Education

Law School/Year: UCLA School of Law, 1989

College/Year: Rice University, 1984

Bar Admissions

California, 1989

Practice Areas

Business Litigation; Civil Litigation; Intellectual Property; Patent, Trademark & Copyright     

Major Cases

*  Valley Engineers v. Electric Engineering Co., 158 F.3d 1051 (9th Cir. 1998)

*  Lyons Partnership v. Giannoulas, 179 F.3d 384 (5th Cir. 1999)

*  Chaset v. Fleer/Skybox Int’l., 300 F.3d 1083 (9th Cir. 2002)

*  Lyons Partnership v. Giannoulas, 14 F. Supp. 2d 947 (N.D. Tex. 1998)

*  Pisciotta v. Teledyne Industries, 91 F.3d 1326 (9th Cir. 1996)

*  Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Legal & Professional Publications v. Multistate Legal Studies, 26 F.3d 948 (9th Cir. 1994)

Professional Background

I practice business litigation with an emphasis on complex commercial cases and intellectual property disputes. Before joining Chapin Fitzgerald Sullivan, I was a partner at Latham & Watkins, where I tried numerous cases to verdict in state and federal courts throughout the country. I have handled a wide variety of commercial litigation matters involving contracts, business torts, trademarks, trade dress, copyrights, false advertising, unfair competition, insurance coverage, construction, defamation, fraudulent conveyance, antitrust, securities, white collar crime, employment, probate and ERISA issues.

After graduating from the UCLA School of Law, I served as law clerk to the Hon. Howard B. Turrentine, U.S. district judge for the Southern District of California.

Professional Affiliations

American Bar Association, Intellectual Property Law Section; California Bar, Litigation and Intellectual Property Law Sections; San Diego County Bar Association

Personal Affiliations

I serve on the board of directors of STAR/PAL, the San Diego Police Athletic League Chapter providing recreational, educational and athletic opportunities to San Diego's underserved youth. I also serve on the Governing Council of the Shepherd Society, which supports the Shepherd School of Music at my alma mater, Rice University.

Personal Background

I am a former professional musician, and have performed with the San Diego Symphony, San Diego Opera, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Houston Symphony and the Festival Guadalquivir Orchestra in Tarija, Bolivia. I am currently the principal trumpet of the La Jolla Symphony Orchestra.