Goldberg Segalla logo
Our Team
Our Story
Practices
Industries
Offices
News & Knowledge
COVID-19 Hub
Our TeamOur StoryPracticesIndustriesOfficesNews & KnowledgeCOVID-19 Hub
Contact
Contact Us
dchoi@goldbergsegalla.com
213.415.7206
Los Angeles
Orange County
Practices
Management and Professional LiabilityCommercial Litigation and Arbitration
Industries
Cannabis and HempArchitecture, Engineering, Surveying, and Design
Home
Our Team

David Y. Choi

Partner

dchoi@goldbergsegalla.com
213.415.7206
Los Angeles
Orange County

David Y. Choi, chair of Goldberg Segalla’s Cannabis and Hemp Law practice, is a versatile counsel who offers a wealth of experience in outside general counsel, litigation, and trial services to clients throughout California. He serves a myriad of clients including directors and officers, licensed professionals, and businesses across an array of industries including real estate, cannabis and hemp, construction, apparel, technology, and other sectors.

David is also a leader in the firm’s Commercial Litigation and Arbitration and Management and Professional Liability practices. He draws from a wide range of experience in commercial litigation, including disputes involving business transactions, real estate investments, professional services, and claims against directors and officers.

Related Areas

Management and Professional LiabilityCommercial Litigation and ArbitrationIntellectual PropertyInternational Transactions, Litigation, and RegulationCorporate Law and TransactionsD&O and Shareholder LitigationReal Estate and Land UseReal Estate and Title Litigation

Industries

Cannabis and HempArchitecture, Engineering, Surveying, and DesignLawyers and Law FirmsStartups and Small Businesses

Experience Highlights

David has represented clients in a myriad of commercial, real estate, and other business disputes.

  • Prevailed in a quiet title action involving a commercial property valued in excess of $30 million after substituting into a matter to overcome a preliminary injunction
  • Secured a $1.9 million judgment in favor of a real estate investor against a manager who misappropriated and mismanaged real property assets
  • Obtained a dismissal on behalf of an auditing firm of a multi-million-dollar, class-action securities fraud claim filed in federal court involving a publicly traded company on a motion to dismiss
  • Prosecuted a construction defect claim on behalf of a public entity owner against a national contractor and subcontractor involving real property damage in excess of $18 million

As a leader of the Cannabis and Hemp practice, David devotes a substantial portion of his practice to the cannabis and hemp industries. David represents businesses operating along the distribution chain including cultivators, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of cannabis, related products, and ancillary businesses, such as suppliers of commercial hydroponics equipment. He focuses his practice on providing outside general counsel services that includes acquisitions and dispute prevention and resolution.

  • Represented the seller of a hydroponics business in a merger involving a transaction valued in excess of $30 million
  • Represented the seller of a cannabis business in a merger involving a transaction valued in excess of $4 million
  • Represented an investor that purchased securities in a licensed cultivator and negotiated the terms of a construction and management agreement

David has a successful record of defending and securing favorable results for management and professionals across an array of disciplines including directors and officers, lawyers, design professionals, real estate professionals, insurance agents and brokers, and more.

  • Secured a dismissal on a motion to quash on behalf of an escrow firm involving a $4 million claim for damages
  • Secured a dismissal on a responsive pleading motion on behalf of a law firm involving a $800,000 claim for damages
  • Defended an architect from a $15 million construction defect claim involving an adaptive reuse of an industrial building
  • Successfully defended a law firm involving a $10 million legal malpractice claim involving alleged lost income and diminution of corporate value of a lending business

David’s clients regularly turn to him to provide outside general counsel services. David has significant experience preparing business agreements and assisting with transactions including the drafting of operating agreements, shareholders agreements, promissory notes, leases and subleases, sales and purchase agreements, services agreements, and others.

  • Represented a purchaser of a $10 million multi-tenant commercial real property located in Southern California

Honors & Awards

Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating: AV Preeminent

PLUS Diversity Leadership & Mentoring Program (LAMP), Cohort of 2021

National Law Journal, Cannabis Law Trailblazer, 2019

Data Bird Cannabis Law Expert, 2018

Admissions

  • California
  • U.S. District Court for the Central, Eastern, and Northern Districts of California

Education

  • Loyola Law School, LL.M. (Taxation) with distinction, 2009
  • Loyola Law School, J.D., 2008
    • International and Comparative Law Review: Editor
  • University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., 2003

Professional Affiliations

  • State Bar of California
  • Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM)
    • Cannabis Committee

Publications & Events

  • Quoted, “‘Attention needed for renting marijuana businesses'” Korean Real Estate Association Seminar, Korea Daily, April 4, 2019
  • “The Buck Stops Here: Liability and Non-Lawyers” (Co-Presenter), Professional Liability Seminar, New York, NY, December 6, 2019
  • “Sex, Drugs, and Real Estate” (Co-Presenter), Korean American Real Estate Brokers Association, Los Angeles, CA, April 3, 2019
  • “Construction Law 101: Tools to Manage Risk in Employment, Contracts, Insurance, Bonds, and More” (Co-Presenter), Chinese American Construction Professionals, Alhambra, CA, February 20, 2019
  • Contributor, “USDA Issues Interim Final Rules for Domestic Hemp Production,” Timely Notice, January 21, 2020
  • Contributor, “E-Cigarette and Cannabis Industries: Protect the Public and Yourself From Vape-Related Illnesses,” Timely Notice, November 5, 2019

Recent Insights

Cannabis Industry Class Action Dismissed in California Federal Court

October 16, 2020

Collateral Estoppel Defense Defeats $2.5M Legal Malpractice Claim in California

September 21, 2020

David Y. Choi Selected for 2021 Diversity Leadership & Mentoring Program Cohort

September 3, 2020

USDA Issues Interim Rules for Domestic Production of Hemp

October 30, 2019

Goldberg Segalla Partners on Both Coasts Named to National Law Journal’s List of Cannabis Law Trailblazers

April 1, 2019

Goldberg Segalla Expands Southern California Insurance Coverage, Employment, and Professional Liability Teams

October 25, 2018

Browse all
Goldberg Segalla Logo - White and Red

Goldberg Segalla is a national civil litigation firm with 20 offices in 10 states spanning major metro markets across the U.S., providing strategic coverage wherever our clients do business. As a firm of experienced litigators and trial attorneys, our capabilities span business and commercial disputes, employment and labor, insurance coverage, product liability, and more. Today, our nearly 400 attorneys are trusted counselors to public and private clients in key sectors and industries including construction and energy, transportation, manufacturing, retail and hospitality, and insurance.

Subscribe

Attorney Advertising. © 2021 Goldberg Segalla. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Employee LoginCareersConnect with usPrivacy PolicyCalifornia Privacy PolicyLegal Disclaimer