Skip to Main Content
Overview

Paul is our Los Angeles office’s Swiss Army Knife of litigation.

As part of his extensive products and toxic tort practice, Paul handles everything from chemical exposure to products as diverse as heavy machinery and dietary oral supplements. He frequently manages large nationwide dockets of toxic tort litigation with claims related to chemicals such as asbestos, glyphosate, and orally ingested products/supplements, and he regularly handles cases in California’s Central District and California state court as well as other federal courts around the country. In California, Paul manages product liability and mass tort litigation cases that fall under Section 36, which moves cases to trial in just a matter of months after filing.

Paul also handles products liability matters for multi-national franchisor corporations, requiring him to understand the complex underlying business relationships of companies while also understanding potential liability of a complicated product. He is especially enthusiastic about cases that require him to dive into new products, and he aims to convey clients’ missions to a jury. Paul also enjoys working closely with our clients to synthesize the research and development needed to make products safe so that innovation can flourish.

A member of the firm’s Mass Tort & Product Liability team, Paul was the first associate to join the Los Angeles office after its opening. This situation presented an unusual opportunity to support partners across various teams with a broad array of litigation. Even early in his practice, Paul cut his teeth by representing both plaintiffs and defendants in everything from breach of contract, real estate, and premises cases to complex credit lending and corporate ownership disputes. He quickly learned transferrable skills and a strategic overview of how best to work up and resolve or push different types of cases to trial. Paul continues to spread his practice between product liability and a variety of complex commercial litigation, and clients appreciate his ability to assist with multiple matters.

Paul has also worked on arbitrating and litigating federal cases and spent extensive time in the courtroom from the beginning of his career, thriving on litigation strategy, trial, and oral argument. With a passion for chewing on difficult problems and finding backdoor solutions, Paul is always thinking about the challenges of clients’ cases.

Before joining the firm, Paul interned as a member of the White House Counsel’s Office, where he participated in the resolution of various policy issues and confronted constitutional questions on the separation of executive and congressional power. Paul assisted with executive branch ethics codes as well as legal research concerning executive orders and the First and Fourteenth Amendments. He also assisted in preparing federal judicial nominees at all appellate levels for congressional hearings.

Industries

Services

Education

  • J.D., Loyola Law School, Los Angeles
  • B.A., Marquette University
    • cum laude
    • Writing-Intensive English and Legal Philosophy

Admissions

  • California

Languages

  • Spanish, proficient
2023 Pro Bono Champion
Experience
  • As a general assignment associate, managed, litigated, and worked up dozens of cases at any given time in various practice areas, including products liability, chemical, asbestos, real estate, premises, and breach of contract.
  • Represents national convenience store chain in series of California coordination litigation involving product liability and marketing claims under California products liability law, as well as business issues, including complex franchisee contractual obligations.
  • Represented Bayer/Monsanto in glyphosate litigation claims.
  • Drafted expert witness direct and cross examinations for use at trial, which resulted in a complete 12-0 defense verdict for client in a chemical exposure trial.
  • Drafted and argued dispositive motions, including motions for summary judgment and/or summary adjudication in Los Angeles County court dockets.
  • Acted as second and third chair in multimillion dollar breach of contract arbitration hearing and dispute between plaintiff client supplier and defendant manufacturer, prepared pre-hearing arbitration briefs, direct and cross examinations of key witnesses, and pre-trial written discovery.
  • Successfully obtained dismissals of clients in foreign jurisdictions from high-stakes commercial litigation cases in Los Angeles County.
  • Drafted and argued motion for summary judgment in collection case, leading to favorable settlement.
  • Handled a mass tort dispute involving more than 70 defendants, managing, litigating, and working up the defense for six clients simultaneously.
  • Handled parcel disputes in federal and state takings, eminent domain, and inverse condemnation matters in pre-litigation phases through communication and negotiation with federal and state agencies.
  • Attended expert discovery depositions and examined hostile experts on theories of methodology, qualifications, testimony to be provided at trial, and peer-reviewed articles on causation.
  • Acted as lead on cross-examining personal injury plaintiffs and damages witnesses at deposition in matters involving dozens of defendants.
  • Participated in defending persons most knowledgeable at deposition.
  • Mentored peer associates on case management strategy and approach.
Outside the Office

Paul loves being active and being outdoors. You can often find him hiking, boating or exercising near his Los Angeles home.