Areas of Practice

• Criminal Appeals
• Civil Appeals
• Extraordinary Writs

Certification/Specialties

• Appellate Law, Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization
• Criminal Law, Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization

Bar Admissions

• California, 1974
• U.S. District Court Central District of California, 1989
• U.S. Supreme Court, 1984
• U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 1989
• U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit, 1998
• U.S. Court of Appeals 1st Circuit, 1997
• U.S. District Court Southern District of California, 1991
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of California, 1992
• U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit, 2003

Education

• University of California, Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco, California, August, 1981
  College of Trial and Appellate Advocacy
  
  
• University of Southern California Law Center, Los Angeles, California, 1974
  J.D.
  
  
• University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, 1971
  B.A.
  
  
• California State College at Fullerton, Fullerton, California
  
  

Published Works

• In re Yurko, Orange County Bar Journal, 1974
• Rost Motion Manual, C.A.C.J, 1975
• Capital Punishment: Who Should Choose?, Western State University College of Law, 1985
• Death Penalty Cases (Lead Author, Chapter 55), California Criminal Law: Practice and Procedure, First Edition, Supplement, C.E.B. (1986); 1987, 1988

Classes/Seminars Taught

• Appellate Law Practice, Guest Lecturer, Whittier Law School, Fall, 2004
• MCLE Seminar, Lecturer, Law Talk, Inc., January, 2004
• MCLE Seminar, Lecturer, Law Talk, Inc., December, 2003
• Appellate Law Practice (Oral Argument), Guest Lecturer, Chapman University School of Law
• Speaker, Orange County Bar Association College of Appellate Advocacy, 2000
• "What Makes A Great Judge?", Panelist, Center for Justice & Accountability (CJA), May, 2003
• "The Rodney King Case", American Bar Association (Los Angeles), White Collar Crime Section
• "Ethics and the Rodney King Case", American Inns of Court (Banyard)
• Criminal Law - Procedure, Faculty, California State University at Fullerton
• Criminal Procedure, Legal Analysis, Faculty, Western State College of Law - Orange County
• Death Penalty Training Seminars, Lecturer, California Public Defender's Association/NACDL
• 22nd Annual Convention Program, Lecturer, California Public Defender's Association/NACDL, April 22-24, 1992
• Lecturer, various occasions, California Public Defender's Association/NACDL
• "The King Trial, A Retrospective of Legal and Practical Issues", American Bar Association, White Collar Crime Committee, June 15, 1993
• Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), Seminar Presenter, University of California, 1975 - Present
• Taught judges about due process and record on appeal issues in traffic and misdemeanor cases, California Judicial Council
• "Ethics, Gangs, Race & Smart Weapons" Seminar, Lecturer, California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, 1992
• Asilomar Death Penalty Seminar, Lecturer, California Attorneys for Criminal Justice

Professional Associations and Memberships

• State Bar of California, Judicial Nominees Evaluation Commission, 2007 - 2008
  Chair
  
  
• State Bar of California, Judicial Nominees Evaluation Commission, 2006
  Vice Chair
  
  
• State Bar of California, Judicial Nominees Evaluation Commission, 2004 - 2008
  Member
  
  
• State Bar of California, Criminal Law Section
  
  
• Orange County Bar Association, Appellate Section, 1995 - Present
  Founding Member
  
  
• Orange County Bar Association, Appellate Section, 1999
  Director, College of Appellate Advocacy
  
  
• Orange County Bar Association, Appellate Section, 2000
  Program Chair
  
  
• Orange County Bar Association Appellate Section, 2001
  Chair
  
  
• Orange County Bar Association, Criminal Law Section, 1980 - 1995
  Member
  
  
• American Inns of Court, Robert A. Banyard Inn
  Founding Member and Master Bencher
  
  
• California Academy of Appellate Lawyers
  
  

Past Employment Positions

• William J. Kopeny & Associates, 1998 - Present
• Kopeny & Powell, Inc., 1996 - 1998
• Law Office of William J. Kopeny, 1990 - 1995
• Stewart & Barnett, 1988 - 1990
• Combs & Gifford, 1987
• Merwin, McDonald & Kopeny, 1985 - 1987
• Orange County Public Defender, Assistant Public Defender-Supervising Special Operations, Juvenile Court, Writs & Appeals, and Mental Health, 1984 - 1985
• Orange County Public Defender, Deputy Public Defender-Head: Writs & Appeals Section, Felony Trials, 1981 - 1984
• Orange County Public Defender, Deputy Public Defender-Writs & Appeals Attorney, 1980 - 1981
• Law Office of William J. Kopeny, 1976 - 1980
• MacFarlane & MacFarlane, Associate Attorney, 1975
• Orange County Public Defender, Deputy Public Defender, 1974