Lawyers

cbruner@zifflaw.com

Christina M. Bruner, a recent addition to the Ziff Team, Christina joined the firm in March 2008 and practices in the areas of Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice. Christina works closely with Carl Hayden, Jim Reed and Adam Gee, a trio with more than 60 years of collective personal injury and medical malpractice experience. Christina loves being in the courtroom and is eager to continue developing her trial advocacy skills.

Christina graduated from Georgetown University in 1998, earning dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Classics and International Relations and studying International Economics abroad at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. Christina played on the Georgetown Women's Soccer Team where she was a four-time All Big-East Academic Scholar and served as the team's captain during her junior and senior years. A prolific scorer, Christina still holds Georgetown's records for the most career goals and assists.

Upon graduating from Georgetown, Christina joined Americorps' National Civilian Community Corps, a volunteer program often referred to as the "domestic Peace Corps." Serving in the NCCC for nearly three years and performing over 6,500 hours of community service, Christina had an opportunity to travel the country and work with a myriad of organizations including Habitat for Humanity in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Branson, Missouri, the Colorado Division of Wildlife in Fruita, Colorado, the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Eastern North Carolina, Rails-to-Trails in St. Louis, Missouri, Texas Disaster Response in Cuero, Texas, Excelsior Juvenile Delinquent Services in Aurora, Colorado, and the Police Activities League in Star, Texas.

Giving in to her love of the outdoors, Christina moved to Missoula, Montana after graduating from the NCCC and soon found herself enrolled in the University of Montana's School of Law. At the U of M Christina received the prestigious Thomas A. & Elizabeth C. Colton and the Dorothy Ann Allen Hatfield Scholarships and was a member of the school's highly selective Moot Court team where she was a Moot Court National finalist and was named a "Best Oralist" in the Western Region. Developing a keen interest in Indian Law, Christina participated in the International Conference for Indigenous People at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland in 2002 and worked in the law school's Indian Law Clinic where she offered free legal services to Montana's Indian tribes.

Like Adam Gee, Christina began her legal career at the Chemung County District Attorney's Office as an Assistant District Attorney. A felony prosecutor, Christina specialized in violent crimes against women and children and worked closely with Chemung County's Child Advocacy Center to insure the rights of victims were respected and the needs of families were met. Christina took a brief leave during her tenure at the District Attorney's Office to work at Davidson and O'Mara, P.C., where she practiced personal injury and municipal defense, gaining valuable experience from which she will surely draw at Ziff Law. Christina has extensive courtroom trial experience and has successfully argued before New York's Court of Appeals for the Third Department.

Christina lives in Elmira with her fiancé, Damian Sonsire, a Chemung County Assistant District Attorney. She is a member of the Notre Dame High School and Arctic League Boards of Directors, serves as the Vice-Chairperson of the City of Elmira's Planning Commission, and is a head coach of Notre Dame's Mock Trial Team. In recognition of service to her community, Christina was awarded the Jefferson Award for Public Service in 2007. In her spare time Christina enjoys running with the Finger Lakes Runners Club, riding her snowboard and hiking on the many trails running through the Southern Tier. Last year Christina ran the Boston and Philadelphia Marathons, posting a personal best time of 3:01:11 in Philadelphia. To read Christina's race reports in the Finger Lakes Runners Club's newsletter go to http://www.fingerlakesrunners.org/newsletter/2007/May/May2007.pdf (Boston report,) and http://www.fingerlakesrunners.org/newsletter/2007/December/Dec2007.pdf (Philadelphia report.)