Denisse O. Gastélum is the founder and principal trial attorney at Gastélum Law, where her practice focuses primarily on civil rights, sexual abuse, wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases, representing plaintiffs in state and federal courts throughout the State of California. She previously worked as a defense attorney, where she specialized in public entity defense. This experience provides her with the unique ability to analyze a case from both a defense and plaintiff’s perspective.She was born in East Los Angeles into an immigrant family from Chihuahua and Sinaloa, Mexico. Having come from humble beginnings, her commitment to advocating on behalf of those harmed by civil rights violations comes naturally.Denisse completed her undergraduate studies at UCLA, where she majored in Psychology and minored in Political Science and Education. She then embarked upon her legal studies at Loyola Law School, where she served as a mentor for the Academic Support Program, a debate coach for the Johnnie Cochran Middle School Debate Program, a member of the review team for For People of Color, Inc., and a law clerk for The Cochran Firm. In 2021, Denisse was recognized by the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) with the prestigious Top Lawyers Under 40 Award. After a rigorous review process, the HNBA Awards Committee selected Denisse from a large pool of highly qualified candidates from across the country for her outstanding professional achievements combined with an exceptional commitment to service. In 2020, Denisse was recognized as being Top 40 Under 40 by the National Trial Lawyers, a recognition that is extended solely to a select few of the most qualified attorneys from each state who demonstrate superior qualifications of leadership, reputation, influence, stature and public profile. Denisse has also received the Top 100 Civil Plaintiff’s Trial Lawyers recognition by the National Trial Lawyers. Denisse currently sits on the Board of Directors for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU SoCal), the California La Raza Lawyers Association (CLRLA), the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), and the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA). She is actively involved in police reform through her legislative work with the National Police Accountability Project (NPAP) Bane Act Reform Committee and the CAOC Civil Rights and Police Reform Committee. Over the years, Denisse has been a speaker on various panels regarding the practice of law and career advice.