The firm is pleased to announce that Kristen O’Connor has been elevated to partner effective January 1, 2023. Ms. O’Connor is based in the firm’s San Diego, California office. “After just completing a two-week jury trial with her, I’m excited and honored to have Kristen as a partner and have her on our team,” said Frank J. Johnson, the firm’s managing partner. “She is aggressive, smart, and a prodigious trial lawyer.”
Ms. O’Connor has spent her litigation career representing individuals in shareholder and complex litigation, as well as a diverse clientele in federal and state employment civil rights actions for harassment and discrimination. She is an experienced first-chair trial attorney and is deeply committed to serving as a principled and aggressive advocate for workers’ rights. Ms. O’Connor has handled high-stakes civil matters at all stages, from prelitigation investigations and discovery through trial.
Ms. O’Connor is a fourth-generation California trial attorney: Great-Grandfather, William L. Bradshaw, Judge, Kern County Superior Court; Grandfather, Richard W. Bradshaw, formerly Asst. District Attorney and Judge pro tem, Kern County; Uncle, the Honorable J. Eric Bradshaw, Asst. Presiding Judge, Kern County Superior Court.
Ms. O’Connor has been named by Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers as a leading San Diego, California lawyer since 2020. She was also selected by the organization as a 2020, 2021, and 2022 Rising Star, a designation awarded to no more than 2.5% of attorneys in each state.
Ms. O’Connor holds an LL.M. degree in Securities and Financial Regulation from Georgetown University Law Center. She received her Juris Doctor degree from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, where she graduated summa cum laude and third in her class. As the highest scoring student in her law school class, she received the CALI Award for Excellence in Legal Writing I, Legal Writing II, Civil Practice, Contracts I, Property II, Entertainment Law Transactions, and Wills and Trusts. She also received the Jefferson Medal for Mediation and Negotiation. During law school, she had the distinct honor of serving as both a faculty teaching and research assistant. She also served as an editor for the Thomas Jefferson Law Review, where her work in intellectual property was published.
Ms. O’Connor received a Bachelor of Arts degree from California Lutheran University, where she received academic scholarships. During her senior year, she studied Eastern European history and the Czech language as a visiting student at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic.