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Cheryl Carlson is "Of Counsel" to
the Firm. She emphasizes civil litigation, especially
labor and employment law, unlawful detainers, premises
liability, personal injury and public entity defense.
Ms. Carlson serves as a mediator and arbitrator hired
by the litigants and the courts in Monterey and Santa
Cruz Counties.
Ms. Carlson was born May 24, 1954 in
Caripito, Venezuela, South America of American parents
working in various oil fields in Eastern and Western
Venezuela until Ms. Carlson was 15 years old. In 1968,
when Venezuela nationalized the oil industry, her parents
moved the family to Melbourne, Australia. Between 1973
and 1975 she completed two years at La Trobe University
in Melbourne majoring in Sociology and Education. She
then transferred to the California State University
at San Diego where she was awarded a Bachelor of Science
degree with Honors and Distinction in Criminal Justice
Administration in 1977. Ms. Carlson worked as a legal
secretary and paralegal before entering the University
of San Diego School of Law in 1981. She obtained her
J.D. in 1984 and moved with her husband to Santa Cruz
County. Ms. Carlson was admitted to the California
Bar in 1985 and to the United States District Court
for the Central, Eastern and Northern Districts of California.
Ms. Carlson worked as an associate for
the Van Loucks & Hanley law firm in San Jose, CA,
between 1985 and 1987 and again between 1993 and 1994.
She was an associate for Grunsky, Ebey, Farrar &
Howell between 1987 and 1993. In 1994, she joined Kay
Kingsley in Salinas to form the Kingsley & Ontiveros
law firm. When Ms. Kingsley was appointed to the Monterey
County bench, Ms. Carlson continued to practice as
a sole proprietor.
Between 1994 and 1997, Ms. Carlson served
as General Counsel to the Housing Authority of the County
of Monterey. From 1998 until the present, Ms. Carlson
has served as special counsel for the Housing Authority
in labor and employment matters. In January 2002, she
once again became General Counsel in addition to handling
all employment issues. Since 1994, Ms. Carlson has
also represented the Monterey-Salinas Transit Joint
Powers Agency in personal injury litigation and labor
arbitrations arising under the collective bargaining
agreement with its drivers, She also represents a large
retailer in premises liability cases in the region.
Ms. Carlson is a member of the Santa
Cruz and Monterey County Bar Associations; the Labor
and Employment Law Section of the California State Bar,
the Association of Defense Counsel, Northern California,
the Defense Research Institute and the Santa Cruz and
Monterey Women Lawyers Associations.
Ms. Carlson enjoys playing tennis
and traveling, camping and fishing with her husband
and two sons. She participates in the Santa Cruz Trial
Lawyers Elementary Law program at Mar Vista School.
Having attended school through eighth grade in English
and Spanish, Ms. Carlson is fluently bilingual and
biliterate in Spanish.
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