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.
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 and the District of Columbia, often trying cases to verdict.
He has also briefed and argued cases before the D.C. and federal courts of appeals.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Mr. Goldberg also counsels clients in various aspects of corporate law, including risk mitigation in contracts 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Mr. Goldberg is a member of the American Bar Association Litigation Section, the ABA Business Law Section, and the ABA Science & Technology Law Section.
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.
Mr. Goldberg is a frequent speaker and author on topics at the intersection of new technology and the law,
including managing litigation risk from e-mail and cloud computing, technology in e-discovery, commercial technology contracting, and
privacy and data security.
He has given speeches and presentations at industry conferences and hacker conventions and
shared the stage with executives from major hardware, software, and cloud-computing companies,
as well as the former CTO of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Rules of Engagement: Mitigating Risk in Information Security Work
(How Not to Get Pwnd by Your Clients, Part 2)
DojoCon information-security conference
Presentation
Navigating Legal and Security Issues From the Cloud
  (updated)
Large Installation System Administration conference (LISA)
Presentation/Video/Audio
Cloud Computing Panel Discussion
Large Installation System Administration conference (LISA)
Video
How Not to Get Pwnd by Your Clients: Legal Issues for the Information Security Professional
  (updated)
QuaHogCon information-security conference
Presentation
Navigating Legal and Security Issues in Cloud Computing
IBM Cloud and SOA conference: A Smarter & Secure Planet
Presentation
Legal and Privacy Issues in Cloud Computing  (updated)
ShmooCon information-security conference
Presentation/Video
Legal and Privacy Issues in Cloud Computing
DojoCon information-security conference
Senate Considers the Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2009
Briefing
How Not to Get Pwnd by Your Clients: Contract Safety for Security Professionals
DojoSec information-security conference
Presentation/Video
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.
Industry Experience
Former enterprise software architect and developer:
Booz Allen Hamilton
Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC)
Two Internet startups
Bar Admissions
Washington, D.C.
Maryland
Court Admissions
D.C. Court of Appeals
Maryland Court of Appeals
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
U.S. Supreme Court
Professional Associations
American Bar Association Litigation Section
ABA Business Law Section
ABA Science & Technology Law Section
Law Enforcement and Witness Training
Conducted training for police and civilian witnesses:
Trained officers in the D.C. MPD Vice Unit—including investigators, arrest-team members, and undercover officers—to give trial testimony
Trained plaintiffs, defendants, and witnesses in civil suits to give in-court testimony and to drive mediation strategy
Trained witnesses, subjects, and targets in criminal investigations and prosecutions to give in-court testimony and proffers to law enforcement
Education
Duke University School of Law
Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy, co-founder and first Executive Editor