Kristina D. Lawson

Kristina Lawson is Hanson Bridgett’s Managing Partner and Chair of the firm's Management Committee. As the firm’s chief executive, Kristina is responsible for all aspects of the firm’s strategy and management. She is the first female Managing Partner in Hanson Bridgett’s 60+ year history.

Known in the legal industry and beyond as a progressive and collaborative leader, Kristina has been recognized by the San Francisco Business Times as one of the Bay Area’s Most Influential Women in Business. In 2021, Corporate Counsel recognized her with a Women, Influence, and Power in Law – Managing Partner of the Year honor. Kristina is a proud member of the Bay Area Council’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee, and currently serves as the co-chair of the Bay Area Council’s Government Relations Committee.

Over the course of her career, Kristina has been deeply committed to public service. She is a former Mayor of the City of Walnut Creek, a city of approximately 65,000 residents located east of San Francisco in the greater Bay Area region. In 2015, Kristina was appointed by California Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. to serve on the Medical Board of California, where she currently serves as the Board’s President.

Prior to her election as Managing Partner, Kristina served as the leader of the firm’s Real Estate + Environment Section. She is an expert in complex California entitlement, land use, environmental/natural resources and municipal matters, and a respected statewide authority on California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance and strategy. She has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America and Superlawyers.