Legal experience grounded in technology and business
I am a California attorney with 19 years of experience advising technology companies and other businesses on commercial transactions, intellectual property, corporate matters, and complex negotiations.
Before becoming a lawyer, I studied electrical and computer engineering at Virginia Tech and then worked as an engineer for several years. That technical foundation remains central to my legal practice, allowing me to understand not only the legal terms of a transaction, but also the underlying technology, the commercial objectives, and the practical concerns of the people responsible for making it work.
Experience
My practice has included both law firm and in-house roles, giving me experience on different sides of the attorney-client relationship. I have advised companies ranging from startups to large technology and automotive businesses on transactions involving intellectual property, technology development, licensing, procurement, strategic partnerships, and commercialization.
In-house, I have worked closely with executives, engineers, business-development teams, procurement professionals, and other stakeholders on transactions where the legal issues cannot be separated neatly from the underlying technology or business strategy.
That experience shapes how I practice today: understand the business objective first, identify the issues that actually matter, and find a practical path to getting the deal done.
California Attorney
Licensed in California
19+ Years
Legal experience
B.S. Electrical & Computer Engineering
Technical background
Law Firm +
In-House
Legal experience from both perspectives
How I work
I approach legal problems as both a lawyer and a problem solver. My goal is not simply to identify every conceivable risk, but to understand which risks matter, explain them clearly, and help clients make informed business decisions.
For startups and growing companies in particular, legal advice needs to be proportionate to the problem. A company should not spend $20,000 solving a $5,000 problem, nor should it accept a material risk simply because addressing it is inconvenient. Good counsel requires judgment about the difference.
I also believe clients should have direct access to the lawyer actually handling their work. I work collaboratively with founders, executives, engineers, and business teams rather than treating legal work as something that happens separately from the business.
Intellectual property writing
I also publish TechInfoLaw, where I write about developments in intellectual property and technology law, with a particular focus on decisions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.