Ray Aghaian is a seasoned trial lawyer and former federal prosecutor with more than 25 years of experience handling high-stakes corporate disputes, complex class actions and sensitive white-collar matters. Named a “Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Trailblazer” by the National Law Journal and a recipient of the prestigious CLAY (California Lawyer of the Year) Award from the Daily Journal, Ray serves as trusted counsel to Fortune 500 companies, global brands, boards of directors, and high-profile individuals facing bet-the-company litigation or governmental scrutiny.
Ray’s practice sits at the intersection of complex commercial litigation, high-tech data privacy class actions and white-collar criminal defense. Drawing on years of service in the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office (Central District of California), he brings rare insight to multi-agency government investigations, corporate internal inquiries and high-profile trials. His trial work and privacy litigation have attracted national media coverage, including commentary in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and the Los Angeles Times. Ray has also advocated before senior officials at the White House. One of Ray's data privacy battles with the Justice Department was featured in hundreds of news outlets, including the editorial section of The New York Times.
Ray was also named as one of the “Most Influential Minority Lawyers” and one of the “Most Influential Lawyers in White Collar & Cyber Crimes Law” by the Los Angeles Business Journal, recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® and Southern California Super Lawyers for defending clients in white-collar matters and was prominently ranked by The Legal 500 in the area of trade secrets.
Ray previously spent seven years as a federal prosecutor with the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, where he helped prosecute numerous white-collar criminal offenses, including cyber intrusions, bribery, copyright and patent infringement, healthcare fraud, mortgage/bank fraud, tax evasion, money laundering and mail/wire fraud. During his tenure, he was nominated for the prestigious Attorney General’s Award, the highest award in the Department of Justice; received special recognition by FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III; and received awards from federal law enforcement agencies like the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Department of Labor.
Ray has participated in numerous panels and seminars over the years, has been quoted in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Los Angeles Times and was the subject of a 2019 Law360 article titled “Why I Became a Lawyer: A Refugee's Journey of Firsts.”
