M. ALDEN PETERSON - ATTORNEY AT LAW

Alden’s association with the Buckwalter firm began in 2000, when he took a part time job as Phil’s law clerk while studying Literature and Legal Studies at UC Santa Cruz. Phil’s passion for the positive impact a lawyer can make on the world inspired Alden to set off on a journey in the law. It took him through the Santa Cruz offices of Dunlap & Burdick and then over the hill for a decade of exile in Silicon Valley, swimming with the sharks that practice intellectual property litigation and attending law school, before returning to Santa Cruz. He was drawn back by the opportunity to practice law with his life-long friend Nicholas out of the same Aptos office Alden had worked in nineteen years before, and by a desire to have his young son grow up in a community with values beyond the accumulation of wealth.

Alden is an insatiable scholar and a skilled and empathetic communicator who loves breaking the law down for human consumption. In his free time, he plays cooperative board games with friends, debates history and politics with anyone who will engage, and spends as much time hanging out with his wife and son as possible.

Education

• J.D., Santa Clara University School of Law
• B.A. in Literature, UC Santa Cruz