DIRK R. SAMPSELLE, ESQ.

Founder, Managing Attorney
Licensed in California

Dirk is a California attorney specializing in startup finance, venture investment, and managing the legal affairs of growing enterprises.

Prior to founding Telos, Mr. Sampselle has served as General Counsel to several leading impact enterprises, including PAMCO, a Washington D.C.-based investment firm including SEC-registered Investment Advisor, a FINRA-registered Broker-Dealer, clean technology venture capital funds, ERISA pension fund separate accounts, a financial advisory consulting firm, and a variety of subsidiary investment vehicles. Dirk managed legal affairs for the entire family of businesses, including holding roles on several portfolio company boards of directors.

Dirk earned his BA from the University of Florida, and earned his JD and MBA as a Dean's Scholar at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA, where he studied corporate governance under Myron Steele, the then-presiding Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court.

Dirk is also a dedicated husband to his wife Heather, dog-dad to their golden retriever Charlie, and soon-to-be girl dad (arriving Jan 2025). Dirk dedicates a fair amount of his personal time to charitable endeavors, including having previously served as a Board member of the Frederick Community Action Agency, which is a public-private partnership that provides food, shelter, medical care, housing, and other forms of assistance to families and individuals that are low-income or homeless.

PUBLICATIONS

Dirk has authored articles for publications including the peer-reviewed Emory Law Journal, Forbes, Entrepreneur, and several professional trade publications.

TEYSHA SIVAGE, ESQ.

Managing Associate Attorney
Licensed in Texas

Teysha Sivage is a managing associate attorney with Telos Arete. Teysha earned a JD at St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas, served as a Dean's Research Fellow, and graduated cum laude from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

Prior to joining Telos Arete, Teysha worked for six years in the civil litigation and estate planning fields. While in law school, Teysha worked as a legal clerk for a criminal law firm, worked as a research assistant for the Associate Dean conducting groundwater law research, clerked with an entertainment lawyer dealing mostly in intellectual property, performed pro bono work assisting with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival cases, as well as pro bono work for the Community Justice Program for Veterans and the Family Pro Bono Program. Teysha also competed on the St. Mary’s trial advocacy team, and served as the Vice President for both the Water and Environmental Law Society and the Legal Society for Musicians.

Ms. Sivage’s representation of companies spans the entire corporate life-cycle, including pre-incorporation planning, general corporate representation, venture capital financings, corporate governance, and working with venture capitalists in private stock offerings.

Ellie Parker, Esq.

Associate Attorney
Licensed in Georgia

Ellie is an associate attorney with Telos Arete. Ellie earned her JD from Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia, where she participated in moot court and the Alternative Dispute Resolution society. Before attending Emory, Ellie graduated magna cum laude from Yeshiva University in New York City.

Prior to joining Telos Arete, Ellie worked in asset management and estate planning at Goldman Sachs where she developed a keen understanding of SEC requirements and compliance regulations. While in law school, Ellie had the opportunity to serve as a research assistant for Emory’s Appeal for Youth Clinic and interned at a criminal defense firm in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Before attending law school, Ellie clerked for Judge Rachel Freier at the Kings County Civil Courthouse, allowing her to further hone her legal drafting skills.

Ellie lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her rabbit, Cow. After hours, Ellie enjoys playing basketball, cooking for friends, and creative writing.

Brian Bedard, ESQ.

Managing Associate Attorney
Licensed in Florida

Brian Bedard is a managing associate attorney with Telos Arete. Brian earned his JD from the University of Miami School of Law, with a concentration in Litigation & Dispute Resolution, and his BA in Political Science from The University of Central Florida.

Prior to joining Telos Arete, Brian worked in-house for OpenStore’s e-commerce M&A team in Miami, Florida where he specialized in due diligence. While in law school, Brian gained a wide variety of legal experiences, such as Immigration and Employment at Littler Mendelson, Litigation at Hinshaw & Culbertson, and Civil Procedure at the 17th Judicial Circuit of Florida.

Brian lives in West Palm Beach, Florida with his wife, Karla and daughter, Olivia. When he’s not working, Brian enjoys reading about technology, volunteering, and attending sporting events for all of Miami’s underperforming teams.

Beeta Jafari, ESQ.

Senior Counsel Attorney

Licensed in California

Beeta Jafari is a senior counsel attorney with Telos Arete. Beeta is a seasoned corporate and commercial attorney with over a decade of experience advising companies on complex commercial, compliance, and legal operations matters. Her practice focuses on structuring, drafting, and negotiating sophisticated commercial agreements and implementing scalable legal frameworks that enable business growth.

Before joining Telos + Arete, Beeta served as the first in-house counsel at Lugano Diamonds, where she managed the commercial legal affairs of the company, ranging from commercial and regulatory matters to intellectual property and corporate governance. She previously held senior in-house legal roles at Jellysmack and MicroVention-Terumo, leading cross-functional legal initiatives, negotiated high-value agreements, and supported corporate governance and strategic transactions. Earlier in her career, Beeta gained experience in corporate structuring, contract negotiation and legal operations through roles as Sr. Contracts Associate at Boldyn Networks and Associate Attorney at Distinct Law Group.

Beeta earned her Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Southwestern Law School and her Bachelor of Science (B.S.) from the University of Southern California. She is admitted to practice law in the State of California.