aaron.pease@highbridgelaw.com

Aaron is a trusted legal advisor with a deep track record of helping small business leaders scale, resolve complex disputes, and build resilient companies. As Outside General Counsel, Aaron has guided companies through every phase of growth—from formation and funding to expansion, acquisitions, and exit strategies. His approach blends sharp legal acumen with business insight to drive outcomes that align legal strategy with operational success.

Aaron played a central role in one client’s extraordinary growth from $5 million to $130 million in annual revenue in under three years. In another matter, he helped a founder exit a toxic partnership, structure a new entity with protective operating terms, and position the company to thrive. He also represented the owners of a privately held corporation in the divestiture of a major business unit while executing a complex stock buy-back from initial investors, returning control to the founders.

In litigation, Aaron is experienced in complex motion practice, trial, and appellate litigation, and negotiating favorable settlements in both federal and state courts. His work also extends to employment law, HR infrastructure, contract strategy, due diligence and deal structure for M&A, and strategic logistics and vendor management—delivering practical legal solutions that match the tempo of fast-moving businesses.

Aaron’s commitment to legal excellence is matched by his service to the profession. He has served for many years on the D.C. Court of Appeals’ Board on Professional Responsibility, where he currently chairs Hearing Committee No. 4. In this quasi-judicial role, he presides over hearings on attorney misconduct, delivering findings of fact and legal conclusions in written opinions to the Board and the D.C. Court of Appeals.

From 2018 to 2023, Aaron served as an Adjunct Professor in the MBA program at the University of Maryland Global Campus, where he taught and mentored future business and government leaders. Previously, he taught Healthcare Finance and U.S. Healthcare Systems at the University of North Florida.

Aaron’s commitment to service began long before his legal career. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1985 and deployed to the Persian Gulf during the “Tanker Wars” as an antisubmarine warfare avionics technician aboard the USS Elrod (FFG-55). His helicopter detachment flew more combat hours during that deployment than any other unit—a record that still stands. After completing his master’s in health administration, Aaron returned to active duty in 1999 as a commissioned Naval officer in the Medical Service Corps.

Following the attacks on 9/11, Aaron served with distinction in Guantanamo Bay, on board USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), and as a Fleet Marine Force officer, he led Sailors and Marines in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, in 2004 and 2006. His final active-duty role was as Director of Operational Support at the Naval Medical Logistics Command, overseeing worldwide medical logistics for Navy and Marine Corps forces. He also served as an instructor in medical planning, operations, and medical intelligence.

Across 14 years of combined enlisted and officer service, Aaron’s leadership, discipline, and operational expertise have shaped a legal practice grounded in clarity, mission focus, and unwavering client advocacy. Grounded in entrepreneurship, healthcare, finance, and military operations, Aaron delivers legal counsel that helps businesses lead with confidence in high-stakes environments.

Aaron holds a B.S.B.A. in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management from the Florida State University; a Master of Health Administration from the Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University; and a Juris Doctor from Florida Coastal School of Law, where he earned two national championship titles as an advocate member of the Moot Court Honor Board and Mock Trial teams.