Bike

Golf

Creative Agencies

Fashion

Lifestyle

Moto & Powersports

Outdoor

Skate

Snow

Surf

Tech

Yoga

Health & Fitness

Mountain biking.

Surfing for over 20 years.

Teaching my sons to skate.

Coaching little league baseball.

Vice President Legal

Experienced in-house counsel for international consumer brands. Broad base of experience including e-commerce, privacy, brand protection, contracts, advertising compliance, and trademarks.

MANSCAPED - The best brand for below-the-waist grooming and hygiene products.  Precision engineered tools and formulations specially designed for the most challenging and sensitive of regions.

First in-house counsel at MANSCAPED.  Responsible for creating a legal department and handling/supervising the legal work required to further MANSCAPED's business from start-up to international powerhouse.

Helped to take the company from a domestic to international seller of men's products.  Significant work in IP, privacy, international compliance, e-commerce, brand protection, supplier/manufacturer/retail relationships, advertising, product safety and consumer protection. 

Sound United is dedicated to artfully reproducing audio for listeners and enthusiasts around the world — no matter their passion, be it movies and music, TV and sports personal audio or entertainment as you hear it — Sound United is comprised of Denon®, Polk Audio®, Marantz®, Definitive Technology®, HEOS®, Classé®, and Boston Acoustics®. 

Senior Corporate Counsel August 2018 - January 2020
Acting General Counsel January 2020 - June 2020

One of two, then sole inhouse counsel for an international consumer products company with multiple brands.  Handled a diverse range of legal issues, including contracts review and management, marketing, brand licensing, brand protection, compliance, privacy, intellectual property, insurance, risk and litigation management.

Acting General Counsel

Bourns has 6,000 employees, working at manufacturing facilities and sales offices throughout the world.  It makes and sells electronic components to the automotive, aviation, consumer electronics, and medical industries.

Managed three people to handle all worldwide contractual relationships, international trade compliance, and review of marketing materials.  Responsible for all contract review and management of a wide variety of contracts, including manufacturing and development, private label, distributor, sales, sale rep., etc.  



Director Worldwide Contracts & International Trade

KMA markets and distributes Kia automobiles in the U.S.

As part of a large legal team, I specialized in all issues related to marketing and supervision of contracts review.

Contracts - Managed the process to draft, review, and negotiate all corporate vendor agreements. Drafted new master services agreement used in most vendor relationships, reducing negotiation time and increasing legal protection for KMA.

Brand Protection - Monitored online trademark infringement and the sale of counterfeit products. Represented Kia on the Automobile Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (A2C2), an industry group working with the federal government to locate and remove counterfeit parts from the marketplace.

Marketing - Handled all legal work for the Marketing Department. Responsible for legal review of all U.S. marketing across all media, including: TV, radio, print and digital, sports and event sponsorships, sweepstakes, social media, press releases, car show materials, and website content. Drafted privacy policy and advised on privacy issues related to consumer information. Ensured compliance with all Federal Trade Commission rules.

Intellectual Property - Managed defense of intellectual property litigation. Managed process to vet and register trademarks.

Corporate Counsel

TMHU is responsible for the marketing and distribution of Toyota forklifts and equipment in North America. Annual sales surpass $1 billion.  #1 market share in its industry for over 20 years.

Began as Products Liability Counsel, handling all issues related to product safety, regulatory compliance, and litigation.  Promoted to National Legal Department Manager & Managing Counsel and General Counsel, handling all legal issues for Toyota until it moved from Orange County, CA to Indiana.

Contracts - Managed process to draft, review and negotiate all contracts, including national and international sales and service, distributor, dealer, and vendor agreements. Provided legal support to Sales Department, and represented Toyota at national dealer meetings.

Compliance - Chaired compliance committee to set policies and create training materials, focusing on anti-bribery and anti-trust issues. Trained U.S. and Japanese employees. During product development, worked with design engineers on compliance with U.S. product safety standards.

Marketing - Performed legal review of all marketing materials, including product brochures, website content, and competitive claims. Reviewed operator and repair manuals, and on-product warnings and instructions.

Acquisitions - Helped to standardize acquisitions process and acquire multiple independently-owned dealers.

Litigation - Managed defense of all products liability and commercial litigation in North America.





General Counsel

Find out detailed information about Kody Diaz, Vice President Legal in San Clemente, CA

Kody Diaz: Vice President Legal in San Clemente, CA

Kody Diaz

MANSCAPED

Sound United

Bourns, Inc.

Kia Motors America

Toyota Material Handling, USA

U.C. Santa Barbara

University of San Diego School of Law