I have over twelve years of litigation experience on both sides of the counsel table, representing individuals as well as corporations. Initially, my practice focused on product liability, mass tort, insurance coverage and bad-faith litigation, and a range of business litigation including copyright infringement, labor disputes, partnership dissolution, fraud, and contractual disputes. My clients were predominately defendants. 

While raising my children, I took a break from litigation and attended culinary school. I worked for years as a private chef and instructor in both Los Angeles and France. While the culinary arts may seem a dramatic departure from litigation, at their core the interests are similar: both are service professions devoted to the enrichment and betterment of others’ lives. Both require judgment, improvisation, patience, interpersonal skills, and hard-work. 

When I returned to the practice of law, I represented predominately plaintiffs in civil matters, including childhood sexual abuse, sexual harassment, age/sex discrimination, product liability, and civil rights violations. Yet, despite the importance and value of advocacy, I found that the limitations in the adversarial system remained the same regardless of the side I represented. The lack of true conflict resolution and healing through litigation led me to focus my efforts as a neutral, peace building on a local and international level instead of advocating for one side. The path of neutrality and working with others toward a goal of dispute resolution feeds my innate curiosity and appreciation for people, their interests, their customs, and perceptions. I believe passionately that we are better as a community when we work through our differences together.