News
Business Journal Honors Berliner Cohen Attorney as Woman of Influence
February 02, 2009
The Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal has selected Roberta Hayashi, Berliner Cohen partner and head of the Employment Law group, as one of the 2009 Women of Influence in Silicon Valley. She, along with 99 other outstanding women, will be featured in the Journal’s March 6 Women of Influence special supplement. In addition, the women will be honored at the Journal’s March 18 Awards Dinner.
As a life-long Santa Clara County resident, Ms. Hayashi has distinguished herself as a highly visible, and essential member of the San Jose business community. She has over twenty-five years experience as an attorney representing and advising Silicon Valley employers, ranging from small medical practices to large tech companies, in employment issues and has significant trial experience in state and federal court.
She has received numerous honors throughout her career, including being named as a recipient of the Santa Clara County Bar Association’s 2006 Minority Access Committee “Unsung Heroes Award” and the 2008 Salsman Award for outstanding contributions to the community and the legal profession. Ms. Hayashi was named one of the “Top 50 Women Litigators” in California by The Daily Journal. In 1996, she was the first Asian-American to be elected by the Santa Clara County Bar Association to serve as its President.
Her service to the legal community has also included: current chair of the Professional Responsibility Rules Revision Task Force of the local bar association; past president of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley; Lawyers Representative from the Northern District of California to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference; and chair or member of several committees and task forces for the local bar association. She has volunteered her time as a settlement conference judge and mediator for the Santa Clara County Superior Court and is a member of the Court’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee and Bench / Bar / Media / Police Committee.
Always willing to share her extensive legal knowledge, Ms. Hayashi has been a frequent speaker on employment law and legal ethics. She currently participates as a member of the California Certification Advisory Committee of the Society of Human Resource Management, making recommendations, preparing curriculum and materials for the organization’s Essentials of Human Resource Certificate Program. For four years, Ms. Hayashi has taught employment law at Lincoln Law School in San Jose. She has taught continuing legal education programs for the Santa Clara County Bar Association and the California State Bar in civil litigation, employment law and legal ethics.
Ms. Hayashi is an active volunteer for a number of community organizations, including co-Vice Chair of the San Jose Sports Authority, Board member for Hospice of the Valley, and Board member, Midori-Kai Inc., a non-profit organization that focuses on promoting Japanese-American culture and history. In 2003, the Junior League of San Jose recognized her volunteer service by naming her a “Crystal Bowl Winner.”
Ms. Hayashi is a third-generation Japanese American, who was born in San Jose and graduated from local schools (Campbell High School and Stanford University).
Berliner Cohen is one of the largest and oldest law firms in San Jose serving the business and regulatory needs of private business and public agencies. For 40 years, the Firm has developed the special expertise required by a diverse client base consisting of nationally recognized business interests and a number of Silicon Valley’s largest national and multinational corporations, new ventures, leading real estate developers and brokerages, cutting-edge technology companies, healthcare and other service providers, banking and financial institutions, municipalities, public agencies and individuals. Berliner Cohen also meets the growing demands of the San Joaquin Valley with its expanding office in Merced.