ATTORNEYS
Juan Pablo AlbanJuan Pablo heads our Corporate Counsel practice and participates in Litigation case development, strategy, and administration. He has over twenty years of experience as a California attorney for top-ranked global law firms and general counsel for private fund managers and venture-stage companies, among others.
After immigrating from Colombia in 1984, Juan Pablo earned a BA in economics from Dartmouth College in 1997 and a JD from Harvard Law School in 2001. In 2011 Juan Pablo also earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, which the Financial Times has described as the “gold standard” for financial professionals worldwide. Read More
Juan Pablo started his career in 2001 in corporate finance and banking groups of Skadden Arps, which Vault 100 consistently ranks in the top 10 of the globe’s most prestigious law firms. From 2003 to 2008, Juan Pablo was an associate for Quinn Emanuel, a premier litigation firm excelling at taking complex business cases through trial. From 2008 to 2013, Juan Pablo was general counsel and executive vice president for Brener International Group, LLC, a private family office focused on direct private equity investments in the U.S. and Mexico, including sponsorship of a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (“SPAC”) that had a successful IPO and reverse merger. Since 2013, Juan Pablo has served as external general counsel for SEC-registered private fund managers and venture stage operating companies, among others. In his free time, Juan Pablo enjoys quiet family time, surfing, swimming, and hiking. |
Courtney Stuart-AlbanCourtney heads our Litigation practice and participates in business development for our Corporate Counsel practice. She graduated from USC Gould School of Law in 2002 and started her California legal career in the litigation department of the renowned international law firm, Arnold & Porter LLP.
Courtney worked her way through the ranks of Arnold & Porter’s Los Angeles offices to become a senior associate in the firm’s intellectual property group leading cases and managing others on complex matters for sophisticated clients, including Fortune 500 technology companies. In 2010, Ms. Stuart-Alban left Arnold & Porter to establish her own legal practice. Read More
When the economic downturn of 2008 left many smaller and mid-sized firms understaffed, Courtney realized there was an untapped market for high-level, senior litigation attorneys who could handle sophisticated matters such as strategy, motion practice, depositions, and hearings on an as-needed basis. Ms. Stuart-Alban seized the opportunity to be selective and work on cases that most interested her, hiring junior attorneys and support staff along the way. Due to her professionalism and the high quality of her work, Courtney worked with select, elite firms on complex matters in this capacity on a consistent basis. Among other work during this time, Ms. Stuart-Alban maintained an Of Counsel relationship with the prominent IP boutique firm Blakely Law Group, where she worked increasingly with her friend and colleague Brent Blakely, typically on cases that presented complex, novel issues, or were being heard on appeal. Notably, in 2011, Ms. Stuart Alban briefed and argued a matter before the Ninth Circuit, which resulted in a favorable and seminal opinion in the field of trademark law on the issue of competitive keyword advertising on the Internet. Network Automation, Inc. v. Advanced Systems Concepts, Inc., 638 F.3d 1137 (9th Cir. 2011) (cited in 187 published decisions and 124 other sources as of October 2016). With Blakely, Stuart-Alban has continued to work on niche cases for high profile clients tackling a range of cutting-edge questions of intellectual property law, often with a particular focus on the application of established law to emerging technologies. See, e.g., Deckers Outdoor Corporation v. Sears Holdings Corporation et al (CD Cal., Case No. Case No. 2:12-cv-08723); Poquito Mas Licensing Corp. v. Taco Bell Corp., CV13-1933 (C.D. Cal. 2013); Spy Optic Inc. v. Alibaba.com Inc. et al (CD Cal. Case No. 2:15-cv-00659); Panam USA LLC et al v. Pan American World Airways Inc. et al (CD Cal. Case No. 2:15-cv-01580). In addition to IP law, Courtney has deep experience in a broad array of general business litigation, including claims involving fraud, breach of contract, unfair competition, wrongful termination, bad faith denial of insurance, First Amendment claims, anti-SLAPP law, consumer remedies, partnership law, noncompete agreements, employment law, false advertising, premises liability, and personal injury, among others. Courtney has successfully litigated in virtually every state and federal forum available in California, including the California Court of Appeals, each of the federal district courts, bankruptcy court, and the Ninth Circuit. She has also prevailed in claims before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and the World Intellectual Property Organization. In her down time, she enjoys yoga, photography, travel and most of all time with her husband and two children. Courtney also speaks Spanish. |