About

Hi. I'm Cara.

I have fifteen years of experience as a California labor and employment attorney, but as important as my experience is my approach and my versatility.  I come from a working-class background - my dad was a carpenter and a roofer, my mom was a teacher's aid and I grew up in the mountains of Northern California in a cabin without electricity until I was 7.  I wasn't raised with privilege; I've been part of the workforce since I was fourteen, and paid for college and law school with scholarships and student jobs.  Almost everyone in my family is or has been part of a union.  I understand how important a job is to our stability, our ability to provide for our families, and therefore how crucial it is to feel like our boss is being fair, that our hard work is appreciated.  

I also own a small business (a bookstore/coffee shop in Tulum, Mexico), and have represented both big and small companies, so I understand the challenges of running a business: balancing budgets, client needs, schedules, and employee dynamics.  I have helped employers through countless tricky situations, from key employees out and not enough staff to cover, rogue managers who say and do things nobody knew about or approved of, employees caught lying, surprise unionization efforts.  I know how truly out-of-this-world some of California's laws seem to employers based in other states.  I know what a labyrinth PAGA is and how shocking the sticker price of litigation is.

I don't just understand the two sides of employment litigation; I speak fluent Spanish because I've lived primarily in Mexico since June 2017.  The experience has taught me more than just another language.  I've studied and come to understand another culture, which carries with it a different way of managing disputes. 

My particularly unique background and experience means that I get it.  I'm able to understand what's going on - in English or Spanish, in the mind of the executive or the life of a front-line worker.   Whatever the situation is, I get it.  And guess what, I can help the other side get it, and then get both parties to a resolution that allows them move on with their lives.