49er Industry Chats: A Career in Public Interest Law

Deputy Public Defender, Law Offices of the Los Angeles County Public Defender

Jessica Arteaga began her legal career as an associate attorney for Margolin & Lawrence, a private criminal defense firm. While there, she worked on white collar crime and drug law, in addition to working with lobbyists and politicians to legalize medical marijuana. In 2015, she applied to the Office of the Public Defender for Los Angeles County, the largest public defender office in the nation. She has served as Deputy Public Defender for five years now, working on misdemeanor and felony cases. Jessica is a board member of the racial justice committee at her firm and president of the Latino Public Defenders Association. Jessica holds a B.A. in Political Science and a B.S. in Criminal Justice from CSULB, and holds a Juris Doctorate degree from Southwestern School of Law.