Heather is a Pro Se Law Clerk for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, where she works on pro se prisoner civil rights actions and habeas corpus petitions. Prior to her tenure with the District Court in 2001, she worked as a Trial Attorney at Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. While at Federal Defenders, she did both trial and appellate work, arguing three cases at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals with two published opinions.