In 1990s Manhattan, I joined a pioneering investment banking boutique focused on a risky, exciting new frontier: launching tech startups through small-cap IPOs. It was a collaborative, high-energy environment where I helped take VocalTec public in 1996—the world’s first commercial Internet telephony (VOIP) company.

During this time, I worked under Ray Dirks, a brilliant analyst and Wall Street iconoclast famed for uncovering the 1973 Equity Funding fraud. After the SEC ignored his warnings and censured him for protecting his clients, Dirks fought the agency all the way to the Supreme Court. His ultimate vindication in the landmark insider trading case Dirks v. SEC (1983) remains one of the agency’s greatest legal defeats. Working with Dirks sparked my own passion for the law, and with his blessing, I left finance for Stanford Law School.

Following law school, I was baptized into the high-stakes world of patent litigation at its peak, right as Non-Practicing Entities (NPEs) exploded. My career highlight came when I established the total unenforceability of a major NPE's patent portfolio on summary judgment. This single ruling triggered a domino effect, forcing the summary dismissal of all the NPE’s pending litigations—including multiple cases where I didn't even represent the defendants. The NPE declared bankruptcy shortly after, delivering a massive, definitive victory for my clients.

I received my J.D. from Stanford Law School and B.A. in philosophy from Vassar College, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and with general, departmental and thesis honors.