Temnee Wright (’08) has realized a successful career as legal counsel at several Silicon Valley companies. Her interest in law was forged at UC Merced, where she made the most out of being a student in the university’s first undergraduate class.
Wright is the senior commercial counsel for San Jose-based Astera Labs, a semiconductor company that develops connectivity solutions for AI and cloud infrastructures. She negotiates details of and drafts documents for things like software licenses, vendor contracts, real estate leases and strategic partnerships.
She provides legal support and advice on existing contracts to colleagues in areas such as sales, procurement and engineering. Wright also works to stay abreast of the changing landscape in data privacy, along with contract and employment law.
Wright said she chose UC Merced in part for the opportunity to make her mark on the new campus. The university also was an easy drive from the family home in San Jose. She followed through on the former, founding the Merced Pre-law Society and serving as a founding officer of the African American Student Association.
“In high school I enjoyed being in clubs — doing activities and planning things. My counselor thought UC Merced would be a great opportunity for that,” Wright said. “And she was right.”
Broad swaths of the campus remained under construction when Wright and 875 fellow Bobcats gathered for UC Merced’s first undergraduate courses in 2005. She initially majored in psychology, but an elective course about the Supreme Court during her second year hooked her on political science.
“I was like, ‘I want to do this instead,’” she said. The creation of the Pre-Law Society soon followed. She and other club members lined up volunteer events and internships. They took a field trip to UC Hastings College of the Law.
