BRIANA HUSSEY, ESQ.
Associate Trial Attorney
Briana Hussey is an experienced litigator with a diverse legal background. She possesses a passionate and zealous client-centered approach to all aspects of her legal practice.
A native New Yorker, Briana earned her Juris Doctor from Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City. During her time at Cardozo, Briana had three immensely impactful clerkships that helped form the basis of her practice today. She worked as a clinic student and student attorney for the Innocence Project. Under the supervision of a senior attorney, Briana had six clients who had been wrongfully convicted of sexual assault and/or homicide crimes. Briana worked tirelessly to help her clients prove their actual innocence through DNA testing and investigating corrupt, decades old police investigations. While at the Innocence Project, one of Briana’s clients received a clemency order and release from the governor of New York after serving twenty-seven years in prison for a murder he did not commit. He was later exonerated, and able to attend Briana’s graduation from Cardozo.
In her rising 3L summer, Briana was the family law clerk for the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA)’s Long Beach branch. In this role, Briana worked in the Domestic Violence Clinic at the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse, where she interviewed and helped prepare domestic violence restraining orders for indigent folks in need. She also helped victims of domestic violence apply for U-Visa applications.
In her last year of law school, Briana was a student and student attorney of the Cardozo Criminal Defense Clinic. She was paired with a public defender from the Legal Aid Society, Manhattan Office in Manhattan Criminal Court, from whom she learned all aspects of practice- from arraignment through verdict on a criminal case. She was also able to take on misdemeanor cases as a “student attorney” under the supervision and license of her Criminal Defense Clinic’s Professor, Jonathan Oberman.
Upon moving to California, Briana completed a post-bar clerkship with the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office, splitting her time between the Long Beach and Burbank offices. Briana was able to work under the direct supervision of scores of talented deputy public defenders. Her hands-on experience ranged from minor offenses to assisting in complex murder investigations.
Briana began her legal career as court appointed counsel in dependency proceedings for indigent parents who sought to maintain or regain custody of their children from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). In this role, she represented both alleged perpetrators and victims of domestic violence, in addition to clients coping with mental health issues, substance abuse, physical, sexual and emotional abuse, and generational trauma.
She then worked as a deputy public defender in three different counties where she handled thousands of misdemeanor and felony cases. In her time as a deputy public defender, Briana completed ten jury trials to verdict, in addition to successfully conducting hundreds of evidentiary hearings ranging from preliminary hearings to motions challenging illegal searches and seizures of her clients’ belongings and persons. Briana is well-versed in both civil and criminal courtroom procedure,
client advocacy, evidentiary motions, negotiation and settlement. For the first five years of her career, Briana was in court, on the record, every single day. In 2023, she decided to change the trajectory of her career and accepted a position as an associate attorney with the law firm Collins + Collins LLP in Pasadena. In this role, she was able to get several cases dismissed, settled numerous cases, and took and defended twenty depositions. Her practice encapsulated public entity defense, personal injury cases, employment cases, wrongful death cases, premises liability cases, AB 218 revival statute cases, and professional ethics claims against architects and engineers.
While she enjoyed the new experiences and opportunities this role provided, Briana realized she deeply missed counseling clients and advocating for them in court. She decided to employ her past knowledge and skills with regards to litigation, courtroom advocacy, child custody, substance abuse, and domestic violence to transition into a career in Family Law. Now back in a courtroom-centered practice, Briana brings with her a wealth of cross-disciplinary experience and a deep commitment to helping clients navigate some of life’s most difficult legal challenges. Her litigation skills, client-focused mindset, and dedication to justice make her an unparalleled advocate in every case she handles.
Briana believes in the importance of a work-life balance. Outside of work, Briana loves to spend quality time with friends and family, practice yoga, run, surf, hike, read, and take advantage of all the good music and comedy Los Angeles has to offer.
