Angélica González-Bastidas

Woman in a white blouse sitting at a table

Lecturer of Spanish

709 Sproul Hall
Office Hours
Fall 26: Monday and Wednesday from 1:00 to 2:30 PM
In Person: 709 Sproul Hall
Via Zoom: https://ucdavis.zoom.us/my/maigonzalez

My career began in Colombia's financial sector, where I spent over 10 years in a Financial Group in progressive roles across Customer Services, Risk Management, Contracts, and Compliance. As a Compliance Officer, I participated in multiple financial industry associations where we analyzed the most complex customer complaints, primarily caused by legal-technical language barriers. I witnessed firsthand how inaccessible legal language impacts people's fundamental rights, including their financial assets and security.

This realization led me to pursue advanced studies in the United States, where I earned my LL.M. from UC Davis School of Law (2020), followed by an M.A. & Ph.D. in Spanish Linguistics (2022). My PhD research combined linguistics and law, specializing in Plain Legal Language in multilingual environments, with a focus on social impact.
 

Education and Degree(s)
  • Ph.D. in Spanish, University of California, Davis
  • M.A. in Spanish, University of California, Davis
  • Masters in Law, University of California Davis School of Law, Davis, CA (2020)
  • Financial Specialist Lawyer, Andes University, Bogotá, Colombia (2014)
  • Bachelor’s Degree in Law, Nueva Granada University, Bogotá, Colombia (2013)
Honors and Awards
  • First Prize for an Outstanding Presentation of Freedom of Speech: Social Media US Legal System, UC Davis School of Law. UC Davis School of Law Scholarship which is based on the outstanding record of academic and professional accomplishment achieved.
  • Outstanding Teaching award, 2025
  • UC Davis Global Grad Grant recipient, 2025 for globally-focused research on linguistic justice and accessibility.
  • Summer 2025 Dissertation Writing Fellowship
  • Funding to attend Academic conferences 2024-2025 both nationally and internationally
  • HIA Research Fellowship, 2024 for conference presentation at 106th Annual AATSP conference
Courses
  • SPA 1, SPA 1Y, SPA 2, SPA 3, SPA 3V, SPA 31, SPA 32, SPA 33.
  • Elementary Spanish (SPA 1-3): Lead TA (2020-2022)
  • Heritage Spanish Program (SPA 31-33): Lead TA (2024-2025)
Research Interests & Expertise
  • Spanish Linguistics and Law
  • In my linguistic studies, I am focused on creating guidelines that would help legal professionals to simplify the language of contracts and other legal documents.
Publications
  • 2025 González-Bastidas, A. & Ortega-Pérez, A. M. Adopt a Doc: Linguistic Justice from University to Community. PLAIN eJournal, 7(1), 26–31. This article presents a multimodal university-to-community initiative applying Plain Language and Systemic Functional Linguistics to promote linguistic justice through document transformation.
Membership and Service
  • Co-founder | Latine Co-Lab, UC Davis | 2023 - Present
  • Graduate Student Representative | Department of Spanish and Portuguese, UC Davis | 2021 - 2022 and 2025-2026
  • Member, Board of Directors | International House, Davis | 2025 - Present
  • Member | International Association of Plain Language | 2024 - Present
  • Member | Clarity, International Association of Plain Legal Language | 2024 - Present
  • Volunteer | Santiago Law Firm | 2023 - Present
  • Co-graduate Student Advisor | UC Davis Spanish Club | 2020 - 2021