February has invited us to reflect upon the past during Black History Month, and to embrace new beginnings in the Year of the Tiger/Lunar New Year. HK continues to strive to amplify all voices year round. This month, we welcome incoming talent, celebrate professional excellence, and offer community outreach to help nurture the diverse
rising stars of the future.
Welcome Aboard
Karen P. Parks
This month, we have the honor and pleasure of welcoming Karen P. Parks (fka Buritrago) as Of Counsel. Karen received her Juris Doctorate from Golden Gate University School of Law, where she earned the Witkin Award for Academic Excellence in Family Law Practice in 2009. After being admitted to the California state bar in 2010, Karen began practicing family law and has continued to do so for twelve years. She has effectively and successfully settled and litigated complex divorces, high-asset property division issues, domestic violence, and child custody disputes. Karen is fluent in Spanish and has represented monolingual Spanish speaking clientele.

Learn more about Karen:
Katie Moralez
We are pleased to welcome even more legal experience to our team with the appointment of Katie Moralez as Legal Administrative Assistant. Katie brings more than 10 years of legal administrative experience, and she is already making a positive impact within our legal support team. In her spare time, Katie enjoys hanging out with her friends and family and reading.
Welcome aboard Karen and Katie!
Employee Spotlight
This month’s Employee Spotlight shines on two spectacular attorneys, Sarah Chayra and Kelsey Hickman.

Both Sarah and Kelsey joined HK in January 2018 as Law Clerks while attending Santa Clara University School of Law. They graduated in 2019, successfully passed the California state bar examination in July 2019, and were promoted to Associate Attorneys. Throughout the pandemic, they have kept stride through the most challenging of circumstances and have continued to deliver exceptional work and results for their clients. We took a moment to ask them what
they like most about family law. 
Sarah: Family law regularly reminds me why I sought out a legal career to begin with: people need advocates to help them resolve some of the most important and sensitive aspects of life, and further, that compassion and attention must extend to the small and big issues alike because it all matters. I also enjoy seeing the demonstrable growth and empowerment of my clients and their families at the conclusion of their cases. Meaningful, lasting change is effectuated here. 
Kelsey: The daily person-to-person interaction and knowing you are helping real people, with real problems, navigate an incredibly emotional and hard time in their lives. No family is the same as the next, and I enjoy that we can personalize our representation depending on the unique circumstances. 
Sarah and Kelsey, we appreciate you and so do your clients! Thank you for always making each day a great day at HK!
The 2022 Santa Clara County High School Mock Trial Tournament is a wrap! Sponsored by the Santa Clara County Bar Association, the Santa Clara County Office of Education, and the Santa Clara County Superior Court this program is one of the few interscholastic competitive activities that survived through the pandemic. The competition gives high school students the opportunity to prepare and appear in a mock trial in front of actual attorneys and presiding judges.

On February 15th, Prospect High School’s defense team won against Lynbrook High School’s prosecution team, making them the winners of the 2022 Santa Clara County High School Mock Trial Competition. Both teams appeared before Justice Mary Greenwood of the Sixth District Court of Appeals. This championship round was scored by a roster of experienced attorneys, which included Partner James Hoover, Molly O’Neal, Jeffrey Rosen, Clark Stone, Christopher Cobey, Rachel McKenzie, Allen Speare, and Bruce MacLeod. Laura Guajardo and Jhun Madriaga from the SCCOE, and Judge James Towery. Kevin Hammon and Melanie Griswold provided critical support in overall scoring and organization.

All seven teams did a phenomenal job presenting their arguments and witnesses in this virtual competition. To reach the championship round, Prospect went 7-0 in the county tournament, overcoming Gunn, Saratoga, Homestead, Mountain View, Homestead, Willow Glen, and ultimately Lynbrook, in a thrilling final round called by Partner James Hoover, the “Super Bowl of Mock Trial.”
Thank you to Event Co-Chairs Karlina Paredes and Andrea J. Justo, for organizing and ensuring this tournament was a success. We also are grateful to the HK associates who volunteered as scorers throughout the tournament: Sarah Chayra, Kelsey Hickman, Meghan Herning, Elaine Le, Jaymi Salisbury, Enriko Alfaro, Wenjia Ma, Monica Nemec, Katherine Moinpour, Ernest Baello, Raechelle Jang, Joy Diaz, and Diana Han. We also appreciate Law Clerk Samantha Masters, who not only scored during the preliminary round, but recruited her Santa Clara University Law School classmates to score as well.

Congratulations, Prospect High School!
Want the latest news and highlights at Hoover Krepelka, LLP?
Join our community by subscribing to our
monthly newsletters here.