About

I am passionate about helping people through their misfortune and to move on with their lives for good.

Whether this is your first time being involved with the criminal legal system or you’ve been in repeated cycles, my goal is to aggressively defend your rights, to minimize any future repercussions, and preserve your freedom by using a proactive, client-centered, and holistic approach in resolving your criminal issues.

I was drawn to criminal law early on in my legal career. While in law school, I worked as a law clerk for the Office of the Attorney General, the District Attorney’s Office, the Public Defender’s Office, and Appellate Defenders, Inc. in San Diego County. As a law clerk I learned to litigate motions such as Pitchess motions to obtain personnel records on officers who either lied, used excessive force, or were racially bias, and suppression/ Penal Code 1538.5 motions when officers violated search and seizure laws to illegally obtain evidence. Upon graduation, I became a Deputy District Attorney in Riverside County pursuing felony and misdemeanor cases against both adults and juveniles. I was disillusioned with the notion of “justice” and “fairness” as a Deputy District Attorney, as the penalties were far too severe and also very ineffective in preventing future criminal conduct.

It was only after leaving the District Attorney’s Office, that I found my true passion defending clients as a Deputy Public Defender in Orange County. I have represented thousands of felony and misdemeanor clients in jury trials, bench trials, preliminary hearings, and motions. I have also represented clients with severe mental health issues in both criminal cases and conservatorship proceedings. I realized over time, that I was representing the same percentage of the population of repeat offenders and that the criminal justice system was a revolving door. Getting someone “off” on their case, with the least amount of repercussions, was only a partial solution not addressing the reasons why the same clients kept getting into trouble in the first place.

I transitioned into private practice and worked for two prominent and well-known DUI firms handling voluminous caseloads and driving all over Orange, Los Angeles, and San Diego County. Most, high volume criminal defense firms don’t have the time to effectively address the client’s needs because they only deal with the legal aspects of the case at hand instead of considering the whole person. I have successfully kept out of custody clients who have suffered multiple DUI’s, and FELONY DUI’s with multiple GBI (great bodily injury) allegations even though the odds were stacked against them. In my own practice I seek to address the needs of the whole person, including any underlying issues a client may have whether it be driven by drugs, alcohol, lack of resources, or mental health issues so that my clients can be freed from the criminal justice system for good.

I am fluent in Korean, a Dean’s List Graduate of The University of Chicago, and earned my law degree from the University of San Diego School of Law. I completed the National Highway Traffic and Safety DWI Detection & Standard Field Sobriety Testing Course and I am admitted to practice in the State of California and the United States District Court for the Central District of California.