PLAINTIFF’S VERDICT: Lead trial counsel in civil jury trial centering on breach of fiduciary duty, legal malpractice, and fraud, and resulting in a multi-million-dollar verdict.
Results
CIVIL CASES
DEFENSE VERDICT: Retained as trial counsel for the defense a week before a civil bench trial over allegations of wrongful investments of a $40,000,000 trust. The case was tried in the historic Anacapa Courthouse in Santa Barbara. After a three-week trial, the court issued a complete defense verdict.
DEFENSE VERDICT: Represented MassMutual as part of trial team in a rare successful defense of a class action in a jury trial. This case was ranked as one of the top defense verdicts in California for 2018 by California’s leading legal publication, the Daily Journal, and one of the top defense verdicts in the United States by the only dedicated courtroom broadcasting network, Courtroom View Network.
PLAINTIFF’S VERDICT: After years of litigation, retained on the eve of trial to represent homeowners in a real estate boundary dispute. After a week-long bench trial, the court issued an injunction in our clients’ favor.
DEFENSE DISMISSAL: Represented company sued by Ringo Starr in intellectual property action. After successfully litigating the action against summary judgment, and as the trial approached, Mr. Starr dropped his lawsuit. Read about the dismissal in the BBC and watch Stephen Colbert’s entertaining coverage.
DEFENSE VERDICT: Retained shortly before jury trial to defend a physician and two corporations for a civil conversion case. The jury fully exonerated the defendants in less than an hour.
CRIMINAL CASES
JURY ACQUITTALS: Secured jury acquittals for numerous clients charged with federal felonies, including bribery, gun possession, drug trafficking, threatening a federal officer with murder, immigration offenses and other crimes.
POST-CONVICTION RELIEF: Obtained a rare immediate release order for client serving a federal mandatory minimum life sentence based on successful post-conviction proceedings.
DISMISSALS: Obtained dismissal of all charges for many clients after successfully litigating motions to suppress evidence and motions to dismiss.
JUDGE ACQUITTALS: Won several judgments of acquittal by courts including reversal of conviction and full judgment of acquittal for client charged with bank fraud.
CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES: Crafted successful constitutional challenges, including novel sixth amendment challenge resulting in dismissal of all charges for client who was witnessed by law enforcement throwing away forty-five thousand pills of ecstasy during a high-speed chase.
HOMICIDE DISMISSAL: In high profile double homicide case against two brothers achieved dismissal after defense motion based on prosecutorial and police misconduct. Drafted defense motion.
WHITE-COLLAR DEFENSE EXPERIENCE: Defended several serious white-collar cases, including tax preparation company owner in largest federal tax fraud scheme of its kind in United States history.
POST-TRIAL ACQUITTALS: After conviction at trial, obtained judgment of acquittal by court on all charges for pilot charged with alien smuggling.
CREATIVE STRATEGIES: Designed legal strategy to declare the government’s continued prosecution of medical cannabis businesses illegal under an appropriations law. The legal strategy has since been used by attorneys in high-profile cases and featured in the New York Times and other national media.
APPEALS: Successfully drafted and argued appeals before federal appellate courts, including reversal of conviction in drug trafficking case based on ground-breaking theory of prosecutorial misconduct.