Areas of Practice
Counseling, litigation and appellate practice encompassing a wide variety of business disputes, including: breach of contract and fraud allegations, business torts, trade secret claims and those arising under the California Unfair Business Practices Act, and disputes related to the migration of employees from company to company, and the enforceability of non-competition and non-solicitation clauses
Representative Experience
Complex commercial litigation in state and federal court
Matters involving contracts, torts, shareholder and partnership disputes, creditor's rights, prejudgment and post-judgment remedies
Representative cases
Assisted the largest Qualified Facility in California in obtaining payment from Southern California Edison of more than $140 million owed for energy delivered during California's energy crisis
Successfully litigated action, resolved in mediation by defendants' payment of a substantial sum, alleging theft of trade secrets, breach of fiduciary duties, and related claims, arising out of an employee's solicitation of other co-workers to move en masse to a competitor, taking along confidential client information and interfering with the client's contractual relationships with its customers.
Published opinions
Dare v. California,191 F 3d 11671 (9th Cir., 1999) cert den., sub nom, California Department of Motor Vehicles v. Dare and Petillo, etc., 531 U.S. 1190 (2001) (affirming summary adjudication of claims for injunctive relief under Americans with Disabilities Act);
APRI Insurance Co. v. Superior Court, 76 Cal App 4th 176 (1999) (reversing grant of motion for reconsideration on grounds that superior court lacked jurisdiction); and
Cantu v. Resolution Trust Corporation,4 Cal App 4th 857 (1992) (upholding grant of demurrer to action seeking damages for malicious prosecution).
Memberships and Activities
California State Bar Association
Los Angeles County Bar Association
YMCA Board of Directors (former board chair)
Education
J.D., UCLA School of Law
B.A., cum laude, University of Pennsylvania
Languages
Speaks French fluently
