Gia Honnen-Weisdorn

Gia Honnen Weisdorn is a practicing attorney with the Law Offices of Gia Honnen Weisdorn, a firm with clients in the fields of entertainment, the Internet, biotechnology, and technology, among others. Since 2001, Professor Weisdorn has taught business law, eLaw, international law and negotiations at the Graziadio Business School. She has taught in each of the Graziadio School''s MBA programs as well as in its undergraduate program. She began her legal career as a labor lawyer with a major California law firm. She is the former general counsel for two public companies, where in each case she was responsible for supervising all legal matters pertaining to the company. She served for several years as a staff theatrical production attorney for a major motion picture studio. Professor Weisdorn is a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar honors graduate of Columbia Law School (LL.M.) and graduated magna cum laude from the University of San Diego School of Law (JD). She holds an MBA with a finance concentration from Pepperdine University.

Education

Columbia University

Master of Laws

University Of San Diego

Juris Doctor

Pepperdine University

Master of Business Administration

University Of San Diego

Bachelor of the Arts

Curriculum Vitae

Education

Columbia University

Master of Laws

University Of San Diego

Juris Doctor

Pepperdine University

Master of Business Administration

University Of San Diego

Bachelor of the Arts

Area of Expertise

• Entertainment
• Intellectual Property
• Business Law
• Employment Law
• Corporate Law/Governance
• Current Research or Projects

Dr. Weisdorn is currently writing and researching in the areas of corporate and employment law. Most recently, Dr. Weisdorn published an article with the California State Bar regarding Directors'' and Officers'' Insurance for corporations.

Professional Experience

1993 - Present: Practicing attorney
2002 - Present: Corporate counsel for high technology firm in La Jolla, CA.
2000 - 2002: General Counsel to public companies in Los Angeles, CA.
1995 - 1999: Counsel for theatrical production at Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.
1993 - 1994: Associate at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter and Hampton, Labor Dept.

Teaching Experience

Lecturer of Business Law, Graziadio School, April 2001 to Present, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California

• MBA Executive, fully-employed, and full-time students
• MIB students
• BSM (undergraduate program) students
• Fundamentals in Business Law
• Fundamentals in International Law
• Fundamentals in Negotiation
• Created and taught an E-commerce law course for the MBA in Technology Management

Instructor, (First Year Tutorial Program), USD Academic Support Services, Spring 1993, San Diego, California

• Reviewed and tested substantive Contract Law with students to improve performance.

Selected Publications and Presentations

• Gia L. Honnen, Casenote, Continental Casualty Co. v. Robsac Indus., San Diego Law Review , Vol. 29, No. 2 (1992).
• Gia H. Weisdorn, Linnea B. McCord and Melanie Stallings Williams, Directors'' and Officers'' Insurance: Don''t Leave Home Without It!, The State Bar of California Business Law News, Issue 1 (2006).
• Gia H. Weisdorn, Linnea B. McCord and Melanie Stallings Williams, D & O Policies: Greater Risks, Less Coverage, Graziadio Business Report, Journal of Contemporary Business Practice, Vol. 8, No. 3 (2005).
• Linnea B. McCord and Gia H. Weisdorn, Blowing the Whistle: Will Your Corporate Attorney be the New Whistleblower?, Graziadio Business Report, Journal of Contemporary Business Practice, Vol. 6, No. 3 (2003).
• Gia Honnen Weisdorn and Linnea Bernard McCord, The New Federal Attorney Professional Conduct Rules: The SEC''s Implementation of Section 307 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 & Implications for California Attorneys, presented at Pacific Southwest Academy of Legal Studies in Business, Annual Conference, Palm Springs (February 2003).
• Linnea Bernard McCord and Gia H. Weisdorn, Recent Developments in Employment Law, presented at Pacific Southwest Academy of Legal Studies Annual Conference, Palm Springs (February 2002).
• Linnea Bernard McCord, Gia Honnen Weisdorn, Kim Greenhalgh, Abolishing Workplace Bullying: The New Civil Rights Law for the 21st Century, presented at Academy of Legal Studies in Business National Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico (August 2001).

Professional Memberships

California State Bar
Columbia Law School Assn.
Beverly Hills Bar Assn.
American Bar Assn.

Honors and Awards

Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, Columbia Law School
Magna Cum Laude, University of San Diego School of Law
American Jurisprudence Award for Excellence in Corporations

Service

Board of Directors, Columbia University Alumni Assn. of Southern California
Board of directors, LA County Museum of Art Costume Council
Blue Ribbon of the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County
Malibu Stage Co.
LA County Museum of Art''s Decorative Arts Council
Library Foundation Council
U.S. World Affairs Council
Assistance League of Southern California Mannequins
Newfoundland Club of Southern California
California Wildlife Center