Mordechai Pelta has pursued an accomplished career in the field of law. Recently, he assisted clients as a Contract Attorney with the international law firm of Winston & Strawn LLP. From 2008 to 2011, he was a Deputy District Attorney for Del Norte County in Crescent City, California. A prosecutor for many felony and misdemeanor cases, including ones involving the cultivation and distribution of marijuana and domestic violence. He tried cases in 14 jury trials, more than the total for that period of all the rest of the attorneys in his office. He was the main litigation attorney for the office for most of his time in the office.
Prior to becoming a Deputy District Attorney, Mr. Pelta served as a Contract Attorney for Finkelstein & Kamali, LLP. His duties included drafting opening statements, trial briefs, organizing cases for trial, and drafting motions in limine. Previously, he served as a Document Manager with Paul Hanley & Harley, LLP. He was also a Contract IRB Analyst with the University of California, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley Lab and a Contract IRB Manager with Stanford University. Additionally, he was a Discovery Law Clerk with Brayton Purcell from 2002 to 2003.
Mordechai Pelta gained legal experience began before he even graduated from law school. In 2000, he obtained a very competitive internship with the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York and then worked as a Law Extern in the Appeals and Pre-Trial Bureaus in the Queens County District Attorney's Office. By 2001, he was serving as a Bar-Certified Law Clerk in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. A member of several professional organizations, including the State Bar of California and California District Attorneys’ Association, Mordechai Pelta volunteered for community organizations such as the Bar Association of San Francisco, Chabad of San Francisco, Sanctuary for Families, and the Homeless Advocacy Project. Aside from his professional and community service commitments, Mordechai Pelta enjoys spending time with his family, exercising, reading, traveling, and studying genealogy.
Additionally, he takes classes to advance his legal knowledge, having participated in seminars on a variety of topics, including expert witnesses in sex crimes, divorce cases, and cell phone evidence. He has also taken classes to facilitate working with witnesses from the Oaxacan, Hmong, and LGBT communities. Mordechai Pelta holds a Juris Doctorate from City University of New York School of Law and a B.A. in History (Honors Program) and Political Science from San Francisco State University.
