Professional Philosophy & Experience

Thankful For My Blessings!

I am a very blessed man in many ways! I have a wonderful family that I love very much and despite all of the other things I enjoy in life, there is nothing that could ever equal how much I love spending time with my family. I am also very thankful to work in a profession that I absolutely love and privileged to have clients who put their trust in me to serve their needs. I will always do my best to honor this sacred trust and never let them down.

My Work As A Lawyer

I am an experienced cybersecurity and data privacy attorney who helps businesses protect their information and protect themselves from their information. I have been practicing in this area for nearly two decades, starting with the run up to Y2K, and represent clients across the United States in dealing with cybersecurity, data privacy, computer fraud related legal issues and cyber-related litigation.

In recognition of my extensive experience, in 2016 the National Law Journal selected me as one of its Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Law Trailblazers, D Magazine selected me as one of the Best Lawyers in Dallas, and SuperLawyers selected me as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in Dallas / Fort Worth.

I regularly assist clients with privacy incidents and data breach responses, both as cyber insurance panel counsel and direct engagements. For proactive companies, my ideal role is to serve as a member of their team as outside cybersecurity counsel to help them proactively prepare for and minimize its risks of doing business in today’s cyber risk-laden business world. Then, if a problem does arise, I am there to guide them through resolving those issues as well.

I work very hard to honor the sacred trust that my clients place in me by giving them unbiased advice and guidance so they can make the best decisions possible. I am fortunate to have been blessed with the judgment, intensity, and creativity needed to best serve my clients and help them achieve their strategic objectives as defined by the unique needs of each client and matter. My clients’ interests are my paramount concern and achieving their objectives in the most efficient and expeditious way possible is always my top priority.

I have worked my entire career as both a cyber lawyer and a complex business trial lawyer, which is a relatively unique combination. My cyber law, business law, and litigation experience equips me with unique skills for helping businesses assess, avoid, and resolve problems in a very expeditious manner.

While the world often sees me as litigation or conflict management attorney, I really hope that the services I provide to my clients are much broader than how to handle conflicts. The basic principles by which I try to live both my personal and professional life are the principles of integrity, excellence, and intensity. Because of this, I have found a great deal of satisfaction in serving the trusted adviser role for several companies as their outside general counsel, especially on cybersecurity matters.

This is a natural fit because I view myself as more of a general adviser who just so happens to have a legal background — a legal background in cyber law. In that role I try my best to help keep my clients from getting into disputes and difficult situations in the first place.

This may seem counter-intuitive since I primarily make my living from legal disputes but it is grounded in my appreciation for the fact that, at least in most situations, when disputes rise to that level, the only ones who really come out ahead are the attorneys who get paid to do the fighting! My goal, therefore, is to help keep my clients out of those fights but, if they do arise, to do my very best to reach a peaceful resolution. While this may seem to pit my clients’ interests against my own, this is an act of faith by me in knowing that my clients will trust me enough to know that I have done my best to help them avoid the conflict but, if there must be a conflict, we will never have to second guess ourselves and we will not only fight, but we will fight to win!

My Philosophy On Case Strategy And Execution

It is in the fight that I thrive! I do so by utilizing my extremely high level of intensity and focus to work toward achieving my client’s litigation and business objectives in the most expeditious manner possible. No two cases are the same. These objectives cannot be efficiently obtained by aimlessly or whimsically “litigating” a case without a carefully planned strategy and plan for execution. Like in a game of chess, every move must be strategically considered and planned out long before the move is made.

The case strategy must be custom tailored to the unique needs of each client and situation. Some cases require a very aggressive attacking strategy, some require a moderate, rational and reasonable approach, yet others require more of a defensive posture. Many evolve over time. In my experience, I have learned that using the wrong strategy for the case can bring about a horrible result and waste a lot of my client’s money in the process.

Do You Really Want A “One Trick Pony”?

Because of my philosophy on how each case requires a unique strategy, I simply do not understand how some lawyers can brand themselves as always being “tenacious”, “fierce”, “aggressive”, or “uncompromising”. Now don’t get me wrong, in litigation there are many times when you have to be that way in order to achieve your client’s objectives. Because of my very intense nature, when it is time to attack, I will attack with a level of tenacity, ferocity, and aggression that few have ever seen. That approach, however, is not what is always needed. There are many times when the case objectives require that you be reasonable, rational, and compromising. Truly looking out for your clients’ best interests requires that you have all of the skills needed to execute the strategy and achieve the case objectives–not that you are simply a “one trick pony” who knows only one approach.

Substantive Areas of Practice