Co-Hosts - Law Deans Jackie Gardina and Mitch Winick

Jackie Gardina is the former Dean of the Colleges of Law with campuses in Santa Barbara and Ventura. Before attending law school, she received an MSW and worked as an outpatient clinical social worker. Six years later, she graduated magna cum laude from Boston College Law School. Upon graduation, she clerked for Chief Judge William Young 

Jackie Gardina is the former Dean of the Colleges of Law with campuses in Santa Barbara and Ventura. Before attending law school, she received an MSW and worked as an outpatient clinical social worker. Six years later, she graduated magna cum laude from Boston College Law School. Upon graduation, she clerked for Chief Judge William Young of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and then for the Honorable Levin Campbell of the First Circuit Court of Appeals. In addition, she was an associate at the Boston firm of Choate, Hall, and Stewart, where she practiced in the commercial litigation department. She recently completed an Ed.D. in Higher Education Management at University of Pennsylvania. 

Dean Gardina has written extensively about bankruptcy, civil procedure, tribal law, and constitutional issues related to the LGBTQ community. She was involved in the don’t ask don’t tell repeal efforts as well as the effort to secure marriage equality in Vermont.  You can find her writings in scholarly journals, the Huffington Post, and the Washington Post.

Gardina served as a member of the California Attorney Practice Analysis Working Group, chair of the State Bar Committee for Accredited and Registered Law Schools, and as a member of the California Supreme Court's Blue Ribbon Commission on the Future of the Bar Exam.

Contact: jgardina@sidebarmedia.org

Mitchel Winick  served from 2005 to 2025 as the President and Dean of the California nonprofit law school system that includes Monterey College of Law, San Luis Obispo College of Law, Kern County College of Law, and Empire College of Law. A graduate of the University of Houston Law Center, Winick previously served as an Assistant Attorney

Mitchel Winick  served from 2005 to 2025 as the President and Dean of the California nonprofit law school system that includes Monterey College of Law, San Luis Obispo College of Law, Kern County College of Law, and Empire College of Law. A graduate of the University of Houston Law Center, Winick previously served as an Assistant Attorney General of Texas, Executive Director of the Texas Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism, and Assistant Dean of Texas Tech University School of Law. A believer that there are many interesting things that can be done with a law degree, prior to returning to legal academia, Winick served as a corporate executive, practiced as a management consultant, and as a venture capitalist.

Dean Winick is the former co-host of the nationally syndicated radio program, Wagner & Winick On The Law. He is co-author and editor of three books on law office management and ethics. He has also been an outspoken advocate for reducing California's disparate impact on access to licensure based on race/ethnicity. He is co-author of the 2020 AccessLex study, Examining the California Cut Score: An Empirical Analysis of Minimum Competency, Public Protection, Disparate Impact, and National Standards.  

Winick served as chair of the State Bar of California Law School Council and on the Task Force on Admissions Regulation Reform.

Contact: mwinick@sidebarmedia.org