Ben Ammerman is Of Counsel in the Irvine office.  He is an experienced trial lawyer and problem solver, advising companies, business owners, and individuals in a myriad of complex business, commercial, and real estate disputes.  His clients operate across a wide variety of economic sectors, including technology, real estate, financial services, entertainment, health care, technology, and homebuilding.  Ben has tried dozens of cases to verdict.  Ben has obtained several favorable judgments at trial, including jury verdicts up to seven figures, defeated seven figure claims at both summary judgment and trial, and successfully preserved judgments for his clients on appeal. 

Ben is currently a commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve having served in the U.S. Navy for 23 years (active and reserve duty) as a Surface Warfare Officer and Judge Advocate General, deploying three times, most recently to Afghanistan from May 2013 to March 2014.

Experience

• Litigated trade secret, defamation, unfair competition, and business tort claims on behalf of individuals and closely held companies.
• Defended publicly traded companies in consumer and ADA class action lawsuits.
• Advising business clients regarding best practices in the field of privacy and cyberspace law and in corporate governance.
• Prosecuted securities fraud claims involving misrepresentations regarding the quality of the assets underlying the securities resulting in seven figure settlement for the client.
• Represented publicly traded company in commercial lease dispute with landlord settling the matter for pennies on the dollar.
• Defended several sellers of real estate in connection with breach of contract and non-disclosure claims settling those matters for nominal sums.
• Prosecuted and defended individuals and companies in partnership disputes and breach of contract claims.
• Defended publicly traded companies in copyright and trademark infringement actions.
• Defended commercial landlord in premises liability action and obtaining plaintiff’s dismissal of client in exchange for waiver of costs after taking plaintiff’s deposition.
• Performed internal investigations of suspected malfeasance at all organizational levels from employee to upper management.

Honors & Awards

• Named to the 2013, 2014, and 2015 roster of Southern California Rising Stars, a compilation of the area’s up-and-coming attorneys by the Law & Politics magazine, Super Lawyers®.
• Recipient of the Owen Stark Heriot Award for the outstanding scholastic performance by a veteran or current member of the Armed Forces at the University of San Diego School of Law.
• American Jurisprudence/CALI Award (highest overall grade) in Constitutional Law, Evidence, and Remedies.
• Inducted into Skull and Dagger, a secret honor society at the University of Southern California. Induction into Skull and Dagger is bestowed on less than 1% of the student population annually.

Professional Activities

• Orange County Bar Association
• Association of Business Trial Lawyers
• American Bar Association

Community Activities

• Commander, Judge Advocate General’s Corps, U.S. Navy Reserve
• Member, University of Southern California Alumni Association
• Co-Chair, University of Southern California’s 20th Reunion Committee

Seminars & Speaking Engagements

• Fair Employment & Housing Issues, Apartment Association of Orange County Certified Rental Provider Series, April 2019 & October 2109
• International Armed Conflict in Today’s World, Orange County Bar Association, International Law Section, May 2017