Experience

DrumWave Inc.

• United States
• Technology, Information and Internet
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Head of Legal

  • Sep 2023 - Present

  General in-house legal counsel prioritizing product legal work but touching all areas of the company. General in-house legal counsel prioritizing product legal work but touching all areas of the company.



Crowdz

• United States
• Financial Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Director of Legal/General Counsel

  • Jun 2019 - Apr 2023

  In-house general counsel for a blockchain-based fintech startup that did roughly $100m in trade finance on my watch. I soloed legal negotiations on all deals including complex negotiations with FAANG and major finance customers and global vendors for cross jurisdictional rollouts. I am a patent-pending inventor as a result of extensive, on-the-job learned expertise contributions as product counsel on all R&D projects including web3 trade finance applications. I logged years of intense, complex general counsel work, counseling, training, and serving all internal departments of a growing (and sometimes shrinking) business, with a rapid, agile, dynamic priority and management structure, touching multi-jurisdictional practice areas including asset-based trade finance, blockchain, privacy, all major IP types, employment and HR, compliance, personnel training, and governance. I have a demonstrated track record in successful legal risk avoidance in high-stress, time-sensitive decisioning scenarios. With no prior experience or knowledge in the product, I learned and successfully fostered the correct contract environment, and defended the regulatory perimeter and brand integrity of—and short- and long-term vision for—a legally complex and conceptually challenging fintech product offering. Show less


Law Office of Gabe Ballard
• Attorney

  • Sep 2018 - May 2019

Paladin
• United Kingdom
• Real Estate
• Product Director

  • Apr 2018 - May 2019


Gabe Ballard Consulting

• Consultant & Editor

  • Oct 2010 - May 2019

  PATENTS Let me help you get your idea organized and ready before you talk to your Patent attorney. Many patents need some non-attorney diligence up front. My experience with in-house patent pipeline means I am not new to the problems you may need to solve before your lawyer clocks in. LITERARY My professional editing experience, including multi-million-dollar development grants, extensively documented demand letters, multi-volume eschatological treatises, and widely distributed marketing and political campaign literature, means my clients get access to a uniquely critical and discerning eye. I offer: • Substantive and line-by-line proof-reading and copyediting • Writing coaching and tutoring • Logical critiques on high-level content "[Gabe was] the 800 pound gorilla. [His] edits were beneficial. Quite so. They gave me examples of what could be done, [and] told me what should not be done. Knowing that sent me back to the drawing board, time and again. ... Lots of people can edit, but [Gabe's] feedback included even the esoteric. It covered the outlier cases. It covered fallacy, structure, sensibility, readability. [Gabe's] edits ... challenged me ... made me laugh, rejoice, and spit. They did not teach me how to write better, they forced me to write better. They made me want to rise to the occasion." - Mike Nelson, software engineer, writer/author (editing client of three years and hundreds of pages) Show less



Silego Technology Inc.

• Semiconductors
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Patent Contractor

  • May 2017 - Jan 2018

  Developed a process to prepare raw in-house ideas for outside patent prosecutors. Interviewed engineers, helping identify and define patent ideas, and drafted resulting claims. Researched and reported on common best practices and strategy for in-house IP pipeline. Researched and designed a timeline of U.S. and international patent application lifespans. Developed a process to prepare raw in-house ideas for outside patent prosecutors. Interviewed engineers, helping identify and define patent ideas, and drafted resulting claims. Researched and reported on common best practices and strategy for in-house IP pipeline. Researched and designed a timeline of U.S. and international patent application lifespans.



Kim & Chang

• South Korea
• Law Practice
• 700 & Above Employee

• Clerk

  • Jul 2015 - Jul 2015

  Drafted an international trademark portfolio analysis memorandum with due diligence on more than 130 trademarks. As a result, the firm successfully recruited a Fortune 500 company as new permanent client. Drafted a trademark fame memorandum with extensive due diligence. My supervising attorney used the research memorandum to advise the firm’s corporate client. Drafted an international anti-counterfeiting compliance and enforcement research outline, which the firm submitted, after slight edits, as its recommendation to an international NGO. Completed further drafts on legal topics not limited to foreign IP proceedings, trademark opposition, invalidation, cease & desist letters, engagement terms, and IP arbitration. Show less



Santa Clara Computer & High Tech Law Journal

• Senior Production Editor

  • 2014 - 2015

  Day-to-day production process operations manager. Ensured multiple scholarly articles passed necessary review checkpoints and met deadlines for publication. Supervised the production schedule for each assigned article through the various Production passes between Articles Editor, Research Editor, and Technical Editors. Personally reviewed articles post-process, ensuring selected content met the Journal’s substantive and technical quality standards and guidelines prior to final submission to the Managing Editor. Collaborated with other senior editorial staff in evaluating strategy, training, and personnel decisions. Show less



Phillip G. Svalya, Inc.

• United States

• Information Design / Legal Assistant

  • Apr 2005 - Apr 2014

  DILIGENCE MANAGEMENT Invented a persuasive tool by which to organize, summarize, visually represent, and publish voluminous due diligence, which supported the practice’s entire case load for three years. Initiated and designed a systematic overhaul of all diligence procedures, quickly halving average records-request turnaround time for all cases. Demonstrated a diplomatic knack for coaxing bureaucrats into timely compliance. Closely evaluated the line-by-line content of thousands of pages of documentation annually. INFORMATION DESIGN Innovated compelling visual illustrations of key facts in every legal case. Consistently and repeatably achieved a persuasive, succinct, polished synergy between the technical drawings, photographs, financial data, legal realities and substantive facts presented by each client file. Took regular classes to develop and support this role. Significantly augmented the settlement values of legal cases in excess of $5-$10 million. DRAFTING Drafted numerous mediation briefs, discovery responses, and courtroom presentation stacks. Drafted settlement demands, precipitating between 50 and 100 settlements (best estimate; responsive to both COLOSSUS-format and higher-escalated adjuster expectations) in the $20K to $300K range, frequently shaping settlement negotiation strategies. CLIENT-FACING Regularly led client meetings, conducted client interviews, and screened potential clients. Reliably acted as primary case manager for certain long-term cases. ET CETERA In a team setting, reliably managed projects widely varying in substantive nature and priority. This included factual investigation, site inspection, forensic photography, and extensive academic medical research (knowledge base similar to that of a second-year medical student). Developed a clinician-confirmed reliability for catching mistakes in certain types of radiology reports. Conducted video deposition compliance editing and courtroom AV (TrialDirector suite). Show less



Gabe Ballard Design

• Freelance Graphic Designer

  • Jun 2008 - Dec 2010

  2018 UPDATE Willing to consider challenging visual problem-solving projects on a case-by-case basis, though I formally shuttered this practice some time ago. I am most easily tempted by logo commissions and branding projects for startups. Portfolio samples available upon inquiry. 2018 UPDATE Willing to consider challenging visual problem-solving projects on a case-by-case basis, though I formally shuttered this practice some time ago. I am most easily tempted by logo commissions and branding projects for startups. Portfolio samples available upon inquiry.



De Anza College

• United States
• Higher Education
• 300 - 400 Employee

• Graphic Designer, Photographer, Editor

  • Apr 2008 - Sep 2008

  Two stories about projects I was assigned: Institute of Community and Civic Engagement (now VIDA) Annual Report 2008: I was given only raw text and asked to build a new design with a strictly limited color palette and a pre-determined selection of low-quality photographs. The ICCE culture is down-to-earth, and focuses on individuality, diversity, and giving underserved communities the building blocks they need. My design used the full spectrum of colors available to me, using geometric shapes and color to reflect the culture of the Institute. The design was an overwhelming success and became the template for ICCE reports in subsequent years. I was also commended for proof-reading and editing the text, which had been mistakenly left un-edited. Sports Program Schedule Redesign: asked to give the sports program a new look, I found myself stymied by the marketing department's policy of not using the school's unfortunate mascot in its promotional materials. Firmly believing the student athletes deserved a mascot, and the progressive college a better one, I started a mascot-change campaign across administration, students, and faculty. Due to red tape, this project was never completed during my tenure at De Anza, but I was gratified by the support the effort received, and praised for my initiative beyond the scope of my job description to change things for the better consistent with the philosophy of my department, the college, and the student body. Show less



Mike Czerwonka for Kentucky State Representative

• Volunteer

  • Aug 2004 - Nov 2004

  Tireless field work including volunteer recruitment, running strategy meetings, sculpting development talking points and relationships, coordination of phone banks, canvassing, field office administration, solicitation for requests and distribution of signage, and GOTV leadership. Received invaluable first-hand education under liberal civil rights veterans, conservative business leaders, and independent community watchdogs. Tireless field work including volunteer recruitment, running strategy meetings, sculpting development talking points and relationships, coordination of phone banks, canvassing, field office administration, solicitation for requests and distribution of signage, and GOTV leadership. Received invaluable first-hand education under liberal civil rights veterans, conservative business leaders, and independent community watchdogs.



Kentucky Right To Work Committee

• Deputy Director

  • Jul 2004 - Nov 2004

  Donor message and liaising, grassroots awareness, field office setup, general branch startup, initial development tasks. Donor message and liaising, grassroots awareness, field office setup, general branch startup, initial development tasks.



The Heritage Foundation

• India
• Non-profit Organizations
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Intern

  • Feb 2004 - Jun 2004

  Development Coordinator; grant writing/editing; donor database management & correspondence. Development Coordinator; grant writing/editing; donor database management & correspondence.