Natalie Mutz

Attorney

Natalie Mutz has been a licensed attorney since 2010. She works on business and corporate legal matters, land use and real estate, and trusts and estates. Ms. Mutz has a keen interest in business, corporate, and employment law. She enjoys working with early-stage entities, advising on startup and operations, including employment, industry regulation, trade practice, distribution, and licensing.

In addition, Ms. Mutz works with the firm’s trust and estate practice group, focusing on all aspects of estate planning, trust administration, trust litigation, real estate transactional, and litigation matters.

Originally from Southern California, Ms. Mutz grew up in northwestern Washington state. She earned her B.A. in politics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and her law degree from Southwestern Law School. She is proficient in conversational Spanish.

Before beginning her law career, Ms. Mutz traveled the world extensively, spending a year in Barcelona, Spain, and working for three years in Osaka, Japan. Returning to Southern California for law school, she shifted focus and chose to build her career closer to home.

In 2017, she moved to Santa Barbara where she handled insurance bad faith and third-party defense litigation before joining Fauver, Large, Archbald & Spray.

Ms. Mutz has served on the Board of Trustees for a local independent school, the Board of the Santa Barbara Women Lawyers, and is a member of the Santa Barbara County Bar Association, Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee, and the Sierra Club.

Professional Experience

  • Represented a corporate landowner in an enforcement action by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, negotiated a Streambed Alteration Agreement, and facilitated the satisfaction of a judgment requiring remediation and restoration of 6 acres along the Santa Ynez River.
  • Drafted a Declaration of Covenants Conditions and Restrictions for a proposed new build-to-rent housing development.
  • Assisted a local independent school in obtaining a Conditional Use Permit for the prospective development of a new school site.
  • Assisted a nonprofit organization in obtaining County entitlement to rezone and develop a 11-acre parcel of agricultural land for affordable housing.
  • Obtained a favorable settlement for an aviation logistics consultancy in a contract dispute with its customer.
  • Secured a favorable settlement for a business partnership in a professional accounting malpractice lawsuit.
  • Obtained a million-dollar federal jury verdict for a patternmaker and clothing manufacturer in a commercial dispute with a large clothing design company.
  • Represented a bestselling author in a federal lawsuit for breach of contract against a movie studio.
  • Settled a boundary line dispute for a client whose neighbor had an encroaching fence.
  • Defended an insurance company in a bad faith claim arising under a homeowners insurance policy.
  • Represented homeowners in a premises liability case arising from an unknown dangerous condition on their property.
  • Successfully defended a homeowners’ association in a premises liability suit where trespasser was injured while using the property for recreational purposes.
  • Served as Cumis counsel to a corporate contractor in a construction defect litigation.

Professional Associations

  • American Bar Association
  • California Bar Association
  • Santa Barbara County Bar Association
  • California Women Lawyers
  • Santa Barbara Women Lawyers

Education

  • Southwestern Law School, J.D.
  • University of California, Santa Cruz, B.A., Politics
  • Autonomous University of Barcelona, International Politics

Community Involvement

  • Montessori Center School Board of Trustees (2022-2024), Development Committee (2021-2022), Site Committee (2024-2025)
  • Santa Barbara Women Lawyers Board of Directors (2024 President), Programs Committee (2024), Annual Dinner Committee (2024), Advocacy Committee (2022-2024), Onward & Upward Scholarship Committee (2023), Community Outreach Committee (2021-2023), Fundraising Committee (2023-2024)
  • Santa Barbara Women Lawyers Foundation Board of Directors (2023 President)
  • Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee / Legislative & Advocacy Committee (2023-2024)
  • Santa Barbara Women’s Health Coalition / Maternal Health Committee and Adolescents through Young Adults Committee (2023)
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