Experience – Criminal Defense

Business Crimes Defense Representations

    • Represented a foreign national U.S. resident against allegations by the Swiss government that a bank account contained illegally derived funds subject to forfeiture
    • Represented a member of a Middle East royal family against charges that he allegedly unlawfully  exported munitions, convincing prosecution to file no charges
    • Represented an accountancy firm in defending against money laundering charges, obtaining a court-ordered dismissal of all charges
    • Represented an officer of a sanitation district against allegations of dumping of sewage into San Francisco Bay, obtaining non-prosecution
    • Represented a food manufacturer in a matter involving allegations of misrepresentation of the fat content in sausage products
    • Represented an employee of a major recycler against allegations of fraud, obtaining non-prosecution
    • Represented the president of a company manufacturing GPS equipment in an investigation for illegally exporting to an embargoed country, resulting in no charges being filed
    • Represented a major oil tanker company in conducting an internal investigation involving criminal allegations of oil discharges by crew members, obtaining a favorable fine-only disposition
    • Represented a doctor accused of trafficking in controlled substances based on prescriptions provided through an Internet medical service, securing a deferred prosecution agreement with no prison time and a small fine
    • Successfully represented San Jose police officers regarding internal investigations and administrative and criminal matters
    • Represented an individual accused of insider trading in an SEC investigation, obtaining non-prosecution following a Wells submission
    • Represented a high-ranking executive in a DRAM antitrust investigation in the Northern District of California, eventually securing a favorable plea agreement with the government
    • Obtained the court-ordered return of materials seized from a sports drug testing company; the decision was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc, in a seminal decision on the issue of Fourth Amendment search and seizure of computers
    • Represented the president of a computer equipment company investigated for allegedly unlawfully exporting to an embargoed country, avoiding all charges
    • Represented a major technology company in a matter involving allegations of illegal exports of technology to Russia, obtaining a favorable fine-only disposition
    • Represented a major Silicon Valley chip manufacturer in an investigation for alleged government contract fraud, obtaining government declination of all charges

Civil Litigation Representations

    • Represented an individual in an insider trading investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and persuaded the SEC to refrain from bringing a civil action
    • Represented an investment company in a civil fraud action brought by Goldman Sachs, resulting in a favorable settlement following a hearing on summary adjudication motions
    • Secured dismissal of all causes of action brought in an action in the Northern District of California against a Swiss law firm for allegedly assisting in money laundering
    • Represented a company and an individual in litigation brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging improper use of proceeds; settled with the SEC before trial
    • Representation of leading manufacturers of consumer electronic products against distributors in multimillion-dollar dollar fraud and misappropriation of trade secrets claims involving employee bribery and unauthorized product bundling and labeling
    • Represented a general contractor against a hospital for misrepresentations about the presence of asbestos at the work site, obtaining a consent decree and an award of attorneys’ fees and costs
    • Represented Borders Books & Music in a civil antitrust action brought by an association of independent booksellers, obtaining a favorable settlement following partial grant of summary judgment and after four days of trial
    • Represented First American Title Company in a civil antitrust action asserting that its control of a title plant was an essential facility, obtaining summary judgment in favor of the client, and successfully defended that judgment in an appeal to the Ninth Circuit
    • Represented a franchisee against its franchisor in a state court action alleging breach of contract and trademark infringements, resulting in a favorable settlement for the client following eight days of trial in Los Angeles
    • Represented a bidder on a government contract in a qui tam action, obtaining major restitution from the company that fraudulently procured the contract

General Fraud

  • Represented a family trust in investigating a multimillion-dollar fraud committed against it by an individual in Hawaii, prepared a white paper detailing the evidence, and secured a criminal prosecution of the perpetrator of the fraud and a parallel civil settlement restoring the defrauded money to the client
  • Represented Cisco Systems, Inc. in connection with a significant embezzlement by one of its executives, resulting in prosecution, conviction and the payment of full restitution, including attorney’s fees, to the corporate client; see United States v. Robert Gordon, 393 F.3d 1044 (9th Cir. 2004)

Areas of Experience