Hi, my name is Vanessa.  I like long walks on the beach and… wait, this isn’t that kind of website.  Let me start over.

Hi, my name is Vanessa.  I like creative problem-solving and well-drafted legal documents. I wear my heart on my sleeve and I like to laugh. My personal mantra is “this too shall pass” and my work mantra is “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

I grew up in New Jersey, Ohio, Connecticut, and the San Francisco Bay Area. I have a dual-degree in English and Italian from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where I fell in love with my husband Matt and regrettably never wore sunscreen once in 4 years (these things catch up to you in your forties). After undergrad, I headed to Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, from which I graduated cum laude in 2006. I spent the next few years working for firms in Chicago and generally DINK-ing it up with Matt before having our first daughter. We moved to Los Angeles in 2010 to get away from the snow and be close to my parents.

I took my first in-house job and never looked back to firm life until 2015 when I left my cushy in-house role to jump off a cliff and start my own law practice. For about 7 years I grew my business and tripled-down on the mom thing by having two more kids. These little monsters fill our home with noise and our hearts with love.

I closed my private practice in 2022 and I’m currently in an in-house role with FabFitFun. Why, you ask? Because when it comes to work and career stuff, when something feels easy, it’s probably not worth doing anymore. Call me crazy, but I almost like being uncomfortable.

I do my best to balance the demands of my job with family, friends, my volunteer roles with the Hermosa Beach Youth Basketball League and the Hermosa Beach Civil Service Board, playing the guitar, crocheting, writing TV screenplays (just for fun so far) and my love of all things Game of Thrones and Outlander.  It’s a work in progress but life is all about the journey… the journey and good pizza.

Oh, and I really do like long walks on the beach.  Thanks for coming to my site and learning more about me.