Law Offices of Marla A. Pleyte

Serving Santa Cruz & San Benito Counties

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Biography:

Ms. Pleyte obtained her B.A. degree in Economics from Tulane University, earning a membership in Phi Beta Kappa and was a regional finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship.  She also graduated with an M.B.A. in Marketing and Organizational Behavior from the Freeman School of Business at Tulane University in 1999, earning a Morton A. Aldrich Scholarship and membership in the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society.


Ms. Pleyte obtained her Juris Doctor degree from UC Davis’s School of Law in 2006, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the UC Davis Business Law Journal and graduated Order of the Coif. She earned the Witkin Award in Civil Procedure and Property and graduated in the top five of her law school class.

Ms. Pleyte opened her own practice in Hollister in 2007 and in Santa Cruz in 2008.  She was elected President of the San Benito County Bar Association in 2009 and is a Board Member for the Hollister Downtown Association and San Benito County Arts Council.  She represents clients in the following practice areas: family law, civil litigation, and selected probate matters.

Prior to opening her own law office, Ms. Pleyte was a partner at Polaris Law Group LLP, a summer associate at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Palo Alto, and a legal extern at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento. While employed by these entities, she worked on complex projects involving employment litigation, securities litigation, contracts, intellectual property, unfair competition, antitrust, and Indian law.

Prior to attending law school, Ms. Pleyte gained experience handling family law, civil, and criminal cases while working full-time with her father, James R. Pleyte, in his Hollister law practice. For the three years prior to that, she worked as a Consultant for Accenture, LLP, a global management consulting firm. In that role, she worked on project teams redesigning complex processes and organizational structures for Fortune 500 companies.

To review Ms. Pleyte's CV, click here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Education:
Tulane University (B.A., Economics, cum laude; M.B.A., Marketing/Organizational Behavior), University of California, Davis, J.D.

Practice Areas:
Family Law; Civil Litigation; Probate.

Membership:
San Benito County Bar Association (2009 President), American Bar Association; State Bar of California; San Benito County Arts Council (Member of the Board); Hollister Downtown Association (Member of the Board).

Admissions:
2006, California Bar Association.  View Ms. Pleyte's California State Bar Association profile by clicking here.

Publications:
Online Undercover Marketing: A Reminder of the FTC's Unique Position to Combat Deceptive Practices, 6 U.C. Davis Bus. L.J. 14 (2006).


White Collar Crime in The Twenty-First Century:  An Interview With John Poulos, 4 U.C. Davis Bus. L.J. 1 (2003).


Required Hedge Fund Adviser Registration:  Sunlight Can’t Disinfect Where It Doesn’t Shine. (unpublished)


Awards & Recognition:
Phi Beta Kappa (1998). Beta Gamma Sigma (1999). Order of the Coif (2006).  Editor-in-Chief, UC Davis Business Law Journal (2005-2006). Law School Scholarship (2005). Rhodes Scholarship Regional Finalist (1998). Witkin Award: Property and Civil Procedure (2004). 3rd Place, Manne Moot Court Competition (2005).