GIVELLE LAMANO is a criminal defense attorney who truly cares about her clients. She has represented people from all walks of life including gang members in prison appealing their life sentences to first time offenders who have never been arrested.  She is licensed in both state and federal courts and has served as a court appointed attorney for the Alameda County Bar Association.

Ms. Lamano received the Super Lawyer Rising Star award in 2017 and 2018 for her professional achievement and peer recognition. She ranks in the top 2% of over 65,000 attorneys. She received the Client’s Choice award with Avvo from 2013 - 2016 and has a 9.9 ranking.  In 2018, she was nominated as one of the top 40 under 40 by the National Trial Lawyers. 

Ms. Lamano takes a more holistic approach to criminal defense by taking time to understand why a person was arrested in the first place and what factors contributed to an arrest or allegation.  By doing this, she highlights the good traits in people who find themselves in a bad situation. She then uses that information to present her clients in the most positive light when negotiating deals in court.  Ms. Lamano does not believe one bad act should ruin a person’s life or define who they are.  Her goal is simple - get the charges dismissed and help clients avoid legal trouble in the future. 

Ms. Lamano is also the founder of the Three Strikes Justice Center, a non-profit organization focused on alleviating the overcrowding of prisons through restorative justice.  For 5-years, she served as a Board Member for Insight Prison Project, an organization providing services to prisoners and parolees all over California. She currently serves as a Board Member for Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, an Oakland-based non-profit organization that advocates to release incarcerated people, restore human and civil rights, and reunify families. 

Preceding her criminal defense work, Ms. Lamano represented low-wage and immigrant workers at the Women’s Employment Rights Clinic at Golden Gate University.  Ms. Lamano began working at a young age in various blue-collar jobs so she is no stranger to hard work.  She has spoken as a panelist for Women in Leadership and spends her free time with family and Boston Terrier. 

MANJULA MARTIN is a criminal defense attorney at Lamano Law Office.  Prior to her work with LLO, she clerked for the San Francisco District Attorney’s office where she worked on domestic violence cases, sexual assault crimes, and felony preliminary hearings.  She received the Cali Excellence Award for Criminal Litigation in 2008 and helped draft a presentation that was used at an international conference on identifying and combatting Human Trafficking.  It was during this tenure that she realized that her true passion in helping people.

Ms. Martin went on to represent low-income women seeking to leave abusive situations in family law court with the San Francisco Bar Association Legal Services Program. She worked on a Habeas Corpus Petition for a man wrongfully convicted of murder and the case was ultimately heard by the California Supreme Court.  In 2018, she was nominated as a Lawyer of Distinction.  

Ms. Martin is an avid traveler and believes that diversity, compassion, and empathy are among our greatest strengths. She applies this attitude when interacting with clients because she believes that they deserve not only the best defense but also the best treatment when going through a difficult and often traumatizing time in their life. 

PAULINA MALDONADO is a paralegal at Lamano Law Office.  She ensures that our clients are fully informed on the developments of their case and assists our attorneys in communications with clients and court agencies.  Ms. Maldonado corresponds regularly with the District Attorneys office, law enforcement, and administrative agencies to ensure that LLO receives all the evidence necessary to get our clients the best result.

Prior to her work at LLO, Paulina worked alongside the Honorable Daniel A. Flores in his criminal defense practice serving the Spanish-speaking community. In 2014, she managed his successful campaign for San Francisco Superior Court Judge.  In 2017, San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee Chairperson Cindy Wu appointed her as a delegate to the California Democratic Party for a two-year term. 

Ms. Maldonado is Mexican-American originally from the Central Valley, and is a co-founder and past president of the Latin@ Young Democrats of San Francisco. She graduated from California State University, Fresno and earned her degree in Criminology, with an emphasis in Law Enforcement. Through a partnership with CSU Fresno and the Fresno Police Department, she graduated from the police academy (P.O.S.T).

JUSTINE COLLIER is a Legal Assistant at Lamano Law Office.  She is the first point of contact in our law firm and makes sure our clients are updated on their current and future court appearances.  

Prior to working with LLO, she studied psychology at Cypress College and worked as a personal assistant to Dr. Coble-Temple, a psychologist and professor at John F. Kennedy University. Ms. Collier assisted in conducting evaluations for offenders who committed violent or sexual crimes and suffered mental health issues.  

Ms. Collier was born and raised Alturas, a small town located near the Oregon/Nevada border in Northern California.  She moved to Los Angeles and began her career in social justice where she realized her passion for advocating for underserved communities and those with mental health issues.  Her passions are working with people who have developmental and physical disabilities, camping in the Sequoia National Forest, practicing yoga, and spending time with her three younger brothers.