Hello! I'm Sean

 With both a business and a law degree, I have spent a career representing 

Fortune 500 companies, government entities, and high net-worth individuals

in a wide-array of business and legal matters.

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EXPERIENCE

2019 - 2020

General Counsel

Digital Commerce, Licensing, Contract  Management, Data Protection

PANASEER LIMITED - LONDON + NEW YORK

Clients include heavily regulated banks, airlines, and insurance conglomerates. (i.e., Cisco, UBS, Schwab, Wells Fargo, Fanny May, Experian, U.S. Federal Reserve, and the London Stock Exchange).

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• General Counsel to this award-winning cyber-security SaaS/PaaS.

• Templated company agreements and I.T. offerings to meet global data protection regulations.

• Drafted and negotiated contracts involving sales, licensing, marketing, outsourcing, partnerships, and joint ventures.  (i.e., master service agreements, complex NDAs, PoC, and SoW).

• Supported commercial operations in contentious bid defence meetings.

• Enforced company-wide GDPR compliance and coordinated ISO 27001 certification effort.

• Oversaw actual and potential legal disputes; liaised with outside counsel re on-going litigation.

• Integrated state-of-the-art contract lifecycle management platform (CLM) and trained staff.

• Supported sales and commercial operations in contentious bid defence meetings.

• Served as company DPO and trained staff on data protection obligations.

• Significantly reduced company's reliance on outside counsel.

2019-Present

Member

A Select Group of Data Protection/Privacy Experts

ALLIANCE OF CYBER SECURITY EXECUTIVES - LONDON

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• Member of a select group of executives (20) who explore, discuss, and publicize important and timely topics with a focus on preserving and protecting key national infrastructure and commerce.  Participants include: Business leaders, intelligence services, security consultants, and educators.  Topics include: AI and ML ethics, the wider application of EBA Guidelines, the future of security testing, corporate espionage, the Snowden revelations, cyber-insurance, and supply-chain security.

2017-2018

Business and Legal Affairs

California Licensed Realtor

SOTHEBY'S - LONDON + BEVERLY HILLS

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• Oversight and consulting re global data protection and digital commerce.  (MarTech/AdTech).

• Obtained additional ethics and practical training; attained license from Cal. Dept. of Real Estate.

• Selected by Sotheby's to participate in (and graduated from) their advanced management training program (MAPP).

2015-2017

Senior V.P. Commercial & Legal Affairs

Digital Commerce, IT, SaaS, TMT Law

CINEMA NOW - LONDON + LOS ANGELES

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• Handled commercial and legal affairs for this international on-demand SaaS media company.

• Interfaced with government regulators involving public-facing information and data privacy.

• Responsive to client inquiries regarding firewall and other financial security programming.

• Engaged with programmers to ensure client banking and financial data is secure.

• Negotiated with the major U.S. film and media studios for licensing of digital media rights.

• Originated and managed global outsourcing contracts. 

• Served on company's leadership team consulting about risk, strategy and contract matters. 

1994 - 2015

Managing Partner

Business and Legal Affairs Counsel

ERENSTOFT LAW GROUP - LOS ANGELES + LONDON

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Business and Corporate Counsel for high net-worth individuals, start-ups, and corporations. Tackled emerging digital market ventures, ad hoc crisis management, and disputes through trial.   I served as a solution to contract origination, negotiation and regulatory compliance issues.  Worked closely with all organizational levels, leadership teams and C-Suite.  Clients included global enterprises, start-ups, lawyers and venture capitalists.

• Structured, drafted and negotiated a wide range of complex agreements including master service agreements, SaaS software subscriptions, NDAs, vendor, partnership and employment contracts.

• Provide legal support to internal stakeholders including sales, marketing, engineering, facilities and people teams.

• Participated in (and in some cases lead) companies' privacy and data protection initiatives.

• Advised on contract status, legal risks, and legal liabilities associated with venture capital, company strategies, mergers and acquisitions.

• Developed and assisted in the revision of standardized form agreements.

• Introduced and trained staff in a variety of digital contract management software.

• Managed thin budgets and understaffing challenges while maintaining company morale.

• Quelled disputes involving contentious contract claims.

• Tried 42 jury trials to verdict; 100's of court trials to decision. 

2006 - 2010

Judge (Pro Temp)

LOS ANGELES SUPERIOR COURT - LOS ANGELES

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Served as a Superior Court judge pro tempore.

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Nominated, trained and served as a judge on temporary (as needed) basis in the

Los Angeles Superior Court. Conducted short trials to decision and issued written decisions and orders.  

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• Predominant matters heard: Contract disputes and regulatory enforcement.

• Decided 1000+ trial matters; served as mediator in countless cases.​

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1994 - 1996

Senior Corporate Counsel 

CAROL WIOR, INC. - LOS ANGELES

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• Served as in-house counsel for this $20 million/year manufacturer of women's slimwear. 

• Originated, negotiated, executed and enforced multi-party contracts world-wide.

• Handled intellectual property applications and appeals involving numerous trademarks.

• Originated, drafted, and negotiated sales, partnership, marketing and finance contracts.

1993 - 1994

Associate Attorney

Dispute Resolution and Trials 

LLOYD'S OF LONDON

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Recruited and trained to litigate and settle a wide-array of contract and tort disputes on behalf of insureds.  Clients were publicly traded and Fortune 500 companies.

• Crisis manager handling multi-party disputes involving millions in losses.

• Negotiated, settled and litigated contract and liability disputes.

• Managed "complex"  litigation (involving 10 - 50 parties) through trial.

• Litigated multi-vendor indemnification and subrogation claims through arbitration.

1991 - 1992

Prosecutor 

LOS ANGELES DISTRICT ATTORNEY - CALIFORNIA

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Prosecuted misdemeanor and felony matters through trial on behalf of the State of California.  

1990 - 1991

Prosecutor 

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY - CALIFORNIA

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Prosecuted infraction and misdemeanor matters through trial on behalf of the State of California.  

1990

Law Clerk 

MORRISON & FOERSTER - CALIFORNIA

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Worked with the managing partner and associate attorneys handling commercial litigation and trial preparation in class action matters. Supervising Attorney: Sherri Boutwell.

EDUCATION

1989 - 1992

Juris Doctor (J.D.)

WHITTIER LAW SCHOOL - LOS ANGELES

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• Completed three-year Juris Doctor program surpassing the PQE equivalent.

• Crafted law-review articles published to sitting Superior Court judges.

• Helped establish the school's Public Interest Law Foundation.

• Member of the International Law Society.

• Wrote for school's newspaper.

• Became a California licensed attorney in 1992.

1985 - 1989

Bachelor's Degree (B.S.)

PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY

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Malibu, California

• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration & Management  

• Minor: Political Science

• Junior and Senior Class President

• Sigma Epsilon Fraternity

• Collegiate Water Polo (Red Shirt) (1985)

Heidelberg, Germany

• German language

• Modern European History; EU Formation

​Washington, D.C.

• Legislative Assistant to 4 U.S. Senators

• Research and Writing for Senate Armed Services Committee

• Thesis: Geopolitical Paradigm and Stalemate in Eastern Europe.

Beijing, China

• Comparative Economics

• Game Theory

2019

Certificate

CERTIFICATE: NCFE LEVEL II - DATA PROTECTION AND DATA SECURITY

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2017

License

LICENSEE: CALIFORNIA BUREAU OF REAL ESTATE

EXPERTISE

FOSTERING RELATIONSHIPS

I am most proud of the business relationships I built during my 30 year professional career.

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As a prosecutor and litigator, I learned about managing and enforcing compliance while exercising patience and care.

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As a middle-manager, I learned about teamwork and organization because it's more efficient than doing otherwise.

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I intend that my legacy will be the depth of the relationships I've fostered and the profits I've helped realize.  

RISK MANAGEMENT

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The entirety of my career can be summed up with these two words. 

I have spent the better part of my career helping others to manage and reduce risk. 

Not to wax too philosophical but finding solutions to critical matters takes out-of-the-box thinking if you thrive to find the win-win solution. 

I've navigated a career's worth of controversies involving life-and-death struggles, business disputes, and corporate negligence.  The hard work is grounded in understanding the risks.

LEGAL ANALYSIS AND SOLUTIONS

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I.R.A.C. - Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion.  This is how I tackle the issues that come up at work.  The challenge is figuring out how to define and simplify the Issue that needs addressing.  After all, most corporate challenges do not define themselves or point immediately to a solution.  

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Experience handing a wide-array of business quandaries has helped give me that 10,000 foot view of the issues I face as a consultant.  

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With decades as a practiced business lawyer, I work with companies to find solutions to challenges; and form processes to avoid them in the future. 

This is the value of experience.  

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