Erica M. Camarena

Erica M. Camarena is an associate attorney with The Law Firm of Weakley, Ratliff, Arendt & McGuire. She obtained her Juris Doctor degree from San Joaquin College of Law in 2002. Ms. Camarena is admitted to practice law in all courts of the State of California, including the California Supreme Court. She is also admitted to practice law in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, United States District Court for the Central District of California and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Ms. Camarena’s legal experience developed while working as a certified law clerk for the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office. As a member of the Misdemeanor and Felony prosecuting teams, she represented the People of California by making daily court appearances at arraignments, felony preliminary hearings, trials and sentencing. As a law clerk, her interest in trial work was reinforced after conducting a criminal jury trial in the Superior Court of California, Fresno, under the supervision of the District Attorney.

Ms. Camarena gained legal experience in the area of contracts and American Indian law while clerking in the legal department of a multi-million dollar casino operation. She reviewed and amended various construction, gaming, sporting, and entertainment contracts. In addition, she conducted extensive research in areas such as Title 25 of the United States Code, Tribal-State Gaming Compact, sovereign immunity, water law, employee benefits, patents and trademarks.

Ms. Camarena’s experience also includes matters involving civil litigation defense in areas such as police and correctional liability, child protective services liability, personal injury, civil rights, wrongful death, and various aspects of public entity defense.

Ms. Camarena’s involvement with professional organizations includes memberships in the Litigation Section of the California State Bar, Fresno County Bar Association, Fresno County Young Lawyers Association, and the National Notary Public Association. She currently serves as secretary for Fresno County Women Lawyers. In 2005, she was a participant in the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) Masters in Trial Program, held in Fresno. She is also a volunteer for the California High School Mock Trial Program.