Chris Arledge

Choose a new way to litigate

So much litigation activity is wasteful, unnecessary, and even counterproductive—foolish discovery fights, ill-devised motions, and poorly planned depositions. Many lawyers operate out of mere habit with no regard to big-picture strategy. Accustomed to doing the same steps in the same order, they never vary their routine: propound mounds of written discovery, fight over the other side's answers, notice up depositions, etc. As a result, the client gets enormous bills, with much of the cost tied to unnecessary activities. The client also gets a slew of missed opportunities—or worse, since poorly considered litigation moves can substantially damage a client’s case.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Different clients have different needs, resources, and goals; there is no good reason to handle every case the same way. That is why everything Chris does is part of a strategic plan, not a habit, and is carefully designed to achieve that client's specific goals. This makes his work more focused, efficient, and productive.

Protect your most important property

Chris began his career as a general civil litigator, and he has experience litigating a wide-range of matters—everything from contract disputes for international software companies to church-property disputes to free-speech claims.

But these days Chris’ practice primarily concerns disputes over intellectual property, especially disputes over patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. Often, this intellectual property is the most important asset a company owns. Some representative matters include:

Patents

● Representing a publicly traded company in patent infringement litigation involving hand-held celestial object locator devices and computerized telescopes.
● Representing an advanced anti-proton physics company regarding inventorship of patents.
● Representing a company regarding marching band carrier technology in a patent infringement lawsuit involving multiple patents and anti-trust claims.
● Representing a company in patent infringement litigation involving consumer shelf-liner products.

Copyrights

● Representing a Hollywood entertainment company in a copyright infringement lawsuit against celebrity blogger Perez Hilton involving the unauthorized use of photographic images.
● Representing a songwriter in a lawsuit against Daddy Yankee, one of the world’s best-selling performers, for theft of a musical composition.

Trademarks

● Representing a large regional marina and recreational site in trademark infringement lawsuits regarding performing and name rights to particular industry and public display shows.
● Representing a leading consumer product company in the extreme sports space regarding protection of its marks.

Trade Secrets

● Representing a national security software company in a theft of trade secrets dispute involving a competitor and employees, with federal (FBI) involvement also.
● Representing a national software utility-measuring software supplier for housing communities in protecting its trade secrets from theft from a competitor.
● Representing a leading software company in a dispute over theft of its software source code.

Use all the tools of persuasion

A lawyer’s primary job is to persuade. A lawyer can know the law and understand the intricacies of a complex piece of technology, but if he or she is unable to persuade a judge, jury, or opposing counsel, that lawyer is useless to the client. Chris has spent substantial time studying and teaching the art of persuasion—the scientific literature and the works of elite lawyers, advertisers, psychologists, even actors and directors—to guarantee that his motions, oral arguments and trial presentations are calculated to have the most persuasive impact. Few lawyers make this effort, and it shows. Chris' skills as an oral advocate have made him in high demand as a speaker and debater; he is a regular contributor to talk radio programs as a legal expert, and he has participated in numerous debates at programs hosted by groups such as Chapman Law School, Whittier Law School, the Anti-Defamation League, the Federal Bar Association, and the Constitutional Rights Foundation.

The following is a sample of Chris’ media appearances and special events:

July 2008. Chris Arledge gave a presentation to the Orange County Bar Association entitled “What Every In-House Lawyer Must Know About Copyright Law” 

April 2008. Chris Arledge, Peter Afrasiabi and John Tehranian participated in a panel discussion at Chapman University Law School with Judge Carlos Bea of the Ninth Circuit to discuss recent landmark rulings of the court, including a case with important intellectual property and free speech implications.

March 2008. Chris Arledge gave a presentation to the San Diego County Bar Association entitled “What Every Employment Lawyer Needs to Know About Copyright Law.” 

February 2008. Chris appeared on the nationally syndicated Phil Hendrie radio show to discuss the constitutional requirement that a president be a “natural born citizen.” 

June 8, 2007. Chris was a guest on the nationally syndicated radio program "Women Aloud" to discuss the extent to which private businesses and clubs can discriminate against members of the public on the basis of characteristics such as gender and sexual orientation.

May 22, 2007. Chris debated Mark Bresee, Counsel for the Orange County Department of Education, on students' constitutional rights to free speech in the classroom. The debate was held at Whittier Law School, was sponsored by the Constitutional Rights Foundation, and was moderated by Wayne Gross of the United States Attorney's Office.

April 24, 2007. Chris was a guest on the nationally syndicated radio program "Women Aloud" to discuss gun control restrictions and the Second Amendment's right to keep and bear arms.

April 18, 2007. Chris was a guest on the nationally syndicated radio program "Women Aloud" to discuss the Supreme Court's partial-birth abortion decision, including what the decision signals about the Court's abortion jurisprudence going forward.

April 11, 2007. Chris was a guest on the nationally syndicated radio program "Women Aloud" to discuss what constitutional protection is afforded "hate speech" and whether the rules are different for media personalities.

March 29, 2007. Chris was a guest on the nationally syndicated radio program "Women Aloud" to discuss defamation and privacy rights on the internet.

July 30, 2006. Chris was a guest on the Ken Gallacher Show on KFI AM 640 to discuss recent decisions in Washington and New York regarding same-sex marriage, and what the United States Supreme Court is likely to do with the issue. Listen to the discussion here.

July 2, 2006. Chris was a guest on the Ken Gallacher Show on KFI AM 640 to discuss the Supreme Court's decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, a case about whether the United States could continue to try Guantanamo detainees before military commissions. Listen to the discussion here.

May 23, 2006. Chris participating in a debate on the role of religion in the public schools at Whittier Law School. The debate was sponsored by the Constitutional Rights Foundation.

March 30, 2006. Chris debated the constitutionality of the words "Under God" in the pledge of allegiance in a debate sponsored by Federal Bar Association. Chris' opponent, Michael Newdow, gained nation-wide recognition litigating this issue before the Ninth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. The debate was moderated by Ronald Garet, a professor of constitutional law at USC Law School. A flier for the event is attached here.

March 16, 2006. Chris participated in an event sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League and Chapman Law School concerning the legal issues involved in the teaching of intelligent design in public schools. Chris was joined on the panel by Ron Steiner, a professor of political science at Chapman University, and Roxanne Greitz Miller, a professor in the Education Department at Chapman. The event was moderated by Marshall Kaplan, the Executive Director of the Merage Foundations and the former Dean of the University of Colorado's Graduate School of Public Affairs. A flier for the debate is attached here.

May 12, 2005. In an event sponsored by the Peter Eliot Inn of Court, Chris Arledge and John Tehranian debated the recent United States Supreme Court decision Roper v. Simmons, a case holding that the Eighth Amendment prohibits the execution of defendants who were less than 18 years of age at the time they committed their crimes. The debate was moderated by Kevin Mohr, professor of law at Western State University College of Law.

January 27, 2005. In an event sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League and held at Whittier Law School, Chris Arledge debated Zachary Kramer, a professor of law at UCLA law school, on the issue of same-sex marriage. The debate was moderated by Laurie Levenson, professor of law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

November 9, 2004. In a special event sponsored by the Ferguson American Inn of Court and held at Chapman University School of Law, Chris Arledge and John Tehranian debated the impact of the Supreme Court's recent Lawrence v. Texas decision, which struck a Texas statute proscribing homosexual sodomy as unconstitutional. The program raised critical constitutional and jurisprudential issues in a lively and entertaining presidential-debate format.

Miscellaneous Items of Interest

Chris clerked for the Honorable Charles E Wiggins of the Ninth United States Circuit Court of Appeals. While there, Chris helped prepare Judge Wiggins' congressional testimony regarding the impeachment of President Clinton and the proposed split of the Ninth Circuit.

In law school, Chris was selected by William Rehnquist, the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, as one of only 11 law students nationwide to be granted an interview as finalists in the Chief Justice's clerkship-selection process.

Chris has been named a Rising Star by Southern California Super Lawyers magazine.

Chris is an adjunct professor at California Baptist University, where he has taught constitutional law, and Chapman University Law School, where he taught The Art of Persuasion for Lawyers.

Chris is a member of the Lincoln Club of Orange County.

Chris is Chairman of the Board of Directors for Magnolia Memorial Park.

Chris is a Trustee of California Baptist University.

Education

University of Southern California: J.D.; Order of the Coif; Arthur Manella Scholarship winner (awarded to the top-ranked student in the class at the end of the first year); Law Review.

William Jewell College: B.A.; magna cum laude

Jurisdictions

Chris is admitted to practice in California and Nevada.

Articles

“The End of American Conservatism?”
Red County, October 2008

“Standing Under The Unfair Competition Law Is Unlikely To Exist For Competitors”
OC Lawyer, September 2008

“Keeping the Judiciary in Check”
Red County, April 2008

"Is the Supreme Court's Independence Under Attack?"
Communique, February 2007

"When Does a Contract Breach Also Give Rise to a Tort Claim? A Primer for Practitioners"
OC Lawyer, July 2006

"Originalism and its Discontents"
OC Lawyer, September 2005

"Is the California Supreme Court Confusing the Boundaries of the Economic Loss Rule?"
OC Lawyer, May 2005

"Gould and Phillips: How the Court of Appeal has abused Tameny's wrongful-termination doctrine."
OC Lawyer, March 2005

"Pitfalls in Defending the Rule 30(b)(6) Witness."
OC Lawyer, November 2004