Biography

I grew up in Sacramento California and the path that has led me to my current position has been anything but normal.  I was the product of a single parent home and anything but a model student as I progressed through school.  Had it not been for my long and successful collegiate wrestling career, I probably would not have finished my education.  While most lawyers built a foundation for their legal careers by excelling in high school and college, I spent most of my educational years finding new and amazing ways to get into and out of serious trouble.  And it was not until injuries forced me to give up my lifelong wrestling goals several years into college, that I found my stride in pursuit of a college degree.

After graduating from California State University at Sacramento with a degree in Government and Psychology, I worked as a care specialist and manager at a pair of group homes specializing in the care and treatment of violent, abused, and/or suicidal children who had been excluded from normal foster care placements.  It was within this career pursuit that I found myself serving as an advocate for the first time.  As the direct care supervisor for these troubled children, I was often forced to argue on their behalf with doctors, social workers, and other county mental health personnel whom I often believed were not motivated, first and foremost, for the well being of these very vulnerable children.  Unfortunately, more often than not, I found myself on the losing end of those arguments and after a few years, I chose to go back to school and try and obtain my law degree.

I began law school in 1991 at California Western School of Law.  Almost immediately thereafter it became clear that he my talents lay in oral advocacy where I received honors in Trial Practice, Advanced Criminal Practice, Appellate Advocacy, Mediation, and Negotiation.   During my second year of law school I accepted an internship position at the San Diego County Public Defender’s Office where I was assigned to serve as a law clerk for attorney Michael Roake who was defending Robert Earl Mack on murder charges stemming from the shooting spree at General Dynamics in San Diego.  After distinguishing myself during the initial Mack trial and subsequent preparation for retrial, I was then given a position as a paid law clerk and post bar clerk with that office.  After graduation and successful completion of the California Bar Examination in 1993, I was offered and accepted a position as a San Diego County Deputy Public Defender.

Once I began as a Deputy Public Defender, I quickly established a reputation as an aggressive, thorough, and ethical attorney who distinguished himself with several cutting edge victories.  I was the first attorney in the office to turn a simple undersized lobster case into a multiple day jury trial.  I was the first attorney in the office to successfully challenge an improper civil injunction used to bar a homeless mentally ill man from the entire Pacific Beach area.  And I was the first criminal defense attorney in San Diego County history to successfully remove an entire prosecutorial agency from the prosecution of a criminal case.  After nine years in the San Diego County Public Defender’s Office, I entered private practice in the San Diego Gaslamp and where I continued to distinguish myself with high profile cases and appearances on national television shows such as Dateline and Crime and Punishment.  At present, national attorney rating service Martindale-Hubbell has recognized my practice as having reached the “height of professional excellence while maintaining the highest levels of skill and integrity”.  In 2007, the San Diego Daily Transcript honored me as one of San Diego’s Top Attorneys.

I was once asked why I settled into criminal law so easily and have been able to work so successfully with the most difficult and/or serious cases.   In seeking an answer, I realized that it was, in fact, the trouble and frustrations within my own history that has made it possible. Unlike most attorneys, I have personally known serious trouble.  I have seen up close and personal exactly what such trouble can do to defendants and their families.  For these reasons, I can bring an unrivaled level of personal experience to the difficult task of assisting clients and their families in finding the best possible resolution to potentially catastrophic situations.

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