Education

Law School/Year: University of San Diego School of Law, 1986

College/Year: University of Nevada, 1983

Bar Admissions

California, Nevada (Inactive), District of Columbia (Inactive)

Practice Areas

Business Litigation, Civil Litigation

A large part of my practice also includes white collar criminal defense, corporate investigations and securities enforcement defense.

Major Cases

Some of our most notable successes never became major cases. I have conducted internal investigations for publicly traded companies, and have interacted with federal prosecutors to ensure charges were not brought against our clients. I have represented clients in enforcement investigations instituted by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

One matter which became a major case was the massive health care prosecution brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office against Tenet Healthsystems, Alvarado Hospital and its CEO, whom we represented. After two hard-fought trials, the prosecutors dismissed all charges against our client.

In a business litigation matter, I represented Time Warner and Time Warner Cable in a successful trademark infringement action in which permanent injunctive relief was granted to our clients.

Professional Background

I began my career by clerking for a U.S. District Judge. I then practiced with a large firm in Washington, D.C., for four years. I joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego in 1991, where I remained for 11 years, focusing on white-collar crime. I was involved in a number of high-profile prosecutions, including a RICO case against an attorney and three former Superior Court judges, and as the lead prosecutor in the first case brought by the Department of Justice’s Campaign Financing Task Force.

In 2002, former U.S. Attorney Chuck La Bella and I opened our own firm. We have grown to eight attorneys and focus on white-collar defense, corporate internal investigations, regulatory and enforcement investigations and business litigation.

Professional Affiliations

I am a member of the White Collar Crime Committee of the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section. I am a member the San Diego County Bar Association. I sit on the board of governors of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers.