Professional Experience

Executive Profile

Civil Litigator with over 20 years of experience, concentrated in all aspects of Labor and Employment practice

Practice Experience includes “Big Firm,” In-house, and sole practitioner representing both plaintiffs and defendants

Specialized training in mediation, settlement conferences, and arbitration, including Pepperdine Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution—Pepperdine University

Professional Experience

WALRAVEN & WESTERFELD LLP, Aliso Viejo, CA

Of Counsel 2011 through Present

• Represent both employers and employees in all areas of labor and employment law; 
• Examples of litigation on behalf of employers include, defending against wage and hour claims (both individual, class action and representative claims), discrimination, harassment, contract disputes, wrongful termination, retaliation, etc.
• On behalf of employees, have successfully recovered millions of dollars through litigation and informal resolution. For example, successfully resolved an executive bonus dispute recovering millions of dollars for the executive. Successfully litigated wrongful termination and disability discrimination claim resulting in recovery of back wages, reinstatement of employee, and attorney fees.

NextWave Broadband Inc., San Diego, CA

Operating entity of NextWave Wireless Inc. (NASDAQ WAVE)

Vice President, Senior Attorney August 2009 through February 2012

Director, Senior Attorney July 2006 through August 2009 

Acted as primary legal advisor to company and affiliated entities with respect to all adversarial matters. 

• Represented the company in litigation both directly and also through management of outside counsel as appropriate. Examples of such litigation include: landlord/tenant disputes, various employee contract and tort claims, responding to charges/inquiries from administrative agencies, securities class action and shareholder derivative litigation, international commercial contract disputes, claims related to spectrum lease holdings, and claims associated with vendor defaults and bankruptcy of subsidiary entities internationally; 
• Developed and supervised implementation of all litigation strategies;
• Drafted and/or reviewed and revised drafts of all pleadings.

Acted as primary legal advisor for all labor and employment matters (domestic and international). 

• Advised company about all legal requirements associated with employee reductions-in-force and other cost-saving measures, including WARN obligations, wage and hour law considerations, etc.
• Partnered with Human Resources department to address all significant employee performance and/or discipline problems;
• Conducted internal investigations;
• Designed and provided employee training about a variety of topics such as: prevention of sex harassment and discrimination, supervisor evaluations, disability law requirements, etc.;
• Drafted policies and procedures and also reviewed proposed policies for legal compliance;
• Interacted with administrative agencies on employment law matters, including the EEOC, DFEH, California Labor Commissioner, OSHA, etc.

Negotiated and drafted hundreds of complex agreements, including: master services agreements, independent contractor agreements, employment agreements, vendor agreements, intra-company loan agreements, confidentiality agreements, leases, and settlement and release agreements.

Designed and successfully implemented numerous infrastructure procedures to assist in transition from “start up” company to SOX-compliant, publicly-traded company, including:

• Created professional services contracts review and approval process;
• Developed Ethics Hotline and procedures for investigation and response to complaints;
• Successfully implemented creation of Policy Committee to review and approve company-wide policies and act as primary legal advisor to committee. 

Primary legal advisor involved with opening and closing of offices and subsidiary entities in Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. 

• Partnered with Finance, Tax, and Human Resources Departments to evaluate appropriate corporate structure; form corporate entities; and dispose of corporate entities through foreign liquidation/bankruptcy procedures and/or dissolution;
• Drafted and edited a variety of documents associated with governance and capitalization of entities.

O’MELVENY & MYERS LLP, Newport Beach, CA

Labor & Employment Law Department 

Counsel (partnership-track promotion from Associate in 2004)

January 2000 through July 2006

Represented and advised employers on a variety of areas of labor and employment law, including: personnel actions, employee handbooks, arbitration agreements, protection of trade secrets and intellectual property, workplace investigations, wage and hour issues, reductions in force, employment and consulting agreements, labor relations, workplace violence issues, leave rights, disability laws, and harassment and discrimination laws.

Managed all aspects of complex employment litigation in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies, including: formulating strategy and managing its implementation, conducting written discovery, deposing parties and witnesses, drafting and arguing law and motion, negotiating potential settlement, and trial preparation and advocacy. 

Substantial experience in a variety of industries, including: food services, retail sales, high technology, telecommunications, biotechnology, health care, manufacturing, broadcasting, and education.

Acted as a Deputy District Attorney for the County of Orange and as a special prosecutor for the cities of Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach, prosecuting misdemeanor criminal offenses through the Trial Advocacy Program (“TAP”).

• Received letter of commendation from Central Justice Center Assistant District Attorney noting excellent trial skills and outstanding performance in TAP program.

Chapman University School of LawAdjunct Professor, Legal Research and Writing (Fall 2003 through Spring 2005)

Taught legal writing skills to first-year law students in full-year course format. 

Received outstanding student evaluations and invitation to return as adjunct for additional terms.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN

Law Clerk to Honorable Paul D. Borman (1998-1999)

Drafted opinions and bench memoranda with suggested rulings for both civil and criminal cases.

Education
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN LAW SCHOOL, Ann Arbor, MI

Juris Doctor, cum laude; May 1998

Order of the Coif

Michigan Law Review, Associate and Contributing Editor (1996-1998)

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, Berkeley, CA

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, with distinction; December 1994