Faculty

The Oak Brook College of Law faculty is comprised of a group of legal professionals, who bring a high level of experience and connections to the classroom.

Each of the professors currently practice in the areas of law that they teach. This brings a knowledge, passion, and drive to teaching and training the next generation of skilled attorneys.

Dean McElvy

Douglas McElvy | Dean

Dean J. Douglas McElvy is a graduate of the University of Alabama School of Commerce and Business Administration (1967) and also the University of Alabama School of Law (1971). He served on the Board of Bar Commissioners for the Alabama State Bar from 1991 to 2003, served four terms on the Executive Council, and was elected Vice President of the Alabama State Bar in 2002. He was then elected to fill the Office of President of the Alabama State Bar for the 2004-2005 term. Dean McElvy has also served as President of the Christian Legal Society of Alabama and was elected as a Trustee of the Alabama Law Foundation. In addition, since 1995 he has been a certified mediator, being certified by the American Academy of Attorney Mediators.

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Dean McElvy is the past Chair of the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism. In 2005 he was selected for the Best Lawyers in America and in 2009 he was named to the Alabama Super Lawyers.

Dean McElvy and his wife, Eleanor, have five children and ten grandchildren. They reside in Montgomery, Alabama where he is engaged in private practice.

Robert J. Barth | Associate Dean

A graduate of the University of Illinois (B.S. 1976), Professor Robert J. Barth received his Juris Doctor from Southern Illinois University School of Law in 1979. He received his Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Regent University in 1986. From 1986 to 1995, Professor Barth was associated with Regent University School of Law in several capacities, including assistant dean for academic and student affairs, and editor of the Journal of Christian Jurisprudence. He has written several articles, and as the director for academic programs, he has authored Oak Brook College’s book, Renewing Your Mind as You Study Law. 

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Professor Barth and his wife, Gemma, have ten children and four grandchildren and live in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Robert G. Caprera

Professor Robert G. Caprera received his Bachelor of Arts in 1976 at Duke University. A graduate of Nova University Law School, he has been continuously engaged in private practice since his graduation in 1979, working in the areas of civil and criminal litigation. He has also had extensive trial experience in the areas of personal injury and workers’ compensation claims. Professor Caprera served as a Bar Advocate (Public Defender) in Worcester County, Massachusetts, for several years.

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Professor Caprera and his wife, Julie, have three children and live in Southbridge, Massachusetts.

John Eidsmoe

John Eidsmoe is a retired Air Force Judge Advocate and Lt. Colonel, and a Colonel in the Alabama State Defense Force. He has served as a prosecutor, a juvenile court referee, and a religious liberty litigation attorney. He has authored thirteen books including Christianity & the Constitution, and God & Caesar, as well as numerous lecture albums including the Institute on the Constitution. He is an ordained pastor with the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations, and in 20 years of teaching in various law schools his students have given him the outstanding professor award or professor of the year award five times. He has also served as senior staff attorney for the Alabama Supreme Court and currently serves as counsel for the Foundation for Moral Law in Montgomery, Alabama.

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He and his wife Marlene have been married since 1970 and have three children, and two great-grandchildren.

Peter L. Fear

Professor Peter L. Fear received his Juris Doctor degree from Oak Brook College of Law and Government Policy in 1999. While in law school, Professor Fear worked for the Finance & Taxation Committee of the Florida House of Representatives, as well as the litigation department of the Home School Legal Defense Association in Purcellville, Virginia. He has been engaged in private practice since his admission to the California Bar in 2000. In 2004, Professor Fear opened his own law practice in Fresno. Professor Fear also serves as Director of Administration for Oak Brook College of Law.

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Professor Fear and his wife, Debra, have five children and reside in the Fresno, California area.

Sean J. Gallagher

Professor Gallagher is a graduate of the University of Maryland (BS 1983), and Oak Brook College of Law (J.D. 1999). He is a licensed attorney (California, District of Columbia), a registered patent attorney (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office), and a registered professional engineer (Maryland). He has served Montgomery County Public School, Department of Facilities Management, in the capacity of assistant director since 2000.

Larry M. Higgins

A graduate of the University of Notre Dame (B.A. 1975), Professor Larry Higgins received his Juris Doctor from Hamline University School of Law in 1980. Subsequent to his judicial clerkship in 1981 for a Hennepin County (Minneapolis) senior judge, he has continuously been engaged in the practice of law. In addition to his law practice, he also served as assistant to the director of the Christian Conciliation Service of Minnesota in 1984, and as coordinator and director of the Christian Legal Society of Minnesota from 1985 to 1987.

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Professor Higgins lives in St. Paul, Minnesota where his law practice has focused primarily in the area of family law with emphases on helping families to reconcile.

Jonathan P. Huber

Professor Jonathan Huber received his JD degree from Oak Brook College of Law in 2003 and was admitted to the California Bar in June of that year.   In 2013, Jonathan founded Huber Law Group, a Sacramento, California trust and estate law firm.  The following year, Jonathan was certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization as a certified specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law, a designation he continues to maintain. Professor Huber is a member of the Christian Legal Society, Federalist Society, Sacramento County Bar Association, Probate and Estate Planning Section of the Sacramento County Bar Association, the Trusts & Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association, and the Contra Costa County Bar Association.

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Jonathan volunteers as an attorney-client fee arbitrator for the Sacramento County Bar Association and is involved in various charitable organizations.  Jonathan lives in Elk Grove, California with his wife and two sons.  Together, they enjoy hiking, taking family road trips, and finding ways to give back to the community.   When time allows, Jonathan also loves cycling, backpacking, skiing, and using Oxford commas.

Stephen Huffman

Professor Huffman graduated from Oak Brook College of Law in 2016 and was admitted to practice law in California in 2017. He currently serves as a staff attorney for the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. Professor Huffman lives in Montgomery, Alabama with his wife and daughter. 

William Humble III

Professor Humble is a graduate of Oak Brook College of Law (J.D. 2001). He is admitted to practice law in California. He is also admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the U.S. Tax Court, and the U.S. District Courts for both the Northern and Southern Districts of Texas. In 2002 he lived in Costa Rica, where he studied Spanish. He has devoted his entire legal career almost exclusively to representing clients in matters of U.S. immigration and nationality. He has worked for firms in Dallas, San Antonio, Boston, and New York City. He has handled immigrant and non-immigrant visas, family-based and employment-based cases, as well as citizenship, asylum, and both trial and appellate litigation.

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Will and his wife, Christian, have two young sons and live in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he is engaged in private practice, helping family members and employees who are located in many other U.S. states and, of course, in other countries. 

Emily A. Jackson

Professor Emily Jackson received her JD degree from Oak Brook College of Law in 2004 and was admitted to the California Bar in June of that year. Since completing her legal education, Emily has earned a B.A. degree in Spanish Language & Literature from California State University, Fullerton, and an M.A. degree in Spanish Language & Literature from the University of California, Irvine. A recipient of the prestigious UCI School of Humanities Dean’s Fellowship, she is currently completing a PhD in Spanish. Professor Jackson’s legal work experience includes several years in a small civil litigation firm, and a year practicing immigration law with OBCL classmate Win Eaton in California’s Central Valley.

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While pursuing her continuing studies, she has also been able to use her legal training as a freelance legal researcher and writer. She would love to speak with current or potential students about the possibilities available for using a law degree in a non-traditional professional path.

Professor Jackson was a founding member of the Board of the OBCL Alumni Association and currently serves as a member of the OBCL Board of Directors. She lives in Canada with her husband Daniel and four children.

Michael A. Kern

Professor Michael Kern is a graduate of is a graduate of Oak Brook College of Law (J.D. 2011) and is admitted to practice law in California. He has worked as a Deputy District Attorney in Southern California since 2012. He received a Master’s Degree in Leadership and Administration in 2018.  Professor Kern is a Mock Trial Coach Teach students legal principles and theories, aid in the preparation and presentation of oral arguments, and teach critical and logical thought. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

Peter A. Sauer

Peter Sauer obtained his Juris Doctor from Oak Brook College of Law in 2008. He has litigation experience in a wide variety of cases, including personal injury, disability, products liability, business and contract litigation, nursing home abuse, and medical malpractice. In addition, he has experience in real estate transactions, estate planning, and immigration. He has also worked with national and state-wide public advocacy organizations promoting parental freedom and medical choice. He presently resides in Fresno, CA where his primary practice is in insolvency law.

David J. Siegrist

A graduate of the University of Illinois (B.S. 1978), Professor David J. Siegrist received a Juris Doctor degree from Drake University in 1981. Professor Siegrist is admitted to practice before the Iowa Supreme Court, the Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Professor Siegrist has served on the Board of Governors of the Iowa Trial Lawyers Association and the Iowa State Bar Association Commercial and Bankruptcy Law Section Council. Professor Siegrist currently is the Secretary of the Board of Directors of Minn-Iowa Christian Broadcasting and is the President of the Board of Directors of New Horizons Adoption Agency.

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Professor Siegrist and his wife, Lisa, have seven children and live near Britt, Iowa, where he is engaged in private practice.

Bob Whalen

Professor Whalen is a graduate of California State University, Fresno (B.S. 1987) and Regent University (J.D. 1997). He is the Fresno County Deputy District Attorney and is Mayor Pro Tem for the City of Clovis, California. Professor Whalen is admitted to practice law in California.

Professor Whalen and his wife, Nancy, live in Clovis, California.

“I really appreciated the professors’ desire to see the students succeed and care for each student individually. Their care for me as an individual, an attorney, and as a Christian, was remarkable.”

– Paul H.