Hazel focuses her practice on family law and civil litigation—and it is through this work that she is able to fulfill her lifelong passion for helping real people with real legal problems.

Hazel’s academic credentials and prior work experience are impressive: a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, Hazel joined Margulis Gelfand after working as an associate at an Am Law 100 firm’s San Francisco office. There, Hazel worked on mergers and acquisitions for private equity investors.

But it is Hazel’s life experience that gives her the perspective, perseverance, and legal acumen that truly benefits her clients. Hazel was born and raised in Hunan, China, and she earned a bachelor’s degree in law from China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing. Pursuing her American dream of becoming an American attorney, Hazel applied to and was admitted to a top 14 law school in the United States. Hazel traveled halfway around the world to a city—Berkeley—profoundly different from her home in China. While in law school, Hazel served as an editor of the Berkeley Business Law Journal and was a member of Community Restorative Justice and First-Generation Professionals, advocating for local youth in need of legal representation. She also volunteered with the Berkeley Law Afghanistan Project and assisted in filing humanitarian applications to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

During law school, Hazel interned at the Contra Costa Public Defender’s Office in Martinez, California, where she assisted with first degree murder cases. And in her last semester, Hazel completed a judicial externship with the Hon. Haywood S. Gilliam of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, where she focused on class actions and social security appeals cases.

Outside of work, Hazel enjoys exploring the Midwest with her husband, who is from St. Louis, and she plays the guitar and classical piano. Hazel is fluent in both English and Mandarin Chinese.