Chief United States District Judge Troy L. Nunley is a native San Franciscan who graduated from Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory in 1982 and attended Saint Mary's College where he graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. After graduating, Judge Nunley went to work for the California State Bar. While working at the California State Bar, he enrolled in the University of California College of Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings) and received his Juris Doctorate degree in 1990.

Chief Judge Nunley began his legal career as a prosecutor for the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office, and the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General. He also worked as a solo practitioner, specializing in criminal defense, civil rights, and personal injury.

In 2002, Governor Gray Davis appointed Chief Judge Nunley to the Sacramento County Superior Court. President Barack Obama appointed him as a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of California on March 26, 2013. On September 18, 2024, Chief Judge Nunley succeeded Senior District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller as Chief Judge.

Chief Judge Nunley maintains his chambers in Sacramento, California and currently serves on the Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society Advisory Board, Ninth Circuit Fairness Committee, and the Eastern District Judicial Advisory, Planning, and Website Committees. He was a law school professor at Lincoln Law School of Sacramento where he taught Business Associations and Partnerships from 2006 - 2024. In 2023 the Sacramento County Bar Association selected Chief Judge Nunley as Judge of the Year.

Christopher D. Jaime was sworn as a United States Bankruptcy Judge in the Eastern District of California (Sacramento) on January 5, 2015. Judge Jaime was born in Sacramento, California, and resided primarily in San Jose, California. He attended Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga, California, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology in 1989. He received his J.D. in 1992 from Willamette University College of Law in Salem, Oregon, where he served as an Associate Editor of, and was published in, the Willamette Law Review.

Judge Jaime is also appointed in the District of Nevada where he serves as a settlement and visiting judge in matters before the Las Vegas and Reno Divisions. He is the current chair of the Local Bankruptcy Rules Committee for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California and a former member of the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Education Committee.

Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Jaime was a vice-president and shareholder with the Reno, Nevada, law firm of Maupin, Cox & LeGoy. He was with the law firm for 22 years. He joined the law firm as an associate in 1992 and became a shareholder in 1998. In 2014 Judge Jaime was recognized by the American Society of Legal Advocates as one of the Top 100 Bankruptcy Lawyers in the State of Nevada.

Phoebe Wall Howard is a national award-winning reporter who writes about international politics, legal issues, organized labor, global business and competitive sailing.

She is formerly a columnist at The Fresno Bee (McClatchy) and now at The Detroit News (USA Today Network) and Substack. Phoebe previously worked at The Detroit Free Press covering the auto industry and consumer trends. Her investigative reporting on consumer fraud earned Pulitzer nominations.

She is experienced in radio, TV, print and digital media. Phoebe coordinated political polling for ABC and hosted a political talk show on CBS radio. She provides industry analysis to the BBC, CBC, NPR, ABC News, PBS NewsHour and Fox Business. She covered presidential campaigns and mistreatment of veterans at The Des Moines Register. The Iowa Supreme Court cited her coverage when it overhauled foster care policy. Phoebe covered then-Gov. Bill Clinton for the Arkansas Gazette. While in Arkansas and Iowa, she worked as a correspondent for Time Inc., and People magazine. She won Associated Press awards for her coverage of criminal justice and immigration.

Judge Niemann was appointed on June 16, 2020. Prior to her appointment, Judge Niemann was in private practice and represented Chapter 11 debtors, Chapter 11 trustees and creditors in bankruptcy cases and out-of-court restructurings. Judge Niemann also served as a long-term judicial law clerk to three different bankruptcy judges of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California. Judge Niemann received her bachelor's degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. Judge Niemann was appointed to the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel in August 2025.

Jorge Gaitan is Counsel at Downey Brand LLP, representing clients in bankruptcy, receivership, assignments for the benefit of creditors, distressed loan transactions, and complex commercial litigation matters. Prior to his work at Downey Brand, Jorge served as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, representing United States Trustees in chapter 11 cases, litigating dischargeability actions in chapter 7 cases, and pursuing remedies for misconduct and abuse of the bankruptcy system generally. Jorge has also previously represented private chapter 7 trustees in disputes involving avoidance actions and asset recovery matters. Currently, Jorge's practice is primarily focused in representing and advising commercial lenders and financial institutions.

Jorge began his legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable Mark D. Houle of the Central District of California and later served as a career clerk, drafting opinions in complex bankruptcy matters. He has also worked as Assistant General Counsel for the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board.

Jorge currently serves on the California Lawyers Association's Insolvency Law Committee. A native Spanish speaker, Jorge is also fluent in French, which he honed during a year of study abroad at the Institut d'Études Politiques in Lyon, France, while completing his undergraduate degree at the University of California, Berkeley. He later earned his J.D. from Boston College Law School in 2011, after serving for a year in the Peace Corps in West Africa.

Paul J. Pascuzzi is the Managing Partner of the Sacramento law firm Felderstein Fitzgerald Willoughby Pascuzzi & Rios LLP, specializing in complex bankruptcy and insolvency matters.

Paul received his J.D. with Great Distinction from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1990. Paul is a member of the McGeorge Order of the Coif and Traynor Honor Society.

Paul is a Fellow of the prestigious American College of Bankruptcy and is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Paul has been listed since 2007 in The Best Lawyers in America in the specialization of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law. Paul also has been listed since 2014 in The Best Lawyers in America in the practice area Litigation - Bankruptcy. Paul has been named on the Super Lawyer list in the field of Bankruptcy by Law and Politics Magazine since 2005, has been ranked in the Top 100 Northern California Super Lawyers encompassing lawyers in all specialties since 2016, and was ranked in the Top 10 Northern California Super Lawyers for all specialties in 2024 and 2025.

Paul is recognized by Chambers USA as a leading bankruptcy and restructuring attorney. He is a frequent speaker and writer on bankruptcy and insolvency topics. Paul regularly volunteers his time to the Capital Pro Bono Legal Services Program, Debt Collection Defense Clinic in Sacramento, California.

Thomas Rupp is a partner with Keller Benvenutti Kim LLP in San Francisco. An experienced corporate restructuring attorney, Tom has represented debtors, creditors, committees, trustees, and purchasers in bankruptcy cases, assignments for the benefit of creditors, out-of-court restructurings, and other distressed transactions. His bankruptcy experience crosses many industries, including energy, technology, hospitality, manufacturing, transportation, education, real estate, wine, and entertainment. While at KBK, Tom has represented corporate debtors in some of the largest and most complex chapter 11 cases filed in California, including PG&E's restructuring of its wildfire liabilities, the liquidation of the LeFever Mattson real estate portfolio, and the liquidation of omnichannel auto retailer Shift Technologies.

Tom was honored by the American Bankruptcy Institute as a member of its 2025 40 Under 40 class and by the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges as a member of its 2022 Next Generation program. He has also been recognized in editions of the Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers, The Best Lawyers in America, and Northern California Super Lawyers.

Tom is a member of the board of the Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum, and he has served in many leadership roles for the California Bankruptcy Forum's annual Insolvency Conference, most recently as its conference co-chair in 2023. Tom is an advisor to the California Lawyers Association's Insolvency Law Committee, and he is a former chair of the Commercial Law & Bankruptcy Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco.

Tom is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, School of Law, and the University of California, Berkeley, College of Letters and Science.

Jeremy D. Peterson was appointed a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of California on April 27, 2018. His chambers are in Sacramento, California, where he presides over a variety of civil and criminal matters. Prior to October 1, 2020, he sat in the U.S. District Court in Yosemite Valley. Judge Peterson conducts settlement conferences in all types of cases.

Judge Peterson has served as both a federal prosecutor and as a private defense attorney. His career as a litigator began with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C., where he prosecuted domestic violence offenses. He later joined the Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division, on whose behalf he appeared in federal courts nationwide, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. After the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill, Judge Peterson joined a team of prosecutors and federal agents investigating the incident. This investigation ultimately led to corporate guilty pleas and the imposition of billions of dollars in criminal fines and penalties, much of which was dedicated to restoring Gulf Coast ecosystems. Judge Peterson co-authored DOJ's “Blue Book” on criminal discovery.

When he was appointed to the bench, Judge Peterson was in private practice with Arnold & Porter, LLP, a national law firm, representing clients in a variety of civil and criminal matters. He managed litigation involving technical and scientific evidence and helped clients negotiate resolutions with private companies and federal and state regulators. His clients included manufacturers, auto companies, a railroad, and private individuals. Judge Peterson served as co-chair of a conference on trial strategy and as vice chair of an American Bar Association committee that reviewed federal and state enforcement actions.

Judge Peterson received his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School, where he was Managing Editor of the Harvard International Law Journal, and his B.A., with honors, from Swarthmore College. After law school, he served as a law clerk for Judge Ruggero J. Aldisert of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Victoria L. Boesch is a principal in the Sacramento, California, office of Jackson Lewis P.C., and co-leader of the firm’s Trials and Appeals practice group. In her more than 20 years of litigation experience, Vicky has defended companies and federal agencies in a wide array of employment and other matters in federal and state court at the trial and appellate level. Before law school, Vicky earned her MFA in acting and worked in many Sacramento and Bay Area theaters. She employs the skills she developed in her theater training to enhance her effectiveness in court, particularly in trial. She has a passion for captivating storytelling as superb advocacy. Vicky also enjoys teaching and has taught Trial Advocacy and Negotiation at the National Advocacy Center. Prior to joining Jackson Lewis, Vicky served as Civil Defense Unit Chief in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, overseeing a broad range of civil litigation. As an Assistant United States Attorney, Vicky defended federal agencies in a wide variety of employment discrimination cases. She first-chaired jury and bench trials as well as briefing and arguing appeals before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Vicky practiced at an Am Law 200 firm, where she defended employers in state and federal court in class actions and single-plaintiff employment cases. Vicky served as a law clerk to the Honorable A. Wallace Tashima on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals after earning her J.D. from Berkeley Law. She does a wide variety of volunteer work focused on teaching young people about the legal system and civic engagement.

Stephen H. Sulmeyer, J.D., Ph.D., joined JAMS in 2019 as a full-time neutral after 20 years as a mediator in private practice. With a dual background as a commercial and intellectual property litigator as well as a clinical psychologist, Dr. Sulmeyer specializes in the settlement of disputes involving professional and intimate relationships (such as family law, probate and estate planning, elder law, closely-held and family businesses, workplace/employment, sexual harassment and partnership disputes), disputes involving high levels of conflict and emotion (such as professional liability, personal injury, partnership dissolutions, and family law), as well as commercial and business disputes. As a mediator he brings a high level of sensitivity and empathic skills that are particularly useful in cases involving party vulnerability (such as sexual harassment, discrimination and personal injury matters). His skill at working with the human issues that drive disputes has earned him a reputation for resolving the most challenging high-conflict and high-emotion cases.

Dr. Sulmeyer's approach to dispute resolution focuses on understanding as thoroughly as possible the parties' material and non-material interests, as well as their financial and legal positions—hence his commitment to thorough and diligent pre-mediation preparation. His ability to listen empathically, think analytically and communicate clearly allows parties and counsel to feel genuinely heard and understood, and ripens negotiations for creative and pragmatic problem-solving. His combination of tenacity, legal acumen and amiable practicality contributes to his high rate of settlement.

In addition to his mediation and arbitration practices, Dr. Sulmeyer is highly sought after as a speaker and trainer of dispute resolution, nationally and internationally. He is also the founder and former president of Integrative Mediation Bay Area, an organization that brings together psychotherapist, financial industry and attorney co-mediators in family law and other cases. Mr. Sulmeyer is the co-founder (with Judge Verna Adams) of the Marin County Superior Court's Interdisciplinary Settlement Conference program, in which mental health professionals and lawyers trained in dispute resolution team up to assist judges to resolve the most intractable child custody, probate and other civil cases.

ADR Experience and Qualifications

• 12 years of private practice litigation experience covering a wide variety of intellectual property, entertainment and general business matters
• 20 years practicing as a psychotherapist, during which time he honed his skills in empathic listening and understanding human behavior and motivations
• Highly experienced in resolving matters involving current and/or future relationships among the parties (e.g., employment, divorce/separation, partnerships, closely-held businesses, family businesses); high-conflict, difficult personalities; mental health issues; and substance abuse
• Co-founded the Interdisciplinary Settlement Conference program at the Marin County Superior Court; in its 12-year history, the program has maintained a greater than 80% settlement rate while substantially reducing the number of return visits by litigating parents

Judge Riordan comes to the bench with extensive practice experience in both civil and criminal matters. He served for more than twelve years as an attorney at two different regional affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”), most recently the organization’s Northern California affiliate. At the ACLU, Judge Riordan focused on complex civil litigation. Judge Riordan also worked for several years as an assistant federal public defender in the Eastern District of California, representing indigent defendants in a variety of felony cases.

Judge Riordan grew up in San Diego, California, and obtained a law degree at UCLA School of Law, a master’s degree from the American University in Cairo, and a bachelor’s degree from Whittier College. After clerking in the Central District of California, he began his legal career at the ACLU on a highly-selective Skadden Foundation Fellowship.

Genna believes that all people have the fundamental right to move. As a Deputy Public Defender, she has the honor of fighting alongside immigrants and refugees vying to make this country home.

Genna serves as her team's specialist in appeals and habeas litigation. She regularly litigates on behalf of clients before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and federal district courts. Genna received her JD from UC Berkeley School of Law, where she co-founded the Berkeley Immigration Group (BIG).

Kevin R. Johnson is a Mabie-Apallas Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of the Aoki Center. Johnson also has an appointment as Professor of Chicana/o Studies at UC Davis. He joined the UC Davis law faculty in 1989 and was named Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in 1998. Johnson then served as Dean from 2008 to 2024, the longest term in UC Davis School of Law history. He has taught a wide array of classes, including immigration law, civil procedure, complex litigation, Latinos and Latinas and the law, and Critical Race Theory. In 1993, he was the recipient of the law school's Distinguished Teaching Award.

Johnson has published extensively on immigration law and civil rights. He was one of the "10 Most-Cited Immigration Law Faculty in the U.S., 2016-2020" according to Brian Leiter's Law School Reports. Published in 1999, his book How Did You Get to Be Mexican? A White/Brown Man's Search for Identity was nominated for the 2000 Robert F. Kennedy Book Award. Johnson’s book, Immigration Law and the US-Mexico Border (2011), received the Latino Literacy Now’s International Latino Book Awards – Best Reference Book. Johnson blogs regularly on immigration law and policy developments at ImmigrationProf. In the 2025/26 academic year, he will publish the third edition of Immigration and Social Justice and the fourth edition of Understanding Immigration Law.

A regular participant in national and international conferences, Johnson has also held leadership positions in the Association of American Law Schools and the American Bar Association. He is quoted regularly by the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and other local, state, national and international news outlets.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, where he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review, Johnson earned an A.B. in economics from UC Berkeley, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. After law school, he clerked for the Honorable Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and worked as an attorney at the international law firm of Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe. Johnson served from 1996 to 2022 on the board of directors of Legal Services of Northern California, including more than ten years as President of the board. From 2006 to 2011, he served on the board of directors of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the leading Mexican-American civil rights organization in the United States.

Johnson is the recipient of many awards and honors, including the inaugural Association of American Law Schools Michael A. Olivas Award for Outstanding Leadership in Diversity and Mentoring in the Legal Academy, Association of American Law Schools Minority Groups Section Clyde Ferguson Award (2004), the Hispanic National Bar Association Law Professor of the Year award (2006), the National Association of Chicana and Chicano Studies Scholar of the Year award (2008), the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) Romero Vive Award (2012), and the Centro Legal de la Raza Outstanding Achievements in the Law Award (2015). Recent honors include Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Stewart Center, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, spring 2025, Award from the Chicana Latin Alumni Association for Service to the University of California and the Latino Community (2024), and the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation Outstanding Achievement in Law and Policy Award (2024), California Law Pathways 2024 Diversity Champion Award, and (3) Mexican American Bar Foundation Award (2024). Johnson has been an American Bar Foundation Fellow since 2016. In 2003, he was elected to the American Law Institute.

Kelsey Morales is an immigration defense attorney with Immigration Representation Unit of the Alameda County Public Defender's Office. She serves as the Unit’s specialist in federal litigation and retains an active habeas practice before the district courts and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Kelsey received her JD from Northeastern University School of Law in 2016. Prior to joining the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office in 2020, Kelsey worked as a research and writing fellow and attorney at Van Der Hout LLP (formerly Van Der Hout, Brigagliano & Nightingale, LLP), an immigration law firm located in San Francisco, California.

Released from San Quentin in 2019 after almost 18 years of incarceration, Markelle "The Gazelle" Taylor currently lives in Marin County, works as a grocery store cashier, continues to train for marathons, and serves on the board of Marin County’s most elite running club, the Tamalpa Runners. At his second Boston Marathon in 2022, he achieved his goal of breaking three hours and set a personal record of 2 hours and 52 minutes. Markelle now returns to San Quentin as an Assistant Coach for the 1000 Mile Club and serves as a Run Therapist for The Healing WELL in San Francisco’s Tenderloin community, inspiring others with his example and guidance. Markelle finds meaning and inspiration by spreading healing through running, community love, and forgiveness. He is thankful and humbled by all the fantastic support from family, friends & fans. Follow on Instagram @markellethegazelle and visit his website markellethegazelle.com for more.

26.2 to Life Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUVYBDqSez8
Markelle in the media - examples:
“You’re Not Your Worst Crime" How Prison Marathon Changes Lives
CNN - Amanpour & Company (clip)
CNN - Amanpour & Company (full interview)
“He Qualified for the Boston Marathons in Prison, Now He’s A Free Man with Bigger Goals”
CBS Mornings
"Run with Joy & Love"
The New York Times
“He Ran Marathons in Prison, Boston’s Was Easier”
The New York Times
“Running to Put San Quentin Behind Him”
The New York Times
Next up for Markelle: NYC Marathon (Nov 5th) - Fleet Feet sponsored. PBS NewsHour - Likely the week of NYC Marathon - but hard to say when this will air because of the crisis in Israel. Short Film About Markelle & Running. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cJWjELUYV9zPiiWWdDVy-6HGdOMJNQ3S/view?usp=sharing

Mr. Wickerd arrived at San Quentin on September 23, 2015, after spending 25 years in high-security prisons. Upon his arrival at San Quentin, Mr. Wickerd joined the San Quentin 1000 Mile Running Club and became the Club’s President. Over the course of his ten-years at San Quentin, Mr. Wickerd also earned his GED; founded the San Quentin American Sign Language class; and participated and co-founded numerous self-help programs and programs to help at-risk youth. He was paroled on July 15, 2025, for exceptional conduct. He was subsequently released from parole and now continues to serve his community in numerous ways including, but not limited to, speaking at numerous programs for at-risk youth and gun-violence prevention.

Ms. Han is an Assistant Federal Defender with the Eastern District of California. She has worked in the Capital Habeas Unit since 2020 and represents clients in Arizona, Texas, and California.

Howard Shire has more than 30 years of experience in protecting and defending his clients' products and IP rights against infringement. He has represented major corporations, as both plaintiffs and defendants, in trademark infringement and dilution cases, trademark and copyright counterfeiting cases, trade dress litigations, and all manner of IP enforcement cases, in federal district court, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Howard has also handled patent litigations. His work has resulted in verdicts worth millions of dollars for his clients and precedent-setting decisions in IP law.

Howard also has an active counseling and prosecution practice. His clients turn to him to help them develop and implement worldwide trademark registration programs. Howard coordinates major corporate acquisitions involving the worldwide transfer of patents, trademarks, and copyrights, and negotiates a wide variety of intellectual property agreements, such as licenses, assignments, trademark coexistence agreements, and joint ventures. Howard also counsels clients on intellectual property matters relating to internet issues and the selection of new trademarks and domain names, and has experience litigating actions to obtain domain names under ICANN's dispute resolution procedure. His clients have come from many diverse industries, including computer software, consumer electronics, financial services, video games, restaurants and nightclubs, sports and entertainment, apparel, nutritional supplements, publishing, personal care products, alcoholic beverages, landscaping, music licensing, and pharmaceuticals.

Howard is also a trained and experienced mediator and member of the International Trademark Association's Panel of Trademark Mediators. He has conducted several mediations of trademark and copyright disputes, Howard has also served as an arbitrator under the auspices of the American Arbitration Association. He has been an active member of the International Trademark Association's Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, which encourages the resolution of trademark disputes outside of the courtroom.

Howard is a prolific author and has written articles over the years on many topics including unfair competition claims, NIL issues, personal jurisdiction, liability for false patent marking, fraud on The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO}, the tacking standard for trademark assignments, trademark dilution, fair use, inducement of infringement, keyword advertising, and the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA).

He serves as editor-in-chief of Intellectual Property Strategist and is a former editor-inchief of The Trademark Reporter, the leading scholarly journal devoted to trademark law.

He has spoken at meetings of the International Trademark Association. Howard is also active in MARQUES, which is the leading organization of European trademark attorneys, and has spoken at their meetings.

Education
New York University School of Law, JD, 1979
  Moot Court Board
  Editor, Annual Survey of American Law
Brown University, BA, 1975
Bar Admissions
New York Court Admissions
U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal, Second and Ninth Circuits
U.S. District Court, Eastern and Southern Districts of New York
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
U.S. Supreme Court
Memberships and Certifications
Law360
  Intellectual Property Editorial Advisory Board, 2025
  Member
INTA Trademark Mediators Network
  Member
New York Intellectual Property Law Association
  Member
  Former Chairman of the Trademark Committee
American Bar Association
  Member, Trademark Litigation Committee
Recognitions*
The Best Lawyers in America, Intellectual Property, 2015, 2018, 2025-2026; Trademark
Law, New York, 2006-2026
Lawyer of the Year, Trademark Law, New York, 2018
World Trademark Review 1000, 2011-2019, 2021, 2023-2025
Lexology Who's Who Legal, Life Sciences, 2024
New York Super Lawyers, 2006-2021
Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rating
New York Times Magazine, Top Attorney in Metro New York
The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers
* No aspect of this or any advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. For ranking methodologies, please see https://www.mccarter.com/awards-methodology/.

Chris' diverse practice includes the representation of pharmaceutical, medical device, agricultural, and manufacturing companies involving mass tort, personal injury, and wrongful death claims. With experience in federal and state courts across the U.S. — including Philadelphia County's Mass Tort Program — Chris is also involved in disputes arising out of toxic torts, construction defects, breach of contract, and corporate governance.

Chris advises higher educational institutions of all sizes, including colleges and universities, on Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) compliance issues. He provides comprehensive guidance on permissible and impermissible NIL activities and navigating state NIL laws, NCAA Bylaws, and other NCAA policies. Chris creates and implements tailored strategies for mitigating the potential risk of NCAA and state attorney general enforcement activity. He cohosts the firm's "Highway to NIL" podcast and serves as an editor for the NIL Revolutionblog. Both platforms explore the dynamic legal landscape and recent developments in NIL law.

Chris maintains an active pro bono practice. He represents veterans seeking benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs in connection with their appeals before The Board of Veterans' Appeals, working closely with the National Veterans Legal Services Program. Chris also represents clients involved with the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project (MAIP).

While in law school, Chris served as a judicial extern for the Hon. Mark A. Kearney in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Chris is an active member of the American Bar Association, the Hispanic Bar Association of Pennsylvania, and the Philadelphia Bar Association as chair of the Large Law Firm Associate Committee.

TOP AREAS OF FOCUS

• Health Care + Life Sciences
• Pharmaceutical + Medical Device Litigation + Counseling

ALL AREAS OF FOCUS

• Pharmaceutical + Medical Device Litigation + Counseling
• Health Care + Life Sciences
• Litigation + Trial
• Product Liability
• White Collar Litigation + Investigations

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

• Defending a multinational chemical company against allegations its agricultural products cause adverse health effects, pending in Philadelphia County's Mass Tort Program.
• Defending a large pharmaceutical company in litigation involving a popular heartburn medication which is pending as an MDL in the Southern District of Florida and as individual cases in Philadelphia County's Mass Tort Program, where the firm serves as local counsel.
• Defending a global leader in piping systems for residential and commercial plumbing against allegations of defective plumbing systems, pending in several jurisdictions across the United States.
• Defending an international engineering solutions company against allegations that its predecessor company manufactured a defective product, pending in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.
• Served as local counsel for a major pharmaceutical company in the Mass Tort Program in Philadelphia, PA.
• Served as local counsel for a medical device company in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

RANKINGS AND RECOGNITION

• American Bar Association, member, Leadership Academy Task Force, 2024-2025; 2025-2026
• American Bar Association, vice-chair, Products Liability General Committee, 2024-2025
• American Bar Association, member, Section Conference Standing Committee, 2024-2025
• American Bar Association, member, Long Range Planning Standing Committee, 2024-2025
• American Bar Association's Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Leadership Academy, 2023-2024

LANGUAGES

• Spanish

EDUCATION

• Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, J.D., 2016
• Union College, B.A., 2010, political science

BAR ADMISSIONS

• Pennsylvania

COURT ADMISSIONS

• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania
• Department of Veterans Affairs

CLERKSHIPS

• Hon. Jeffrey L. Schmehl, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2017 - 2019