PARTNERS
Charles G. La Bella (Partner) born Brooklyn, New York, April 5, 1951; admitted to bar, 1979, New York and Florida; 1996, California. Education: Le Moyne College (B.A., 1973); Fordham University (J.D., cum laude, 1978). Recipient: Director's Award for Executive Achievement, 1996 and Director's Award for Superior Performance as Assistant U.S. Attorney, 1997, U.S. Department of Justice; Director's Award for Distinguished Service to Law Enforcement, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1999. Member, Fordham Law Review, 1976-1978. Law Clerk to Honorable Kevin Thomas Duffy, Southern District of New York, 1978-1980. Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York, 1982-1993. U.S. Department of Justice, Legal Consultant to the Ministry of Justice, Republic of Bulgaria, 1992. Assistant U.S. Attorney and First Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of California, 1993-1998 and Chief, Criminal Division, 1993-1996. Chief, Campaign Financing Task Force, Washington, 1997-1998. U.S. Attorney, Southern District of California, 1998-1999. Member: The Florida Bar; State Bar of California; New York State and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Complex Business Litigation; Corporate Investigations; Health Care Fraud; Securities Litigation; White Collar Criminal Defense.Email: Charles G. La Bella
Thomas W. McNamara (Partner) born Santa Maria, California, July 15, 1961; admitted to bar, 1986, California; 1987, Nevada; 1988, District of Columbia. Education: University of Nevada (B.S., 1983); University of San Diego (J.D., 1986). Managing Editor, San Diego Law Review, 1985-1986. Law Clerk to Honorable Roger D. Foley, U.S. District Court, District of Nevada, 1986-1987. Finley, Kumble, Wagner et al. (D.C. Office), 1987-1991. Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of California, 1991-2002. Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice Campaign Financing Task Force, 1997-1998. Recipient: Director's Award, U.S. Department of Justice, 1997, 2001. Member: American Bar Association (Member, White Collar Committee); American Business Trial Lawyers (Board of Governors, 2007). Practice Areas: Business Litigation; Corporate Investigations; Health Care Fraud; Securities Litigation; White Collar Criminal Defense.Email: Thomas W. McNamara
OF COUNSEL
Daniel M. Benjamin (Of Counsel) born Farmington, Michigan, 1975; admitted to bar, 2000, California; 2003, Guam; 2004, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; U.S. District Court, Northern District of California; U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit; Guam District Court; Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands District Court; U.S. Supreme Court. Education: University of California, Santa Cruz (B.A., with honors, 1997); University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law (J.D., 2000). Order of the Coif. Member, Moot Court Board. Senior Articles Editor and Managing Editor, Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law, 2000. Member: State Bar of California. Practice Areas: Commercial Litigation.Email: Daniel M. Benjamin
Michael D. Liuzzi (Of Counsel) born San Diego, California, 1954; admitted to bar, 1980, California and U.S. District Court, Southern District of California. Education: University of San Diego (B.S., Accounting and Business Administration, 1976; J.D., 1980; LL.M., Taxation, 1983); Oxford University, Oxford, England. Member and President 1990-1991, 2002-2003, Alumni Board of Directors, University of San Diego. Member: San Diego County Bar Association; State Bar of California. Practice Areas: Business Law; Corporate Law; Real Estate; Estate Planning.Email: Michael D. Liuzzi
Andrew W. Robertson (Of Counsel) born Pasadena, California, March 29, 1949; admitted to bar, 1974, California and U.S. District Court, Central District of California; 1977, U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit; 1990, U.S. Supreme Court. Education: Brown University (B.A., cum laude, 1971); University of California School of Law, Los Angeles (J.D., 1974). Staff Member, UCLA Law Review, 1972-1974. Law Clerk to the Honorable William P. Gray, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 1974-1975. Adjunct Professor, Southwestern University Law School, 1987-1991. Member: San Diego County Bar Association; The State Bar of California. Practice Areas: Business Litigation; Corporate Governance; Corporate Law; Receiverships.Email: Andrew W. Robertson
ASSOCIATES
Chrysta L. Elliott (Associate) born San Diego, California, February 18, 1979; admitted to bar, 2007, California; 2008, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California. Education: University of California at Los Angeles (B.A., cum laude, 2001); University of Edinburgh (Diploma in International and European Politics, 2003); University of San Diego, School of Law (J.D., 2007). Member: State Bar of California; San Diego County Bar Association. Practice Areas: White Collar Criminal Defense; Business Litigation.Email: Chrysta L. Elliott
Meghan A. Wharton (Associate) born Lufkin, Texas, 1974; admitted to bar, 2001, Arizona (inactive); 2007, California; U.S. District Court, Southern, Central, Northern and Eastern Districts of California; U.S. District Court, District of Arizona; U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Education: University of Texas at Austin (B.A., 1996); Georgetown University Law Center (J.D., cum laude, 2001). University of Texas Normandy Scholar. Staff Member, Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics. Annual Review Contributor, Georgetown Gender Journal. Author: "Pornography on an International Internet: Internet Content Regulation in Australia and the United States", 23 HASTINGS COMM. & ENT. L.J. 121, 2000. Co-author: "Child Custody and Visitation", 1 GEO. J. GENDER & LAW 383, 2002. Member: San Diego County Bar Association; State Bar of California; State Bar of Arizona (inactive). Practice Areas: Civil Litigation; Complex Litigation; Intellectual Property Litigation.Email: Meghan A. Wharton