-Chair of BALIF’s Community Activism and Social Action Committee, Rafael also currently serves as a non-binary support group facilitator, director of the Western Cave Conservancy, chairperson of San Francisco Bay Chapter of the National Speleological Society, and an advisory board member for the Squire Patton Boggs Foundation.

Rafael was born in Bolivia, grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has lived all over the country. They earned degrees from Carnegie Mellon University (BA), UC Berkeley (MA in Education), and Duke (JD/MA in East Asian Studies) and studied in Hong Kong SAR and Nanjing, China. In their spare time, Rafael parents two teenagers, reads voraciously, practices Daoist arts, cooks vegetarian meals for friends, gardens, and surveys California’s caves and reefs.

Email: communityactivisim@balif.org | socialaction@balif.org | programs@balif.org

Rafael Langer-Osuna is a partner at Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP where they focus on two different areas of litigation. On the one hand, they try cases in state and federal courts for and against foreign sovereigns. On the other, they litigate disputes involving start up technology companies or the internet, including cases arising from online defamation, the use of copyrighted materials on social media, data breaches, data privacy, hacking, and software licensing conflicts. Rafael is barred in California and Florida and has been admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit as well as several district courts throughout the country.

Rafael dedicates a significant amount of time to studying and bettering the world around them. They maintain an active pro bono practice assisting the Transgender Law Center’s asylum efforts, working for environmental groups, winning cases for local charitable organizations, and helping to improve gender equity. In addition to serving as Co-Chair of BALIF’s Community Activism and Social Action Committee, Rafael also currently serves as a non-binary support group facilitator, director of the Western Cave Conservancy, chairperson of San Francisco Bay Chapter of the National Speleological Society, and an advisory board member for the Squire Patton Boggs Foundation.

Rafael was born in Bolivia, grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has lived all over the country. They earned degrees from Carnegie Mellon University (BA), UC Berkeley (MA in Education), and Duke (JD/MA in East Asian Studies) and studied in Hong Kong SAR and Nanjing, China. In their spare time, Rafael parents two teenagers, reads voraciously, practices Daoist arts, cooks vegetarian meals for friends, gardens, and surveys California’s caves and reefs.

Email: communityactivisim@balif.org | socialaction@balif.org | programs@balif.org

Rafael Langer-Osuna is a partner at Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP where they focus on two different areas of litigation. On the one hand, they try cases in state and federal courts for and against foreign sovereigns. On the other, they litigate disputes involving start up technology companies or the internet, including cases arising from online defamation, the use of copyrighted materials on social media, data breaches, data privacy, hacking, and software licensing conflicts. Rafael is barred in California and Florida and has been admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit as well as several district courts throughout the country.

Rafael dedicates a significant amount of time to studying and bettering the world around them. They maintain an active pro bono practice assisting the Transgender Law Center’s asylum efforts, working for environmental groups, winning cases for local charitable organizations, and helping to improve gender equity. In addition to serving as Co-Chair of BALIF’s Community Activism and Social Action Committee, Rafael also currently serves as a non-binary support group facilitator, director of the Western Cave Conservancy, chairperson of San Francisco Bay Chapter of the National Speleological Society, and an advisory board member for the Squire Patton Boggs Foundation.

Rafael was born in Bolivia, grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has lived all over the country. They earned degrees from Carnegie Mellon University (BA), UC Berkeley (MA in Education), and Duke (JD/MA in East Asian Studies) and studied in Hong Kong SAR and Nanjing, China. In their spare time, Rafael parents two teenagers, reads voraciously, practices Daoist arts, cooks vegetarian meals for friends, gardens, and surveys California’s caves and reefs.

Email: communityactivisim@balif.org | socialaction@balif.org | programs@balif.org

Rafael Langer-Osuna is a partner at Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP where they focus on two different areas of litigation. On the one hand, they try cases in state and federal courts for and against foreign sovereigns. On the other, they litigate disputes involving start up technology companies or the internet, including cases arising from online defamation, the use of copyrighted materials on social media, data breaches, data privacy, hacking, and software licensing conflicts. Rafael is barred in California and Florida and has been admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit as well as several district courts throughout the country.

Rafael dedicates a significant amount of time to studying and bettering the world around them. They maintain an active pro bono practice assisting the Transgender Law Center’s asylum efforts, working for environmental groups, winning cases for local charitable organizations, and helping to improve gender equity. In addition to serving as Co-Chair of BALIF’s Community Activism and Social Action Committee, Rafael also currently serves as a non-binary support group facilitator, director of the Western Cave Conservancy, chairperson of San Francisco Bay Chapter of the National Speleological Society, and an advisory board member for the Squire Patton Boggs Foundation.

Rafael was born in Bolivia, grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has lived all over the country. They earned degrees from Carnegie Mellon University (BA), UC Berkeley (MA in Education), and Duke (JD/MA in East Asian Studies) and studied in Hong Kong SAR and Nanjing, China. In their spare time, Rafael parents two teenagers, reads voraciously, practices Daoist arts, cooks vegetarian meals for friends, gardens, and surveys California’s caves and reefs.

Email: communityactivisim@balif.org | socialaction@balif.org | programs@balif.org

Rafael Langer-Osuna is a partner at Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP where they focus on two different areas of litigation. On the one hand, they try cases in state and federal courts for and against foreign sovereigns. On the other, they litigate disputes involving start up technology companies or the internet, including cases arising from online defamation, the use of copyrighted materials on social media, data breaches, data privacy, hacking, and software licensing conflicts. Rafael is barred in California and Florida and has been admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit as well as several district courts throughout the country.

Rafael dedicates a significant amount of time to studying and bettering the world around them. They maintain an active pro bono practice assisting the Transgender Law Center’s asylum efforts, working for environmental groups, winning cases for local charitable organizations, and helping to improve gender equity. In addition to serving as Co-Chair of BALIF’s Community Activism and Social Action Committee, Rafael also currently serves as a non-binary support group facilitator, director of the Western Cave Conservancy, chairperson of San Francisco Bay Chapter of the National Speleological Society, and an advisory board member for the Squire Patton Boggs Foundation.

Rafael was born in Bolivia, grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has lived all over the country. They earned degrees from Carnegie Mellon University (BA), UC Berkeley (MA in Education), and Duke (JD/MA in East Asian Studies) and studied in Hong Kong SAR and Nanjing, China. In their spare time, Rafael parents two teenagers, reads voraciously, practices Daoist arts, cooks vegetarian meals for friends, gardens, and surveys California’s caves and reefs.