MILLER BARONDESS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of the Recording Academy
Sasha Frid is an accomplished litigator and trial lawyer who has tried and won cases before juries and arbitration panels all over the country. He is one of the founding partners of Miller Barondess, LLP.
Sasha has handled a wide variety of disputes from "bet the company," multi-million dollar cases to smaller matters for individuals, families, closely-held companies, and start-ups. Whatever the matter may be, he devises an effective and efficient strategy early on and formulates creative solutions to win the case or get a great resolution that makes business and financial sense. He prides himself on being a relentless, fierce advocate for his clients; and clients know they can count on him for straightforward, common-sense advice.
Sasha loves the law and has a wealth of experience handling all types of complex litigation matters, including business and partnership disputes, real estate, entertainment and music law, copyright, and trademark, right of publicity, trade secret, idea theft, and insurance bad faith. His clients have included businesses, individuals, conglomerates, public companies, banks, manufacturers, real estate developers, restaurants, hotels, music labels, entertainers, artists, music managers, and fashion icons. He is often called upon by clients to "save the day" on cases previously handled by other law firms.
Sasha's successes have earned him national recognition, including being featured in The Best Lawyers in America® (2019-2023) and as a Southern California Super Lawyer® for over 10 years. The Los Angeles Business Journal has recognized Sasha on its "Leaders of Influence" lists: 2023 Litigators & Trial Attorneys and 2022 Thriving in Their 40's. As a "go-to" entertainment lawyer, he has been honored on Billboard's list of Top Music Lawyers since 2018, recognized as a Top Entertainment Lawyer by Variety magazine, and selected as the 2023 Music Lawyer of the Year by the Century City Bar Association.
Sasha is a member of the Recording Academy® and a voting member of the GRAMMY Awards-music's only peer-recognized accolade and highest achievement. The Academy supports music people in times of need through MusiCares and ensures music remains diverse and inclusive through its initiatives.
Sasha began his practice at a large, multinational firm representing clients in complex litigation matters. Prior to practicing law, Sasha worked at the U.S. State Department and was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, Austria. He specialized in nuclear non-proliferation serving as the U.S. attaché to the International Atomic Energy Agency and was involved in negotiations of several key non-proliferation treaties and protocols.
Sasha received his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 2001, where he served as the Executive Editor of the Berkeley Journal of International Law. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of California, Irvine as the Most Outstanding Undergraduate Student receiving degrees in Political Science, and Criminology, Law & Society. Sasha has written and published numerous articles in various legal and academic fields, including database security legislation compliance, financial fraud, and money laundering, foreign relations, cultural property protection, and repatriation and international law.
Sasha was born in St. Petersburg, in the former Soviet Union, and emigrated with his family to the U.S. when he was 11. He is active in the community and has represented individuals pro bono who were victims of fraud, abuse, and other predatory practices. Sasha serves on a charitable foundation raising money for cancer research. He also serves on the Board of a chapter of the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces and has previously served on the Board of Directors of the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation which provides education to underprivileged youth.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Litigation Associate
Amara Lopez is a litigation associate admitted to practice in California. She is known to be a dedicated and determined advocate for her clients, navigating complex legal and factual landscapes with a positive attitude and a healthy sense of humor.
Amara began her practice at a large international law firm, handling business litigation matters that presented novel issues arising from emerging business models. She also handled white-collar defense and investigations. Since joining Miller Barondess, her practice has diversified, including representing private and public employers in high-profile employment disputes involving claims of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, wage and hour, and wrongful termination. Amara also maintains a complex business litigation practice representing individuals and entities across a range of industries, from healthcare to consumer goods.
Amara is a Michigan native and received her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 2020, where she also received her bachelor's degree in Socio-Cultural Anthropology, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and Latino/a Studies in 2012. Prior to law school, Amara worked in marketing and community relations for an American multinational supermarket chain. In that role, she operated as a community liaison and was responsible for managing various aspects of marketing, including donations to non-profits, sponsorships with local community organizations, social, digital, and local media efforts, as well as in-store execution of events and marketing campaigns.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Casey is an active member of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and California Lawyers for the Arts, a nonprofit organization devoted to empowering California's creative arts communities. Casey is also on the advisory board of Guidelight Group, an organization that provides services to teens and adults with developmental disabilities.
Colin Rolfs is an experienced civil litigator and trial lawyer. He represents clients in complex commercial disputes in state and federal court. He regularly represents clients in entertainment, real estate, finance, employment, and other business matters.
Colin received his Juris Doctor from the UCLA School of Law, where he served on the UCLA Law Review and graduated Order of the Coif. He served as a law clerk for the Honorable Josephine L. Staton of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He received his Bachelor's Degree summa cum laude from Northwestern University.
Dan Miller is a founding member of the firm. His success as a trial lawyer has been recognized by the Daily Journal which named him one of the Top 20 Lawyers Under 40 in the State of California. Dan is recognized in the areas of Commercial Litigation and Litigation - Real Estate by Best Lawyers in America® 2024. L.A. Times B2B Publishing recognized Dan as a "Visionary" in Banking & Finance magazine (March 2024) and a "Visionary" in Commercial Real Estate magazine (May 2024). In 2022, he was named among Los Angeles Business Journal's Leaders of Influence: Litigators and Trial Attorneys, and in 2021, he was named among Leaders of Influence: Thriving in Their 40's and Leaders in Law - Top 5 in Litigation. Dan honed his skills as a trial lawyer with training from his father, acclaimed trial attorney Skip Miller. Dan has been to trial or arbitration on over fifteen cases and has litigated cases all over the country, including in New York, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Florida, Nevada, and South Carolina.
Dan has extensive experience in the banking and private equity sectors. He has represented a prominent private equity firm in several cases involving mergers and acquisitions and other financing transactions. Dan has represented some of the leading investment banks in the world and two of the largest publicly traded banks in California. Dan also represented one of the leading venture capital firms in Los Angeles and several early-stage companies.
In sports, Dan represented an NFL head coach in an arbitration in front of Commissioner Roger Goodell. He has also represented witnesses in confidential NBA internal investigations and NBA players in litigation matters. And Dan represents one of the leading NBA sports agents in the country. Dan also has experience in entertainment, having litigated several cases on behalf of a leading artist management company and a prominent movie studio. Dan has represented talent including Sean Connery, Rod Stewart, and a successful television producer.
In addition to his business practice, Dan also has pro bono experience, including obtaining over $3 million from the federal government on behalf of a client who lost a family member in the September 11th tragedy.
Dan received his Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, in 2001. He graduated from UCLA, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Litigation Associate
Danielle Novelly is a litigation associate admitted to practice in California and New York. She has represented clients in a variety of matters including contract and business tort claims, white-collar defense, intellectual property, and class actions.
Before joining Miller Barondess, Danielle was a litigation associate at international law firms in New York and Los Angeles. In law school, Danielle served as a Lead Articles Editor for the Washington and Lee Law Review, Negotiations Chair of the Moot Court Executive, and Co-President of the Women Law Students Organization. Additionally, she completed a legal externship for the Honorable G. Steven Agee, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and a judicial internship with the Honorable Esther Salas, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
David Schecter is a litigator and trial lawyer who specializes in complex business, entertainment, and intellectual property disputes, both in court and in arbitration. David has secured jury verdicts in state and federal courts in California and has represented clients in the U.S. Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and California Courts of Appeal. He also has significant experience representing high-profile celebrities, artists, entertainers, and athletes, including Mötley Crüe, Smokey Robinson, Nile Rodgers, NBA players, and PGA tour professionals.
David has an excellent track record of getting results for clients. Recently, he was lead trial counsel for Relator Brian Markus in the False Claims Act case, United States, ex rel. Brian Markus v. Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc., et al., which Bloomberg Government called one of the top five federal contracts cases to watch. The case settled during trial with defendants agreeing to pay $9 million to settle the False Claims Act claim and to pay additional confidential amounts.
Prior to joining Miller Barondess, David was a litigation associate at Jones Day and served as a law clerk to the Honorable Marilyn L. Huff in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.
David received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010, where he was a senior editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. During law school, he played professional lacrosse for the Philadelphia Barrage in the MLL. David received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Yale University in 2006.
Job Titles:
- CFO
- COO
- Certified Public Accountant in the State of California
Our lawyers represent the top of their classes at the nation's leading law schools, including Penn, Duke, Harvard, NYU, Columbia, Virginia, Northwestern, Berkeley, Michigan, UCLA, Georgetown, USC, and UT Austin.
Don Karr is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of California. He serves as the firm's Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer and has extensive experience in accounting, finance, financial modeling, forecasting, cash flow management, economic and data analysis, financial statement audits, budgeting, expense management, compensation, partner's profit distribution, resource allocation, fee optimization, benchmarking, and risk and opportunity assessment.
Don has provided financial statement audits and consulting services for numerous Fortune 500 clients in various industries, including technology, consumer goods, healthcare, and financial services. He planned, performed, and managed financial statement audits to ensure companies are in compliance with GAAP, IFRS, GAGAS, GAAS and Sarbanes Oxley (accounting standards). This audit work has included testwork over multi-billion dollar accounts including cash, accounts receivable, payroll, taxes, revenue, expenses, leases, goodwill, impairment, intercompany transactions, VIE's, and transfer pricing. He has further consulted with companies on strategies to improve risk management, internal controls over financial reporting, and net margins.
Before joining Miller Barondess, Don was a senior associate in KPMG's audit department and founded/managed a prominent Los Angeles tutoring company. He graduated cum laude with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Economics and Minor in Accounting from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Job Titles:
- Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey, Colorado Supreme Court
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Litigation Associate
- Member of the Los Angeles Association of Business Trial Lawyers
Janelle Li-A-Ping is a litigation associate admitted to practice in California. She has represented clients in a variety of complex commercial litigation and general litigation matters. Janelle is also actively involved in pro bono work. She has worked on cases involving prisoners' rights and civil claims pursuant to Section 1983. Before joining Miller Barondess, she was a litigation associate with an international law firm.
Janelle is a member of the Los Angeles Association of Business Trial Lawyers. During law school, she worked as a legal advocate for the Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center Special Education Law Clinic where she advocated on behalf of children with developmental disabilities and their families.
Janelle received her B.S.J in Journalism from Northwestern University in 2013, where she was an All-Academic Big Ten runner on the Women's Cross Country team. She received her J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2019, with a specialization in Critical Race Studies. She also served as the Chief Managing Editor of the UCLA Law Review.
Jeff White is a complex commercial litigator with experience advising and litigating on behalf of real estate, entertainment, healthcare, financial services and fashion industry clients. He has represented private and public-sector clients in civil litigations, regulatory proceedings, and internal investigations. Jeff regularly litigates highly-complex matters, including class actions, corporate governance, employment, intellectual property, product liability, fraud, and insurance disputes; and has a track record of obtaining excellent results for his clients.
Prior to joining Miller Barondess, LLP, Jeff was a litigation associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP in Los Angeles, and at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in New York.
Jeff received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia, School of Law, where he served on the Virginia Law Review and graduated Order of the Coif. During law school, Jeff worked for Professor Kenneth S. Abraham, a leading expert in the fields of torts and insurance law. Jeff received his Bachelor's Degree from Pomona College, where he majored in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.
Jerrold E. Blair brings to Miller Barondess approximately 40 years of experience in transactional real estate, including land use, purchase and sale, development, commercial leasing, architect/engineering, and general construction and facility maintenance. He has served as chief legal officer for corporations that owned, developed, leased and maintained large real estate portfolios.
Mr. Blair spent 22 years with MCA/Universal, beginning in 1982 as Vice President, Legal and Business Affairs for MCA Development Company, the real estate division of MCA Inc. He served for 15 years as Senior Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs for its Universal Studios Operations Group. Among projects he oversaw were the transactional work in the ongoing development and operation of a 415-acre motion picture/television production and commercial office facility, and the marketing and sale of Universal's 750,000-square-foot Class A high-rise office building and two 500-room hotels.
Subsequent to retiring from MCA/Universal, Mr. Blair took a part time position as Senior Real Estate and Corporate Counsel for the Universal Music Group (no longer affiliated with MCA/Universal). He served in that capacity from 2006 until his retirement from that position at the end of July, 2012, where he was responsible for all of Universal Music Group's U.S. domestic real estate interests, as well supervision of the "Corporate Secretary" function.
Prior to joining MCA/Universal, Mr. Blair was Vice President, Legal Counsel for Hahn Development Corp., where he dealt with land acquisition, design and construction, and leasing of retail shopping centers. He also served as Assistant General Counsel for The Christiana Companies, a Southern California residential real estate developer.
Mr. Blair received his Juris Doctorate in 1973 from Loyola University School of Law, Los Angeles, where he was a member of the St. Thomas More Law Honor Society and Law Review. He is a member of the California State Bar and the American Bar Association.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner
- Managing Partner of Miller Barondess, LLP
Jim Miller is the managing partner of Miller Barondess, LLP and is in charge of the administration of business practices, strategic planning, marketing, and attorney development. Jim is an experienced litigator who has handled cases throughout the country. He specializes in litigating real estate, entertainment, healthcare, banking, and intellectual property cases. Jim has obtained successful results for his clients in various litigation matters. Prior to litigating, he formerly worked on mergers and acquisitions, real estate purchases and sales, and financing and leasing deals.
Jim was born and raised in Los Angeles and received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Michigan Law School in 2004. Prior to attending law school, he graduated from UCLA as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in History. He is a member of the Santa Monica Chapter of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO).
Justin Ehrlich is a tenacious trial lawyer with significant experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants, having obtained multiple seven- and eight-figure verdicts, arbitration awards, and settlements. He specializes in complex business disputes, professional liability, insurance bad faith, employment, among other areas. His clients have included entrepreneurs, top Los Angeles lawyers, private equity firms, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member musicians, and technology companies.
Justin grew up in Southern California. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Southern California and earned a Bachelor's Degree in History from the University of California at Los Angeles. Prior to Miller Barondess, Justin was a partner with Herzog, Yuhas, Ehrlich & Ardell, where he practiced with renowned trial lawyer Buddy Herzog.
Justin is a former member of the Executive Board of Cancer Free Generation (CFG) and still works to raise funds for clinical research aimed at eradicating cancer.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Litigation Associate
Marisa Kovacs is a litigation associate with experience representing clients in state and federal court in diverse matters, including contract, information privacy, product liability, and white-collar criminal defense.
Marisa earned her Juris Doctor degree at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, where she graduated cum laude and was a member of the Northwestern University Law Review, the Bartlit Center National Trial Team, and the Latino Law Students Association. During law school, Marisa interned at the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor. Prior to joining Miller Barondess, Marisa worked in the Chicago office of a large commercial litigation firm.
Prior to law school, Marisa worked in the U.S. House of Representatives for several members of Congress, most recently as a Legislative Director.
Marisa is admitted to practice in Illinois. Her California admission is pending.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Certified Appellate Specialist
Nadia is a Certified Appellate Specialist who helps clients keep their wins, reverse their losses, and develop the law. She brings appeals to life with structured and vivid writing that distills messy facts, untangles convoluted areas of law, and effectively frames the issues in a way that resonates with appellate courts.
Natalie Schachner is a business litigator admitted to practice in California. Her experience spans both civil and criminal law in state and federal court. As a former Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles County, Natalie has a robust trial record, having successfully tried numerous cases before juries. Her tenure in the D.A.'s office involved a diverse array of criminal matters, encompassing all stages of litigation. Natalie has specific expertise in investigating and analyzing officer-involved shootings and police use of force.
Prior to her role as a D.A., Natalie practiced in the Los Angeles office of a large international law firm, where she was a member of the White Collar Defense and Corporate Investigations, Securities Litigation, and Health Care practice groups. She has experience conducting wide-scale internal investigations for Fortune 500 companies and litigating securities class actions.
A Los Angeles native, Natalie received her Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles in 2009, Order of the Coif. Natalie graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California, Berkeley, receiving a Bachelor's Degree in History. Natalie enjoys teaching fifth graders about the criminal justice system and preparing Saturday brunches at the St. Francis Center for those in need.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Litigation Associate
Samantha Rifkin is a litigation associate.
Samantha was born and raised in Los Angeles. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of Southern California (USC) Gould School of Law. She also earned her Bachelor's Degree in History from USC, where she graduated summa cum laude.
Prior to joining Miller Barondess, Samantha was a certified law clerk for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, where she assisted prosecutors in the Major Crimes Division on a high-profile, first-degree murder case. She also conducted preliminary hearings at the Airport Branch Office.
During law school, Samantha was the winner of the 2020 Hale Moot Court Honors Program Competition and served as Chair of the program in 2020-2021. In addition, she participated in USC's Post-Conviction Justice Project Clinic and was a teacher's assistant for a first-year contracts course.
Prior to law school, Samantha was a writer on USA Network's television series Graceland.
Zachary Sarnoff is a business litigator with experience advising clients in state and federal courts throughout the country on a variety of complex litigation matters, including intellectual property, contract, antitrust and unfair competition, mergers and acquisitions, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, product liability, corporate governance, and general commercial. He has represented clients in class actions and multidistrict litigation.