Monique Alarcon is an attorney in the Los Angeles office of Wisner Baum where she focuses her practice on the firm’s medical device cases, pharmaceutical drug liability and consumer fraud litigation. She is also an adjunct Professor of Law for Loyola Law School’s Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) Moot Court Team.
Monique recently successfully sued the Burbank Police Department (California) for police misconduct, civil rights violations, assault, battery, unlawful seizure, excessive force and negligence. She also obtained a settlement from the City of Irvine when its former mayor violated one of its citizen’s first amendment rights when she blocked him from posting to her personal Facebook page which she was using as a public forum concerning official mayoral business.
Our client was shot in the head with a bean bag projectile, fired by an LAPD officer. After two years of litigation, we obtained a $1.25 million settlement, the largest to date stemming from the May 2020 protests. KNX News, Los Angeles interviewed Monique about the case.
Before joining the firm, Monique worked as an associate attorney for the law office of Carol A. Sobel, where she gained valuable experience representing people in civil rights litigation that addressed police accountability, homelessness, First Amendment, and Fourteenth Amendment due process issues. During this time, Monique also represented homeless individuals cited for “quality of life” offenses by appearing for and presenting oral argument at arraignments, trials, and post-conviction hearings on infraction and misdemeanor offenses.
Monique served as an extern at Public Counsel’s Children’s Rights Project and clerked for Disability Rights Legal Center while she was attending Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. She received her law degree in 2016.
Monique is a member of the National Lawyers Guild in Los Angeles, and regularly volunteers at the NLG-LA’s legal clinics in Skid Row and Venice. She also coaches Loyola Law School’s Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) Moot Court Team and is a board member of the Latina Lawyers Bar Association and serves on the advisory board for the Elder Law and Disability Rights Center.
Practice Areas
Education
- University of California (B.A.,in Sociology and Law & Society, 2013)
- Loyola Law School (J.D., 2016)
- Ninth Circuit Appellate Advocacy Clinic, Drafted and Filed Opening Brief in a § 1983 Civil Rights Appeal (2015 – 2016)
- Scott Moot Court Honors Board, (2015 – 2016), Earned a “Top 10 Brief” Award
Court Admissions
- California, 2016
- U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 2016
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 2018
- U.S. District Court, District of New Mexico, 2021
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, 2021
Awards and Honors
Member
- State Bar of California
- National Lawyers Guild – Los Angeles
- Latina Lawyers Bar Association, Board Member
- Hispanic National Bar Association
- The American Association for Justice; Leaders Forum - Champion; Police Misconduct Litigation Group
- Consumer Attorneys Association of California
- Elder Law and Disability Rights Center, Advisory Board Member
Legal Teaching Position
- Adjunct Professor of Law, Loyola Law School’s Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) Moot Court Team, 2021 –
Presentations / Speeches
Topic: Event Chair - Closing Remarks
Organization: Latina Lawyers Bar Association
Event: LLBA Career Summit
Location: UCLA Campus Los Angeles, California
Date: August 6, 2022
Topic: Client-Centered/Movement Lawyering
Organization: UCLA School of Law
Event: Promise Institute for Human Rights Litigation Clinic
Location: Los Angeles, California
Date: November 2, 2021
Topic: Document Requests
Organization: Western Center on Law & Poverty
Event: Discovery Academy Sessions Seven-Part Series
Location: Los Angeles, California
Date: October 14, 2021
Topic: Representing Protestors
Organization: Loyola Law School
Location: Webinar
Date: July 20, 2020
Topic: Panelists – Combatting the Criminalization of Unhoused People
Organization: National Lawyers Guild
Event: Continuing Legal Education Training
Date: May 19, 2018
Pro Bono and Civic Activities
- Represents people experiencing homelessness in infraction proceedings
- Coaches law school students who compete in a national moot court competition
- Serves as a board member for the Latina Lawyers Bar Association
- Advisory Board member for the Elder Law and Disability Rights Center in Santa Ana, California
Additional Languages
