Chief Prosecutor, U.S. Marine Corps

Special Assistant United States Attorney, Southern District of California

Venture Capital, Startups and Corporate

• Advise data analytics and artificial intelligence companies on human performance and military special-operations analytics.
• Advise various Autism-centric technologies on legal and growth strategies.
• Support startups and VC teams with pitch presentations and due diligence.
• Assist numerous companies and VC firms with strategy relating to regulatory, intellectual property, data privacy, contracts, scaling and employment matters.
• Assist numerous companies and VC firms in convertible note, SAFE and seed financings.

Navigating Conflict & Litigation

• Surgically settled various contractual, technology-related, IP, defamation, shareholder and false advertising disputes
• Successfully defended CrossFit, Inc., and its Founder, against defamation claims by facilitating a full and voluntary dismissal of all claims after identifying extensive discovery misconduct, recovering over $410,000 in related sanctions, and receiving an order allowing CrossFit to appoint a neutral forensic analyst to evaluate the scope of Plaintiff’s discovery misconduct.
• Obtained defense verdict as trial counsel in federal court jury trial involving allegations of fraud, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty, among others. Azco Biotech, Inc. v. Intelligent Bio-Systems, Inc., 12-cv-2599-BEN, U.S. Dist. Ct. (S.D. Cal.). Plaintiff, a former distributor of our client’s next generation sequencing (NGS) machines, filed an 18-count, $100 million complaint against our client in 2012. Following extensive discovery, we persuaded the court to narrow the case to a single breach of contract claim. The jury returned a unanimous verdict in our client’s favor.
• Assisted CrossFit, Inc. in various litigation matters including obtaining a Preliminary Injunction requiring a nutritional supplement company to remove certain content and videos related to exercise instruction from its website, YouTube, and social media based on a finding that the company’s trademark was likely to cause confusion with the CrossFit trademark.
• Represented Taiwanese creditor in complex civil RICO case against 34 foreign and domestic defendants. Successfully defeated over 30 motions to dismiss, managed millions of pages of written discovery, over 40 depositions on two continents and hundreds of discovery disputes before two court-appointed Special Masters. Defeated summary judgment and in limine motions. Favorably settled case at commencement of trial.
• Defended a real estate advisor and property management company in a lawsuit by 20 property investors alleging fraud, negligence, California Corporations Code violations, UCL (§ 17200), and other claims. Successfully eliminated all but contract claims and obtained early dismissal with prejudice of two defendants.
• Assisted client specializing in veterinary website design with obtaining a $1 million judgment based on trademark infringement, cybersquatting, trade libel, malicious defamation and unfair competition.
• Successfully assisted various clients with trademark disputes, including obtaining transfer of domain names based on trademark infringement and cybersquatting.
• Represented United States Marine Corps Major in connection with an NCIS investigation into his civilian business practice; the investigation was closed and no charges were filed.
• Achieved favorable settlement for Leona Valley Winery in mediation asserting claims for trademark infringement, unfair business practices, interference with business relations, and trade libel.
• As Chief Prosecutor for the U.S. Marine Corps Western Recruiting Region, investigated and successfully prosecuted over 70 military proceedings and trials.
• Served as Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of California, prosecuting over 100 civilian misdemeanors in Federal Magistrate’s Court.

• Presenter at Crowd Funded Summit for more than 1,000 entrepreneurs, “What Lawyers Don’t Want You To Know: Efficiently and Effectively Using Legal Counsel”
• Presenter at California Lawyers Association’s Shelter In Place Institute, “Discovery in the Age of COVID-19 and Screen Time”
• Moderator and Panelist for California Diversity Council’s Veteran Summit, addressing veteran post-service employment.
• Guest Lecturer at Honor Foundation, addressing building your personal brand and telling your story.
• Presenter for various Autism series on family advocacy and community inclusion
• Founder, Moderator and Presenter, “Veteran Entrepreneur Series: Starting and Growing Your Business,”
• Panelist, “How to Bridge the Gap between Millennials and Management,” Launchbox 360.
• Guest Lecturer on Clinical Assessments in Military Special Operations, Criminal Justice and Business, Bastyr University

• Co-author, “When the Government Comes Knocking in 2016,” Law360, December 21, 2015.