PLG is pleased to welcome Dean Paik as a partner in our Investigations & White Collar Defense and Litigation practice groups in San Francisco, California.
Bringing decades of experience in government and private practice, Dean represents companies and individuals in high-stakes civil and white-collar criminal matters, including investigations and proceedings brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, State and Federal Inspectors General, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other regulators and enforcement agencies. Known for his integrity and judgment, Dean is a skilled negotiator who secures practical and favorable resolutions for his clients. When trial is unavoidable, he draws on his extensive courtroom experience, having tried more than 40 cases to verdict or judgment.
Dean advises clients on civil and criminal tax proceedings—including matters involving unreported foreign assets and accounts—as well as regulatory and litigation issues related to digital currencies. He also handles a broad range of commercial disputes, such as copyright infringement, contract and business tort claims, and insurance coverage matters.
Beyond his client work, Dean has served as faculty for trial advocacy programs at Stanford and the University of San Francisco Schools of Law, as a mediator and Early Neutral Evaluator for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and as an active leader in professional bar associations. He is a past president of the Korean American Bar Association of Northern California, a former co-chair of the Judiciary Committee of the Asian American Bar Association and has been recognized as a Northern California “Super Lawyer.”
Prior to joining PLG, Dean was a shareholder and director at Rogers Joseph O’Donnell. Dean also spent more than ten years in senior roles at the U.S. Department of Justice, including as Special Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General of the Tax Division in Washington, D.C. He also served as a trial attorney in the DOJ’s Tax Division and later as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Hawaii, where he prosecuted financial and environmental crimes, including the first federal environmental criminal trial in Hawaii.
Dean earned his J.D. from the University of California, Berkley and his B.A. from Cornell University (magna cum laude). Dean’s services are offered to clients through Potomac Law LLP, an affiliate of Potomac Law Group PLLC.
