Education
- B.A., Willamette University, 1992
- J.D., Lewis & Clark Law School, 1996
Bar Admissions
- State Bar of California
- State Bar of Texas
- Santa Barbara County Bar Association
Court Admissions
- Courts of the State of California, 1996
- U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 1996
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, 2005
- U.S. Court of Appeal, Ninth Circuit, 2008
- Courts of the State of Texas, 2009
- U.S. District Court, District of Idaho, 2008
- U.S. District Court, District of New Hampshire, 2016
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California, 2016
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Texas, 2016
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas, 2016
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, 2010
Position
Of Counsel
Phone
817-484-0214
Additionally, Mr. Clarke has defended his clients in a wide variety of civil disputes. Mr. Clarke has handled insurance “bad faith” and coverage disputes, construction defect (plaintiffs and defendants), business litigation, lender liability, intellectual property, product liability, and other complex litigation matters.
Mr. Clarke was previously a partner at Cappello & Noel, one of the nation’s foremost complex commercial litigation firms, in Santa Barbara, California. While at Cappello, Mr. Clarke’s longest trial lasted 11 months and resulted in a multi-million dollar judgment in a construction defect case. He has also tried cases for plaintiffs and defendants involving catastrophic injuries, wrongful death, legal malpractice, accounting malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, real estate transactions, investments and intellectual property. This includes a jury verdict of more than $40 million against defendants represented by a major international law firm.
Finally, Mr. Clarke has extensive experience advising and counseling businesses, large and small, in the full range of legal issues businesses regularly face. In this regard, the emphasis is always risk management and cost-effective solutions to difficult problems.
In 2009 and in 2010, Mr. Clarke was selected a “Super Lawyer Rising Star” – recognized as one of the best attorneys under age 40. Mr. Clarke has a 9.8 rating on the attorney rating website AVVO.
Mr. Clarke was an active member of the Santa Barbara County Bar Association and served for several years on the Executive Committee. He was Editor and a regular contributor to the Santa Barbara Lawyer Magazine, writing articles on various legal topics.
Mr. Clarke has engaged in litigation in trial courts and courts of appeal across the country, including U.S. District Courts the Central and Southern Districts of California, the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire, U.S. Bankruptcy Courts in California and Texas, the U.S. District Court for the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas