Washington, D.C.

Richard P. Goldberg

Principal

Richard Goldberg's practice includes both corporate work and litigation. He counsels individuals and small to mid-sized companies, especially technology and engineering firms, in corporate law, contract drafting and negotiations, and intellectual-property matters. Mr. Goldberg also represents clients in litigation, including civil suits and white-collar criminal defense and investigations. In both capacities, Mr. Goldberg often negotiates on behalf of his clients with adversaries, potential business partners, contractors, vendors, and U.S. government agents and prosecutors.

Litigation

Mr. Goldberg represents clients in connection with litigation and disputes of various types in the state and federal courts. He represents clients in commercial and civil litigation, including suits by investors and co-founders, as well as by and against current and former employees and customers.

Much of Mr. Goldberg's work involves business-related law suits brought by or against technology companies. He has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in "commercial divorce" among business partners, failed joint ventures and sales of business, and shareholder and vendor litigation. He has also handled cases involving breach of contract, intellectual-property and trade-secret misappropriation, and breach of fiduciary duties. Quite often, Mr. Goldberg is able to settle cases early in litigation—sometimes before litigation is commenced.

Mr. Goldberg has litigated cases in the state and federal trial courts in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and other jurisdictions, often trying cases to verdict. He has also briefed and argued cases before the D.C. and federal courts of appeals.

Mr. Goldberg is admitted to practice in Maryland and Washington, D.C., and before the D.C. Court of Appeals, the Maryland Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Representative Litigation Matters

  • Represented a corporation accused of complex fraud by a former client.
  • Represented a technology company accused of improper business practices and fraud by a former investor.
  • Represented a co-founder frozen out of a late-stage start-up by other co-founders.
  • Represented a close corporation against shareholders seeking to violate their fiduciary duties and compete with the company.
  • Represented a technology-company founder who accused his former business partner of improper business practices, fraud, and violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
  • More information can be found in the firm's practice areas.

White Collar Defense

Mr. Goldberg also represents clients in investigations and prosecutions by the U.S. Department of Justice (including the Public Integrity Section), the Inspectors General of several government agencies, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue, the D.C. Attorney General's Office, and the various U.S. Attorney's Offices. Investigations have involved both federal and local law-enforcement agencies, including the FBI, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.

He has defended Chief Financial Officers, accountants, lobbyists, civil servants, architects, and government contractors, in allegations of improper payments, fraud, and other matters. In many cases, he has been able to obtain declinations of prosecution and dismissals of charges before trial even begins. He has also secured numerous not-guilty verdicts for defendants in both bench and jury trials.

Representative White Collar Matters

  • Represented an engineering company in allegations of systematic fraud regarding money transfers among its subsidiaries.
  • Represented a former high-level executive-branch staffer in allegations of criminal fraud and improper influence during government service.
  • Represented a former CFO regarding allegations of improper payments.
  • Represented a top federal civil service employee in an investigation by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.
  • Represented an accountant in an investigation into potential tax fraud.
  • Represented a civilian contractor in a JAG/NCIS investigation.
  • Represented a civilian contractor in an Inspector General/DCIS investigation.
  • More information can be found in the firm's practice areas.

Corporate & Start-Ups

Mr. Goldberg also counsels clients in various aspects of corporate law, including contract drafting and negotiations with VARs, contractors, and vendors. Due to his background in secure enterprise software design and development, Mr. Goldberg frequently represents technology and engineering companies, especially those specializing in software, architecture, data privacy, and information security.

Mr. Goldberg counsels small to mid-sized companies in various aspects of corporate and transactional law, including contract drafting and negotiations, sales and purchases of business lines and major assets, intellectual-property matters, employment, and agreements and disputes with contractors and vendors.

He has negotiated agreements with Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies (including television and Internet search providers), multi-national Internet companies, and multi-billion-dollar government contractors, federally chartered Indian corporations, and numerous other companies, large and small, in joint ventures, subcontracting, software development and integration, and information-security consulting.

Representative Corporate and Start-Up Matters

  • Drafted and negotiated sales and licensing agreements for an information-security consultancy selling customized security software.
  • Negotiated various agreements and joint ventures for a technology-consulting company with Fortune 500 companies, international media conglomerates, and government contractors and VARs.
  • Assisted numerous start-ups in choice-of-entity decisions, formation, and investment matters.
  • Created and executed strategies to expedite the exit of early-stage founders who had withdrawn from day-to-day business operations and to prevent squeeze outs.
  • Created and executed strategies to prevent the squeeze out of vocal early-stage founders.
  • Drafted and revised numerous LLC operating agreements, guiding negotiations among multiple founders.
  • Drafted contracts for engineering and other professional-services companies to limit liability and ensure payment.
  • More information can be found in the firm's practice areas.

Clients

Mr. Goldberg has represented a wide variety of individuals and corporations, including large and small software companies, computer security consultancies, federal government appointees and civil service employees, corporate officers, oil-services companies, and non-profit entities. Mr. Goldberg also represents early-stage startups in matters ranging from choice-of-entity decisions and formation to internal governance and catastrophe mitigation in organizations with multiple founders.

Law Enforcement and Witness Training

Mr. Goldberg has trained officers in the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department's Vice Unit in methods and strategies for giving convincing testimony in court. Attendees have included investigative and arrest-team members as well as undercover officers. Conducted with the aid of a media trainer, these sessions build on Mr. Goldberg's experience guiding parties and witnesses through litigation and business clients through complex negotiations. Mr. Goldberg has also trained numerous civilian witnesses in preparation for testimony in depositions and trials.

Education

Mr. Goldberg received his J.D. from the Duke University School of Law. At Duke, he co-founded the Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy and served as its first Executive Editor. He received a B.A. cum laude from the University of Rochester, with honors in philosophy and a concentration in law and ethics. He also studied computer science and worked as a tutor for computer-science courses in the engineering department and as a teaching assistant for programming courses in the computer science department.

Mr. Goldberg has served as a guest lecturer at law schools in D.C. and Maryland on issues involving corporate governance, business planning, and contracts. He is the author of the book District of Columbia Contract Litigation, published by LexisNexis.

Industry Experience

Prior to attending law school, Mr. Goldberg worked as a software architect, developing enterprise-level secure software systems at Booz Allen Hamilton, at two Internet startups, and at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). In that time, Mr. Goldberg did work for Fortune 500 clients as well as the Federal Communications Commission and the United States Army, Air Force, and Department of Defense.

Mr. Goldberg practiced in the Washington, D.C., office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP before starting his own firm. After practicing solo for a number of years, he formed the precursor to Goldberg & Goldberg.

Professional Associations

Mr. Goldberg is a member of the American Bar Association Litigation Section, the ABA Business Law Section, and the ABA Science & Technology Law Section.

Community and Personal Activities

Mr. Goldberg is active in the D.C. community, having organized and participated in fundraisers and community service projects for D.C. Cares, OneBrick, and Gifts for the Homeless. He is also frequently involved in pro bono work, representing non-profits and individuals who cannot afford attorneys.

An avid musician and distance runner, Mr. Goldberg is also an accomplished technical scuba diver and cave diver, participating in research projects in the water-filled caves of the Yucatán Peninsula.