Christina Elhaddad

About Christina Elhaddad

Christina Elhaddad is an attorney barred in the states of New Jersey, New York, and California. As a Senior Associate at Hoffman & Forde, she represents individuals, businesses, and property owners in complex civil litigation, business disputes, and real estate matters. Her practice includes commercial and residential real estate litigation, land-use and boundary disputes, contract and partnership litigation, and immigration matters involving family-based petitions. She is fluent in Arabic, English, French, and Spanish, and extremely meticulous and hard working. Ms. Elhaddad is known for her strategic, detail-driven approach to litigation, managing cases from pre-litigation and settlement negotiations through discovery, law and motion, and trial. She regularly handles matters involving business disputes, encroachments, easements, property damage, title and survey disputes, fraud, and complex contractual breakdowns. She also advises clients on real estate transactions, purchase and sale agreements, and compliance issues. Outside her work, Ms. Elhaddad co-founded and is the President of the Arab American Bar Association of San Diego, on the Endorsement Committee of the Judicial Endorsement Committee of the San Diego Unity Bar, and Vice-Chair of the Arab American Advisory Board to the San Diego Police Department. Ms. Elhaddad previously served at Legal Services of New Jersey, representing detained immigrants in removal proceedings before the Elizabeth Immigration Court. She also worked as an immigration attorney with the Urban Justice Center’s Domestic Violence Project and as an Immigrant Justice Corps fellow. Her international experience includes founding the Washington College of Law chapter of the International Refugee Assistance Project, working with UNHCR and the International Rescue Committee, and assisting refugees in the Kurdish region of Iraq and other regions of the Arab and Muslim world. As an Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow at the Arab American Association of New York, she helped establish and expand the organization’s legal department, providing immigration services ranging from asylum and VAWA matters to complex removal defense. At the Domestic Violence Project, she represented survivors of domestic violence in U Visa, T Visa, VAWA, asylum, and other humanitarian applications. Ms. Elhaddad is a graduate of The American University Washington College of Law and Rutgers University.

Experience

1. Senior Associate

   Hoffman Forde

   Apr 2024 — Present · San Diego, CA, US

   Co-chaired a five-week jury trial representing Defendant/Cross-Complainant on claims of breach of an asset purchase agreement and fraud; prepared all trial-related filings; argued motions in limine; examined key percipient and expert witnesses including the client; and presented closing statement to the jury- Manage 25-35 civil, business, and real estate transaction, pre-litigation, and litigation matters from inception through dispositive motion practice and trial, mediation, and arbitration- Represent a various range of clientele from multi-million-dollar corporations in asset purchase agreement disputes to an indigent business owner who fell victim to shareholder oppression - Draft and revise various real estate agreements including Tenant-in-Common and Partition by Sale Agreements- Handled a matter before the United States District Court through appeal to the 9th Circuit- Work with and train junior associates, paralegals, and law clerks to manage discovery, pre-trial, and trial process

Education

• American University Washington College of Law

  Doctor of Law (J.D.), Immigration and International Law and Legal Studies

  2012 — 2015

• Université Sorbonne Nouvelle

  Political Science

  2010 — 2010

• Rutgers University

  Bachelor of Science, Political Science, Middle Eastern Studies, French

  2007 — 2011

Skills

• Teaching
• Public Speaking
• Translation
• Social Media
• Spanish
• Immigration Law
• Community Outreach
• Refugees
• Research
• Interviews
• Intercultural Communication
• Analysis
• Arabic
• Politics
• Political Science
• Fundraising
• Journalism
• Policy Analysis
• Lexis
• Middle Eastern Studies
• Editorial
• Diplomacy
• Human Rights
• International Relations
• Editing
• Lexisnexis
• Legal Writing
• Litigation
• Legal Research
• Proposal Writing
• Nonprofits
• Criminal Law
• French
• Public Policy