Gastélum Law, APC jobs and careers

About Gastélum Law, APC

Denisse O. Gastélum is the founder and principal trial attorney at Gastélum Law, APC, where her practice focuses primarily on civil rights/police misconduct, specializing in police shootings and in-custody death cases, as well as sexual abuse and wrongful death cases. Ms. Gastélum represents 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. Ms. Gastélum is a Past President of the Mexican American Bar Association and the Latina Lawyers Bar Association. She is the current President of California La Raza Lawyers Association, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Police Accountability Project, ACLU of Southern California, Consumers Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, and the Consumer Attorneys of California. She received her B.A. at UCLA and her J.D. from Loyola Law School. Over the years, Denisse has been a speaker on various panels and a recipient of numerous awards. In 2022, Denisse was a recipient of the Street Fighter of the Year Award by the Consumer Attorneys of California for her role on the litigation team behind the Alarcio v. County of Los Angeles federal civil rights action, which resulted in the largest jail-death related settlement against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. In 2021, Denisse was recognized by the Hispanic National Bar Association as a Top Lawyers Under 40 Award recipient. In 2022, Denisse was recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyer. Only 5% of attorneys in Southern California receive this distinction. Denisse was born in East Los Angeles into an immigrant family from Chihuahua and Sinaloa, Mexico. Having come from humble beginnings, her commitment to advocating and protecting civil liberties comes naturally.