Diane Birnholz is excited to teach Criminal Trial Advocacy and co-teach Negotiation Theory & Practice again this year. She has a long association with the law school, including as a Lecturer teaching Criminal Trial Advocacy, Lawyering Skills, and other courses, and as an Admissions Officer.

Diane earned her B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of Business at University of Pennsylvania. She attended UCLA School of Law where she received her J.D. with Order of the Coif honors. While in law school, Diane was a Teaching Assistant for Legal Research and Writing, a Moot Court participant, and worked as a Certified Law Clerk at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Diane then clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Irving Hill of the Central District of California.

Following her clerkship, Diane served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office here in Los Angeles. She prosecuted a wide variety of criminal defendants in federal court, including takeover-style armed bank robbers, fraudsters preying on senior citizens with telemarketing schemes, and defendants charged with conspiracy, assault, narcotics, escape, and gang firearms crimes. She argued multiple appeals before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Diane received a Special Achievement Award from the U.S. Department of Justice for her sustained superior performance of duty and was honored by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in appreciation for her outstanding and dedicated service.

Diane is editing her first novel, a legal murder mystery/thriller, which she hopes to see published. She works as an expert legal commentator, and also volunteers with the California Innocence Project and at Cedars-Sinai. She is a member of the UCLA Law Women LEAD Network and has been a member of the Dean’s Circle Giving Society for over ten years.