Christian Abasto has been zealously advocating for the poor and persons with disabilities for over 21 years. Christian is the Legal Advocacy Unit Director of Disability Rights California (DRC). The Legal Advocacy Unit (LAU) is DRC’s core Protection & Advocacy legal program, tasked with fulfilling our federal mandate to defend the rights of people with disabilities in California. We have approximately 58 attorneys and 66 advocates and support staff in six offices throughout California: Sacramento, Oakland, Fresno, Los Angeles, Ontario and San Diego. Before joining DRC, Christian was the Director of Litigation at the Public Law Center where he supervised complex litigation and policy advocacy matters. Christian was also the Managing Attorney of the Housing and Eviction Defense Units at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. He handled appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, the California Court of Appeal, and the Appellate Division of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Christian was lead counsel in the 9th Circuit published decision, Barrientos v. 1801-1825 Morton LLC, 583 F.3d 1197 (2009). The decision established positive precedent regarding federal preemption, Section 8 vouchers, and local rent control laws. Christian received a B.A. from the University of California, San Diego and his J.D. from the University of California, Davis in 1997.