Alana McMains is an experienced litigator of both criminal and civil cases.  She defends individuals charged with crimes in both federal and state court.  Further, she represents survivors of sexual assault and harassment as well as victims of civil rights violations including employment discrimination (based on race, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, disability, and age), whistleblower retaliation, and police brutality.

Prior to attending law school, Alana received her B.A. in History from Beloit College and a Master of Library and Information Science from UCLA. She graduated cum laude from Northwestern University School of Law in 2011. While at Northwestern, Alana served as Membership Editor of the Northwestern University Law Review and was on the National Moot Court Team. She also interned with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the ACLU. After graduation, Alana served as a law clerk to a federal district court judge, the Honorable A. Richard Caputo. She then returned to her hometown of San Diego to work as a trial attorney with the Federal Defenders of San Diego. Alana spent seven years defending indigent criminal defendants, primarily charged with drug and immigration crimes. Her hard work on behalf of her clients resulted in multiple not guilty verdicts and dismissals.  She then spent almost three years at a firm specializing in sexual assault, employment, and civil rights suits, where her efforts led to multiple multi-million dollar settlements.