Portola Hills Business Lawyers

Elliot Brown, a Phillips ADR neutral, is the former managing partner of Irell & Manella LLP. He spent nearly 30 years in IP litigation, counseling, and licensing at a top IP practice. Elliot graduated cum laude from Harvard College (1985), earning Phi Beta Kappa and a John Harvard Scholar award. He studied philosophy of science at Princeton, receiving an MA (1987) and a Mellon Fellowship, where game theory and Daniel Kahneman’s work on bargaining and cognitive bias shaped his approach to dispute resolution. He earned his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School (1990), serving as a Harvard Law Review...

Edwin V. Woodsome, a Phillips ADR neutral, was managing partner of Dechert LLP’s Los Angeles office and head of Global Litigation at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. With over 35 years of trial experience, he has handled consumer fraud, False Claims Act, securities, product liability, trade secrets, employment, antitrust, and intellectual property cases in state and federal courts. He has extensive appellate, mediation, and arbitration experience, including the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California’s mediation panel. Woodsome represented major firms in transportation, banking, technology, aerospace, and entertainment, serving as U.S. national litigation counsel for a global logistics company and...

Thomas McIntosh has practiced for more than 30 years trying well over 100 jury and bench trials. He graduated from Occidental College receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree and then American College of Law graduating with honors while receiving his Juris Doctorate. He was admitted to the California bar in 1988, and the Federal bar in 1989.

Since 1976 our firm has handled Condominium Collection for both commercial owners' associations and homeowners' associations, represented insurance companies in collections of costs awarded in favor of their successfully representation at trial, defended American with Disability Act (ADA) cases, handled numerous Relief from the Automatic Stay matters in all of the Bankruptcy Courts throughout California as well as other Adversary or Creditor matters in Bankruptcy Court, handled numerous civil appeals in both State and Federal Court, represented a firm in a collection matter as a member of the Southern District of Indiana, tried numerous bench and jury trials in both...

Nicholas Myers’ practice focuses on intellectual property, business litigation, and corporate formation and governance. He has represented clients in trademark, copyright, breach of contract, unfair competition, Internet, gaming, and sports and entertainment matters, and has also advised clients on corporate structuring and asset protection issues.

Nicholas has litigated cases in state and federal courts and has represented clients in private arbitration. He routinely prosecutes and defends clients in trademark, copyright and trade secret cases. He has also successfully represented multiple clients in trademark disputes before the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

Nicholas is admitted to practice...

Sean Coffey, a Phillips ADR neutral, served as the 24th General Counsel of the Navy (2022–2025), leading over 1,100 attorneys worldwide. Previously a renowned trial lawyer, he handled plaintiff and defense cases in securities, class actions, and complex litigation. At Latham & Watkins, he secured a directed verdict in a bet-the-company case. At Bernstein Litowitz, he led the $6.2 billion WorldCom Securities Litigation recovery. As Chair of Complex Litigation at Kramer Levin, he advised corporate clients. As Navy General Counsel, Sean founded the Taxpayer Advocacy Project and led the exoneration of 256 African American Sailors from the 1944 Port Chicago courts-martial,...