Sondra Sue Sutherland

I have worked in the legal profession throughout my entire adult life - since graduating from high school at age 17 in Colorado.  I worked as a legal secretary for 8 years, followed by 8 years as a paralegal.  During law school, I was a Judicial Extern to the Hon. Norman L. Epstein of the California Court of Appeal (L.A.) and then a Judicial Extern to the Hon. Alex Kozinski, now Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Pasadena).  In my first job out of law school, I was hired as a Research Attorney for the L.A. Superior Court, assigned to 6 of the 11 bench officers in the Family Law Department.  From there, I went to work for Trope and Trope, a larger family law firm in Brentwood, for a time before returning to San Diego and starting my own solo practice in mid-1999.  I have been in private practice ever since, distinguishing myself with numerous awards, published appellate decisions and one of the largest verdicts in U.S. history for CPS' violation of my client's civil (parental) rights in 2007 - which would take until 2011 to resolve due to various appeals all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.  That case earned me the CLAY Award in 2012 - the California State Bar "California Lawyer" Magazine's "Attorney of the Year" Award.  My practice focuses on family law, appeals and civil litigation such as personal injury, employment litigation, sexual harassment or anything that piques my interest and seems to be a worthy and economically viable cause.