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Author: ASMDevs

Sexual Harassment: Why You Should Talk to a Lawyer

Sexual harassment is a serious offense, especially in the workplace. Though many believe that telling offensive jokes may be alright, there are times when it could really hurt someone’s feelings. However, sexual harassment doesn’t usually stop there. Many people continue to ask someone that they work without on a date or for sexual favors. If […]

5 Things You Shouldn’t Have to Be Afraid of In Your Workplace

Every workplace handles employee rights differently. Some are activists who make sure every employee has what they need. Some are complaint-based so that mostly only the “squeaky wheels” get requested compensation. Others are unbelievably hostile to the idea that employees are anything more than drones hired to do a job without complaint or anything more […]

When You Need Cheap Labor Can You Contact the Human Trafficking Labor Pool

If you have a slave working for you, you can really lower your labor costs. According to the“Verite-Humanity United Fair Labor Worldwide Report (Pdf),” “an underground system of labor brokerage consists of substantial well-organized companies in the labor supply chain. This system for the recruitment and hiring into the labor ‘supply chain’ increases the vulnerability […]

Should Your Employer be Paying for Your Uniform?

Should employees have to pay for their uniforms? This is a debate that has been going on for more than two hundred years of worker-employer relationship. So it’s no surprise that the laws regarding employee uniform costs vary from state to state. Fortunately, California laws tend to favor the employee and protect workers from being […]

Sexual Harassment: Steps to Take Before Hiring a Lawyer

Sexual harassment can be a big problem. It can make women (and men) uncomfortable at work. In fact, there are times when a person feels forced to leave a job that they love because of harassment. The worst part is that harassment often starts as jokes that might be funny yet offensive. If you don’t […]

Does Your Investment Loss Need To Be Scrutinized?

Investing your money is one of those smart money moves that everyone praises. However, it doesn’t always pay off. This is aggravating and scary enough when it happens in the normal course of doing business, but it becomes downright illegal when you lose money because your investment broker did something he or she wasn’t supposed […]

What is there to say about discrimination against older workers?

The Grey Ceiling Many companies have an informal policy of dismissing employees when they reach a certain age because they would prefer to train younger workers. Younger and less senior employees cost less, are thought to have fewer health-related issues and to be more trainable. In most cases, these policies are against the spirit of […]

8 Subtle Signs of a Workplace that Discriminates Against Female Employees

In the modern workplace, most female professionals are not braced for sexist discrimination. We all learn from a young age that this sort of thing is “over” and went out of style by the 70s or 80s at the latest. A modern boss wouldn’t dream of patting his secretary on the bottom or asking a […]

How to Tell If You are Being Discriminated Against at Work

Discrimination in the workplace should not be tolerated. People can be discriminated against due to their sex, race, age, and much more. Though there are times when discrimination is blatantly obvious, there are many times when it is not. In fact, some people are very good at discriminating against someone in a way that others […]

Pregnancy and Discrimination

Discrimination comes in many forms. It also affects many different people. While most people think that people are discriminated against due to the color of their skin, the truth is that there are many others who feel like they are discriminated against. They may feel discriminated against because of their sex, sexual orientation, and even […]

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 1000
Oakland, California 94621

Telephone

(510) 760-7005

Email

[email protected]

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