OUR BACKGROUND

Ms. Mains is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles (B.A. Political Science 1991) and received her Juris Doctorate, cum laude from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1996. She was admitted to practice law in the State of Illinois in 1996 and the State of California in 1997.

Prior to attending law school, Ms. Mains lived in Vienna Austria for one year and worked for the United Nations, International Atomic Energy Agency, investigating the trafficking of nuclear bomb components. Following, Ms. Mains lived in London, England for one year and worked as an assistant to Lord Bridgeman, House of Lords, Parliament.

During law school (1993-96), Ms. Mains was a member of the Loyola Law Journal and a summer associate at the firm of Altheimer & Gray in Chicago, Illinois. She also clerked for Judge Robert Ginsberg of the Bankruptcy Court and was a member of the Appellate Moot Court Team. In addition, Ms. Mains spent a summer during law school studying European Community law in Rome, Italy at Loyola’s Rome Campus.

After Ms. Mains graduated from law school, she returned to her home state of California and worked for Shea Law Offices. She worked as a full time trial lawyer until 2002. During her tenure, Ms. Mains assisted in the prosecution of over one hundred employment cases. Such cases have included sex, race and disability harassment, discrimination and retaliation, assault, false imprisonment, wrongful termination and defamation, among others. Ms. Mains participated in over fifty mediations and settlements.

She has also consulted with business clients regarding all aspects of “human resources” and employment law matters, employment contracts, stock option agreements, wage and hour issues, handbooks, posters, investigations and mediation.

In 2002, Ms. Mains changed her focus from litigation to transactional law. She spent four years doing estate planning and advising broker dealers on securities laws and regulation with respect to customer complaints and arbitrations. An avid student of the markets throughout her life and through immediate family relationships, Ms. Mains changed her focus to better help firms and investors to positively influence their future.

Ms. Mains is affiliated with the local branch office of Gold Coast Financial Group. She works with her partner, Scott Brooks, providing financial, legal, and estate planning advice to a wide range of clientele. Insurance is an important part of estate planning and she uses her insurance license to offer that component as part of an overall financial strategy. Her philosophy and strategy is to know her customers extremely well to tailor their investment planning to their personal objectives and long-term needs.