Bethany Woodard Kristovich is a litigation associate in the Los Angeles office of Munger, Tolles & Olson. Ms. Kristovich’s practice is focused on complex civil litigation, with a particular emphasis in defending consumer class actions and legal malpractice claims.
She has represented several large consumer products manufacturers, major law firms, a telecommunications carrier, a museum and other corporate clients. For those clients, she has written and argued motions, appeared in court, taken and defended depositions and participated in jury research.
In November 2010, Ms. Kristovich accepted, on behalf of the firm, the Disability Rights Legal Center’s 2010 Counsel of the Year Award, which recognized the firm’s extensive pro bono work on disability matters. Ms. Kristovich was among the Munger Tolles lawyers who assisted the DRLC with the class action Lauderdale v. City of Long Beach, which sought and obtained injunctive relief for a class comprised of deaf and hard of hearing individuals. The case was notable for promoting cutting-edge technology to facilitate communication between law enforcement and the hearing impaired.
In March 2009, Ms. Kristovich briefed and argued a case before the California Court of Appeal. The court affirmed the lower court’s decision dismissing the claims against her law firm client on statute of limitations grounds.
Ms. Kristovich also has represented employers in a hearing before the Labor Commission and in mediations.
From 2006 to 2008, Ms. Kristovich represented a law firm client in a legal malpractice action arising from the firm's representation of a Delaware corporation. After extensive litigation and briefing, the case settled very favorably to Ms. Kristovich's client on the eve of trial.
In January and February 2008, Ms. Kristovich took a leave of absence from the firm and served as a volunteer deputy city attorney. In that capacity, she tried three jury cases and one bench trial to verdict. Each resulted in a conviction.
Ms. Kristovich serves as a member of the advisory board for the Western Center on Law and Poverty, a non-profit organization dedicated to housing, healthcare, and a strong safety net for low-income Californians.
After completing her clerkship but before joining the firm, Ms. Kristovich returned to her home state of Louisiana and volunteered for the Orleans Indigent Defender Program, which is the public defender’s office serving greater New Orleans, for two months. In that capacity, she appeared in court every day on behalf of her clients.
Ms. Kristovich received her J.D. in 2005 from the USC Gould School of Law, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as an articles editor for the Southern California Law Review. From August 2005 to August 2006, she served as law clerk to the Honorable Edward Rafeedie, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.