I am the President of West Coast Trial Lawyers, leading a team of 21 attorneys who have taken on major corporations including Walmart, FedEx, and J.P. Morgan. Here to respond to any true crime, personal injury, employment, criminal trial, Trump re...

What’s the stupidest thing that you’ve ever seen a lawyer do or say in court?

Also, what’s your favorite dinosaur?

It probably wasn't the stupidest, but it was one of the most embarrassing in recent memory. When Amber Heard's lawyer, Elaine Bredehoft, was unable to overcome even the most basic objections by Camille Vasquez. My favorite dinosaur is a Pterodactyl!

Thoughts on the Bad Bunny AI song? Does he have a right to sue?

This is a novel legal issue and an area where the law has not caught up with technology. Courts are going to have to struggle with this issue until congress gets its act together and updates copyright laws.

I’ve read that discovery materials can sometimes contain millions of pages of documents. How do lawyers sift through all that?

That's what junior lawyers are for. Unlike doctors, we don't have residency. But, when you graduate law school and you pass the bar, the first thing most litigators do is discover and it totally sucks.

Pros and cons of being a federal prosecutor?

Pros: It is the greatest job in the world. You're in federal court everyday, working with the best judges, lawyers, and, agents.

Con: The only con is the pay is a fraction of what you make in private practice.

What was it like prosecuting America's Most Wanted? Were you worried about your safety? Did it make you more paranoid? How long did it last?

Personally, I wasn't worried, but my wife wasn't a huge fan especially after we had kids. Believe it or not, some of the most dangerous criminals in the world and their lawyers were still more professional than some of the insurance companies I deal with now.

What are your thoughts on the P Diddy allegations?

They're very serious. I thought it was problematic when Cassie filed her lawsuit. But now that more victims have come forward, Diddy has serious legal problems. I think his lawyers made a mistake by not settling Cassie's case before she filed. They had a long relationship together. The deadline to file in NY was coming up and it was clear that Cassie was going to file if they didn't come to some sort of resolution. To settle the day after Cassie filed was the worst result of all because the salacious allegations became public. The best thing to do is settle early before it becomes public or to fight the case. Cassie's lawsuit and settlement probably encouraged other victims to come forward.

What about Jonathan Majors?

The case gives me Johnny Depp vibes. Not because I necessarily think he's innocent, but because I think he is using this very public trial to clear his name and save his acting career. We're still in the middle of the case and it's going to be interesting to see if the prosecution puts on other victims next week. At least before trial they said they had two witnesses who were willing to testify.

What options does a person have who has to get involved in any kind of lawsuit but can't afford to? Whether they're being sued or trying to gain compensation and are in the right to do so?

Some lawyers work on contingency which means they don't charge hourly and just take a percentage of what they recover. That's what our firm does for personal injury employment cases. Defense lawyers charge hourly though because they're not trying to recover funds from the at fault party and are just defending clients. That is the only way they can receive compensation.

For international students graduating from law school in the United States, is there an area of the country that is more understanding or willing than others to sponsor and provide work authorization?

Additionally, why aren’t international students graduating within the US protected under the “country of origin” language in Section VII of the civil rights act regarding hiring practices?

Major metropolitan cities tend to hire international students more than small towns. In fact, most smaller cities hire from local schools and don't recruit nationwide, much less internationally.

Do you think the state-based 14th amendment challenges to Trump's legitimacy for office are enforceable? If so, would there be repercussions for other members of congress sympathizing / encouraging the J6 event?

This case will almost certainly end up in the supreme court. The rulings have been completely inconsistent. Some judges have said the plaintiffs have no standing to bring a claim. Others have said have said it's a political issue to be decided by congress and Trump has already won at his impeachment trial. Other judges have said that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment prohibits insurrectionists from holding public office, but it can still appear on the ballot, especially the primary ballot. Lastly, the Colorado judge said that even though engaged in an insurrection, the President is not a federal officer under the Constitution. That ruling doesn't make a lot of sense, but is one of the reasons why this whole Civil War era amendment is a mess.

How is Tesla continuing to get away with no liability for auto pilot and full self driving related accidents? While there are undoubtedly some percentage resulting from gross driver negligence, there are many accidents caused by this dangerous system + lack of proper regulation.

We're just starting to see products liability litigation related to Tesla auto pilot crashes. Even though Tesla won the first major trial, doesn't mean that they'll continue to win future cases. Obviously they'll continue to argue that it's human error that is causing the accidents, but a jury down the road may disagree.

Is there a possibility that the age restriction on presidential election will be capped at a certain age?

It would require a Constitutional Amendment. The Constitution and only the Constitution places restrictions on who can be president.

Most plaintiff's lawyers focus on helping victims injured in car accidents. While that's the most common type of case for many different reasons, are there any other practice areas that are timely and that you'd recommend for a new solo practitioner to specialize in to help set themselves apart from the crowd?

The car accidents are the most common because that is the most likely way someone is going to get injured or die. They are other areas like dog bites, slip and falls, or workplace injuries that have a lot of volume.

Where did you go to law school?

Harvard Law School

What is your least favorite part of being the president of your firm?

To be honest, I like it a lot. The thing I like the most is that I get to choose the people I work with. You end up spending more time with your coworkers than your own family, so if they suck that can make your job pretty miserable. The people that work for me may feel differently though lol.

Can we get a class action lawsuit going against trump?

Get in line. But on what basis?

Whats your take on Jeffrey Feiger?

I don't know him!

My dream is to go to Harvard Law School and I read that you were one of the youngest graduates in their history. Over the last couple years, I’ve struggled a bit with mental health and would love to know how it was managing a social life along with your studies to be able to graduate so young?

Law school is not fun wherever you go and me going to law school at age 19, before I was ready socially or emotionally, probably wasn't the best idea. The average starting age in my class was 27 or 28, so I would recommend that everyone take their time and go to law school when they're ready.

Why is there such a negative connotation with lawyers and how they lie?

A lot of people don't like lawyers. I'm married to one. I have many friends that are lawyers. I understand the negative impression that many people have, but if shit goes down you'll be happy to have a lawyer on your side because it is nearly impossible to navigate our legal system without one.

What made you choose law?

My grandfather was a judge and ever since I was kid, I liked to argue. There are lovers in this world and there are fighters. I'm a fighter.

What court case keeps you up at night?

Any case involving kids is hard to deal with. Unfortunately, most lawyers are in the business of misery. No one is calling a lawyer with good news. When kids are suffering, it's particularly hard.

Should criminals say everything to the attorneys? The good and the bad? Would it hurt the lawyer to know the crimes and still argue the other side?

Yes, criminal defendants should absolutely share everything with their lawyers. Even if the lawyer knows they did it, they can still defend the case or try to put on some sort of mitigation case. Lying to your lawyer is the worst thing you can do.

I am a woman of color and just found out my coworker in the same position as me (who is male and white), is making more than me. What should I do?

You should talk to an employment lawyer in your state, so they can determine whether the discrepancy is caused by your race or sex. Most lawyers will do a free consultation to evaluate your case.

I am the only POC at my company , the head of HR is the boss’s wife, and i am being targeted and constantly harassed even though i am the most productive. I get treated differently when it comes to assigning work and taking days off and whenever people don’t do their work they give it to me to do or i get scolded for not picking up their slack. What do i do?

You should contact an employment lawyer right away. The lawyers can help you prove that you are being treated differently because of your race. Your boss and HR will probably argue that there is a non race related reason for your treatment, so a lawyer needs to be prepared to counteract that.

Why do Republican lawmakers hate you so much?

I wouldn't limit it to just Republicans. Everyone hates me. I'm a law and order Democrat so I think that everyone that breaks the law should be prosecuted. I don't care if you're Donald Trump or Hunter Biden.

just came out that Squid Game reality show winner mai never received her 4.5 million dollars even though she won in february. can she sue?

Obviously, I haven't seen the agreement, but it sounds like there was some sort of payment plan after the season ended. If that's the case, the winner will just have to wait.

Let's fast forward 20 years so that Trump the man is dead, do you imagine that Trump the obstreperous and performative legal strategy will still be around, or do you imagine that it's a passing fad in how legal things are done? Is the system ever going to come to its senses?

There will never be anyone like Donald Trump. He defies all conventional rules, especially in the legal world. Normally when someone gets charged with a crime, their political career is over, but trump is not ordinary person. Every time he gets indicted his approval and poll numbers go through the roof. He has masterfully manipulated the American people and the media. I don't think the same rules would apply to someone else.

I'm not convinced he's the first person in history to have successfully defied the conventional rules, so I'm not super convinced he'll be the last. Are there preventative measures we can/should be taking to harden the legal system against similar attacks in the future?

I think it's still too early to say that Trump got away with it. At least as far as our legal system is concerned. Let's talk after the trials in DC and in Atlanta on the election fraud charges.

Do you listen to any true crime or legal podcasts?

Yes, our podcast LA legal is great. I also do Hidden Killers every week. I like Sidebar. There are many good podcasts. My favorite though is Court TV and Law and Crime because they track the cases and stories in real time.