Erika Contreras

Erika Contreras is a partner at Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP and focuses her practice on catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, and motor carrier liability cases. Licensed in California and Nevada, Ms. Contreras has obtained millions of dollars in awards for her clients, including many seven-figure and eight-figure verdicts and settlements.

Born and raised in Los Angeles to Mexican immigrants, Ms. Contreras uses her background to connect with her Spanish speaking clients and help them navigate the legal system with trust and confidence. She and her husband have four children and reside in Cerritos, California.

Ms. Contreras is honored to be named the 2025 Attorney of the Year by the Orange County Hispanic Bar Association and recognized as among the 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers in the country as well as a 2025 Women of Influence: Attorneys by the Los Angeles Business Journal. In 2024, Ms. Contreras was named among the Top Women Lawyers in California by Daily Journal, named among the Los Angeles Business Journal's Women of Influence, and named to the publication's list of Minority Attorneys | Leader of Influence. Additionally, she is recognized among Los Angeles Magazine's Top Women Attorneys in Southern California and has been named to the list of both the Southern California Super Lawyers and the Best Lawyers in America since 2020.

Ms. Contreras was the 2023 recipient of the California Lawyer's Attorney of the Year Award ("CLAY") by the Daily Journal for her work on Sepulveda v. Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District. The CLAY Awards is awarded annually to a select group of attorneys throughout the state "for achievements with a significant impact on public policy, the law, the profession, or a particular practice area."

She also received the 2022 Trailblazer Award from the Latina Lawyers Bar Association and was honored among other Latina Trailblazers including the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, the Hon. Patricia Guerrero.

Ms. Contreras serves on the Latina Lawyers Bar Association Board of Directors and as the Southern California Membership Chair for the Consumer Attorneys of California's Diversity and Inclusion Committee.