“I became an attorney because I wanted to learn how to use the law to help people of color and other marginalized communities. Working at the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy gives me the opportunity to make this dream a reality.”

Experience

• Cristiano works on the Immigrant Justice Project, representing individuals in removal proceedings. His practice involves asylum, u-visas, t-visas, and special immigrant juvenile status petitions.
• Before joining the Advocacy Center in June 2024, Cristiano was an Assistant Public Defender at the Gaston County Public Defender’s Office, representing indigent clients in District and Superior Court. Cristiano’s trial experience includes felony heroin trafficking, DWIs, assaults, and a wide variety of other misdemeanor charges. Cristiano has extensive experience representing children in Juvenile Court; he was one of Gaston County’s two Juvenile Defenders within the Public Defender’s Office.
• Prior to working as an Assistant Public Defender, Cristiano worked on asylum cases with Johnson & Nicholson Law and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.

Education

• North Carolina State University, Bachelor of Social Work
• Campbell University, School of Law, Juris Doctor

Professional Affiliations:

• Mecklenburg County Bar Association