The MTLA’s mission is to promote professionalism and civility in the legal profession, improve local bench-bar relations, educate, protect the right to jury trials, and promote fair and equal access to justice for all, regardless of wealth or power.
MTLA Board Members
Howard J. Knapp
President
851 Irwin St. Ste 205
San Rafael, CA 94901
Howard J. Knapp grew up in a small town in California’s Central Valley. He moved to the Bay Area to attend UC Berkeley and graduated with a B.A. in English in 2013. Howard then spent over seven years working in marketing and business development for corporate clients of all sizes, including an international law firm and Fortune 50 technology company. After years in his corporate career, Howard decided to apply his skills to build a family business with his dad, Lawerence Knapp, and sister, Catherine Moss, who are both attorneys. He went on to obtain his J.D. from UC Law San Francisco (Formerly UC Hastings). During law school, Howard externed for Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye of the California Supreme Court and clerked for Alameda County Office of the County Counsel. Two weeks after taking the bar exam, Howard second-chaired and won a month-long trial that resulted in the highest nondeath personal injury jury verdict in Stanislaus County history. Today, he is a passionate advocate for personal injury plaintiffs who prides himself on building a strong community with trusting, honest relationships. Howard takes the time to understand what each of his clients have experienced and ensures that they have the tools to comprehend the litigation process. He works with his dad and sister fighting to achieve justice for individuals who have been harmed. Outside of his practice, Howard lives in San Rafael with his wife and children. In his down time, he enjoys adventuring outdoors with his family and exploring the Bay Area’s uniquely wondrous beauty.
Scott Stillman
Vice President
220 Jackson St., Suite 350
San Francisco, CA 94111
Scott Stillman is the Founder of The Law Office of Scott Stillman, a litigation firm that focuses on advocating for employees and ensuring they receive the fair treatment they deserve. Scott litigates matters involving wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour violations, whistleblower protection and False Claims Act cases. Prior to founding his own firm, Scott was an Assistant District Attorney and Labor Liaison at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, where he started and led a first-of-its-kind Workers’ Rights Unit that focused on prosecution of cases like wage theft and labor trafficking. He also served as a Partner at McGuinn, Hillsman & Palefsky, a leading plaintiff-side employment law firm. Scott has served as the Chair of the Labor & Employment Law Section of the California Lawyers Association. He has also published multiple articles, been repeatedly invited to speak on KALW and given presentations on various topics related to labor and employment law.
Fred Anderson is the senior partner in Anderson & Anderson. He graduated from Michigan State University with a BA in economics and Vanderbilt Law School with a JD degree. He was a prosecutor in the Orange County District Attorney’s office for two years before he started his own law firm. Fred practiced primarily in Orange County but has tried cases from San Diego to Boise, Idaho, and Mt Vernon, Washington. He was admitted to practice in Oregon in 2005 and Washington in 2007. He practiced in Hillsboro, Oregon, from 2006 to 2018 and then returned to California. He has tried over 100 jury trials, numerous court trials, including twelve elder abuse cases, and several probate will and trust contests. His published opinions include People v. Koury (1989) 214 Cal App 3d 676, People v. Neer (1986) 177 Cal App 3d 991, and California v. Acevedo (1991) 500 US 565. These were all Fourth Amendment search and seizure cases. Fred is active in the Novato Rotary, and his hobbies include USMS competitive swimming and photography.
Daniel Brome is a Senior Counsel at Hunter Pyle Law, where he represents workers in class, collective, and representative actions, as well as in single plaintiff cases. Daniel has spent his entire legal career advocating for the rights of workers. Prior to joining Hunter Pyle Law, he was part of Nichols Kaster’s wage and hour practice, handling cases nationwide seeking unpaid overtime and minimum wages. In this role he was part of multiple successful cases, including on behalf of homecare workers, janitors, food servers and bartenders, and flight attendants. He previously worked at a prominent Bay Area labor firm, Weinberg, Roger and Rosenfeld, representing unions and multiemployer benefit funds, and at Legal Aid at Work (LAAW), representing workers in claims for unpaid wages at the Labor Commissioner and in claims for unemployment insurance. He regularly volunteers at LAAW’s Workers’ Rights Clinic; he is a member of the California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA) and the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA). Daniel graduated from Berkeley Law in 2011. During law school, he worked with LAAW’s gender justice and community legal services programs, and was a clinic counsel and student director of the Workers’ Rights Clinic. He served as co-Editor-in-chief of the Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law.
Jeannette Vaccaro
Board member,Immediate Past Board President
315 Montgomery Street, 10th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94104
Jeannette A. Vaccaro represents employees exclusively in matters involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblowing, and wrongful termination. She is also serves as a volunteer mediator for the California Civil Rights Division (formerly DFEH), as well as the Marin County Superior Court ADR Program. After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley with honors, Jeannette worked in business for almost a decade before graduating magna cum laude from the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. She began her legal career representing employees in state and federal court in Oregon, until she returned to California in 2012. From 2015 to 2019, Jeannette was named a Super Lawyers Rising Star, and was selected as a Northern California Super Lawyer every year since 2021. Jeannette was also named one of the Top Women Lawyers in Northern California each of those years. In addition to being the immediate past-President and current co-President of Marin Trial Lawyers Association (MTLA), Jeannette volunteers as a supervising attorney for the ELA Institute for Law and Policy, and the Marin County Law Library’s Lawyers in the Library program. She is principal of the Law Office of Jeannette A. Vaccaro in San Francisco, California.
Zoe R. DeGeer
Board member
351 California St, # 700
San Francisco, CA 94104
Zoë DeGeer is a Partner at Rudy, Exelrod, Zieff & Lowe, LLP where she exclusively represents employees in wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, medical leave and breach of contract actions, as well as severance negotiations. Prior to joining the firm in 2020, Ms. DeGeer worked as an associate at Dickson Geesman LLP and Outten & Golden LLP. Ms. DeGeer graduated from Golden Gate University School of Law in 2014 with honors and certifications in litigation and public interest law. In law school, Ms. DeGeer was heavily involved in the litigation department and mock trial program. Her mock trial team won the regional American Bar Association Labor and Employment Mock Trial Competition and was a semi-finalist in the national competition. She worked in the San Francisco District Attorney’s office as a Law Clerk for two years in the sexual assault, child assault, domestic violence, misdemeanor, and law and motion units. Ms. DeGeer also worked as a judicial extern for the Honorable Cynthia Ming-mei Lee and the Appellate Department of the San Francisco Superior Court. Ms. DeGeer is Employee Co-Chair of the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section’s Membership Retention and Trial Advocacy Committees and a member of the California Employment Lawyers Association and National Employment Lawyers Association. She is a graduate of the American Bar Association’s Leadership Development Program.
