Catalina strives to empower clients, working together with them to achieve life-changing results. The firm’s goals are not only to resolve cases for maximum value but also to educate tenants about their legal protections so they will have the tools and courage to speak out against injustice. Catalina immigrated from Colombia with her family at the age of six and is a native speaker of Spanish. She has been named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers over the last several years and was recently profiled by the LA Times. Los Angeles Magazine named her one of Southern California’s Top Young Attorneys, and she was named a Top Attorney by California’s Top Attorneys 2020. In 2020, she received the Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars Honoree Award. Catalina is a 2018 graduate of the Trial Lawyer’s College and has been a member of CAALA for more than a decade.
Catalina received her Juris Doctorate from Southwestern Law School, where she was a recipient of the Schumacher Scholarship and a Dean’s Scholar. She graduated in May 2011 in the top 20% of her class. She was an active member of Southwestern’s Moot Court Honors Program, winning Second Place in Southwestern’s Intramural Moot Court Competition in 2009, and representing Southwestern in two National Moot Court competitions throughout the country.
In her final year at Southwestern, Catalina served as a law clerk for the Honorable Amy M. Pellman of the Los Angeles Superior Court, assisting with her transition to the Edmund D. Edelman Children’s Court. She also completed a Biederman Institute Practicum in the area of Copyright and Entertainment Law.
Catalina received her B.S. from the University of Florida (UF), where she attended as a Bright Futures Scholar. While at UF, she received the Outstanding Senior Award and Presidential Award of Excellence for her work with the Women’s Leadership Council and the Office of Community Service. She holds an International Baccalaureate diploma from Ft. Myers High School.
Catalina is a passionate advocate of social justice and client empowerment. In 2009, the Women Lawyer’s Association awarded her the Student Leader Award for her work with victims of domestic violence and social injustice. She is the president and co-founder of Hugs From Hollywood, a company dedicated to non-profit development within the entertainment industry. Additionally, she is a volunteer attorney for the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and the Women Lawyer’s Association of Los Angeles and is proud to sit on the Resource Board for OPCC’s Sojourn project.
She is currently an active member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Beverly Hills Bar Association, the National Lawyers’ Guild, the Latina Lawyers Association, the Women Lawyer’s Association, and Women in Film. She is licensed to practice law in the State of California and the Federal District Courts, including the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
