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The law first piqued Linda Guthmann Krieger's interest when she took a high school business law class and found it fascinating. "Then, during career day, I was assigned to a local lawyer who took me to the courthouse to watch interesting hearings and trials going on there," says Krieger. "I was entranced with the attorneys questioning witnesses and presenting arguments, and I knew that was what I wanted to do." That's exactly what she did, and in 1996 she and her husband, Terrence Krieger, opened Krieger & Krieger, A Law Corporation in Long Beach. Lawrence Cagney, Patrick Gangitano and Robert Vorhees also are lawyers for the firm. The Kriegers and Cagney are the firm's partners. Alice Irey is a paralegal for the firm and its office manager. The firm specializes in employment law, including wrongful termination and retaliatory discharge, harassment and retaliation claims, discrimination and disability accommodation claims, human resources consulting, employment contracts, wage and hour laws, class actions, business litigation, and construction law and litigation. Working with her spouse is great, Krieger says, "because there is no one I trust more to be my business partner." "We have separate caseloads but do confer with each other on matters," she says. "We can have lunch together fairly often, which is great, and we understand what stressors the other is under. Having six other people in the office also is helpful in keeping us on good behavior when home life and work life intertwine a little too much." Building the trust and confidence of the firm's clients is the fundamental motivator for her to continue doing the work she does. "I love being a problem solver and bringing comfort and security to clients in regard to their employment issues," she says. "In addition, being an advocate for others has always attracted me to the profession." Her work has been supported by the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. She is a former president of the Chamber's Women's Business Council and of the Chamber's board of directors. "That is the main reason why my firm has been involved with the Chamber - the way the Chamber helps us attract new business is through our listing in the directory, and by my involvement in and attendance at Chamber activities," she says. "You only get back what you put in." Her most influential mentor, Dale Hudson, put in a lot of time and effort to guide Krieger. Hudson was the partner she was assigned to at the second law firm in her career. "He really taught me how to fight hard for our clients' interests while keeping a professional relationship with opposing counsel and always maintaining ethical boundaries," she says. Krieger majored in sociology and minored in economics and business at the University of Illinois, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She received her law degree from the UCLA School of Law. The Kriegers have two daughters, one who's 19 and a sophomore at the University of California-Berkeley, and another who's a sophomore at Orange County School of the Arts.
"My father, who is still pretty healthy at 93 years of age, was a big supporter of my becoming an attorney," she says. "He encouraged me to push myself to this level, at a time when there was a much smaller number of women practicing law." Krieger & Krieger is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, "and we're very proud of the work we have done over those many years," she says. "We represent both employers and employees, which makes us a little different from other firms but which, we believe, allows us to look at cases from all perspectives and gives us insight as to what the other side is likely to do." |