Pamela Elizabeth Dunn

Pamela Elizabeth Dunn built a distinguished career in appellate law after an unconventional path to the profession. Before entering law, she earned an undergraduate degree from the University of South Florida and worked as a newspaper music critic in Florida and as a teacher. She went on to earn her law degree from Southwestern Law School in 1984, and following graduation she served as a judicial clerk for the Nevada Supreme Court and then as a judicial extern for U.S. District Judge Edward Rafeedie of the Central District of California.

Over the course of her career, Ms. Dunn became a board-certified appellate law specialist who brought nearly 300 appeals before state and federal courts, with more than 50 published opinions to her name. She joined Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland LLP and Robie & Matthai P.C. before establishing her own firms, Dunn Koes LLP and later Dunn Appellate Law P.C. She was widely respected by her colleagues, who counted her among the superb practitioners in the field.

Ms. Dunn devoted extensive service to the profession and her community. She served as a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Board of Trustees, chaired the California State Bar Appellate Courts Committee and LACBA's Appellate Courts Committee, and taught as an adjunct associate professor of law at Loyola Law School and Southwestern. She founded LACBA's AIDS Service Project and helped the Court of Appeal establish its Settlement Conference and Mediation Program, and she belonged to numerous professional organizations, including the Federal Bar Association, the American Bar Association, Women Lawyers of Los Angeles, California Women Lawyers, Lawyers for Human Rights, and the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel. She is survived by her partner of more than 25 years, Maria 'Ria' Cousineau, and their children, Cary and Casey.