In eight years at Crosby, Heafey, Mr. Commins spent the majority of his time litigating on behalf of securities broker-dealers, including Dean Witter Reynolds Inc., Kidder, Peabody & Co., Sutro & Co. Incorporated, and others. The balance of his practice was mostly divided between intellectual property litigation, particularly large patent and trademark disputes in the Northern and Central District Courts in California, and general commercial litigation, representing a cross-section of Bay Area and Los Angeles businesses. Mr. Commins has also litigated cases involving allegations of product liability, medical malpractice and legal malpractice.

Mr. Commins has tried cases in Northern and Southern California, has arbitrated cases in several states before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) (and previously before the NASD, the NYSE, and the Pacific Stock Exchange), as well as AAA (The American Arbitration Association) and is licensed in every State and Federal Court in California, and in the Federal District Court in Arizona.

Mr. Commins served on the board of the Codera Wine Group, Inc., which in 2001 sold the majority of its assets for approximately $140 million.

He is a member of the Italian American Bar Association, the Association of Business Trial Lawyers, and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, and he serves periodically as a FINRA arbitrator. He regularly serves as a pro tem judge in San Francisco Superior Court.

Mr. Commins is currently on the Board of Advisors for the University of San Francisco School of Law Investor Justice Project. He also speaks fluent Italian and is an instructor in the University of California Martial Arts Program.

Author: "Two's Company But Three's A Crowd, Beware Of What Third Parties Say In Mediation," Securities Arbitration Commentator, June 2005.