Laquer Urban Clifford & Hodge LLP Masthead Image with Column


Marija Kristich Decker

Marija Kristich Decker PhotoAssociate

decker@luch.com
Phone: (626) 449-1882

Marija Kristich Decker is an associate in the Pasadena office. Marija’s primary practice areas are litigation, labor and employment law, and employee benefits. She has represented clients in both the state and federal courts. Marija has served as outside legal counsel for the County of Los Angeles, handling matters before the Civil Service Commission, the Employee Relations Commission, the State of California Department of Industrial Relations, and the state and federal courts.

Prior to joining the firm in September 2001, Marija served for two years as a law clerk to the Honorable Edward J. Damich, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims based in Washington, D.C. As a law clerk, she worked on complex litigation involving government contracts, Indian lands, government employee and veterans’ benefits, land use, tax refunds and patents. Marija’s experience also includes working on Capitol Hill, as well as serving as the National Coordinator / Lobbyist for the National Federation of Croatian Americans in Washington, D.C.

Marija is a member of the State Bar of California and the District of Columbia Bar. Marija is admitted to practice in all of the United States District Courts in California, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the United States Court of Federal Claims, and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association (Sections on Labor and Employment Law, Litigation, and Provisional and Post Judgment Remedies) and the Pasadena Bar Association.

Marija received a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration from the University of Southern California and her Juris Doctor from the Syracuse University College of Law. Marija was an associate editor of the Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce, for which she wrote surveys of international law in the Second Circuit. She was also an associate editor of the Digest — The National Italian American Bar Association Law Journal.

Marija enjoys playing violin, classical guitar and sports. She is a member of Town and Gown of USC and is an avid USC football fan. Marija is active with the Catholic Church and her Croatian Fraternal Union Lodge. Marija lives in La Canada Flintridge with her husband, two sons, and daughter.