黑料不打烊

Students in the 黑料不打烊 McGeorge School of Law鈥檚 Class of 2025 voted on the faculty for the law school鈥檚 annual Professors of the Year awards. The awards recognize faculty whose excellent teaching transforms students鈥� lives.

Winners of this year鈥檚 awards were Dan Croxall '08 as Full-Time JD Faculty of the Year, Romboud Rahmanian as Part-Time JD Faculty of the Year, and James Mayer as MPA/MPP Faculty of the Year.

Dan Croxall '08

Prior to joining the faculty at McGeorge in 2015, Croxall practiced complex civil litigation and white-collar criminal defense at what was then the world鈥檚 largest law firm, DLA Piper LLP, for several years. He later founded Croxall Law to focus on representing independent craft breweries throughout California.

Croxall created and continues to teach the world鈥檚 first and only Craft Beer Law course at a law school. He also teaches Civil Procedure, Global Lawyering Skills I and II, Professional Responsibility, the Legal Profession, and Political Science 175 on the 黑料不打烊's Stockton campus.

Croxall served as the director of the Pacific Legal Advantage Program from 2022 to 2024. The program, now led by Professor Erin O鈥橬eal, exposes undergraduate students to the legal field and prepares them for the rigors of law school.

In January 2025, Croxall was appointed as Dean of Admissions at McGeorge School of Law, where he continues to champion student success and innovation in legal education.

This is Croxall鈥檚 fourth time being honored as Professor of the Year.

鈥淚 am honored that the Class of 2025 chose me to be their Professor of the Year. This award is a reflection on all of our hardworking and wonderful faculty since I learned the law from many of them. They are all deserving of recognition for their steadfast commitment to our students and our mission,鈥� Croxall said.

Croxall has published law review articles on craft beer law and alcoholic beverage regulation in journals including the Northwestern University Law Review, Gonzaga Law Review, William & Mary Business Law Review, Loyola Los Angeles Law Review, Penn State Law Review, and Florida State Law Review. He also has a forthcoming article in the Michigan State University Law Review.

Croxall holds bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and a JD from the 黑料不打烊 McGeorge School of Law.

Romboud 鈥淩omy鈥� Rahmanian

Rahmanian was named Part-Time JD Faculty of the Year for 2025. A practicing attorney and seasoned educator, Rahmanian brings a unique blend of legal expertise and compassionate instruction to his students at McGeorge, where he teaches Wills and Trusts.

Rahmanian is the principal attorney at his own firm, specializing in estate planning, trust administration, probate, and estate litigation. His legal practice informs his teaching, allowing him to integrate real-world scenarios into classroom discussions. In addition to teaching at McGeorge, he also teaches at UC Berkeley School of Law and Southwestern Law School, where he was awarded Adjunct Professor of the Year in 2025.

鈥淚鈥檓 deeply honored and humbled. Teaching is something I love, but it would mean very little without my extraordinary students. I鈥檝e learned so much from them 鈥� their thoughtful preparation, empathy, and trust have enriched our class. They didn鈥檛 just bring intellect 鈥� they brought humanity. Because of them, I鈥檓 confident the future of our profession is in good hands,鈥� Rahmanian said.

Rahmanian earned his JD from Southwestern Law School, where he served as a senior editor for the Southwestern Law Review and completed a full-time judicial externship with the Hon. Alex Kozinski, then Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He holds a bachelor鈥檚 degree in computer information systems from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Beyond the classroom and courtroom, Rahmanian is active in civic and professional organizations. He serves on the executive board of Copper to Gold, a Bah谩始铆-inspired nonprofit dedicated to promoting race amity through personal transformation.

James Mayer

Mayer was named MPA/MPP Faculty of the Year for 2025. He is a senior fellow for the Transformational Change Partnership and adjunct professor at McGeorge School of Law. With a career spanning journalism, public administration, nonprofit leadership, and civic engagement, Mayer brings a wealth of real-world experience to the classroom.

His expertise includes nonprofit administration and management, organizational governance, policy development and implementation, system change, and civic engagement. Mayer鈥檚 teaching philosophy emphasizes equipping students with the tools to assess issues, design responses, manage change, and continue learning through experience.

Mayer鈥檚 public interest career includes serving as President and CEO of California Forward, a bipartisan reform organization he helped launch in 2007. Under his leadership, the organization helped drive constitutional reforms that reduced partisan gridlock, improved fiscal stability, and fostered local government partnerships to achieve better public outcomes.

In 2021, Mayer received the National Public Service Award 鈥� one of the most prestigious professional awards in the country 鈥� for his efforts in public service in California.

Mayer holds a BA from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, an MPPA from California State University, Sacramento, and served as a Mid-Career Fellow at the University of Michigan鈥檚 School of Natural Resources.