Montage Legal Group congratulates five outstanding lawyers within the Montage Legal Group network who were named Rising Stars by Super Lawyers Magazine. Every year Super Lawyers selects attorneys from throughout the United States and London from all firm sizes and over 70 practice areas. The prestigious Rising Star honor awards top attorneys who qualify for the Super Lawyer designation, but are also under the age of 40 or have been practicing law for less than 10 years. Only 2.5% of lawyers in each state are included in the Rising Star list. Congratulations to Kathryn Anderson, Heather Condon, Natalie Gowin, Colleen Kelley, and Kristin Martin!
Kathryn Anderson received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley with a minor in Business Administration. She obtained her Juris Doctor from Northwestern University in 2005. Kathryn joined Rutan & Tucker LLP’s Trial Department and Financial Group, where she focused on commercial disputes. Kathryn has experience in commercial business litigation, unlawful detainer, bankruptcy and collections matters. Kathryn has represented parties in title disputes, and in civil proceedings against borrowers and guarantors. She has also represented creditors in bankruptcy proceedings, including preference actions. Kathryn joined Montage Legal Group in 2012.
Heather Porter Condon earned her Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Stanford University in 2001, and her Juris Doctorate from Pepperdine University of Law in 2007. Following Pepperdine, Heather joined the Irvine office of Howrey, LLP (formerly Howrey, Simon, Arnold & White) before transferring to the Newport Beach office of Newmeyer & Dillon, LLP. In 2011, Heather rejoined her former Howrey colleagues in the Irvine office of Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius, LLP. At all three firms, Heather focused her practice on complex business litigation, with an emphasis on professional liability disputes. Heather is currently a member of the OCBA Professionalism and Ethics Committee and has published a number of articles on the topic of legal ethics. Southern California Super Lawyers named Heather a Rising Star in 2013 and 2015. Heather joined Montage Legal Group in 2013.
Natalie Gowin obtained her Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law in 2004, where she was a Dean’s Merit Scholar. Natalie began her legal career at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP in Los Angeles. In 2006, Natalie joined the litigation department of Rutan & Tucker, LLP. Natalie has broad experience in commercial and large-scale litigation including intellectual property, secured and unsecured lending, real estate, trade secret, and unfair competition matters. Natalie handles all aspects of litigation and has significant experience in trial preparation, pre-trial and trial motion practice, motions for summary judgment, and conducting and defending fact and expert witness depositions. She has represented companies in the medical research and development, restaurant, real estate development, credit card services, and entertainment industries. Southern California Super Lawyers named Natalie a Rising Star each year between 2009-2011 and 2013-2015. Natalie joined Montage Legal Group in 2011.
Kristin Sciarra Martin earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, with a specialization in Business Administration from UCLA in 2001. Kristin then obtained her Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School in 2004. Kristin began her legal career at Haight, Brown & Bonesteel, LLP, in Los Angeles where she represented Fortune 500 companies in business, commercial, insurance, construction, and product liability matters. In 2007, Kristin joined Gartenberg, Gelfand, Wasson & Selden, LLP in Los Angeles where she represented plaintiffs and defendants in business insurance, commercial, securities, and tax matters in both state and federal court. Kristin has specific expertise in trade secret litigation and in handling cases involving fraud. Kristin joined Montage Legal Group in 2011.
Colleen Kelley
Colleen Kelley graduated from UCLA in 2001, and from the University of California, Hastings College of Law in 2005 in the top third of her class. After law school, Colleen joined Hoge, Fenton, Jones & Appel as an associate in the San Jose office. Colleen has almost 10 years of experience litigating commercial and real estate cases, including real estate broker defense cases. Colleen has experience with financial services litigation, and also negotiates and drafts commercial leases, assignments of leases and purchase and sale contracts for commercial retailers, small businesses and individuals. In 2013, Colleen started her own law firm, The Law Offices of Colleen Kelley, and affiliated with Montage Legal Group’s network of freelance attorneys. Colleen splits her time between litigating on behalf of her own clients, and handling high level freelance legal work for law firms throughout California. Colleen was named a 2014 and 2015 “Northern California Rising Star” and a 2014 “Northern California Top Woman Lawyer” by Super Lawyers Magazine.