Crystal Mothershead Gaudette began her legal career in 2006 at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, California. There, she handled complex commercial and securities cases involving allegations of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, and various business-related torts; assisted clients in responding to inquiries and investigations by the Securities & Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice; and conducted internal investigations based upon whistleblower and shareholder complaints.
Representative matters include:
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Successfully defeating multiple securities fraud and shareholder derivative lawsuits at motion-to-dismiss stage;
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Obtaining a favorable earnout payment on behalf of company executive in complex accounting dispute;
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Obtaining a "No Action" letter from the Securities & Exchange Commission on behalf of public technology company facing scrutiny over social media posts; and
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Conducting an internal investigation on behalf of the board of directors of one of the country's oldest and largest public companies in response to shareholder allegations of executive misconduct.
In 2014, Crystal transitioned her practice to the Monterey Peninsula, where she continued representing companies, individuals and public entities in civil litigation matters. Her practice broadened to include breach of contract disputes, personal injury matters, real estate disputes, and employment litigation. She also expanded her legal counseling practice, advising business clients on lease transitions, employment matters, contracts, and other day-to-day business needs.
Representative matters include:
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Defending a grower in product liability action involving contaminated produce;
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Drafting waiver, release and assumption-of-liability forms for local non-profit to use in connection with major fundraising drive;
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Representing a grower in dispute against compost supplier that misrepresented the nature of its product;
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Obtaining a favorable outcome in the defense of a technology company in a breach of contract and fraud trial;
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Negotiating a favorable severance agreement for employee who experienced discrimination and retaliation;
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Defending a company in a dispute involving allegations of wrongful termination, retaliation, and wage-and-hour violations; and
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Conducting an employment investigation regarding allegations of hostile work environment.
Crystal has been mediating cases since 2021. She draws on more than two decades of litigation experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants across a broad range of civil disputes, as well as her experience participating in hundreds of mediations on behalf of litigants. This experience gives her a practical understanding of the legal, business, and personal considerations that drive disputes and the perspective needed to help parties identify meaningful paths toward resolution. She brings a direct, no-nonsense approach to mediation, focusing on the issues that matter most and working with the parties to reach practical resolutions in even the most complex situations.
Crystal earned her law degree from the University of California, Davis, School of Law, where she received the Order of the Coif and was Senior Articles Editor for the U.C. Davis Law Review. Prior to law school, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications, with a minor in Spanish, from the University of California, Santa Barbara. During her undergraduate studies, she also studied abroad at the University of Córdoba, Spain.