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The former Chief of the Orange County Office of the U.S. Attorney, Tom Bienert specializes in white-collar criminal defense and complex civil litigation matters, representing both individuals and corporations in state and federal courts.
In addition to his service with the Orange County U.S. Attorney's Office, Mr. Bienert served as Chief of Criminal Complaints in the Los Angeles Office of the U.S. Attorney, as Associate Independent Counsel in Washington, D.C., and practiced with Irell & Manella and Phelps Dunbar.
Mr. Bienert is a highly experienced trial attorney. His cases span a wide variety of both criminal and civil practice, including all types of fraud, civil rights violations, environmental crimes, health-care matters, public corruption, money laundering, contract disputes, copyright infringement, civil environmental matters, false advertising, trade secret violations, unfair competition and wrongful termination. He has worked on a number of high profile matters, including the Independent Counsel investigation of President Clinton, the Orange County bankruptcy, the UCI fertility clinic matter, the Reginald Denny beating case during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, and the "Operation Big Spender" corruption investigation of L.A. Sheriff's Department deputies. His last several trials have resulted in multi-million dollar civil verdicts and a mistrial for his client in the Peregrine Systems criminal financial fraud trial.
An honors graduate of Tulane University School of Law, where he was an editor of the Law Review and Order of Barristers, Mr. Bienert has ben an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School and a frequent lecturer on legal issues. He has been recognized as a "Top 50 Lawyer in Orange County" and in "Southern California Super Lawyers" and "The Best Lawyers in America."
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| EDUCATION:
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Tulane University School of Law, J.D., 1986
Louisiana State University, B.A., 1983
Editor, Law Review; Member, Moot Court and Order of Barristers |
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| ADMISSIONS: |
Supreme Court of California (1988)
U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
U.S. District Court, Central District of California
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit |
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| ACTIVITIES: |
American Bar Association, Criminal Division
American Trial Lawyers Association
Orange County Bar Association
Association of Business Trial Lawyers
Federal Bar Association
Robert A. Banyard Inn of Court |
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Having practiced at the Federal Public Defenders' Office and civil law firms, Ken Miller focuses his practice on criminal and civil cases in federal and state courts, including criminal and civil RICO, fraud and forfeiture, FCPA, money laundering, civil rights, habeas corpus, breach of contract, and code enforcement.
In addition to his service with the Federal Public Defenders' Office, Mr. Miller practiced with the law firms of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, Silver, Shaeffer & Hadden, and Steward & Miller. Mr. Miller has handled numerous federal jury trials, both civil and criminal, and over twenty-five oral arguments before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He has obtained favorable results in many criminal and civil cases, including substantially reduced sentences for many clients and numerous reversals in federal courts of appeals.
Representative cases include: Defense of $100 million fraud case brought by the SEC and parallel criminal proceedings to earn a favorable settlement; Defense of individual convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life, where conviction was vacated and case was eventually dismissed; Defense of individual where sentence was reversed and later halved; Defense of individual where voluntary manslaughter conviction was reversed; Favorable settlement for former City Manager who was terminated in violation of his right to freedom of speech.
After graduating from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles, Order of the Coif, where he was an editor of the Law Review, Mr. Miller clerked for the Honorable Roger D. Foley, Senior U.S. District Judge. He is an author and lecturer on various aspects of criminal law.
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| EDUCATION:
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Loyola Law School of Los Angeles, J.D., 1990; Order of the Coif
University of Texas at Austin, B.A., 1986 |
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| ADMISSIONS: |
Supreme Court of California (1990)
United States Supreme Court
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
United States District Court, Central District of California
United States District Court, Southern District of California |
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| ACTIVITIES: |
American Bar Association
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Federal Bar Association
Warren J. Ferguson Inn of Court |
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Having practiced as a partner in a large international law firm and a high-stakes commercial trial boutique, Hap Weitzel concentrates his practice on civil trials and arbitrations. He has successfully represented individual, corporate and governmental clients, as plaintiffs and defendants, in a wide variety of matters, including contract and business tort claims, construction, fiduciary litigation, real estate litigation, intellectual property, employment litigation, trade secrets, franchise litigation, consum,er class actions, product liability, environmental litigation, insurance coverage disputes, defamation, stock option litigation, and antitrust. He has handles arbitrations under the AAA, NASD and ICC, as well as appeals in state and federal courts.
Representative cases include: Defense of company sued for over $100 million for alleged negligence in international arbitration, where net award was approximately $5 million to client on counter-claim; Jury verdict of $1.6 million for individual against attorney and disbarred attorney; Award of $4.4 million to client attorney and law firm in AAA arbitration against former client for fraud and breach of contract.
Prior to joining Bienert, Miller, Weitzel & Katzman, Mr. Weitzel was a partner at Mayer Brown and Beck, Redden & Secrest, and an associate at Irell & Manella.
Mr. Weitzel earned his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School and his B.A., summa cum laude, from TCU. He has been recognized as a top lawyer in his practice area by publications such as "Corporate Counsel Super Lawyers," "Texas Super Lawyers" and "Southern California Super Lawyers."
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| EDUCATION:
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Harvard Law School, J.D., cum laude, 1990
Texas Christian University, B.A., summa cum laude, 1987; Phi Beta Kappa |
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| ADMISSIONS: |
California, 1990
Texas, 1994
U.S. District Court for the Central and Eastern Districts of California
U.S. District Court for the Southern, Northern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit |
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| ACTIVITIES: |
Recognized as Corporate Counsel “Super Lawyer” in 2008
Recognized as Texas "Super Lawyer" in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007
Recognized as Texas "Rising Star" in 2004
AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell
Houston Bar Foundation – Fellow
Texas Bar Foundation – Fellow
American Bar Foundation – Fellow
American Inns of Court, Garland Walker Inn
National Registry of Who's Who
Texas Association of Defense Counsel
Houston Bar Association – Administration of Justice Committee
American Bar Association
Greater Houston Partnership – Economic Development Advisory Committee
Houston Grand Opera - Board of Trustees
Houston Museum of Natural Science - Board of Trustees
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law – Dean’s Advisory Board
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Steve Katzman specializes in complex insolvency, federal and commercial litigation. Because of his varied and significant background, Mr. Katzman offers unique, unparalleled trial, bankruptcy and complex litigation experience to the clients he serves.
From May, 2003 to March, 2008, Mr. Katzman was appointed as the United States Trustee for Southern District of California, the Districts of Hawaii, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. From November, 2003 until August, 2006, Mr. Katzman was also appointed as United States Trustee for the Central District of California. During his tenure as United States Trustee, Mr. Katzman was responsible for oversight of over 100,000 bankruptcy cases filed annually, including: the reorganization of two operational airlines; a resort property valued at 500 million dollars with over 2 billion dollars in unsecured debt; a national distributor of vitamins and mineral supplements; the examiner appointment in a chain of movie theaters; the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee in a multi-million dollar ponzi scheme; and the bankruptcy case of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego. Mr. Katzman also served as the Chair of a national United States Trustee Program group investigating and pursuing litigation strategies to redress creditor abuses of the bankruptcy system.
Mr. Katzman served for eight years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney. From 1991 through 1996 he prosecuted bankruptcy fraud and related crimes, including mail fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud, with the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. From 1996 through 1999, he established and managed a new office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, in Youngstown. During his tenure as an Assistant United States Attorney, Mr. Katzman pursued numerous trials and appeals, including the prosecution of attorneys, accountants, and corporate officers for embezzlement, concealment of assets and tax offenses, complex bank and mail fraud cases, a highly publicized interstate telemarketing fraud, a multi-million dollar counterfeit conspiracy, and death threats to a federal bankruptcy judge.
Before his appointment as U.S. Trustee, Mr. Katzman was senior insolvency and federal litigation counsel for the Orange County, Calif., law firm of Albert, Weiland & Golden LLP. Prior to his service with the U.S. Attorneys' offices, Mr. Katzman was an associate with the Newport Beach, Calif., office of Buchalter, Nemer, Fields & Younger, and a law clerk for Bankruptcy Judge John E. Ryan in the Central District of California.
Mr. Katzman has been a frequent speaker at many national and regional legal associations, including the American Bankruptcy Institute, the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, the California, Los Angeles, Orange County, Inland Empire and San Diego Bankruptcy Forums, the California State Bar, and the Federal Bar Association. Additionally, Mr. Katzman has lectured on numerous occasions at the Justice Department’s national training facilities.
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| EDUCATION:
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University of California School of Law at Davis, J.D., 1987
University of California at Santa Cruz 1984 |
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| ADMISSIONS: |
Supreme Court of California
U.S. District Court, Central District of California
U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit |
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| ACTIVITIES: |
American Bankruptcy Institute
Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors
Orange County Bankruptcy Forum, Board of Directors
Orange Country Bar Association |
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Lou Feldstein has spent more than 12 years defending clients ranging from non-profit groups to Fortune 500 companies in complex commercial, criminal and regulatory litigation involving cutting-edge legal issues and strategies. Lou’s expertise in the areas of securities, fiduciary duties, mergers and acquisitions, internal corporate investigations, contracts and torts has produced favorable outcomes in a wide variety of disputes, including a worldwide class action against the three biggest Swiss banks arising from their alleged conduct during World War II; SEC enforcement actions against publicly traded companies and their executives for alleged accounting and reporting violations; civil and criminal claims of securities fraud; and many other high-visibility cases.
Lou spent the first 11 years of his career at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, and the Wilmington, Delaware, office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. While in Delaware, Lou served on the Executive Committee of the Delaware State Bar Association and on the Governor's Advisory Council for Hispanic Affairs. Lou went on to become a partner in the Houston trial firm of Berg & Androphy, then joined Bienert, Miller, Weitzel & Katzman as of counsel in September 2008.
Before entering the law, Lou spent 10 years as an award-winning investigative reporter, editor and columnist for The Miami Herald, where his articles led to the resignations and/or indictments of numerous public officials, and his post-Hurricane Andrew series on the building practices of leading homebuilders helped win the Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for Outstanding Public Service. Lou appeared regularly on television and radio news shows and moderated numerous candidate debates during his time in Miami.
Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Lou is fluent in oral and written Spanish.
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| EDUCATION:
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Stanford University School of Law, J.D., 1996
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, M.S., 1983
Haverford College, B.A., 1982
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| ADMISSIONS: |
Supreme Court of California (1996)
District of Columbia (1998)
Delaware (2003)
Texas (2008)
U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware (2004)
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas (2008)
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Ms. Ellis specializes in white collar criminal defense and business litigation. Her litigation experience includes representing clients in civil and criminal proceedings, including business disputes, criminal prosecutions, federal appeals, SEC and regulatory agency enforcement actions, internal investigations, and grand jury proceedings.
Ms. Ellis was named as one of Southern California Super Lawyers' Rising Stars for White Collar Criminal Defense.
Ms. Ellis was a judicial clerk for the Honorable Arthur Alarcon for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for the 2004-05 term.
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| EDUCATION:
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UCLA School of Law, J.D., 1999
California State University, Fullerton, B.A., 1995 |
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| ADMISSIONS: |
Supreme Court of California
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
U.S. District Court, Central District of California
U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
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| ACTIVITIES: |
Federal Bar Association
Orange County Bar Association
Hispanic Bar Association, Orange County Chapter
Los Angeles County Bar Association
American Bar Association
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| Ms. Hawbecker specializes in business litigation and criminal defense. Her civil litigation experience includes representing clients in Federal and State court and arbitration proceedings in the areas of copyright, trademark, trade secret, real estate, employment, and general commercial litigation. Ms. Hawbecker is also a former Deputy District Attorney for the County of Humboldt. Prior to joining Bienert, Miller, Weitzel & Katzman, Ms. Hawbecker was associated with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Donahue Gallagher Woods LLP in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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| EDUCATION:
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| Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley, J.D. (1997) Georgetown University, Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (1991)
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| ADMISSIONS: |
Supreme Court of California
U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
U.S. District Court, Central District of California
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California |
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| ACTIVITIES: |
Alameda County Bar Association
Wiley Emanuel Award for Pro Bono Service from the Alameda County Bar Association
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| Susann K. Narholm brings a strong background in civil litigation to the firm. Ms. Narholm’s practice has focused primarily in the areas of business and employment law, and she provides representation in all areas of business torts, including fraud, misappropriation of trade secrets, and antitrust issues, as well as contractual disputes and negotiation. Ms. Narholm’s experience further includes a variety of civil appeals. Ms. Narholm served as a judicial extern to Justice William Bedsworth of the California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division Three, and also as an intern to Judge Lawrence W. Crispo (Retired) of the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
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| EDUCATION:
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Whittier Law School
Executive Editor of the Whittier Law Review
Moot Court Honors Board |
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| ADMISSIONS: |
Supreme Court of California
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
U.S. District Court, Central District of California |
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| ACTIVITIES: |
Orange County Bar Association
American Bar Association
American Association for Justice
Orange County Trial Lawyers Association
Consumer Attorneys of California |
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| Karen joined the firm in January 2007. She began her career in the Los Angeles office of McKenna & Cuneo where she practiced for six years, focusing primarily on government contracts claims and litigation. Her work included international arbitrations for clients such as Hughes Aircraft Co. and Teledyne involving complex technical issues as well as the legal analysis to support the recoverability of the associated costs. In 1996, Ms. Miller joined her husband, Kenneth M. Miller in his practice where the focus was federal criminal defense and civil litigation.
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| EDUCATION:
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Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, J.D., 1990
Executive Editor, Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Journal
San Diego State University, B.S. Business Administration (Marketing), 1986 |
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| ADMISSIONS: |
Supreme Court of California (1990)
District of Columbia (1991)
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (1991)
U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit (1991)
U.S. District Court, Central District of California (1991) |
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| As an active paralegal in Orange County, Kim has assisted attorneys and companies in various aspects of law in both plaintiff and defense work including civil and business litigation, personal injury, construction litigation, and real estate. Kim joined the firm in January 2007 and has been assisting partners in white collar criminal defense litigation. Kim’s expertise is in case management of complex litigation matters, including discovery and trial preparation for white collar criminal defense matters.
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| EDUCATION:
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University of California, Santa Barbara, B.A. Political Science (International Relations), 1986
University of California, Irvine, ABA Paralegal Certification, 1982
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Notary Public since 1986
Notary Public, Signing Agent since 2002
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