Nathaniel S. Brown III is senior counsel in WSHB’s Los Angeles office. With nearly ten years of experience, Nathaniel’s practice centers on complex civil litigation, including medical and legal malpractice.
Nathaniel possesses a Bachelor of Information Technology degree from American InterContinental University, his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Oregon School of Law, and his Master of Laws in Trial Advocacy from California Western School of Law. He held a judicial externship in the United States District Court, District of Oregon, with the Honorable John V. Acosta, and since then has enjoyed a varied litigation practice.
In addition to professional malpractice defense, Nathaniel enjoys experience in business and commercial litigation, corporate law and transactions, property management-tenant law, and complex torts and casualties. His previous exposure to different areas of law provided him with a robust foundation of experience.
Nathaniel has significant trial experience and a 90% win rate at trial. Outside of law, Nathaniel loves riding motorcycles, racing supercharged jet skis on the open ocean, snow skiing, and boating.
Education
- California Western School of Law (LL.M., 2015)
- University of Oregon School of Law (J.D., 2014)
- American InterContinental University (BIT, 2006, summa cum laude)
Licensed to Practice in
- California
- U.S. District Court, Central District of California
John grew up in the Southern Tier and currently lives in the Buffalo area. He has dedicated his professional life to making sure that hardworking families are treated fairly by the legal system, including years of service with the New York State Attorney Grievance Committees, which oversee the discipline of lawyers accused of misconduct or neglect, and appointments by Governor Cuomo to serve on multiple judicial screening committees evaluating potential candidates for judgeships. As a former Golden Club Boxer and current certified amateur boxing coach, referee, and judge…..I know how to fight in the ring and in the courtroom for you!
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS
- Appointed by New York Governor to serve on New York Judicial Screening Committee
- Appointed by New York Governor as Chairperson of the 4th Department Judicial Screening Committee
- Bar Association of Erie County
- Minority Bar Association of Western New York, Inc., Past President
- Western New York Trial Lawyers Association
- New York State Defenders Association
- Former Chairperson, Eighth Judicial District Attorney Grievance Committee
- Former member, U.S. Magistrate Selection Committee for U.S. District Court, Western District of N.Y.
- Syracuse University Law Alumni
HONORS AND AWARDS
- Erie County Lawyer of the Year 2020
- Buffalo News Citizen of the Year
- Super Lawyers — 2006 to present
- Erie County Bar Association Criminal Justice Award
- Minority Bar Association Community Service Award
- Ebony magazine Phenomenal Father Award
- Parents magazine Good Neighbor Award
- N.A.A.C.P. Medgar Evers Civil Rights Award
- Business First Forty Under Forty recognition
- Mansfield University Society of Honors
- Olean High School Athletic Wall of Fame
- Olean High School Academic Wall of Fame
PAST EMPLOYMENT
- Senior Trial Counsel and Managing Attorney, Brown Chiari LLP — 2009 to 2014
- Partner, Harter Secrest and Emery LLP — 2006 to 2009
- Owner, Law Offices of John V. Elmore — 1989 to 2006
- Assistant Attorney General, N.Y.S. Attorney General’s Office — 1987 to 1989
- Assistant District Attorney, N.Y. County District Attorney’s Office — 1984 to 1987
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
- Appointed by New York Governor as a Trustee of Erie Community College
- U.S.A. Boxing — certified boxing coach, referee and judge
- Omega Psi Phi Fraternity
- N.A.A.C.P. — life member
- Former member, New York State Commission on Indigent Defense
Attorney Dessausure is a native of Columbia, South Carolina. He graduated from Dreher High School in 1988. While attending Dreher High School, he participated in several athletic and social organizations.
Mr. Dessausure then attended South Carolina State University, where he graduated with honors and as a Presidential Scholar. He received his Juris Doctorate from North Carolina Central University, where he participated in numerous community and social organizations.
Areas of Practice
- Car Accidents
- Criminal Law
- Wrongful Death
- Personal Injury
- Automobile Accidents
- Medical Malpractice
- Nursing Home Negligence
- Worker's Compensation
Bar Admissions
Education
- North Carolina Central University School of Law, Durham, North Carolina
- South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, South Carolina
- Bachelor of Science – 1992
- Honors: Presidential Scholar
- Major: Criminal Justice
- Dreher High School – 1988
Professional Associations and Memberships
- National Bar Association, Member
- American Association of Justice, Member
- South Carolina Association of Justice, Member
- South Carolina Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Member
- Richland County Bar Association, Member
- Veterans of Foreign Wars, Member, 1991 – Present
- Columbia Lawyers Association, Member
- Federal Bar, Member
- American Bar Association, Member, 1994 – Present
- Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Member
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Member
- National Black Lawyers Association, Member
Marissa Crespo is an entertainment and business law attorney, author, and entrepreneur. As the principal of Crespo Law Office, P.C., she represents entertainment content creators, multi-national publicly traded companies, private corporations, and media conglomerates in complex commercial deals and entertainment transactions.
Acknowledging her passion to bring more of a personable approach as a lawyer, while leveraging her previous corporate experience working for an AmLaw 100 firm, Ms. Crespo chose a more entrepreneurial path in starting her own law firm to provide premium quality representation, with a culture centered on exceptional customer service and professionalism. Noted as the self-proclaimed "The Culture Curator®" she creatively crafts and curates intellectual property works from a legal perspective to help protect the cultural narrative and voices of her clients. Whether she is representing more conservative corporations or more progressive, entrepreneurial content creators and companies, Ms. Crespo provides a chameleon-style approach to adapt to the short-term and long-term business goals of each client.
In the entertainment industry, Ms. Crespo has been involved in deals for television shows on major networks such as NBC, VH1, Bravo, and WE tv, including such shows as Love and Hip-Hop and the Real Housewives franchises, and has negotiated development deals for scripted and unscripted television shows and films. She has negotiated brand sponsorships and IP licensing deals on behalf of writers, and new media adult and kid influencers, secured the registration and SAG-AFTRA franchising of minority and women-owned talent agencies and management firms throughout the country, and has successfully drafted and negotiated film deals for directors, writers, actors, and production companies as production legal counsel on films that have premiered at Tribeca and Sundance.
A frequent writer and panelist on entertainment-related issues, Ms. Crespo has been published by Thomson Reuters and in leading entertainment trade journals such as Columbia Journal of Law & the Arts and the New York Bar Association’s Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Journal, and is currently a freelance writer for Screencraft, and is a member of the Authors Guild.
Bar Admissions:
New York, New Jersey, Georgia
Certifications:
Fashion Law Certificate, Fordham Law School
Dywona 'Dee' Vantree-Keller
I count motherhood as my greatest accomplishment, and I prefer the titles “Dance Mom,” “Cheer Mom“, and “Volleyball Mom” to “Esquire.” God has entrusted my husband and me with two amazing daughters, and I never wanted to miss a moment of the precious years of childhood. So for over twenty years, I was a Solo Practitioner operating as DVKLAW. I’ve made every awards assembly, science fair, sporting event, and recital, and I have never missed an opportunity to chaperone a field trip or to serve as “Room Mom” or ‘Team Mom.” Whew!
But now that my children are older, and I’m more of a “smother” than a “mother,” I've transitioned to public service. I joined the Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia in August 2023, and I serve as the "Homeless Veterans Staff Attorney" in the Disability Rights and Homeless Outreach Unit (DRUHOP). I bring more than three decades of legal experience to the position.
In private practice, my primary practice areas were criminal defense and family law. I spent six years honing my trial skills as a prosecutor for the City of Hampton, and I am regarded as a specialist in juvenile criminal defense. I have served as Special Counsel for the Division of Child Support Enforcement, and I can help you navigate Virginia’s complex child support provisions and safeguard your financial future. I have been certified by the Virginia Supreme Court to serve as Guardian ad litem for children since 2002, so I am well equipped to assist you in highly contested custody cases. I have received hundreds of hours of training in child development and family dynamics and disfunction, and I can help you protect your children.
Virginia is not my first home. I was born in Louisiana ‘round da’ bayou. I was born at a time when people who looked like me lived on “our side” of the levy and went to “our” schools. There were men in fancy suits who would come and sit in the living room with my Papa. They talked about two things, changing the “rules” that kept us separated by that levy and my MaDear’s peach cobbler. That cobbler was legendary!
I think I was about four years old when I learned that those men in fancy suits were called “lawyers,” and they had to go to a place called “court” to change those “rules.” I remember them talking about a lawyer named Thurgood Marshall who became the first African American Justice to serve on the United States Supreme Court in 1967, the year that I was born. I suppose that’s why I’ve never wanted to be anything other than a lawyer.
When I’m not lawyerin’, I’m screaming all of the lyrics to my favorite songs at a live concert. Music is my Prozac! And when I’m not chasing pop stars, I’m planning my next trip to Disney World. I’ve served my community for more than thirty years as a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. I am a proud alumna of The Alma Mater of a Nation, The College of William and Mary, and I continue to support the Tribe as a Class Ambassador for the Class of 1989. And as a 1992 graduate of Tulane University Law School, I know what it means to miss New Orleans. Roll Wave!
And like every woman lucky enough to have been born in Louisiana, I love to cook. My peach cobbler is not as legendary as MaDear’s, but I fix a mean pot of gumbo!