S. Todd Neal

Todd Neal is the leader of Procopio’s Corporate & Commercial Litigation Practice Group and he has a diverse trial practice focusing on complex business litigation matters and high stakes plaintiff’s cases, including serious injury and wrongful death. Additionally, as a former Federal Defender, Mr. Neal also defends select white collar criminal cases and SEC enforcement actions. Mr. Neal is a seasoned trial lawyer who has served as lead trial counsel in more than twenty-five jury trials which were tried to verdict. Over the past eighteen years, he has tried cases in federal and state courts in three different states and his deep experience includes victories on both the plaintiff and defense side of civil cases, in addition to winning acquittals in federal criminal trials. Since 2010, he has obtained settlements in plaintiff’s cases exceeding $5,000,000 and he has successfully defended a substantial number of business litigation matters and actions brought by the SEC. In addition to substantial experience defending federal criminal cases, Mr. Neal has tried civil cases involving claims of unfair competition, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, securities fraud, trade secrets, conversion, real property disputes and product liability.

Reported Cases

White Collar Criminal Defense

• U.S. v. Ohler, 529 U.S. 753 (2000)
• U.S. v. McTiernan, 546 F.3d 1160 (9th Cir. 2008)
• U.S. v. Belaire, 2006 WL 4888364 (S.D.Cal. 2006)
• U.S. v. Paulin, 3:06CR00274 (S.D.Cal. 2006)

Commercial & Business Litigation

• Federal Trade Commission v. Productive Marketing, Inc., 136 F.Supp.2d 1096 (C.D. Cal. 2001)
• Bachman v. General Motors Corporation, 1999 WL 34787986 (Ill. Cir. 1999)
• Accredited Home Lenders, Inc. v. Nacif, 2007 WL 1088980 (Cal. App. 4 Dist. 2007)

Mr. Neal earned a B.A. from the University of California, Irvine in 1990 and received his J.D. from John Marshall Law School in 1994.

Mr. Neal has been named a Top Attorney by the San Diego Daily Transcript in the practice area of White Collar Criminal Defense. The Transcript conducts a peer review voting process to identify the twenty-five preeminent practicing attorneys in different areas of law among San Diego County's 7,000 practicing attorneys.

Mr. Neal is a member of the American Trial Lawyers Association.

 Recent News Coverage

• Glover, Scott. “'Die Hard' director gets a year in prison in wiretapping case,“ Los Angeles Times, October 5, 2010.
• Repard, Pauline. “Scaffolding contractor cited in fatal collapse,” San Diego Union-Tribune, February 25, 2009.
• McEvoy, Ciaran. “Pellicano Figure Allowed to Change Plea,” Daily Journal, February 24, 2009.
• Chambers, Heather. “Local Attorney Represents Filmmaker in Wiretapping Probe,” San Diego Business Journal, November 3, 2008.
• Roemer, John. “'Die Hard’ Director May Get to Withdraw Guilty Plea,” Daily Journal, October 22, 2008.

Recent Articles/Publications

• "The Fourth Amendment and the Exclusionary Rule," Defending a Federal Criminal Case.