My Story
Growing up in Dallas, Texas, Andrew attended and graduated from Hofstra University in New York, with a focus on pre-law and cybersecurity.
After graduating from Hofstra in 2012, he attended the University of Dayton School of Law in Ohio, where he focused on cyberspace and intellectual property law.
After passing the Ohio Bar Exam, he spent his first few years in the worlds of criminal defense, personal injury and class-actions, collections for The State of Ohio and Ohio Attorney General, and cyberspace.
"I seek to create bridges that silently connect the hearts and minds of people everywhere"
He also joined his alma mater, UD Law, as an upper-level adjunct law professor teaching cyberspace & internet law to 2Ls and 3Ls, bringing a real world application of law and tech into the classroom as a mechanism for educating students on the impact of today’s emerging tech and how it often converges and conflicts with the legal landscape.
As part of his curriculum teaching on social media crimes, including online bullying, he has frequently invited the mothers and voices of the children lost to suicide as a result of online bullying into the classroom, including, but not limited to:
- Tina Meier, mother and voice to Megan Meier, and the founder of The Megan Meier Foundation and Megan’s Law (Missouri)
- Jane Clementi, mother and voice to Tyler Clementi, and the founder of The Tyler Clementi Foundation
- Maurine Molak, mother and voice to David Molak, and the founder of David’s Legacy Foundation and David’s Law (Texas).
- Christine McComas, mother and voice to Grace McComas, and Sen. Bobby Zirkin, who led the passing of Maryland’s cyberbullying law, Grace’s Law 2.0.
A legal thesis Andrew wrote in 2016, entitled “Gotta Catch a…Lawsuit? A Legal Insight into the Intellectual, Civil, and Criminal Battlefield Pokemon Go Has Downloaded Onto Smartphones Around the World” went viral and eventually landed him on numerous local ABC/FOX/CBS/NBC affiliates and at the HuffPost as a legal contributor.
The paper, which has since been quoted by several law review journals, including Harvard and Purdue, focused on the legal implications mobile augmented reality (AR) gaming would bring to consumers, using the then newly launched Pokemon Go game for the smartphone as a case study,
After six months with the HuffPost, Andrew was invited by an editor to join Forbes Money & Markets, which eventually rebranded to Forbes Crypto (now known as Forbes Digital Assets), where Andrew as one of the platform’s first crypto contributors, began writing on blockchain, cryptocurrency, and cybersecurity until 2018, where he has since had bylines and words at Bloomberg Law, AboveTheLaw, Cheddar, TODAY Show (Parents), Entrepreneur, BBC, Ticker News, and local ABC/CBS/NBC/FOX affiliates across Dayton (OH), Dallas (TX), Boston (MA), Los Angeles (CA), and more.
In 2016, Andrew launched a YouTube-based series focused on anti-bullying awareness, called #CYBERBYTE®.
The #CYBERBYTE® initiative invited leading legal voices, A-list Hollywood talent, and Silicon Valley executives to record a 60-second video to their community, sharing their tips and/or a personal experience they had with online bullying.
#CYBERBYTE® ambassadors included, but aren’t limited to:
- Sean Reyes, Utah Attorney General
- Sen. Bobby Zirkin, Maryland
- Maria Vathis, former Federal Bar Association President
- John McManus, former VP of Dayton Public Schools
- Christine McComas, mother and voice to Grace McComas and Grace’s Law
- Brian Cuban, author of The Addicted Lawyer and brother to Mark Cuban
- Chris Hansen, NBC’s How to Catch a Predator
- Michelle Romanow (Dragon’s Den)
- MikelParis, keyboardist for O.A.R.
- DJ Gareth Emery
- Jamie-Lynn Sigler (The Sopranos and Entourage)
- John DiMaggio, Futurama and voice of Bender
- Freddie Prinze, Jr. (Scooby Doo! Where Are You?)
- Chad Michael Murray, One Tree Hill/Gossip Girl/Riverdale
- CW Supernatural’s Misha Collins, Samantha Smith, Alaina Huffman, and Mark Pellegrino, in addition to Charmed actor Brian Krause, Smallville’s Michael Rosenbaum,
- OG cast of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, including the late Jason David Frank and Austin St. John, in addition to Mike O’Laskey
- 2020 presidential candidate and The Mighty Ducks child actor, Brock Pierce
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Andrew came face-to-face with remnants of his past where in July 2020, he published an Open Letter to HuffPost, which detailed a childhood sexual assault that he experienced at a Jewish sports summer camp at the age of 13, which led to intense IRL and online bullying that lasted throughout his high school tenure.
His Open Letter was subsequently picked up by AboveTheLaw’s Brian Cuban, brother to Mark Cuban, who worked with Andrew in helping him share his experience with the legal community as a fellow member of the Bar, and encouraging men, especially in the legal field, who may have been subjected to similar instances of violent crimes and silence, to feel safe and secure in coming forward, just as he did.
He has since taken on a number of advisory roles with a variety of organizations and nonprofits focused on fighting cyberbullying, beginning with The Cybersmile Foundation and Pop Culture Hero Coalition.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Andrew launched AR Media Consulting, an Austin-based media strategy agency that he and his now wife run together in helping creatives and artists with their brand’s storytelling and media presence.
Andrew currently lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, Cassie, and three cats – Simba, Nala, and Bailey.
