On November 2, 2017, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced the appointment of Hernaldo J. Baltodano to a judgeship in the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court. Mr. Baltodano has been a partner at Baltodano & Baltodano LLP, a San Luis Obispo-based employment law firm he co-founded with his attorney-wife, Erica Flores Baltodano, in 2011. According to the Governor’s press release, Mr. Baltodano will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of the Honorable Michael L. Duffy.
“I am deeply humbled by the Governor’s appointment,” Mr. Baltodano said. “It is an absolute privilege to have the opportunity to join the esteemed bench of the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court, and to serve our county and the State of California.”
For the past fifteen years, Mr. Baltodano has represented a diverse range of clients, ranging from individuals to Fortune 100 companies, in employment and class action litigation. Before forming Baltodano & Baltodano LLP, Mr. Baltodano practiced law at some of the finest law firms in California, including the national law firm of Robins Kaplan LLP (formerly Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi LLP), Hadsell Stormer & Renick LLP (formerly Hadsell & Stormer, Inc.), and Sanchez & Amador, LLP. Mr. Baltodano has been named a Southern California Super Lawyer each year since 2014 and a “Rising Star” in his field for the years 2004-2008 and again in 2010-2013.
In 2009, Public Counsel, the nation’s largest public interest law firm, named Mr. Baltodano “Advocate of the Year” for his pro bono work on behalf of special needs children. Mr. Baltodano earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Davis.
Baltodano & Baltodano LLP recently received the 2017 Access to Justice Advocate award from San Luis Obispo Legal Assistance Foundation for its commitment to ensuring access to legal services. In the coming weeks, Mr. Baltodano will wind down his role with Baltodano & Baltodano LLP and Erica Flores Baltodano will maintain the legal practice as The Baltodano Firm, a professional corporation.