As a young lawyer, Mr. Tao worked for several years in one of the largest corporate law firms in the country where he specialized in complex litigation and transactional work, including representing several Fortune 500 companies in antitrust, trade secret and patent infringement lawsuits. As a licensed patent attorney, he also drafted dozens of patent applications on a wide range of technologies, from medical devices, to nuclear power plant cooling systems, to children’s toys.

At the request of his clients, Mr. Tao also became involved in government relations and lobbying work. The contacts in federal and state government that Mr. Tao acquired and developed eventually led to him being hired as a senior campaign adviser to former Virginia Governor Mark Warner. In 1998, he was asked to serve as Chief Speechwriter and Senior Legislative Assistant to United States Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. During his three-year tenure on Capitol Hill, Mr. Tao was intimately involved in numerous legislative and public policy decisions affecting Nevada.

In 2001, Mr. Tao left Capitol Hill to serve as a Deputy District Attorney for Clark County, a position he held for five years, where he gained extensive trial and appellate experience prosecuting a wide range of criminal cases ranging from murder, rape and robbery, to misdemeanors and traffic violations. During his years in the D.A.’s office, Mr. Tao tried more than 50 jury and bench trials (winning more than 80% of them) and conducted two oral arguments before the Nevada Supreme Court (winning both).

In 2005, Mr. Tao became a partner in a real estate development company with extensive land holdings throughout Las Vegas, where he honed his knowledge and expertise in real estate construction and development.

Mr. Tao joined Ayala & Tao as a partner in November, 2006. Mr. Tao’s practice is as diverse as his experiences. He represents clients in civil litigation, criminal defense, government relations and lobbying, and a variety of transactional matters including practice before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.

Education
George Washington University, J.D. (with honors, Law Review, Moot Court Board), 1992 Cornell University, B.S. (Electrical Engineering), 1989

Bar and Court Admissions

Mr. Tao is a member of the Nevada and California Bars. He is also licensed to practice as an attorney before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, and is a licensed real estate agent in Nevada. He is admitted to practice before the Nevada Supreme Court and the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Community Involvement

In 2006, Mr. Tao was appointed by Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn to serve on the State Board of Accupuncture & Oriental Medicine. He also serves as a member of the board of directors of an Asian-American political action committee.