Meet the Coaches

California Mock Trial is lucky to be supported by the coaching and guidance of an incredible staff of coaches. Check out their bios below!

Arthur J. Shartsis, J.D.

Mr. Shartsis co-founded the San Francisco law firm of Shartsis Friese LLP in 1975. The 63 lawyer firm, comprising top graduates from top law schools, conducts a general business practice, with specialties in litigation, securities, general corporate law, investment and brokerage services, real estate, estate planning and taxation. Mr. Shartsis is the senior manager of the firm.

Mr. Shartsis specializes in complex litigation, including general business disputes, securities, financial institutions, intellectual property, fiduciary, antitrust and construction litigation. He has tried cases in state and federal courts, before judges and juries, and in arbitration. He has appeared in both federal and state appellate courts, including the California Supreme Court. Mr. Shartsis has litigated a number of cases involving claims for more than one billion dollars. He has also represented major law firms, federal and state court judges, a number of California Constitutional Officers (including the Governor), and the States of California and Hawaii.

Mr. Shartsis is the founding President of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers of Northern California, an organization of over 1,600 lawyers specializing in business litigation and trials.

Mr. Shartsis served as an elected director and president of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART). He also served on the Executive Committee of the Mayor’s Task Force which helped restructure the San Francisco Municipal Railway public transit system.

Mr. Shartsis has been a founding member of a number of public organizations, including California Lawyers For The Arts, The Henry’s Fork Foundation, and The Center Stage Ticket Foundation. He has also served on the boards of the International House at U.C. Berkeley and the U.C. Berkeley Alumni Association, the Berkeley Law Alumni Association and was Co-Chair of the Berkeley Law Centennial.

Mr. Shartsis’ pro bono activities include serving as co-counsel with Professor (and later Justice) Frank Newman on one of the first international human rights cases brought at the United Nations, involving the torture of political prisoners.

Mr. Shartsis received his J.D. from University of California, Berkeley - Boalt Hall School of Law in 1971, graduated from Oxford University in 1968, and received his A.B. with honors, Valedictorian, from the University of California, Berkeley in 1967.

Charles R. Rice, J.D.

Mr. Rice joined San Francisco law firm of Shartsis Friese LLP in 1981 after clerking for the late U.S. District Judge Albert C. Wollenberg. He is senior counsel in the Firm’s Litigation Department and the General Counsel of the Firm. He specializes in securities and business cases as well as other complex litigation for companies, governmental agencies and individuals. Mr. Rice has successfully litigated a wide range of cases in arbitration and state and federal trial and appellate courts. He also advises clients on how to avoid or minimize litigation. He prides himself on developing tailor-made approaches to legal conflicts and problems that yield cost-effective and satisfying results for his clients.

Mr. Rice has successfully represented many different kinds of defendants, including:

Investment managers, corporations and corporate officers and directors sued by disgruntled investors;
Individuals and corporations investigated or sued by government agencies; and
Individuals and corporations engaged in conflicts over corporate governance or the interpretation of leases and other contracts.

He also has successfully represented many different kinds of plaintiffs, including:

Family members who sued an Ivy League university for the misuse of donated funds;
Family members who sued to retain control of a family-owned business; and
The California Attorney General and the California Department of Insurance in suits on behalf of the citizens of California.

In addition, he teaches a legal writing class to foreign LL.M. students at Berkeley Law School.

Mr. Rice has been a member of the Board of Governors for the Northern California branch of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers.

Mr. Rice received his J.D. from the University of California - Berkeley Law School (formerly Boalt Hall) in 1980 and his A.B. in English with General and Special Honors from the University of Chicago in 1975.

Robert H. Fisher, M.D.

Fisher Leadership Strategy Execution; San Francisco, CA

Dr. Fisher founded and currently operates a consulting firm specializing in leadership development, strategy assessment, strategy execution, and complex leadership issues focused on achieving cost savings, risk reduction and revenue production. A partial client list includes:

Intuit, Oracle, Raytheon, Salesforce.com, Silicon Graphics, Sun Microsystems, Accenture, Ernst and Young, Deloitte, Bank of America, BankUnited, Fair Isaac Co (FICO), Charles Schwab, Inc., Wells Fargo Bank, Visa, Visa International, Kaiser Permanente, Care Management Institute of Kaiser Permanente, National Institutes of Health, Stanford Laboratories & Hospital, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, Alta Bates Hospital Hospice, Santarus, California Pacific Medical Center, Heart Institute of New Mexico, Tularik, Vivigen Laboratories, Nginx Software, Texas Oncology, McKesson Specialty Health.

Dr. Fisher serves as a trusted advisor to provide consulting and coaching to C-level Executives, Senior Management, and High Potentials to increase revenue, improve productivity and performance for startups, IPO’s through Fortune 100 corporations. His skills and expertise include the proven ability to:

Resolve complex business issues quickly and achieve key business metrics effectively
Work with multiple levels of leadership and cross-functional teams
Uncover new and innovative directions and business opportunities
Identify and resolve complex issues through negotiation, conflict resolution, collaboration, and effective cross-functional communication.
Guide leaders and their executive teams through the process of assessing strategy, successful execution from both the risk management and opportunity creation sides.
Delivers Future Scenario Planning Strategy Sessions and teaches Winning Language©Copyright Robert H. Fisher 2018 All Rights Reserved

Dr. Fisher received his A.B. degree in Human Relations from the University of California, Berkeley. He received his M.D. degree and a Master’s Degree in Public Health (M.S.P.H.) in Epidemiology from the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri.

Dr Fisher was an intern at the United States Public Health Service Hospital, San Francisco, CA. He completed his Residency in Psychiatry at the University of California Medical Center, San Francisco, CA. After his residency he served as a Public Service Science Resident with the National Science Foundation.

He is Board Certified with the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Community Service

Dr Fisher currently serves as a Board Member; Science & Technology Corporation; University New Mexico since 2000.
He has been a member; Physician Leadership Committee; Alameda-Contra Costa Medical Association (ACCMA) since 2018.
He was appointed by the Department of Defense (DOD) to the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference (JCOC). Traveled to the Middle East to meet with senior military leaders and present findings upon return to relevant audiences.
He founded the Center for Medical Democracy: An initiative to provide a platform for a broad variety of stakeholders to exchange thoughts and ideas with the overall intent of improving healthcare and its delivery.

Nicholas Cotter, Esq.

Nicholas Cotter is an attorney at the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office in Oakland, California. He is a Cal Mock Trial alumnus and has served as a coach since 2016.

Nick’s first introduction to trial advocacy came in 2011, when he competed as the Defense Pretrial Attorney for Prospect High School Mock Trial (San Jose, California). That year, he was a Santa Clara County Champion and won the J. Skelley Wright Award for Outstanding Constitutional Advocacy at the California State Finals.

Nick then attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he double majored in Molecular & Cell Biology (Neurobiology) and Music (Woodwind Performance). At Berkeley, Nick was a member of the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, the University Wind Ensemble, UC Jazz Ensembles, and the University of California Marching Band. He also served as an Arts & Entertainment Staff Writer for The Daily Californian.

During college, Nick was also a four-year competitor for Cal Mock Trial, UC Berkeley’s Official Mock Trial Program. From 2011 to 2015, he competed as both an attorney and a witness, and represented each of Berkeley’s four teams (D, C, B, and A) at tournaments across the country. Nick served on the team’s Executive Committee as the External Treasurer for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons, where he organized tournaments, directed workshop programs, and taught UC Berkeley’s first undergraduate course in trial advocacy. As a competitor, Nick earned 11 individual awards, including All-Region, All-National, and All-American honors. In his senior year, Nick helped lead Cal’s A Team to a 2nd Place finish at the 2015 National Championship Tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio – tied for the best finish in program history – and in doing so was named an Intercollegiate All-American Attorney.

After college, Nick went on to attend the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University, Long Beach, where he earned his Master of Music Degree in Woodwind Performance.

Nick then went on to attend the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law where he earned his J.D. There, he was a staff editor for the Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law, a research fellow at the California Constitution Center, and a member of the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association (APALSA). Nick was also a competitor, captain, and co-director for the Berkeley Law Trial Team where he was a Champion and Top Advocate of the law school’s internal trial competition and a National Semi-Finalist and National Finalist at several national trial advocacy competitions. At graduation, Nick received the Anthony F. Dragonette Award in Civil Trial Practice, given annually to the top graduating student in trial advocacy.

As a coach, Nick has trained and consulted with teams at the high school, college, and law school levels. Since 2013, Nick has coached high school mock trial programs throughout California. His students have earned recognition as top competitors at the county, state, and national levels. In 2018, his competitor finished as a semifinalist at Gladiator, the 1-on-1 High School Mock Trial World Championship. As an attorney coach for Cal Mock Trial, Nick has worked with every team in the program, and coached them to top finishes at invitational, regional, and national tournaments. He is also an attorney coach for the Berkeley Law Trial Team.

Nick now works as an Associate Deputy Public Defender with the Alameda County Public Defender. He is a jury trial attorney representing indigent clients charged with criminal cases. He is also a Senior Research Fellow with the California Constitution Center, a member of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area, and a co-chair of the case committee for Empire Mock Trial.

When not working or coaching, Nick enjoys performing and teaching music, watching the San Francisco Giants, and cheering for Cal Football (Go Bears!)