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About

About

Fighting for Workers Rights

Aiman-Smith & Marcy is a boutique law firm located in Oakland, California. We help clients throughout the state with labor and employment law, class action lawsuits, and consumer fraud cases from our office here.

Our attorneys are experienced litigators, negotiators, and trial attorneys. We have helped clients in legal cases involving major companies and brands. We are not afraid to fight for the ‘underdog.’ In fact, we have built our practice around helping real-life people resolve real-life legal matters with the utmost attention to their legal rights and best interests.

With over 70 years of combined experience, our team of attorneys knows how to put state and federal laws to work for our clients. Our attorneys attended law school at notable, distinguished organizations like UC Berkeley, UC Hastings, and the University of San Francisco School of Law. Our education and experience during our early years of practicing law helped us shape the goals and mission of our practice.

Fighting for Workers Rights

Aiman-Smith & Marcy is a boutique law firm located in Oakland, California. We help clients throughout the state with labor and employment law, class action lawsuits, and consumer fraud cases from our office here.

Our attorneys are experienced litigators, negotiators, and trial attorneys. We have helped clients in legal cases involving major companies and brands. We are not afraid to fight for the ‘underdog.’ In fact, we have built our practice around helping real-life people resolve real-life legal matters with the utmost attention to their legal rights and best interests.

With over 70 years of combined experience, our team of attorneys knows how to put state and federal laws to work for our clients. Our attorneys attended law school at notable, distinguished organizations like UC Berkeley, UC Hastings, and the University of San Francisco School of Law. Our education and experience during our early years of practicing law helped us shape the goals and mission of our practice.

Our Passion is to Help

We are passionate about helping victims protect their rights and find their voices amid difficult circumstances. No one should have to suffer because of the horrendous actions or behaviors of others. Our goal is to make sure that employees and consumers understand that they have rights and take action.

When you work with Aiman-Smith & Marcy, you are getting the benefits of more than just legal experience. You are getting a wealth of resources and knowledge and a collaborative team of legal professionals. Our attorneys work together on every case we take on. That means you are getting a comprehensive and multidimensional approach to your case that is truly unique.

Our Passion is to Help

Aiman-Smith & Marcy, boutique law firm located in Oakland, California.

We are passionate about helping victims protect their rights and find their voices amid difficult circumstances. No one should have to suffer because of the horrendous actions or behaviors of others. Our goal is to make sure that employees and consumers understand that they have rights and take action.

When you work with Aiman-Smith & Marcy, you are getting the benefits of more than just legal experience. You are getting a wealth of resources and knowledge and a collaborative team of legal professionals. Our attorneys work together on every case we take on. That means you are getting a comprehensive and multidimensional approach to your case that is truly unique.

Our Team

Contact Our Oakland Workplace Discrimination and Harassment Lawyer

If you believe you are a victim of workplace discrimination, harassment, or retaliation, contact Aiman-Smith & Marcy for a free consultation. Our Oakland workplace discrimination and harassment lawyer can help you understand your rights and determine the best option for pursuing justice. Let us help you fight for your rights and preserve your dignity.

Address

7677 Oakport Street Suite 1150
Oakland, California 94621

Telephone

(866) 477-3540

Email

info@asmlawyers.com

Brent A. Robinson

Attorney (SBN 289373)

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Education and Background

I grew up in the high deserts of Southern California and fled the desert heat to study at the University of California at Santa Barbara. (I was also fortunate to spend my Junior year abroad studying at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom.) 

While in college, I began to realize my vocation by organizing community groups and pushing for campus environmental reforms. In my senior year at Santa Barbara in 2007, I decided early on to support the candidacy of an up-and-coming freshman senator from Illinois, Barack Obama. I volunteered for his campaign’s field operation during the lead up to the California primary and Nevada caucus campaigns. After graduating, I joined the campaign staff as a Regional Field Director for the general election campaign. I also worked for a national nonprofit before attending law school at the University of San Francisco School of Law.

Legal Experience

I also graduated in the top quintile of my law school class at the University of San Francisco School of Law, where my work garnered the CALI Award for Excellence in Legal Ethics, the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers Award for Best Brief in the Roger J. Traynor Appellate Moot Court Competition, and an award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Oral Argument at the same competition.

 I have extensive experience litigating the full spectrum of employment claims, including harassment, discrimination, retaliation, disparate impact, wage and hour, and Private Attorneys General Act claims. I also have experience litigating tort claims including wrongful death and serious personal injury claims. I have litigated numerous class actions.

 I am a member of our firm’s class action litigation group. As part of that team, I fight high-stakes battles against some of the top defense firms and the largest corporations, and has established new law in California. See, Carroll v. City and County of San Francisco (2019) 41 Cal.App.5th 805, review and depublication denied (Jan. 29, 2020). His representative cases include: Aghmane v. Bank of America Corporation N.A. (N.D.Cal. Case No. 4:13-cv-03698) (1.6m jury verdict, plus a finding of liability for punitive damages, and a subsequent confidential settlement); Carroll v. City and County of San Francisco et al. (San Francisco Sup. Ct. Case No. CGC-17-526580; First Dist. Ct. of App. Case Nos. A154569 and A155208; Cal. Supreme Court Case No. S259558) (demurrer reversed on appeal, claims held timely under three separate equitable accrual doctrines, and governmental immunity rejected in published opinion; while appeal was pending, plaintiff remained party in trial court, compelled production of class list, and amended complaint to join additional class representatives); and Cosio v. International Performing Arts Academy, LLC et al. (San Francisco Sup. Ct. Case No. CGC-16-551337; First Dist. Ct. of App. Case No. A153333) (class certified; two affirmative TROs and one preliminary injunction granted; appeal from first TRO and preliminary injunction dismissed; one affirmative motion to compel discovery as to defendants, and three affirmative motions to compel subpoenas as to non-party accountants and tax preparers).

Personal Interests

I am an avid bicyclist and commute daily by bike to the firm’s offices from my home in San Francisco. In my free time, I enjoy running on trails, climbing rocks, camping, hiking, and cooking.

Education

University of California, Santa Barbara, Bachelor of Arts, English Literature, 2008

University of San Francisco School of Law, Juris Doctor, 2012

 

John Lofton

Of Counsel (SBN 222259)

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Education and Background

Mr. Lofton received his B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, and went on to obtain his J.D. from University of California at Berkeley (Boalt Hall). He has clerked for Chief Justice Veasey of the Delaware Supreme Court and co-authored “Computer Security Publications: Information Economics, Shifting Liability and the First Amendment” (Whittier Law Review, Vol. 24, No. 1).

Legal Experience

Mr. Lofton’s practice is dedicated exclusively to representing individual plaintiffs against large corporations, unscrupulous employers, and anyone who seeks to defraud members of the public.

8.2John Arrington Lofton

Joseph Clapp

Of Counsel (SBN 99194)

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Education and Background

As a young man, I worked during the summers in Yosemite National Park while I attended college. Living in Yosemite was great, but working there was not. Yosemite was, in essence, a company town. One company employed everyone and the same company housed everyone. If a certain manager did not like you, he had the power to fire you, evict you from your house, and kick you out of your entire community 

I saw, close up, that that kind of power corrupts. I saw managers who exercised their powers carelessly, and worse, I saw managers who exercised their powers viciously – sometimes against my best friends. I wondered whether there was something I could do about this, and so I began talking to my friends about organizing a union.

 After a couple of years of hard work, my friends and I were able to wage a campaign that won an election to certify the 1500 employees of Yosemite into a union. And after another year of work, we were able to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement that instituted basic protections for the employees against unfair treatment by the company and its managers.

This experience led me to conclude that, as John Lennon put it, “A working class hero is something to be.” I decided to dedicate my life to fighting for those who must work for a living. I figured that the best way to do this was to become a lawyer, so after graduating from U.C. Berkeley, I enrolled in law school at the McGeorge School of Law, U.O.P. While there, I learned a lot about persuasive writing when I served as the comments editor of the law journal.

Legal Experience

After graduating from law school and getting my license in 1981, I began my career with the trial firm of Herron & Herron, and I continued practicing with that firm, happily, for decades. During that time, I litigated all aspects of the employment relationship. My cases included wrongful or discriminatory discharges, the failure to pay wages due (e.g., overtime, prevailing wages), substandard working conditions (e.g., meal and rest periods), and the failure to pay earned pensions (ERISA). I have litigated scores, if not hundreds, of individual cases, and I have litigated numerous class actions as the lead class counsel. As a result, I am comfortable litigating in arbitrations, state trial courts, state appellate courts, federal trial courts, and federal appellate courts. I have tried numerous cases to jury verdict, and I have prosecuted or defended numerous appeals. See, e.g., George v. California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (2009) 179 Cal.App.4th 1475 (public employee’s retaliation lawsuit survives claim and issue preclusion defenses) and Walker v. Berkeley Housing Authority, 951 F.2d 182 (9th Cir. 1991) (biased decision-maker violates public employee’s Due Process rights).

 

I have won many, many cases, but I have also lost cases that will leave me scarred for life. As a result, I choose my cases very carefully. In 2012, I was fortunate to meet Randall, and Reed, and Hallie, who are all kindred spirits, and they offered to employ me as “of counsel” to their law firm. This opportunity has afforded me the luxury of being able to represent those, and only those, whose causes I believe in and whose characters I admire. I feel honored to represent these clients as zealously as I possibly can.

Reed W. L. Marcy

Attorney (SBN 191531)

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Education and Background

I was born in Seattle and raised in Washington, the Bay Area, and Oregon before returning to the Bay Area in 1980 to attend college and I have stayed here ever since. I went to UC Berkeley to study French literature and graduated in three years with High Honors, and then completed my Master’s Degree in Medieval French Literature in 1985. I spent six months travelling and studying in Europe. My master’s thesis was on Christine de Pizan, a Burgundian court poet from the time of Joan of Arc and a proto-feminist scholar who clashed with the establishment of her day.

For 8 years, I worked as a college administrator, doing admissions, financial aid, and academic counselling at UC Berkeley’s Graduate English department and California College of the Arts – School of Architecture and Design. My favorite part about both of those jobs was being able to use my ability to understand a complex web of rules and regulations and use that understanding to make a difference in the lives of the students.

Legal Experience

I am the President of the Top 10 Wage & Hour of the National Trial Lawyers Association for 2022-2023.

In 1994, I decided to attend law school at UC Hastings in San Francisco. This turned out to be the right decision. My first-year legal writing instructor was Randall Aiman-Smith. We hit it off immediately and we have been working together for the causes we believe in ever since. Over the years, my practice has come to focus primarily on two broad areas: individual workplace discrimination and wrongful termination – including sex discrimination, sex harassment, race discrimination, and retaliation – and class actions for unpaid wages – including failure to pay overtime, misclassification of employees as exempt or as independent contractors, failure to provide meal and rest breaks, and failure to reimburse expenses, such as uniforms. The firm’s no-compromise, never-quit approach has resulted in a number of cases having to go up on appeal (sometimes more than once), including two landmark wage and hour published opinions.

I am also currently serving as the President of the Top 10 Wage & Hour of the National Trial Lawyers Association for 2022-2023.

I started working for Randall on a whistleblower retaliation case against the City and County of San Francisco. It turned out that case would last fifteen years. Our first class action case was filed in 1998; it is still ongoing today. That is a measure of our commitment.

I worked with Randall during my law school years, and upon graduation, became a full-time associate and later partner at McPhee & Aiman-Smith. We spent a lot of time thinking about our role in the legal work-place, what it meant to be an advocate, how the system worked to favor the interests of the powerful, how we might redefine our roles in order to more forcefully advocate for our clients.

Randall and I, along with Hallie Von Rock, formed Aiman-Smith & Marcy in 2006. Our shared vision for the firm has always been to provide the highest-caliber legal services possible by maintaining intellectual honesty, refusing to cut corners, and always putting the client’s interest first. This yields, we believe, the highest-quality written and oral advocacy possible. We want our clients to feel that they have the smartest, hardest-working, and most honest lawyers they could find. We maintain an unusually small case load so that we can focus intently on each client’s case and avoid stretching ourselves thin. We typically spend thousands of hours on a given case, and are always prepared to take each case through trial and appeal.

Personal Interests

I like to work at home in Redwood City in the mornings with the help of my two cats, Jake and Nellie, and my wife Anne, before coming in to the office to collaborate with the group. My other interests include music and hifi, gourmet cooking and travel – hobbies best practiced in various combinations and sometimes all at once.

Education

University of California, Berkeley, A.B. with High Honors 1983, French Literature

University of California, Berkeley, M.A. 1985, French Literature

University of California, Hastings College of Law, J.D. 1997

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Randall Aiman-Smith

Attorney (SBN 124599)

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Education and Background

I was fortunate. Despite never finishing high school or college, I was able – albeit with a lot of hard work – to gain admission to, and to excel at, one of the finest law schools in the country: U.C. Berkeley’s School of Law. While I was there, I was privileged to be an editor for the California Law Review and a Member of the Moot Court Board, advising on brief writing and appellate advocacy for other students. After I left law school, in my early years of practice, I taught legal writing and appellate advocacy at University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Also, over the years, I have been presenter at continuing legal education events.

Legal Experience

I have been an attorney for 35 years. I have devoted my practice exclusively to representing employees, consumers, and investors in the state and federal trial courts and courts of appeal. I relish going to court for my clients and I have tried many jury cases in the state and federal courts.

Examples? In 2010, I was the lead attorney, along with the other attorneys in the firm, in Williams v. Union Pacific Railroad where, after four years of preparation, the firm obtained a jury verdict of $1,670,000 for an African-American female employee. In Rivero v. Surdyka, I was lead trial and appellate counsel in a civil rights case that lasted 15 years, including a full trial and three appeals to the Ninth Circuit, finally concluding in a judgment for plaintiffs of over $2,300,000. These cases illustrate the firm’s motto: commitment – results. You have to commit to a case, sometimes over a very long time, to get the result the client deserves.

 We don’t always win in the trial court. When that happens, commitment means taking the case to the next level and appealing it. In the Rivero case, above, that’s what happened: the court dismissed the case – we had lost – but we appealed and achieved a victory for our clients which we kept through two more appeals. Since then, the firm has had many appellate victories that vindicate the rights of employees and consumers. 

Over the years I have been counsel for plaintiffs in numerous individual cases and class actions. It may sound corny, or hard to believe, but after all this time, and after all the great experiences I have had, my favorite part of being a lawyer is when I get to give my client a check.

 

Education

School of Law, University of California, Berkeley, J.D.,1986

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Joseph Clapp

Of Counsel (SBN 99194)

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Educación y antecedentes

De joven, trabajé durante los veranos en el Parque Nacional de Yosemite mientras asistía a la universidad. Vivir en Yosemite era genial, pero trabajar allí no lo era. Yosemite era, en esencia, una ciudad de empresas. Una empresa empleaba a todo el mundo y la misma empresa alojaba a todo el mundo. Si no le gustabas a un determinado directivo, tenía el poder de despedirte, desalojarte de tu casa y echarte de toda la comunidad.

Vi, de cerca, que ese tipo de poder corrompe. Vi a directivos que ejercían sus poderes sin cuidado y, lo que es peor, vi a directivos que los ejercían con saña, a veces contra mis mejores amigos. Me pregunté si podía hacer algo al respecto y empecé a hablar con mis amigos sobre la organización de un sindicato.

Tras un par de años de duro trabajo, mis amigos y yo conseguimos hacer una campaña que ganó unas elecciones para certificar a los 1.500 empleados de Yosemite en un sindicato. Y tras otro año de trabajo, pudimos negociar un convenio colectivo que instituía protecciones básicas para los empleados contra el trato injusto de la empresa y sus directivos.

Esta experiencia me llevó a concluir que, como dijo John Lennon, “un héroe de la clase obrera es algo que hay que ser”. Decidí dedicar mi vida a luchar por los que tienen que trabajar para vivir. Pensé que la mejor manera de hacerlo era convirtiéndome en abogado, así que después de graduarme en U.C. Berkeley, me matriculé en la Facultad de Derecho McGeorge de la U.O.P. Mientras estuve allí, aprendí mucho sobre la escritura persuasiva cuando fui editor de comentarios de la revista de derecho.

Experiencia jurídica

Después de graduarme de la escuela de leyes y obtener mi licencia en 1981, comencé mi carrera con la firma de juicios Herron & Herron, y continué practicando con esa firma, felizmente, por décadas. Durante ese tiempo, litigué todos los aspectos de la relación laboral. Mis casos incluyeron despidos injustos o discriminatorios, el no pago de los salarios adeudados (por ejemplo, horas extras, salarios prevalecientes), condiciones de trabajo deficientes (por ejemplo, períodos de comida y descanso), y el no pago de las pensiones ganadas (ERISA). He litigado decenas, si no cientos, de casos individuales, y he litigado numerosas acciones colectivas como abogado principal del grupo. Como resultado, me siento cómodo litigando en arbitrajes, tribunales estatales de primera instancia, tribunales estatales de apelación, tribunales federales de primera instancia y tribunales federales de apelación. He llevado numerosos casos hasta el veredicto del jurado, y he procesado o defendido numerosas apelaciones. Véase, por ejemplo, George v. California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (2009) 179 Cal.App.4th 1475 (la demanda por represalias de un empleado público sobrevive a las defensas de preclusión de la demanda y de la cuestión) y Walker v. Berkeley Housing Authority, 951 F.2d 182 (9th Cir. 1991) (la toma de decisiones sesgada viola los derechos del empleado público al debido proceso).

He ganado muchos, muchos casos, pero también he perdido casos que me dejarán marcado de por vida. Como resultado, elijo mis casos con mucho cuidado. En 2012, tuve la suerte de conocer a Randall, Reed y Hallie, que son espíritus afines, y me ofrecieron emplearme como “asesor” en su bufete de abogados. Esta oportunidad me ha permitido el lujo de poder representar a aquellos, y sólo a aquellos, en cuyas causas creo y cuyo carácter admiro. Me siento honrado de representar a estos clientes con todo el celo posible.

Reed W. L. Marcy

Abogado (SBN 191531)

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Educación y antecedentes

Nací en Seattle y me crié en Washington, la zona de la bahía y Oregón antes de volver a la zona de la bahía en 1980 para asistir a la universidad y me he quedado aquí desde entonces. Fui a la UC Berkeley para estudiar literatura francesa y me gradué en tres años con altos honores, y luego completé mi maestría en literatura francesa medieval en 1985. Pasé seis meses viajando y estudiando en Europa. Mi tesis de maestría fue sobre Christine de Pizan, una poetisa de la corte borgoñona de la época de Juana de Arco y una erudita protofeminista que chocó con el establishment de su época.

 Durante 8 años, trabajé como administradora universitaria, realizando tareas de admisión, ayuda financiera y asesoramiento académico en el departamento de inglés de la UC Berkeley y en el California College of the Arts – School of Architecture and Design. Lo que más me gustó de esos dos trabajos fue poder utilizar mi capacidad para entender una compleja red de normas y reglamentos y utilizar esa comprensión para marcar la diferencia en las vidas de los estudiantes.

Experiencia jurídica

Soy el Presidente del Top 10 Wage & Hour of the National Trial Lawyers Association para el período 2022-2023.

En 1994, decidí asistir a la Facultad de Derecho de la UC Hastings en San Francisco. Resultó ser una decisión acertada. Mi profesor de redacción jurídica de primer año fue Randall Aiman-Smith. Congeniamos inmediatamente y desde entonces hemos trabajado juntos por las causas en las que creemos. A lo largo de los años, mi práctica se ha centrado principalmente en dos áreas amplias: discriminación individual en el lugar de trabajo y despido injustificado, incluida la discriminación sexual, el acoso sexual, la discriminación racial y las represalias, y acciones colectivas por salarios impagos, incluida la falta de pago de horas extras, clasificación errónea de empleados como exentos o contratistas independientes, no proporcionar descansos para comer y descansar, y no reembolsar gastos, como uniformes. El enfoque de no ceder y nunca renunciar de la empresa ha resultado en una serie de casos que tienen que ser apelados (a veces más de una vez), incluidas dos opiniones históricas sobre salarios y horas publicadas.

Actualmente también me desempeño como presidente de Top 10 Wage & Hour of the National Trial Lawyers Association para 2022-2023.

Empecé a trabajar con Randall en un caso de represalias contra la Ciudad y el Condado de San Francisco. Resultó que ese caso duraría quince años. Nuestro primer caso de acción colectiva se presentó en 1998; todavía está en curso. Esa es una medida de nuestro compromiso.

Trabajé con Randall durante mis años en la facultad de derecho y, al graduarme, me convertí en asociada a tiempo completo y más tarde en socia de McPhee & Aiman-Smith. Pasamos mucho tiempo reflexionando sobre nuestro papel en el mundo del derecho, sobre lo que significa ser un defensor, sobre cómo el sistema favorece los intereses de los poderosos y sobre cómo podríamos redefinir nuestras funciones para defender con más fuerza a nuestros clientes.

Randall y yo, junto con Hallie Von Rock, fundamos Aiman-Smith & Marcy en 2006. Nuestra visión compartida para el bufete ha sido siempre la de proporcionar servicios legales del más alto calibre posible, manteniendo la honestidad intelectual, rechazando los recortes y poniendo siempre el interés del cliente en primer lugar. Creemos que de esta manera se obtiene una defensa escrita y oral de la más alta calidad posible. Queremos que nuestros clientes sientan que cuentan con los abogados más inteligentes, trabajadores y honestos que puedan encontrar. Mantenemos una carga de trabajo inusualmente pequeña para poder centrarnos en el caso de cada cliente y evitar que se nos extienda. Por lo general, dedicamos miles de horas a un caso determinado, y siempre estamos preparados para llevar cada caso hasta el juicio y la apelación.

A lo largo de los años, mi práctica se ha centrado principalmente en dos áreas amplias: discriminación individual en el lugar de trabajo y despido injustificado, incluida la discriminación sexual, el acoso sexual, la discriminación racial y las represalias, y acciones colectivas por salarios impagos, incluida la falta de pago de horas extras, clasificación errónea. de empleados como exentos o como contratistas independientes, falta de proporcionar descansos para comer y descansar, y falta de reembolso de gastos, como uniformes. El enfoque de no ceder y nunca renunciar de la empresa ha resultado en una serie de casos que tienen que ser apelados (a veces más de una vez), incluidas dos opiniones históricas sobre salarios y horas publicadas.

Intereses personales

Me gusta trabajar en casa, en Redwood City, por las mañanas con la ayuda de mis dos gatos, Jake y Nellie, y de mi esposa Anne, antes de venir al despacho para colaborar con el grupo. Mis otros intereses incluyen la música y la alta fidelidad, la cocina gourmet y los viajes, aficiones que se practican mejor en varias combinaciones y a veces todas a la vez.

 

Educación

Universidad de California, Berkeley, licenciatura con altos honores 1983, literatura francesa

Universidad de California, Berkeley, Máster 1985, Literatura Francesa

Universidad de California, Hastings College of Law, J.D. 1997

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Miles

Golden Ambassador

Education

I successfully completed puppy school, but my legal education was advanced thereafter. I learned the importance of not biting due to a law called “strict liability” and I learned the importance of collecting evidence (my mom always bring a plastic bag on our walks for that purpose).

Hobbies

Tennis is my favorite sport – I am not so good with a racket, but I am accomplished at chasing down tennis balls.

Skills

I am committed to brighten the day of anyone I come across (unless it is a squirrel). I am excellent at giving you the opportunity to feel better by scratching my belly or petting my ears. If you need a head on your lap or have treats you need to give away, I will be there for you.

My role at Aiman-Smith & Marcy

I understand lawsuits can be very stressful and so I see myself as a “golden ambassador” to provide comfort and support when you need it. If you come to our office and want me by your side while you tell your story, just let us know and that can be arranged.

Lisseth Bayona

Attorney

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Education and Background

I am a Los Angeles native and daughter of Salvadorian immigrants. From an early age, my parents instilled the value of hard work and education in me and my two siblings. Their perseverance enabled each of us to graduate from college and earn professional degrees.

My interest and commitment to workers’ rights have roots in my parents’ experiences as undocumented workers in Los Angeles. Witnessing the challenges they faced inspired me to pursue a career where I can help individuals confronted with similar struggles. To help someone in those moments is very satisfying. I love connecting with people and learning about their stories. I believe that dignity in the workplace is a right of all workers, not a convenience or privilege reserved for employees of a certain race, gender, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

Legal Experience

I received my J.D. from the University of Southern California (USC) Gould School of Law. While there, I served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Patrick J. Walsh of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Also, while at Gould, I served as an extern for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Criminal Division. As an extern, I worked closely with a trial team of Assistant U.S. Attorneys in prosecution of a web-based platform used to promote human trafficking.

I am a member of Aiman-Smith & Marcy’s class action litigation group. As part of that team, I have successfully fought high-stakes legal battles against well-resourced and highly competent defense firms. See, e.g., Cal. Labor & Workforce Dev. Agency ex rel. Raymond v. CompuCom Sys. (E.D.Cal. Mar. 9, 2023, No. 2:21-cv-02327-KJM-KLN) 2023 U.S.Dist.LEXIS 40710.

Personal Interests

In my free time, I enjoy urban vegetable gardening, traveling, and spending time with my nephew and niece. I also love to spend time at San Onofre Beach learning to surf, although admittedly, I am not very good.

Education

 

Hallie L. Von Rock

Attorney (SBN 233152)

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Education and Background

I moved to the Bay Area from Washington after graduating high school. I had been accepted to UC Berkeley through a program where I could defer for two years while getting my California residency and attending community college, which was significant since I was paying for college on my own. I began working for Randall Aiman-Smith and Reed Marcy in 1996 as an office manager while taking night classes. My first foray into the legal world was soon after starting at the firm when I was ready to transfer to UC Berkeley. Rather than accepting my resident status, the Board of Regents took the position that California residency required a student to be in California “two calendar years.” Randall and Reed took up my case with the same verve as they helped their actual clients and I got the chance to comb through the UC Berkeley library to read their codes and regulations to support my position. In that experience, I learned what is was like to feel helpless against a big organization and then to have dedicated attorneys in my corner to take up my cause.

After a break to pursue my major in art history, I went to UC Hastings College of Law and continued working with Randall and Reed. Having worked together now for over 25 years, we have a unique ability to work collaboratively and finish each other’s sentences. I have strived throughout my career to make a difference in the lives of our clients. At the end of the day, if I am helping someone to get compensation for losses they suffered, then I know that all the work put into a case has been worth it.

Legal Experience

I have extensive experience in civil litigation and class action cases, including conducting discovery and depositions, calculating damages analysis, preparing motions for certification, writing appellate documents, and overseeing claims administration. We have handled several class actions against retailers where plaintiffs claimed they were forced to purchase clothing to wear to work and were not compensated for these purchases, including against Abercrombie & Fitch, Hugo Boss, Armani Exchange, Uniqlo, Dollar Tree, and Ross. Recently, I was trial counsel in a defamation claim against Bank of America on behalf of a former employee who claimed the Bank blacklisted her with future employers. The jury found Bank of America liable, including for punitive damages.

Personal Interests

Aiman-Smith & Marcy has sponsored me in the Boston Marathon and New York Marathon. When I race, I often wear a “Rockstar Ronan” shirt to support research for childhood cancer through The Ronan Thompson Foundation.

Education

University of California, Berkeley, B.A., 1999

Hastings College of the Law, University of California, J.D., 2004

Randall Aiman-Smith

Abogado (SBN 124599)

Aiman-Smith & Marcy. Oakland consumer fraud attorneys.
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Educación y antecedentes

Fui afortunado. A pesar de no haber terminado la escuela secundaria o la universidad, pude -aunque con mucho trabajo- ser admitido y sobresalir en una de las mejores escuelas de derecho del país: La Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad de Berkeley. Mientras estuve allí, tuve el privilegio de ser editor de la California Law Review y miembro del Moot Court Board, asesorando en la redacción de escritos y en la defensa de apelaciones a otros estudiantes. Después de salir de la escuela de derecho, en mis primeros años de práctica, enseñé la escritura legal y la defensa de apelación en la Universidad de California, Hastings College of the Law. También, a lo largo de los años, he sido presentador en eventos de educación legal continua.

Experiencia legal

He sido abogado durante 35 años. He dedicado mi práctica exclusivamente a representar a empleados, consumidores e inversores en los tribunales estatales y federales de primera instancia y en los tribunales de apelación. Me gusta ir a los tribunales por mis clientes y he llevado muchos casos con jurado en los tribunales estatales y federales.

¿Ejemplos? En 2010, fui la abogada principal, junto con los otros abogados del bufete, en el caso Williams v. Union Pacific Railroad donde, después de cuatro años de preparación, el bufete obtuvo un veredicto del jurado de 1.670.000 dólares para una empleada afroamericana. En Rivero v. Surdyka, fui el abogado principal en el juicio y la apelación de un caso de derechos civiles que duró 15 años, incluyendo un juicio completo y tres apelaciones al Noveno Circuito, concluyendo finalmente con una sentencia para los demandantes de más de 2.300.000 dólares. Estos casos ilustran el lema del bufete: compromiso – resultados. Hay que comprometerse con un caso, a veces durante mucho tiempo, para obtener el resultado que el cliente merece.

No siempre ganamos en el juicio. Cuando eso ocurre, el compromiso significa llevar el caso al siguiente nivel y recurrirlo. En el caso Rivero, antes mencionado, eso fue lo que ocurrió: el tribunal desestimó el caso -habíamos perdido- pero apelamos y conseguimos una victoria para nuestros clientes que mantuvimos a través de dos apelaciones más. Desde entonces, el bufete ha conseguido muchas victorias en apelación que reivindican los derechos de los empleados y los consumidores.

A lo largo de los años he sido abogado de los demandantes en numerosos casos individuales y acciones colectivas. Puede sonar cursi, o difícil de creer, pero después de todo este tiempo, y después de todas las grandes experiencias que he tenido, mi parte favorita de ser abogado es cuando consigo dar un cheque a mi cliente.

 

Educación

Facultad de Derecho, Universidad de California, Berkeley, J.D., 1986