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Office of the County Counsel
Office of the County Counsel
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Cara H. Sandberg ( She/Her )

Deputy County Counsel

Overview

Cara first joined the Office of the County Counsel as a Social Justice and Impact Litigation Fellow.  She then served as a Deputy County Counsel in the Labor and Employment and Community Protection Teams before departing the Office to become a Chambers Attorney for the Honorable Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court.  Before rejoining the Office in 2023 as a member of the Social Justice and Impact Litigation Team and the Jail Reform and Custody Operations Team, Cara served as Of Counsel at Conrad Metlitzky Kane LLP, where her practice focused on complex civil litigation, criminal defense, and internal and government investigations.  Prior to law school, Cara had a career in education and was the Dean of Students for a public high school in the Bronx.  Cara’s professional expertise includes affirmative and defensive litigation, government investigations, and local government law. 

Office practice areas

  • Jail Reform and Custody Operations Team 
  • Social Justice and Impact Litigation Team 

​​Education

  • University of California, Berkeley Law, J.D., 2012 
    • California Law Review, Editor 
    • S.K. Yee Public Interest Fellowship 
  • Tufts University, M.A.T. Political Science & Political Philosophy, 2006 
  • Brown University, B.A. Public Policy & American Institutions; Education Studies, 2005 

Professional associations

  • Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council (2023-Present) 
  • President, Berkeley Law Alumni Association (2022-Present) 
  • Board Member, Berkeley Law Alumni Association (2015-Present) 
  • Lead Fellow, California Asian Pacific American Bar Association (2021-2022) 
  • Charles Hamilton Houston Bar Association 

Prior experience

  • Of Counsel at Conrad Metlitzky Kane LLP (2022-2023) 
  • Chambers Attorney to the Honorable Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, California Supreme Court (2018-2022) 
  • Deputy County Counsel at County of Santa Clara (2017-2018) 
  • Social Justice and Impact Litigation Fellow at County of Santa Clara (2015-2017) 
  • Law Clerk to the Honorable Susan Y. Illston, United States District Court for the Northern District of California (2013-2015) 
  • Law Clerk to the Honorable O. Rogeriee Thompson, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (2012-2013) 
  • Dean of Students at Bronx Lab School (2006-2009)