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Contact: Lance Olson
916-442-2952
Capital Law Firm Expands its Team
March 22, 2000 (SACRAMENTO) -- Olson, Hagel, Waters & Fishburn, one of the few California law firms with principal focuses on political law and social security law, is pleased to announce the appointment of a new partner and key additions to its staff.
Elizabeth L. Gade, who joined Olson Hagel in 1994, was made a partner of the firm. Deborah B. Caplan and Sarah E. Gilmer have joined Olson Hagel as associates, and Cindy A. Broughton is the firm's new business manager. The staff additions will enhance the firm's capabilities to provide a wide range of legal services while maintaining the highest standards for client relations.
"Olson Hagel embraces the insight and experience our newest additions will provide. We are very excited to welcome them aboard," said Lance Olson, the firm's founder and managing partner.
The firm's newest staff members possess not only strong legal and political expertise, but deep-seated commitment to their communities.
Elizabeth L. Gade, Olson Hagel's newest partner, works in the Social Security Unit at the firm, handling SSDI and SSI claims, as well as Regional Center eligibility cases for individuals with developmental disabilities. She earned both her undergraduate and law degrees at the University of California at Davis. She is a former mental health worker in community based programs, and is currently the President of the Board of Directors of Yolo Community Care Continuum, an agency serving mental health consumers.
Deborah B. Caplan joined Olson Hagel as an associate. Ms. Caplan plays a pivotal role in both the litigation and political units of the firm. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola Marymount University and her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington D.C. in 1979. Ms. Caplan was a Professor of Clinical Law at George Washington University Law School until 1992, specializing in administrative law and general civil practice. She relocated to Sacramento in 1992 and clerked for the Honorable David Russell, United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District. She has also served as an adjunct professor of law at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law.
Sarah E. Gilmer has also joined the firm as an associate, working in the political law unit of the firm. Ms. Gilmer earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Davis, a Masters of Arts in history from the University of Wisconsin in 1994 and law degree from Tulane University in 1997. She was associate counsel to the Assembly Rules Committee and served as an Executive Fellow for the California Secretary of State after graduating from law school.
Cindy A. Broughton is Olson Hagel's business manager. Her extensive administration background includes experience in the areas of staff recruitment, implementing policies and procedures, coordinating benefits, payroll and budget development. Ms. Broughton's efforts to streamline office procedures will enable the firm's attorneys to provide more efficient, quality service for the firm's clients.
Founded in 1977 by Lance Olson, the firm serves as General Counsel to the state Democratic Party and advises numerous candidates, elected officials, political action committees, ballot measure committees, lobbyists and contributors on laws that regulate political conduct. The firm has been involved in numerous high profile cases and will argue next month before the U.S. Supreme Court that California's open primary election offends the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The firm's other primary focus is in social security disability and SSI law. The firm's Social Security Unit provides representation from the initial application through litigation in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
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