Xelef L. Botan

XELEF L. BOTAN is an associate at SSJ and licensed to represent clients throughout California. His practice areas include civil litigation, business litigation, employment law, serious personal injury and wrongful death matters, administrative law, alcohol law, and land use. He is particularly interested in the rapidly evolving fields of privacy, artificial intelligence, technology, and telecommunications law, driven by the increasing intersection of these areas with everyday life and business operations.

Mr. Botan earned his B.A. in International Relations from Brown University where he became the first student from Turkey to receive a full scholarship.  After earning his undergraduate degree, he spent five years in various roles at a multinational technology and home goods company, ultimately serving as Key Account Manager for corporate sales.

Mr. Botan went on to earn his M.A. at the University of Chicago on a full scholarship, where his thesis focused on the constitution-building process and political formation of Syrian Kurds in Rojava. He then earned his J.D. at the University of Colorado Law School as a LILAC Fellow, once again receiving a full scholarship. At Colorado, he was a student attorney for their Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law and Policy Clinic representing institutional clients before state and federal level regulatory agencies.  During his summers in law school, Mr. Botan also gained hands-on experience through internships with software company Twilio and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) under the U.S. Department of Commerce.  Moreover, he also externed at the Colorado Court of Appeals and the Colorado Attorney General’s Office in the Consumer Protection Division.

In his spare time, Mr. Botan enjoys listening to all genres of music from all over the world — though he is partial to Kurdish dance music. He also enjoys reading, following world events, and watching movies (he almost minored in cinema in college). An avid traveler and language enthusiast, he is proficient in six languages and is always eager to learn something new.