Lisa Manoogian believes there is no excuse for putting profits above people’s safety and dignity, a conviction that sits at the heart of her work as a personal injury attorney at Adamson Ahdoot. For Lisa, advocating for clients when they need it most isn’t just the job; it’s the most rewarding part of it.
“There is no excuse for putting profits above peoples’ safety and dignity,” Lisa says. “I love working for my PI clients because there is nobody more deserving of a good outcome.”
A lifelong writer, Lisa earned her undergraduate degree in English literature from St. Lawrence University, where she graduated magna cum laude with honors in English. She went on to the University of Iowa College of Law, earning her Juris Doctor in 2022. Her command of the written word followed her through law school: she served as a student writer for the Iowa Law Review and as senior managing editor for the Journal of Gender, Race & Justice, and she earned both the Dean’s and Jurisprudence awards for achieving the highest grades in her courses.
Lisa sharpened her appellate and criminal practice early. She interned for the Iowa Court of Appeals during the summer between her 1L and 2L years, then completed an externship with the Iowa Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division in the spring of her 2L year.
Today, Lisa brings that advocacy to Adamson Ahdoot’s Mass Tort team. She is admitted to practice before all state and federal courts in California, where she passed the bar in 2022, as well as the Supreme Court of Hawai’i and the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai’i, having joined the Hawai’i bar in 2024. She is also a member of Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) and the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association (SFTLA).
Beyond personal injury, Lisa follows the fast-moving world of privacy law in the age of information and AI. She views California — alongside the European Union — as a modern leader in privacy policy, and she closely watches developments to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Outside the firm, Lisa lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where she hikes near home, takes photographs, gardens through the summer, and spends time with her husband and dog. She also volunteers as a standby cook for the Homeless Garden Project.
EDUCATION:
- Juris Doctor, University of Iowa College of Law, 2022
- B.A. English Literature, St. Lawrence University (magna cum laude, honors in English)
BAR ADMISSIONS:
- California, 2022
- Hawai’i, 2024
- U.S. District Court, District of Hawai’i
- Supreme Court of Hawai’i
AWARDS AND HONORS:
- Magna cum laude with honors in English, St. Lawrence University
- Dean’s Award, University of Iowa College of Law
- Jurisprudence Award, University of Iowa College of Law
- Senior Managing Editor, Journal of Gender, Race & Justice
- Student Writer, Iowa Law Review
INTERNSHIPS/EXTERNSHIPS:
- Iowa Court of Appeals — Intern
- Iowa Attorney General, Criminal Appeals Division — Extern
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS:
- Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC)
- San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association (SFTLA)
OTHER LANGUAGES SPOKEN:
- Serbian / Croatian / Bosnian (grew up speaking)
- Spanish (conversational)
VOLUNTEER WORK:
- Homeless Garden Project — Standby Cook