Prior Work Experience

Representative Experience

• Defending a national automotive parts and service retailer sued in a putative class action based on allegations that the Company improperly requested personal information in purported credit card transactions in violation of California’s consumer privacy laws.
  
• Defending an Internet marketing and list management company and its owners sued by the Federal Trade Commission based on allegations the company engaged in unauthorized withdrawals of money from consumer bank accounts and failure to disclose the costs of its program in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act.
  
• Defending a group of payment processing companies and certain purported officers and directors sued by the Federal Trade Commission (and the Washington Attorney General in separate “copy cat” litigation) based on allegations the companies where part of a common enterprise that was engaged in misleading and deceptive collection practices in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act. Successfully defeated the FTC’s application for a temporary restraining order
  
• Defending a coin grading company sued in a putative class action filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida alleging that the an aspect of the company’s grading program violated California’s Unfair Competition Law, Business & Professions Code § 17200 and § 17500
  
• Defending two debt negotiation companies sued by the Federal Trade Commission based on allegations the companies were part of a common enterprise that was engaged in misleading and deceptive advertising related to debt negotiation services in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act
  
• Defending a debt negotiation company sued by the California Department of Corporations for allegedly engaging in prorating activities in California without a license
  
• Defending a mortgage lender sued in a putative class action alleging the lender violated the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act by allegedly obtaining consumer reports without extending a firm offer of credit
  
• Defending a credit card issuer sued in a putative class action alleging the lender violated California's Unfair Competition Law and Consumer Legal Remedies Act by allegedly failing to disclose characteristics of, and fees associated with, the credit card program
  

Publications/Speeches

• Speaker, ACCA-SoCal Program: How Companies Which Advertise Can Protect Themselves Against Claims, Los Angeles, California (November 19, 2008)
• Speaker, USOBA 2008 Winter Conference, San Diego, California (November 9-11, 2008)
• Speaker, Consumer Protection and the Debt Settlement Industry, Washington, District of Columbia (September 25, 2008)
• Speaker, Regulatory Summit for Advertisers and Marketers, Washington, District of Columbia (June 16-18, 2008)
• Author, Class Action Waivers in Consumer Contracts and Employment Agreements in California, California Litigation, Vol. 21, No 1 (May 2008)
• Panelist, E-Summit, San Francisco, California (April 23-24, 2008)
• Panelist, ACI’s Defending Consumer Product Fraud Class Actions, New York, New York (October 15-17, 2007)
• Speaker, Assessing Your Marketing Risk, Costa Mesa, California (September 26, 2007)
more

Media Mentions

• Yogurt Maker Sued for Claims By Alana Semeuls, Los Angeles Times
• Credit Cos. Target Retailers' Security Holes By Julius Melnitzer, InsideCounsel Magazine
• Debit Card Duplicity By Elizabeth N. Brown, AARP Bulletin
• Response to FTC Proposed Principles By Ellen Keohane, DMNews
• EDebitPay Resumes Some Business After FTC Action By Prepaid Media Staff, PayBefore.com
• To SAG, Product Placements are a Sore Spot By Carl DiOrio, Backstage.com
• Gaining from Loss By Anne Riley-Katz, Los Angeles Business Journal
• Public Relations Executive May Have Fumbled Own Campaign By Joel Russell, Los Angeles Business Journal

Affiliations

• Member, Antitrust & Unfair Competition Section, State Bar of California
• Member, Association of Business Trial Lawyers (2004-Present)
• Board of Directors, Inside Out Community Arts (2000-Present)
• Riordan Volunteer Leadership Development Program (December 2000)

Distinctions

• "Top 20 Under 40," Daily Journal (2005)
• Named "Southern California Super Lawyer" in Class Action/Mass Torts, Business Litigation and Civil Litigation Defense by Law & Politics in Los Angeles magazine (2005-2008)
• Rising Star, Southern California Super Lawyer, Los Angeles magazine (2005)
• Highest "AV" Professional Rating, Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory
• Recipient, President's Volunteer Service Award from the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation