For more than a dozen years, Katy Graham worked closely with renowned justices in the California Court of Appeal’s Second District.

As a research attorney for Presiding Justice Arthur Gilbert and others, she helped analyze, decide, and draft opinions in hundreds of civil and criminal appeals. She delved into dozens of areas of substantive law, including environmental law, class actions, Proposition 218 cases, land use and eminent domain litigation, employment disputes, unfair competition suits, construction defect claims, arbitrability questions, and probate and family law appeals. Before joining the Court of Appeal, Katy served for six years as a research attorney in the Santa Barbara Superior Court, where she drafted tentative decisions for law and motion calendars in civil, probate, and family court, and provided legal analysis and advice to the judges hearing complex trials.

Prior to that, she was a litigator for a respected Los Angeles trial boutique.

While there, her firm was selected by the National Law Journal for “Top 10” verdicts in both plaintiff- and defense-side litigation. She tried cases in federal and state courts with an emphasis on environmental law and tribal law, and also handled securities, insurance, legal malpractice, and personal injury litigation.

Katy served as Chair of the Advisory Committee on Appellate Courts for the California Lawyers Association Litigation Section.

She remains an adviser to that Committee, and is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Litigation Section, as well as a member of its Committee on Racial Justice. She teaches continuing education courses to practitioners, court attorneys, judges, and appellate court justices on the topics of legal writing, dispositions, statutory interpretation, and appellate advocacy. Katy has presented at the California State Bar annual conference, the Appellate Justices Institute, and the Appellate Judicial Attorneys Institute, among other forums, and she’s also been a delegate to the Conference of California Bar Associations and a director and officer of the Santa Barbara County Bar Association.

Katy earned her law degree from the Santa Barbara College of Law, where she routinely earned the highest grade in her class.

She was also and was president of the Student Bar Association. Katy returned to the school after graduation to teach legal writing, as well as courses on appellate advocacy and professional responsibility. Katy earned her bachelor’s degree from Humboldt State University.

Clerkship

Law School

Santa Barbara College of Law

• President, Student Bar Association

Bar Admissions

California