Area of Practice: Intellectual Property/Rights Litigation Gary Hood has been practicing law for over 25 years. He has litigated and tried a broad variety of cases, in courtrooms across the country. Before entering law practice, Mr. Hood served as a United States Naval Officer aboard a warship that saw duty around the world including in the Middle East during Operation Desert Storm and in counter-narcotics operations in Central and South America. Most recently a shareholder (partner) in a major national AmLaw100 firm, where he served in various prominent leadership roles and as a member of the firm's board of directors, Mr. Hood has honed an approach to litigating cases that draws heavily on his military background, and applies lessons learned in the trenches of courtrooms with judges and juries. Now, in founding The Hood Legal Group, Mr. Hood is able to bring that BigLaw experience to clients and cases that matter most, but in a more effective, unconventional way.

I graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 2003 with a Bachelor’s Degree in History. At UCSB, I was active in student government, serving as an elected representative on the Associated Students Senate for two years. I studied abroad for a semester in Cordoba, Spain, and was active in outdoor activities such as hiking, rock climbing, swimming and snow sports. Following my undergraduate degree, I attended Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California, where I graduated with a J.D. in May of 2007. I was granted a full academic scholarship to attend Thomas Jefferson after scoring in the top 3% of LSAT (Law School Admissions Test) takers in 2002. While in law school, I was a member of the Admiralty Law Society, and team captain of the Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court competition team, competing in a national competition held at St. John’s University in New York. I took and passed the California Bar Exam in July of 2007. I am currently admitted to practice law in the State of California, and the United States District Courts (Federal Court) in the Southern, Eastern and Central Districts of California. After passing the bar exam, I worked as an associate attorney at two large national law firms before going out on my own.

www.socalawgroupcivil.com

Stephan A. Hoover is originally from Los Angeles, California, earned his B.A. in Political Science from CSU San Marcos and graduated magna cum laude from California Western School of Law in San Diego where he was a senior editor at the California Western Law Review. Mr. Hoover is admitted to the State Bar of California and to all U.S. District Courts in California and also serves as an Adjunct Professor at both California State University, San Marcos and Mt. San Jacinto Community College where he teaches U.S. Judicial Process, Powers of Government, Equal Protection, Civil Liberties, Intro to Political Science and The Right to Privacy in the US and EU. Mr. Hoover is a member of the San Diego County Bar Association, the North County Bar Association, and has been a Director of the San Diego Bankruptcy Forum.