Mrs. Cunningham is an associate attorney in the firm's San Luis Obispo office. She represents school districts and county offices of education on a variety matters, including labor and employment, student issues and district governance. She also provides transactional support in the areas of property acquisition and disposition, contracts and construction, and school site consolidation. Mrs. Cunningham also provides general advice and counsel to private businesses and corporations.

Legal Experience

Mrs. Cunningham provides legal guidance and preventative counseling to clients on a variety of matters. Her areas of emphasis include:

• Personnel issues, including employee disputes, disciplinary actions, leaves of absence and dismissals, and labor agreement nogotiations
• Student rights and discipline, including suspensions, expulsions and First Amendment issues
• Classified and certificated discipline
• Teacher layoffs
• General governance issues, including the Brown Act
• Real property acquisitions and sales
• School construction and public contact negotiations
• School site consolidation

Prior to joining KMTG in 2010, Mrs. Cunningham practiced in Virginia, where she represented private sector clients, including corporations, business owners, lenders and developers, on a wide range of commercial, real estate, land use and zoning transactions. This private sector experience adds valuable insight to her representation of school districts in the areas of school facilities and construction.

Additionally, Mrs. Cunningham advised clients in the areas of trusts and estates and prepared foundational estate planning documents, such as revocable trusts, wills, durable powers of attorney and advanced health care directives.

Prior to moving to Virginia, Mrs. Cunningham practiced corporate law at a private firm in San Francisco.

Practice Examples

• Mrs. Cunningham has counseled school districts on the procedural requirements for employee dismissals, which include tenure and seniority issues, timely notifications, and administrative hearings. She has also advised clients on statutory interpretation of provisions applying to public employees. Mrs. Cunningham has also worked with governing boards to negotiate labor agreements that meet their operational and financial needs.
• Mrs. Cunningham represented lenders in the negotiation and closing of real estate financing transactions, including construction, acquisition and development loans and business loans secured by real property.
• Mrs. Cunningham represented national wireless communications company on leasing, land use and general real estate transactions.
• Mrs. Cunningham represented purchasers and buyers in commercial real estate acquisitions and dispositions, the purchase and sale of raw land, and the purchase and sale of commercial properties and on commercial leasing transactions.

Professional Activities and Affiliations

Mrs. Cunningham's professional activities and affiliations include:

• Member, California State Bar Association
• Member, San Luis Obispo County Bar Association
• Member, San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce
• Member, Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce

Academic Background

B.S. Santa Clara University, 1999

J.D. University of California, Berkeley, 2004

• Women's Law Journal
• International Human Rights Law Clinic
• East Bay Community Center Law Clinic