Kiersten Bernal
Kiersten Bernal is a Legal Assistant at Arias Sanguinetti Trial Lawyers, based in the firm’s Northern California office. She supports attorneys throughout the litigation process, drawing on experience in legal writing, document preparation, discovery, calendaring, case organization, client communication, and hearing and trial preparation.
Before joining Arias Sanguinetti, Kiersten developed substantial hands-on litigation experience in California family law. She supported attorneys in matters involving dissolution, parentage, custody and visitation, child and spousal support, domestic violence, property disputes, attorney-fee issues, and post-judgment proceedings. Her responsibilities included preparing pleadings, declarations, discovery, subpoenas, court forms, financial disclosures, exhibits, and other materials for attorney review. Kiersten’s experience also includes managing litigation calendars, monitoring filing and service deadlines, coordinating electronic filing, following local court procedures, and organizing financial records, communications, exhibits, and other evidence for settlements, hearings, and trial preparation. Working in sensitive and contested matters strengthened her ability to communicate professionally with clients while maintaining organization, discretion, and attention to detail.
Her legal career progressed quickly. In a previous law firm role, Kiersten was promoted from Legal Secretary to Paralegal based on her demonstrated legal knowledge, reliability, and ability to manage increasingly substantive casework. In addition to family law, she gained exposure to civil litigation and landlord-tenant matters while supporting pleading preparation, discovery, case files, court deadlines, service, and attorney calendars. Earlier in her career, Kiersten worked as a Legal Analyst reviewing documents submitted by law enforcement agencies from multiple jurisdictions. The role required her to evaluate documents for completeness, validity, and procedural compliance, identify deficiencies requiring correction, work accurately under time-sensitive conditions, and safeguard sensitive investigative information. That experience further developed the careful document review and confidentiality skills she now brings to legal practice.
Kiersten also brings experience outside traditional law firm settings. She has provided administrative and technical support involving correctional communication systems and previously advanced through several positions with an organization serving youth and families, ultimately taking on supervisory and assistant management responsibilities. In those roles, she supported staff training, workflow management, financial and program records, budget and grant compliance, and coordination with schools, families, and community partners.
She earned her Paralegal Certificate from UCLA Extension, where her coursework included, Civil Litigation, Legal Research and Writing, Contract Law, and E-Discovery. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Santa Barbara, double majoring in English and German with a minor in Educational Studies and studied abroad at Humboldt University of Berlin. She is fluent in German and has additional familiarity with Spanish and American Sign Language.