James W. Spertus

Practice Areas

White Collar Criminal Defense

Government Enforcement Actions

Civil Litigation

Trials and Appeals

Work Highlights

James W. Spertus is an experienced trial attorney and a former federal prosecutor who has been litigating cases in federal and state courts for more than 26 years. He has tried dozens of cases to favorable jury verdicts and has successfully argued numerous cases in federal, state, trial, and appellate courts throughout the United States. Broad trial and appellate experiences help Mr. Spertus quickly identify the essential issues, facts, documents, and witnesses that drive outcomes, and he achieves remarkable results for clients efficiently and effectively. Mr. Spertus is nimble, focused, aggressive and decisive, all qualities required to achieve extraordinary outcomes.

Experience

Mr. Spertus founded the Firm in 2006, was a Ninth Circuit Lawyer Representative through 2016, and serves on the Board of Directors of the ABA White Collar Crime Subcommittee, Los Angeles Chapter, and the FBA Rules of Criminal Procedure and Evidence Subcommittee. Mr. Spertus has received multiple accolades for his accomplishments, including Chambers USA, Southern California Super Lawyers for each year from 2008 through 2023, and U.S. News and World Reports' Best Lawyers in America from 2012 through 2023. Mr. Spertus has also been recognized as a superior trial attorney by numerous other organizations such as The National Trial Lawyers Top 100, Lawyers of Distinction, AVVO, and Top 100 Lawyers.

From 1996 to 2004, Mr. Spertus was a federal prosecutor in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, where he spent nearly eight years as a trial attorney prosecuting major frauds, major crimes, and computer crimes in a wide variety of areas. Mr. Spertus became a founding member of the Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section in 2000, and spent many years as an intellectual property prosecutor supervising complex investigations involving trade secret theft, computer intrusions, and intellectual property. Mr. Spertus has also lectured at numerous training sessions for federal agents and Assistant United States Attorneys, including advanced training sessions at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

From 1992 to 1996, Mr. Spertus was an associate at the Los Angeles law firm Irell & Manella, specializing in civil litigation. From 1991 to 1992, Mr. Spertus clerked on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for the Honorable Procter Hug, Jr. He earned his law degree from the University of Southern California Law Center in 1991, where he was Order of the Coif (Top 10%), Phi Kappa Phi (Top 5%), and Managing Editor of the Southern California Law Review. Mr. Spertus spent his first three undergraduate years at the University of California, Berkeley, and then transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1988.