A Duke Law graduate and a United States Army officer with 15 years experience practicing law.
I grew up in Silicon Valley, spent Kindergarten in Austria (my father's birthplace), went to college at UC Santa Barbara, did one year abroad in Bordeaux, France, then graduated from Duke University School of Law in the year 2000. I spent the next few years at various law firms in Palo Alto and San Jose. The work was interesting, and it was certainly good education to start out, but I always had a vision of starting my own practice.
But, before I got to that, history intervened. 9/11 happened and within a few years the country was at war. I obtained a commission in the United States Army and received training to join the Judge Advocate General's Corp. In the years that followed I traveled many places, and ultimately served in Iraq with the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade, as the unit's trial counsel.
I am still an Army Reservist, but by 2013 the war had wound down, so I left my full-time job in the Army and moved to Sacramento with the idea of finally opening my own firm. Having a solo practice in the area of estate planning had been a fantasy of mine since I first took a class on the subject in law school, and after 13 years of experience serving clients and commanders, I had developed quite a few ideas about how I would like to do things. I had a new house and a new fiance in a new city, and the time was finally right to go out on my own.
Eleven years later, my fiance has become my wife and we have three children on the way. Business has been great the past eleven years, and I thank all of the clients who have put their trust in me and referred me to their friends. For a small business owner, there is no greater compliment.
But, before I got to that, history intervened. 9/11 happened and within a few years the country was at war. I obtained a commission in the United States Army and received training to join the Judge Advocate General's Corp. In the years that followed I traveled many places, and ultimately served in Iraq with the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade, as the unit's trial counsel.
I am still an Army Reservist, but by 2013 the war had wound down, so I left my full-time job in the Army and moved to Sacramento with the idea of finally opening my own firm. Having a solo practice in the area of estate planning had been a fantasy of mine since I first took a class on the subject in law school, and after 13 years of experience serving clients and commanders, I had developed quite a few ideas about how I would like to do things. I had a new house and a new fiance in a new city, and the time was finally right to go out on my own.
Eleven years later, my fiance has become my wife and we have three children on the way. Business has been great the past eleven years, and I thank all of the clients who have put their trust in me and referred me to their friends. For a small business owner, there is no greater compliment.
My thanks to the good people of Flickr for making the beautiful photos above available for commercial use:
Bordeaux by Grand Parc
Duke University by Nan-Cheng Tsai
Sacramento by Hey Paul
Bordeaux by Grand Parc
Duke University by Nan-Cheng Tsai
Sacramento by Hey Paul