Edward C. Ho

Mr. Ho represents individuals and corporations in complex civil litigation, with a focus on business disputes. He regularly serves as lead counsel in business litigation and trial matters. His work includes shareholder disputes involving closely held corporations, international supply and distribution agreements, fiduciary relationships and business torts. He handles matters involving technology, manufacturing, real estate and foreign entities.

Mr. Ho also prosecutes and defends trade secret and unfair competition claims and handles construction and tort litigation. His experience representing management in employment disputes includes claims concerning officer and director liability, sexual harassment, racial discrimination and wrongful termination. An advanced degree in international relations, a law degree and studies in economics inform his approach to the facts and data involved in complex business litigation.

• Secured full indemnification of our client in connection with an environmental cleanup claim with an estimated value of $130 million.
• Prosecuted insurance consultants for concealing commissions arranged without the knowledge of their client, a public agency. After a four-week trial, a judgment was obtained for more than $3.7 million, including a clawback of funds transferred to an otherwise protected-from-creditors defined benefits retirement account of the principal defendant.
• Prosecuted fraud and conversion claims against a business and its principal for unauthorized practice of law, resulting in a judgment for all relief sought. The judge referred the case to the District Attorney’s office for criminal prosecution.
• Defended a former principal shareholder against conversion and breach of contract claims in three separate actions, two in state court and one in arbitration, resulting in a net monetary recovery in favor of the client defendant.
• Obtained a favorable settlement for unfair competition, trade secret violations and conversion claims against the former minority shareholder of a local environmental consulting company. The settlement was reached following two weeks of trial.
• Defended a majority shareholder of a domestic subsidiary of an international toy company accused of fraud and mismanagement, resulting in a settlement paid by insurance and not by the client defendant.
• Obtained a favorable settlement for unfair competition, trade secret violations and conversion claims against the former minority shareholder of a scrap metal company. The settlement was reached after the case was submitted to the jury following four weeks of trial.
• Defended a general contractor and developer of high-end Beverly Hills condominiums against construction defect claims in a two-week arbitration, resulting in a defense award that included the recovery of attorney fees and arbitration costs.
• Obtained summary judgment against a commercial landlord for assumption of a long-term lease, despite a preceding nonjudicial foreclosure. The judgment for the defendant client included affirmation of the pro-tenant multimillion-dollar lease and recovery of attorneys’ fees.
• Defended a Chinese language telemarketing company and its executives for alleged wage and hour violations before Region 21 of the National Labor Relations Board. After a week-long administrative hearing, there was found to be no joint-employer liability on the part of the executives.
• Prosecuted a corporate theft case and negotiated the return of controlling shareholder equity and the corresponding profit share of an international telecommunications company with a key subsidiary based in Romania.
• Defended an international, publicly traded manufacturer of flat-panel displays against fraud and breach of contract claims, resulting in a settlement paid by insurance and not by the client defendant.
• Defended an Indonesian pulp and paper company from quality control and timeliness of delivery claims, resulting in a dismissal from the U.S. District Court in Dallas.
• Represented an international investment fund and its principals who were the potential targets of the court-appointed receiver who managed one of the largest alleged Ponzi schemes in Orange County.
• Defended publicly traded social media company from misrepresentation and breach of contract claims. A settlement was reached and paid by insurance, with the corporate and individual defendants owing nothing.
• Defended an international, publicly traded manufacturer of furniture and home products and its executives of fraudulent conveyance and alter-ego claims brought by a bankruptcy trustee.  Obtained dismissals of the claims against the foreign executive and a favorable settlement of the remaining claims paid, in part, by insurance.
• Multiple bench and jury trials involving the successful defense of several subrogation matters and successful recoveries for various personal injury matters.

• J.D., Southern Methodist University School of Law
• M.A., Johns Hopkins University, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
• B.A., University of California, Berkeley

• 1995, California
• 1996, District of Columbia
• U.S. District Courts, Central, Eastern, Northern, and Southern Districts of California

Los Angeles magazine named Mr. Ho a Southern California “Rising Star” from the award’s inception in 2004 through 2008. This recognition honors exceptional Southern California attorneys under the age of 40. Additionally, Mr. Ho was voted a Southern California Super Lawer in 2009, 2010, 2011, and from 2018 to the present.

Mr. Ho is a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals and has been a Certified Information Privacy Professional since 2012.

He also served two terms on the City of Cerritos Economic Development Commission, advising the city about the needs of existing businesses as well as new economic development opportunities.

From 2007 to 2014, Mr. Ho was on the Board of Directors for the Friends of Arts Education at the Cerritos Center of the Performing Arts, serving as the Vice President of Development.