I’m both a CPA and an attorney. I spent almost nine years in audit, first at Deloitte & Touche and then in internal audit at Cox Enterprises. After that, I worked for nearly three years as assistant controller for Cox Radio in Birmingham. Through accounting, I learned how businesses operate from the inside—how they’re structured, where the risks lie, and what the numbers can tell us about their future.

At Cox Radio, I managed payola and plugola compliance. This meant making sure no one paid for airplay without proper disclosure. I learned how songs actually make it onto the air and began reading about copyright and the long history of Black musicians losing control of their work. Seeing local artists and creators put everything into their work without legal protection led me to choose law.

That experience still guides my work today. When a designer asks about a name, I look beyond the trademark register. I consider their product plans, licensing options, and whether the name will still suit the business in the future.

Earlier in my career, I worked on federal tax controversy cases and have been admitted to the United States Tax Court since 2015. I represent people in disputes with the IRS, including designers, artists, and other creatives who have self-employment income.

Most of my clients are in fashion, beauty, and art. I studied materials and textiles in a graduate industrial design program and completed the Fashion Law Institute intensive at Fordham Law School. This means I understand how a garment is made, not just how it’s protected. Copyright law looks at a garment in parts: the cut of a dress usually isn’t protected, but the print on the fabric can be.

I was diagnosed with cancer in 2021 and finished treatment in 2022. Now I live one day at a time and pay closer attention to what I eat, wear, and use. I’m from New Orleans, at the bottom of the Mississippi River stretch now called Cancer Alley, where chemical plants sit next to Black neighborhoods with documented cancer clusters, and I’ve written about it. Together, these are why I care about how products are made and what their production leaves behind, and why I prefer working with conscious brands.

I have practiced intellectual property law for almost a decade. Before starting my own firm, I led the intellectual property and entertainment practice group at a New York law firm, where I represented the royalty beneficiary of a Harlem Renaissance writer’s copyrighted works. I have won domain name disputes under the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP), negotiated trademark coexistence agreements, worked with lawyers in China and India on international brand expansion, and settled disputes through negotiation with companies much larger than my clients.

I speak and write about cultural appropriation in intellectual property, especially in fashion. I have presented on cultural misappropriation in trademarks at PLI’s Advanced Trademark Law program, moderated a panel on cultural appropriation in trademarks at the Alt Legal Conference, and written for the ABA’s Landslide magazine about the branding of Black Lives Matter and famous marks in global markets. I am an adjunct professor and supervising attorney in the USPTO-certified IP Trademark Clinic at Howard University School of Law, and I volunteer with The Ella Project in New Orleans and Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts.

I started Cloth & Code Legal PLLC for brands that care about thoughtful growth, not just speed. If this sounds like the kind of guidance you’re looking for, fill out the intake form, and I’ll take care of the rest.