Resume

Experience

2009-present: Freelance Writer, Media Consultant
I have written stories for the Stanford University alumni magazine, and the Kaiser Health News Service, among others. I have also helped with media training for the federal Bureau of Prisons.

2003-2008: Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times, Washington, DC
I was the beat reporter covering the Justice Department. I wrote hundreds of stories, many of which appeared on the front page, on a wide range of topics, including the U.S. response to the 9-11 attacks, the trial of former White House aide I. Lewis Libby, and the 2006 firing of U.S. attorneys. I also wrote high-profile stories about federal sentencing policy and aspects of the mortgage crisis.

1993-2002: Staff Reporter, Wall Street Journal, Washington, DC
I was a national legal reporter based in the Washington bureau of the WSJ. I wrote numerous front-page stories, profiling the powerful D.C.-based trial-lawyer lobby and assessing a crackdown on the use of scientific evidence in court, among other work. I was part of a team of WSJ reporters who covered the 2000 presidential recount in Florida. I was also the deputy chief of the eight-person WSJ law group for two years.

1985-1993: Staff Reporter, Wall Street Journal, San Francisco, CA
I wrote extensively about the banking industry, including the problems of Bank of America, which was then reeling under the weight of bad third-world loans. I was the principal WSJ reporter on the West Coast covering legal affairs. My work included stories about a conservative turn in the California Supreme Court and an actress with a law degree who was abusing the legal system by filing scores of baseless lawsuits, including, after my story was published, one against me. I was also deputy chief of the 12-person bureau for three years.

1984-1985: Staff Reporter, Wall Street Journal, New York, NY
I was one of two beat reporters covering the energy industry, with a focus on the major oil companies.

1981-1984: Staff Reporter, Wall Street Journal, Dallas, TX
I was a general assignment reporter, writing about the collapsing oil economy of the early 1980s.

Media Appearances

2003-2008: I was a frequent guest on public-radio broadcasts providing commentary on subjects including the civil-liberties controversy surrounding the USA Patriot Act and the Scooter Libby trial.