The people behind
the defense.

Marlena R. Mlynarska is the founder of MRM Law, APC, a California civil defense firm representing public entities, law enforcement agencies and personnel, and employers in complex litigation in state and federal court.

Ms. Mlynarska began her career in civil defense while attending Chapman University School of Law, joining a defense practice as a Summer Associate in 2016. After law school she built a substantial portion of her practice defending the Orange County Sheriff's Department and its personnel in law enforcement, civil rights, and public entity matters, including officer-involved shootings, use-of-force claims, federal civil rights actions, Monell claims, and wrongful death litigation. Her experience includes the defense of the Orange County Sheriff's Department in P.E.O.P.L.E. v. Rackauckas, which plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed with prejudice as to the Department in 2025.

She handles matters from earliest evaluation through written discovery, depositions, dispositive motion practice, and trial preparation, and has prepared members of law enforcement executive command for deposition and court testimony in litigation involving complex factual records and substantial exposure. Prior to founding MRM Law, that experience extended through federal jury trial proceedings and appellate proceedings before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Before entering private practice, she served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Raymond J. Ikola, Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three.