As head of the Consumer Protection Division, I lead a small team of lawyers and investigators who are deeply committed to taking on bad actors at the state and national levels. Our team manages antitrust, tobacco, charities enforcement, privacy, and everything else covered by our deceptive trade practices act.
I started my legal career as a law clerk for the Washington County Prosecutor’s Office in Fayetteville Arkansas during my second year of law school for what was to be a semester-long internship. Through sheer persistence and a naïve willingness to research random questions of law at the last moment, I managed to talk the deputy into keeping me another year. After graduation, I was thrilled to be hired at the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in Little Rock where I became one with the rules of evidence and learned where the best parking spot was at the courthouse. With a few years under my belt, I was able to land a job in the Criminal Appeals Division at the Attorney General’s Office and when I missed the courtroom work, I transferred to the Civil Division.
In the middle of my career, I returned to my home state of California where I worked for a class action plaintiffs’ firm that tackled online dating sites, telecommunications, and medical device cases. We won several important cases on appeal, including Douglas v. California, 495 F.3d 1062 (9th Cir. 2007) (order compelling arbitration under a clause in a contract revised by a notice posted only on a website warranted mandamus relief). From California, I moved to Okinawa, Japan for three years, taught business law, and served as a Special Investigator with the U.S. Office of Personnel.
Several years later, I made my way back to the Attorney General’s Office where I was quickly promoted to Senior Assistant Attorney General in the Consumer Protection Division. I feel very fortunate to have worked on our opioid litigation and appreciate the opportunities to work with my counterparts across the country who are dedicated to the long-term public interest of consumers and the legitimate business community. When not at work or serving my community, I try to keep up with my three children, two cats, and a garden, and spend my free time practicing the tango, rumba, or west coast swing.
