Former Santa Clara County Superior Court judge and employment law litigator brings substantive command, genuine attentiveness, and pragmatic problem-solving to private dispute resolution.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 24, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Signature Resolution is proud to announce that Hon. Roberta S. Hayashi (Ret.) has joined its panel of neutrals, where she will serve as a mediator and arbitrator specializing in employment, business, family law, and partnership dissolution matters. A pioneer in California employment law, a former Santa Clara County Superior Court judge appointed by Governor Jerry Brown, and an active arbitrator and mediator prior to her judicial service, Judge Hayashi brings to every dispute a depth of substantive expertise and attentiveness to the human dimensions of conflict that spans three distinct chapters of a career built entirely in and around dispute resolution.
Judge Hayashi approaches the mediation table with a guiding conviction: that parties will not accept a resolution they did not feel part of reaching. That belief shapes everything about how she works. She studies each case before the session begins, identifies the specific decision-makers involved, and spends the early stages of mediation listening with the kind of focused attention that allows parties to feel genuinely heard before the harder conversations start. When directness is required, she offers it plainly, surfacing litigation risk, tax and business continuity considerations, and the practical consequences of continued conflict with the authority of someone who has evaluated cases from the bench and from counsel table for decades. Judge Hayashi also brings a commitment to cultural fluency and adaptability, remaining attuned to how background, identity, and perspective shape what parties bring to the table throughout the session.
Judge Hayashi built her litigation career at Berliner Cohen in San Jose, joining in 1982 as one of the firm's first women litigators and ultimately leading its Employment Law Practice. Her practice there was distinct in its multi-faceted character: Judge Hayashi not only tried employment cases to verdict over three decades, but also advised HR professionals, developed curriculum for SHRM, and consulted on the employment law questions impacting her clients throughout her time at the firm. Appointed to the Santa Clara County Superior Court in December 2014, she presided over criminal, civil, and family law matters, served as a Civil Case Manager, and received the 2022 Jurist of the Year award from the Santa Clara County Bar Association for her work in providing a safe courtroom environment during civil and criminal jury trials.
"Judge Hayashi's career reflects a real commitment to legal mastery and service," said Dario Higuchi, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Signature Resolution. "We are proud to have her on our panel of neutrals."
Born and raised in Santa Clara County, much of Judge Hayashi's career shows real devotion to the Silicon Valley legal community. She served as President of the Santa Clara County Bar Association and the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, and as President of the California Asian Pacific American Judges Association. She received the Professional Lawyer of the Year award from the Santa Clara County Bar Association in 2009, and has been recognized as a Woman of Influence by the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
Judge Hayashi earned her Juris Doctor from UC Davis School of Law, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the UC Davis Law Review and was a member of the Moot Court Honors Board. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Stanford University.
To learn more about Hon. Roberta S. Hayashi (Ret.), please visit: LINK
Media Contact
Katelyn Cummings, Signature Resolution, 1 6506447867, [email protected], www.signatureresolution.com
SOURCE Signature Resolution
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