Nicole Rodriguez Van Dyk

LOS ANGELES - Nicole Rodriguez Van Dyk is a principal specializing in white collar defense, health care and complex civil litigation at Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks, Lincenberg & Rhow PC. She is chair of the firm's diversity committee and is a member of the Hispanic National Bar Association.

She said she settled on becoming a lawyer after reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" and after realizing, as a young girl, that playing for the L.A. Lakers "just wouldn't be a viable career for me."

After graduating from Harvard Law School, Van Dyk clerked for U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton of Los Angeles. "She's amazing-- one of my most significant mentors as a woman who had a family and a successful career as a trial lawyer. She let me see what was possible and she became a cheerleader in my career. She's a role model for balancing family and career and building a successful practice."

Van Dyk successfully defended an employee of an email advertising company, Adconion Direct, who was among those accused of hijacking IP addresses to use in large-scale spam campaigns. U.S. v. Bychak et al., 3:18-cr-04683 (S.D. Ca., filed Oct. 31, 2018).

"We started the trial and following opening statements, the government resolved the matter," said Van Dyk, who represents Petr Pacas. "My client was charged under a novel wire fraud theory that raised questions about whether IP addresses constitute property.

We persuaded the U.S. attorney to dismiss under a deferred prosecution agreement that acknowledged no culpability." The agreement was dated June 10, 2022.

In another criminal matter, Van Dyk and her team resolved favorably health care fraud charges against the lead defendant in a 34-defendant case involving allegations regarding fraudulent insurance claims for prescription medications and medical devices. People v. Sutton et al., C2007796 (S. Clara Co. Super. Ct., filed May 28, 2020).

"In any criminal matter, you never know what the straw will be that breaks the case," Van Dyk said. She and her team uncovered information about possible collusion between the insurance company that was an alleged victim and the prosecution.

In January 2022, Van Dyk persuaded the judge to examine at an evidentiary hearing a district attorney investigator on whether he and others had cooperated too closely with the insurance company. The hearing was suspended when Van Dyk and colleagues caused the investigator to incriminate himself, leading the judge to advise the investigator to obtain counsel.

"So we resolved the case very favorably for our client," Van Dyk said. "What sets apart folks who practice criminal defense at the highest level is the ability to investigate deeply--you never know where the problems with the prosecution's case lie until you look."