Severson and Werson

Kristin Walker joined Severson & Werson's Irvine office in 2004 after a career as a prosecutor with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. She now focuses her practice on labor and employment litigation, automobile finance and mortgage fraud.

Ms. Walker is an experienced trial lawyer and civil litigator. Over the past seven years, she has tried more than 30 jury trials, 60 bench trials/juvenile adjudications, and over 600 preliminary hearings. Ms. Walker has examined and counseled thousands of witnesses in various courtroom hearings. She routinely takes and defends depositions. She has also served as a law school professor and law school trial coach in the areas of Trial Skills and Evidence.

As a labor and employment litigator, Ms. Walker presents both on and off-site seminars for clients on sexual harassment and related issues. She routinely deposes Plaintiffs and handles all aspects of litigation — from case inception through trial.

Ms. Walker also represents automobile finance and mortgage companies in actions involving fraud, products liability, wrongful repossession, violations of the fair debt collection practices acts, credit reporting, and breach of contract. She has defended clients in complex class action suits, including violations of unfair business practices claims under California Business & Professions Code Section 17200.

Ms. Walker is a member of the California Banker's Association (CBA), the Orange County Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section and the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section.

Recent Professional Activity:

Panel members Scott Hyman, Kristin Walker and Erin Kubota, spoke Saturday, April 17, 2010, before the California Creditors’ Bar Association on the topic of “Employment Claims Arising from Debt Collection Practices”.

Co-Presenter, “Mortgage and Automobile Finance Litigation and Class Actions” with Scott J. Hyman at The Conference on Consumer Finance (Dallas, Texas, October 2008).

Co-Presenter, “Current Developments in Automobile Finance" with Scott J. Hyman at the CFSA Annual Convention (Carlsbad, California, September 2008).

Ms. Walker's primary areas of legal practice includes:

Banking, automobile finance and mortgage fraud.

Ms. Walker's specific experience includes:

Consumer Litigation: Represent banks, automobile finance and mortgage companies in actions involving fraud, products liability, wrongful repossession, violations of the fair debt collection practices acts, credit reporting, the UCC, the California Commercial Code, and breach of contract claims. Defend clients in complex consumer finance class action suits, including violations of unfair business practices claims under California Business & Professions Code Section 17200.

Trial Experience: Have tried well over 100 trials, including trials in Federal and State Court. Recent trial victories include three jury trial defense verdicts in 2007.

Biographical Information:

Employment History:
Joined Severson & Werson in May 2004
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Specialized in Criminal Prosecution
Palmieri, Tyler, Wiener, Wilhelm & Waldron LLP, Specialized in Business Litigation & Eminent Domain law
The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, Specialized in Criminal Prosecution

Teaching Experience: Adjunct Professor at Loyola Law School, teaching Trial Advocacy and Evidence Skills; Coach for Loyola Law School’s Byrne Trial Team, instructing law students on how to present civil and criminal jury trials; Professor of Evidence at American College Of Law.

Education: Bachelor of Arts, Speech Communication, Pepperdine University, April 1995. Juris Doctor, Loyola Law School Los Angeles, cum laude, order of the coif, May 1999.

Admitted to Practice: California State and Federal District Courts, November 1999.

Professional Affiliations: Member of the State Bar of California, 1999; Orange County Bar Association, California Banker’s Association; Labor and Employment Law Section; Los Angeles County Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section; Bar Association of San Francisco, Labor and Employment Law Section; American Bar Association.

• Negotiated successful settlement in defense of client-bank in action stemming from fraudulent check-cashing scheme perpetrated by plaintiff-corporations’ trusted bookkeeper.

• Speaker, "California's New Data Breach Law and How Automobile Finance Companies Can Protect Themselves" US Acceptance CFSA Independent Section Chair, Anaheim, California, November 10, 2011.
  
• Speaker, "Current Developments in Automobile Finance" CFSA Annual Convention, Bacara Resort, Santa Barbara, California, October 14-15, 2011.