Mónica Arellano is a dedicated public interest attorney with two decades of advocacy experience. As a first-generation lawyer and daughter of immigrants, Mónica has served in many roles throughout her legal services career from legal assistant to Deputy Director. She joined LAFLA in April 2018 as a staff attorney and has served as Deputy Director since 2025. Before her current role, Mónica led a team of advocates providing holistic legal services to individuals impacted by homelessness and the criminal legal system. Mónica’s approach is trauma-informed, client-centered, and grounded in community collaboration.

Before joining LAFLA, Mónica worked at Survivor Justice Center working on immigration cases for survivors of interpersonal violence and sexual assault. Mónica also served as a fellow at the Riverside County Public Defender’s office. She began her legal career as a paralegal at Inner City Law Center working on habitability cases. Mónica earned a J.D. From Southwestern Law School, where she was a member of the PLEAS program, a Dean’s Merit Scholar, and a Trial Advocacy Honors Program leader, and her B.A. in Chicanx Studies and History from UC Santa Barbara.