Daniel Watts
Daniel Watts is a shareholder at G10 Law and a Certified Appellate Specialist — an honor held by fewer than one percent of California attorneys. He representing clients in complex civil disputes at both the trial and appellate levels. He has served as lead counsel in appeals before the California Court of Appeal, the California Supreme Court, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mr. Watts’ practice spans constitutional law, real property disputes, business torts, employment matters, and anti-SLAPP litigation. He has argued cutting-edge First Amendment issues, defended journalists and student newspapers, and advised startups on corporate governance, incorporation, and capital structure.
He earned his J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law, where he served as Articles and Projects Editor on the UC Davis Law Review, sat on the editorial board of the Journal of International Law & Policy, and chaired the Moot Court Board’s Problems Writing Committee. He competed in national moot court and mock trial competitions, placing among the top oral advocates in the country. While at UC Davis, he simultaneously served as president of both the ACLU and Federalist Society chapters, organizing debates on constitutional law and free speech. While a summer intern, he drafted the copyright and defamation response protocols used for years by the Wikimedia Foundation.
Before law school, Mr. Watts graduated with honors from UC San Diego with degrees in Political Science and History. At age twenty, he became one of the youngest candidates ever to run for Governor of California in the 2003 recall election. He later taught English in Japan through the JET Programme and began his teaching career as an instructor in UCSD’s honors writing program.
In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Watts has taught seminars on First Amendment law, appellate advocacy, and legal writing at UC San Diego and UC Davis School of Law. He regularly mentors student journalists and coaches moot court teams in oral advocacy and brief-writing.
Honors & Affiliations
- Certified Specialist in Appellate Law, State Bar of California
- Super Lawyers – Appellate (San Diego)
- Top 100 Leaders in Law, San Diego Business Journal
- AV Preeminent Rating, Martindale-Hubbell
- Former Board Member, North County Bar Association
- Member, Lopardo and Schwartz-Levi Inns of Court
Outside the courtroom, he remains active in public discourse on free speech and education, frequently speaking to student groups on constitutional rights and journalistic independence.
Course(s) taught: Constitutional Law II