Cristina Mathews - Attorney

En español

What I do:

My practice is focused on workers’ rights, family law, and estate planning and probate.  If you need help in another area, I may be able to refer you to other resources or attorneys if I cannot assist myself.  (You may also want to look at the free services I link to in the pages of this website dedicated to each practice area.)

Different kinds of services fit different situations and people, so I provide legal services in a range of ways.

Full legal representation is the most traditional: when I provide full representation, I represent a client throughout a matter.  “Limited scope representation” may better fit other situations: in limited scope representation, I represent a client for just one part of a matter, and they represent themselves in other steps.  And sometimes a client prefers coaching so that they can represent themselves or prepare their own documents, or simply information to help them choose a path forward.

About me:

I received my law degree from Berkeley Law in 2019, with a certificate in Public Interest and Social Justice.  As a Self-Help Center attorney, I helped people without attorneys represent themselves, primarily in family law matters, at the Mendocino County Superior Court.  Before and during law school I advocated for workers and consumers at public interest law firms.

Before becoming a lawyer, I spent two decades as an educator, half of that time as an English professor at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania.  My goals as a lawyer are the same as those that guided me as an educator: to develop the power and voice of the people I work with.  I learned I could do that best when I listened well to my students and enabled them to direct their own education.  When I was a professor, I had an excellent table in my office, one big enough that I could sit beside my students as we worked together on their writing.  I didn’t bring that table with me to Fort Bragg, but I did bring that collaborative attitude.

I received a B.A. Summa Cum Laude from Yale College and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from SUNY Stony Brook.  The Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law published my article “Unlocking the Farmhouse Gate,” about California farmworkers’ access to legal services.  I am a member of the California Employment Lawyers Association  and participated in the Sustainable Economies Law Center legal fellows program.  As a representative of the California Low-Income Consumer Coalition, I advocated for regulations that benefit low-income consumers.

I am proud to have served on a school board, raised a barn with my brother, and planted community trees.  I lived in Point Reyes Station as a young person, and since then have lived in Orizaba, Mexico; the Bay Area; and northeastern Pennsylvania, among other places.  I am glad to call Fort Bragg home.

Fees:

I generally charge $150 for an initial consultation of up to an hour.  We will discuss rates for any additional work at the initial meeting.

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