Q: What are some of the exciting things you have been up to over the last 20 years?
A: Since graduating from Alta, I have received a B.A. in International Business from Westminster College of Salt Lake City (’99), an M.B.A. from Westminster College of Salt Lake City (’00) and J.D. from Southwestern Law School (’07). I am currently licensed to practice law in California and Utah. I currently live in Los Angeles, California with my husband Trae, 16 year old step son Cade, 3 year old daughter Cassidy, our 3 cats and 2 dogs. My husband is a professional photographer for television and film and I am an attorney.
I am a certified rescue diver and have travelled all over the world to scuba dive. Some of the places I have been diving include Cozumel, Fiji, Bali, Australia, Hawaii and, of course, California. In Fiji, I overcame my huge fear of sharks and did a shark dive while they were being hand fed. In Hawaii, I dove with the manta rays. In Mexico, I did some fresh water cave diving. In Australia, I dived on the Great Barrier Reef. In Bali, we stayed at a dive resort 600 miles off the coast of Bali and it was like diving in your computer screen saver – so colorful and full of life.
My husband and I also enjoy traveling on land too. We have visited New York, Toronto, Mexico, New Zealand, France, Germany and Italy. We have also cruised in Australia and the Caribbean. Last year we were able to attend Oktoberfest in Munich Germany which was unbelievable (and I would highly recommend going).
Q: When did you moved to LA? What brought you out there?
A: I moved to Los Angeles from Salt Lake in August 2002 with my now husband, Trae. Trae was moving to Los Angeles to pursue his photography career and I tagged along.
Q: What do you love about the area?
A: I LOVE the amazing weather in SoCal!! While I miss having seasons, I don’t miss snow and am totally fine with 80 degrees in December (although getting used to a Christmas without snow was a little difficult at first but being able to go to the beach made it manageable ;)). I also love being able to experience all the different cultures and food that Los Angeles has to offer.
Q: Tell us about your family.
A: My husband is a professional photographer for television and film. We have a 3 year old, named Cassidy, who has an amazing amount of energy and likes to talk ALL THE TIME. We have three cats and two dogs. As a family we enjoy going hiking, going to the beach, visiting Santa Barbara where my husband grew up and traveling to Napa.
Q: What made you choose law as a career? Where did you go to law school?
I have always wanted to be a lawyer. I started law school in 2003. My law school, Southwestern Law School, offered a four year evening program and I worked from 6:30a.m. – 3:30p.m. at a web analytics company as the lead client engagement manager with clients on the east coast and in Europe like Gucci, L’Oreal and the Tribune Company and would attend school Monday – Thursday nights from 6:00-10:00. I became licensed to practice law in California in 2008 and Utah in 2010.
Q: What area of law do you focus on?
A: I am a civil litigator focusing mainly on matters that involve catastrophic injury and death. I mainly do defense work. I have handled a wide variety of cases including elevators that descend more quickly than expected, allegedly defective porta potties that caused toxic fumes, shootings between family members, injuries and deaths that occur on construction projects, exploding e-cigarettes and serious, often fatal, automobile collisions.
Q: What do you love about your job?
A: One of the reasons I love my job is the fact I get to deal with something different almost every day. Just when you think you have heard everything, another case comes along that is totally unexpected. I have had the opportunity to second chair several trials, do arbitrations and argue in front of the California Court of Appeals.
Q: You played oboe in high school? Are you still involved in music?
A: Before my daughter was born, I was an active member of the Los Angeles Lawyers Philharmonic playing the oboe. All members of the group are in the legal field from paralegals to attorneys to judges. It was a fantastic experience to be able to play with colleagues and to see those I interact with in a different setting as an example, a judge that I routinely appear before, is a viola player and sat next to me. While with the group, I had the opportunity to play multiple times at Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
Q: What things are you most looking forward to at the reunion?
A: I am looking forward to catching up and see who we grew up to be!