Mr. Pehrson is a member of Parr Brown's commercial litigation group. He has handled all types of complex commercial litigation, including intellectual property disputes, patent infringement claims, as well as securities litigation, health care litigation, antitrust suits, government investigations, and creditor and large-scale bankruptcy. Mr. Pehrson has worked on behalf of some of the biggest names within the technology and financial sectors, including Cisco Systems, Elpida Memory, Michaels Stores, Hellman & Friedman, Silver Lake, Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, and former officers, directors, and brokers of Lehman Brothers, Inc.
Licensed to practice in California and Utah, Mr. Pehrson is also a registered patent attorney with litigation experience in multiple venues, including the Eastern District of Texas, as well as in the Northern District of California, the Central District of California, and the District of Utah. In addition to handling matters in courts, he has helped clients arbitrate IP disputes at JAMS and financial disputes through FINRA.
Prior to joining Parr Brown, Mr. Pehrson was an associate with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in Palo Alto, CA, and a law clerk to United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson of the Western District of Pennsylvania. Mr. Pehrson also worked as a law clerk with Debevoise & Plimpton in Washington, D.C. and with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta, GA. For many years, Mr. Pehrson owned and managed a small landscaping business.
Mr. Pehrson maintains an active interest in pro bono legal practice and education. He has represented residential tenants in unlawful detainer proceedings and also aided individuals facing deportation proceedings. He has coached high school students participating in the Constitutional Rights Foundation Mock Trial Program, and mentored engineering students enrolled in technology entrepreneurship courses at Stanford University.
Mr. Pehrson is a co-founder and member of the board of Playoff PAC, a federal political action committee dedicated to ethical and competitive reform within college football. Playoff PAC's efforts have been featured in numerous national media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Among other accomplishments, Playoff PAC initiated government investigations that led to the discovery of legal and ethical violations committed by the Fiesta Bowl, and the eventual restructuring of the Fiesta's leadership,
Mr. Pehrson earned an honors degree from the University of Utah, where he received assistance from National Merit and University Presidential scholarships, and worked in the office of former President Bernard J. Machen. With help from graduate fellowships from Phi Kappa Phi and the University of Utah Honors Program, Mr. Pehrson earned a degree in Rhetoric from Carnegie Mellon University. While completing his education at Vanderbilt University Law School, Mr. Pehrson was voted by his peers as "Outstanding Third-Year Editor" of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law. Mr. Pehrson and his wife are the parents of three children.
Professional Activities
· American Bar Association
· American Chemistry Society
Clerkships
· Law Clerk, U.S. District Judge Kim R. Gibson, United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, 2008-09