J.Paul Gignac
Attorney
Contact Claire K.
Claire K. Mitchell is a civil litigator and trial attorney who handles a broad range of cases, representing individuals and companies through all stages of complex litigation, including as lead trial counsel. Most recently, she has focused on business litigation, consumer class actions, and trusts and estates litigation, representing both plaintiffs and defendants in matters involving breach of contract, fraud, sexual harassment in the workplace, elder financial abuse, cannabis and other real estate-related disputes, and intellectual property. She practices in both federal and state court.
Prior to moving her practice to Santa Barbara in late 2019, Ms. Mitchell was a litigation associate in Los Angeles at Am Law 100 firm O’Melveny and Myers, where she represented entertainment industry clients, including Twentieth Century Fox Film.
Ms. Mitchell has always maintained an active pro bono practice, through which she has focused on civil rights and immigration, and partnered with organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood.
Claire K. 's Experience
- Lead counsel for plaintiff in fraud and elder financial abuse case, obtaining $2.5 million settlement payment to client
- Defended medical doctors accused of insurance fraud in Federal False Claims Act qui tam suit
- Plaintiffs’ counsel in class action suit against leading home/fire insurance provider
- Lead counsel defending California solar energy provider accused by District Attorney of false advertising
- Counsel for world-famous rock-band in high-profile Federal copyright and partnership dispute
- One of two junior associates representing Twentieth Century Fox Film for nearly two years in victorious, multimillion-dollar litigation to enjoin Netflix from violating California’s Unfair Competition Law
- Counsel for both plaintiffs and defendants in various multi-million dollar trust and estate disputes
2017
Enjoying the good life in Santa Barbara with her husband and two young boys; food and wine enthusiast; salsa dance lover; former theatre nerd.
University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 2017
Articles Editor, Virginia Journal of International Law; Law & Public Service Fellow; Moot Court VP; Criminal Defense Clinic; Libel 109 Assistant Director
UC Berkeley, B.A. in International Development Studies, Highest Honors, 2010
Phi Beta Kappa; Regents' & Chancellor’s Scholar; ACLU; Daily Californian; Theater for Charity; Cal & the Capital; UC Labor Summer
Articles Editor, Virginia Journal of International Law; Law & Public Service Fellow; Moot Court VP; Criminal Defense Clinic; Libel 109 Assistant Director
UC Berkeley, B.A. in International Development Studies, Highest Honors, 2010
Phi Beta Kappa; Regents' & Chancellor’s Scholar; ACLU; Daily Californian; Theater for Charity; Cal & the Capital; UC Labor Summer
Board Member of the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County (June 2024 – Present)
Founding Member of Santa Barbara County Bar Association’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Task Force (2020 – Present)
Santa Barbara Women Lawyers Member (2020 – Present)
Santa Barbara County Bar Association Member (2020 – Present)
Chair, Neighborhood Advisory Council to the Santa Barbara City Council (January 2021 – December 2022)
“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programs—More Relevant Than Ever?”, Santa Barbara Lawyer, Issue 612, September 2023, available at https://sblaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/612.pdf
“SBCBA Awards Its First DEI Scholarships,” Santa Barbara Lawyer, Issue 632, May 2025, available at https://sblaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/632.pdf
ABRAMS, K., LANE, S., MITCHELL, C. & SAGDUYU, C. (2018). Spousal Immigration to the United States: History and Current Issues in American Immigration Policy, Université du Québec à Montréal (CRIEC), p. 58.
Team Members