Clarissa graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College in 2000, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Latin American Studies and Spanish. After teaching English in Mexico, and managing the office of a sole practitioner in Los Angeles, Clarissa moved to San Francisco to attend law school. She is a 2006 graduate of Golden Gate University School of Law, where she placed in the top four percent of her graduating class. She became licensed to practice law in California and an associate at Walker, Hamilton & Kearns (then Walker, Hamilton & Koenig) that same year.

For nine years, Clarissa has handled a busy caseload in the area of catastrophic personal injury before working remotely while raising her three young sons. She has now returned to full-time practice with the firm. She is a member of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association and Consumer Attorneys of California and was selected for inclusion on the 2011-2014 “Northern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars" lists, an honor reserved for only 2.5% of lawyers in Northern California. She also speaks Spanish and Portuguese.

Clarissa is a former PTA President in Portland, OR, where she lived for a stint with her family. As of August 2020, she is back living in San Francisco with her husband, three young boys, and three crazy rescue cats. When not in the office, she enjoys exploring San Francisco on foot or on a bike with her family, supporting her kids’ public schools through volunteering with the PTSA and on the school newsletters, listening to Podcasts, and doubling recipes on the weekends so as to make the work week a little less hectic come dinner preparation time.

Areas of Practice

• Personal Injury
• Dangerous Condition of Public Property
• Wrongful Death
• Product Liability

Bar Admissions

• State Bar of California
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of California
• U.S. District Court Northern District of California
• U.S. District Court Southern District of California

Education

• “Northern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars," 2011-2014
• Witkin Award in Appellate Advocacy
• Witkin Award in Community Property
• Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) Award in Writing & Research
• CALI Award in Land Use Regulation
• Recipient of the 2006 Faculty Award for Academic Excellence in Environmental Law, 2006