Christine Start

Christine Mari Palma Start brings a unique combination of civil litigation experience and extensive public service background to Harbottle Law Group. After nearly a decade and a half in public service, Christine has developed deep expertise in juvenile competency matters and civil rights advocacy, along with foundational experience in special education issues that directly aligns with the firm’s education law practice.

Christine most recently practiced as a complex litigation attorney managing a hybrid caseload of personal injury, workers’ compensation, and class action matters in both federal and state court. Her workers’ compensation practice provided valuable experience navigating administrative hearings and regulatory compliance. As an inaugural cohort member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Institute, Christine has specialized training in mediation and arbitration procedures.

She previously served as Special Deputy Attorney General for Attorney General Rob Bonta at the California Department of Justice, focusing on civil rights and criminal justice reform, including drafting legal guidance to school districts regarding student policies and researching initiatives to combat the school-to-prison pipeline. Her policy work involved research and consultation with educational institutions and government agencies.

For eleven years, Christine served as a deputy public defender in Solano and Fresno Counties, where she developed comprehensive experience with juvenile competency, special education issues, and juvenile delinquency proceedings. She received the “Thurgood Marshall Intricate Planner and Defender of the Year” Award in 2017 for her advocacy in a juvenile competency case that resulted in the creation of the first juvenile competency program within juvenile hall. Her significant jury trial and bench experience gives her unique insight into the intersection of special education law and juvenile justice. Christine also practices with the firm’s litigation department as needed.

Christine earned her J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law, where she was the Class of 2010 “Pursuit of Justice Award” recipient, and her Bachelor of Arts from University of California, Berkeley. She has served as an adjunct lecturer at UC Davis School of Law and is the Executive Director and Visionary Founder of Pinay Powerhouse. Christine was recognized as a “Best Lawyer Under 40” by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and received the Minority Bar Coalition Unity Award in 2017.

Education

• University of San Francisco School of Law, J.D.
• University of California, Berkeley, B.A., Mass Communications and Political Science

Bar Admissions

• State Bar of California
• United States District Court, Northern District of California
• United States District Court, Central District of California