Witt W. Chang
Witt also has the commercial litigation experience and know-how required to efficiently resolve the gamut of other legal challenges faced by businesses competing in the modern marketplace. In such matters, Witt primarily represents businesses in a variety of traditional and burgeoning Los Angeles industries, including new media and entertainment, advertising and marketing, hospitality, and real estate.
Witt has appeared before federal and state trial and appellate courts, routinely and successfully briefing motions and first-chairing hearings on behalf of his clients. He is intimately familiar with California federal and state procedural law, which he utilizes to maximum effect for clients. Witt is also experienced in alternative dispute resolution, whether in mediation or arbitration.
Clients appreciate Witt's level-headed demeanor and business-minded approach in analyzing and resolving complex legal issues.
Witt maintains an active pro bono practice and has successfully resolved unlawful detainer and immigration issues on behalf of pro bono clients. Witt is also involved in representing the Venice Community Housing Center, an organization that seeks to reduce homelessness and maximize affordable housing in West Los Angeles. Other representative pro bono clients include individual entrepreneurs, the Amitofo Charity Center, and the Community Enrichment Project.
Witt serves on the Los Angeles Office Hiring Committee, coordinates the firm's Los Angeles summer associate program, and is a co-chair of Venable’s Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) Affinity Group. Prior to joining Venable, Witt worked in the field of counterterrorism in Washington, DC.
Experience
Representative Matters
Advertising and Marketing
- Counseling clients on advertising-related issues, including with respect to whether advertising and marketing campaigns are compliant with federal and state laws and regulations
- Litigating false advertising claims (including under California’s Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law, and Consumer Legal Remedies Act) brought by consumers on behalf of putative classes
- Defending businesses (including in the advertising, hospitality, and entertainment industries) against claims brought by consumers on behalf of putative classes under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act
- Litigating contract disputes on behalf of internet and mobile advertisers, publishers, and affiliate networks
- Representing consumer products and services businesses in brand protection, unfair competition, and Lanham Act matters
- Representing business, including in the advertising and financial services industries, in connection with responding to civil investigative demands and subpoenas, and litigating enforcement actions initiated by various federal and state government agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and state attorneys general
Commercial Litigation
Beyond advertising law, Witt has a broad base of experience in commercial litigation. His practice has included:
- Representing employers and executives in multijurisdictional employee mobility litigation, often involving trade secret misappropriation and unfair competition claims
- Obtaining injunctive relief for a client at the outset of litigation and resolving a complicated business dispute between a family partnership and a rogue partner in a matter involving breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty
- Obtaining a very favorable settlement on the eve of trial for a plaintiff in litigation involving a pharmaceutical royalty transaction and breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty claims
- Representing a production company in the resolution of a breach of contract dispute regarding the financing, production, and distribution of a new scripted series, and involving major Hollywood financiers, directors, and streaming services
- Represented production companies in obtaining dismissal of a declaratory relief action filed by an insurance company in connection with an aviation incident during production of a major motion picture
- Representing buyers and sellers in litigation involving failed commercial real estate transactions
- Representing real estate private equity firms in construction defect and wrongful foreclosure matters
- Defeating a multijurisdictional contract action on behalf of a UK-based lender and obtaining an attorneys’ fee award based on English law
- Representing a food services client in successfully petitioning for the return of business records seized by the Internal Revenue Service
- Representing an international equipment and parts manufacturer in successfully unwinding a secured transaction relating to allegedly defective alternative energy equipment threatening to cause an imminent environmental hazard
Insights
Credentials
Education
- J.D. UCLA School of Law 2011
- Editor-in-chief, Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs
- B.S. cum laude Georgetown University, Walsh School of Foreign Service 2006
Bar Admissions
- California
Professional Memberships and Activities
- Member, Los Angeles Office Hiring Committee, Venable
- Co-chair, Asian Pacific Islander American Affinity Group, Venable
- Member, Executive Council, Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, 2020 – 2022
- Member, Beverly Hills Bar Association
- Member, Los Angeles County Bar Association
Recognition
- Super Lawyers, Rising Stars, Southern California, 2020 – 2022
- The Best Lawyers in America, Ones to Watch, 2021 – 2022
Community
Personal Activities
In 2016, Witt was one of two associates selected to participate as the firm's representatives in the Leadership Council for Legal Diversity (LCLD) Pathfinder Program. In 2019, Witt was accepted to participate in LCLD’s inaugural West Coast Sustainable Partnership Program cohort. In 2021, Witt was selected as one of the firm’s representatives for the LCLD Fellows Program. Witt is also active in LCLD leadership, participating as a programs facilitator, mentor, and advocacy group leader. He co-chaired the planning committee charged with organizing the 2018 Pathfinder alumni conference. Witt is a member of LCLD’s Executive Council, first serving as programs vice chair (2020 – 2021) and currently serving as programs chair.
As an active alumnus of UCLA Law, Witt participates in UCLA Law's Alumni Mentor Program and its Mock Interview Program.
Witt is a voracious reader, an alpine enthusiast, and an active investor.