Daijogo & Pedersen, LLP is a law firm specializing in employment law counseling and strategic advice for employers. Both partners, Kristin Pedersen and Maki Daijogo, have practiced management-side employment law for 13 and 14 years, respectively. Their clients include local, national, and international companies.

Maki Daijogo, Partner

Ms. Daijogo has been practicing labor and employment law exclusively since 1993. She focuses on counseling and advising employers on workplace issues such as family and medical leaves, wage and hour law compliance, affirmative action compliance, workplace violence, reasonable accommodation, unfair competition, and reductions in work force. Prior to devoting her practice solely to counseling, Ms. Daijogo litigated employment actions in both state and federal court, defending employers against charges of sexual harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, invasion of privacy, and unfair competition. While her objective is to help clients avoid litigation, when claims do arise, she is skilled at negotiating and resolving disputes. Ms. Daijogo regularly represents employers in administrative actions before the U.S. Department of Labor, the California Labor Commissioner, the Employment Development Department, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She guides employers through facility closures and layoffs, government audits (EDD, DOL, and OFCCP), and all varieties of thorny employment situations.

Active in the California Minority Counsel Program (CMCP), Ms. Daijogo serves on CMCP's Board of Directors and chairs the Personnel Committee. She co-chaired CMCP's 2006 Business Conference sub-committee and its Recruiting sub-committee. In addition, Ms. Daijogo is a member of the Marin County Bar Association's Diversity and Labor and Employment sections and the State Bar of California's Labor and Employment Law section.

Ms. Daijogo received her J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 1993, where she served as the Managing Director of the Moot Court Board. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley, where she graduated in the top ten percent of her class in 1989.

Kristin Pedersen, Partner

Practicing labor and employment law since 1994, Ms. Pedersen now provides strategic advice and counseling to employers on subjects within the full range of employment law. Areas of Ms. Pedersen’s practice include: discrimination; harassment; wage and hour issues; trade secret, unfair competition and employee raiding issues; leaves of absence; classification of workers; employment policies; employment-related agreements; and reductions in force.

Ms. Pedersen also assists clients with dispute resolution prior to litigation and defends employers against administrative charges and claims. She regularly represents employers in administrative actions before the U.S. Department of Labor, the California Labor Commissioner, the Employment Development Department, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She also counsels employers through issues involving the WARN Act and government audits.

Before focusing her practice solely on providing advice and counseling to employers, Ms. Pedersen defended employers in litigation disputes, including claims related to sexual harassment, wage and hour, disability discrimination, proprietary information and wrongful termination.

Julie Martel, Associate

Ms. Martel began practicing law in 1996 as a litigator with an emphasis on employment discrimination cases.  She is licensed to practice law in both California and Oregon.  Ms. Martel has advised and represented employers in both state and federal court on claims of harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, unfair competition, and wage and hour issues.

Prior to entering private practice, Ms. Martel clerked for the Honorable Otto R. Skopil, Jr., of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  Later, she was a staff attorney in the Circuit Executive’s Office of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Ms. Martel received her J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law in 1995, where she was elected to Order of the Coif and served as Managing Editor of the Oregon Law Review.  Before that, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College in 1989.

Christina Cordoza, Of Counsel

Ms. Cordoza has been providing counsel to employers on all aspects of labor and employment law since 1989. She provides advice and counsel on such matters as: recruiting issues; wage and hour issues; discrimination; harassment; trade secrets, unfair competition and employee raiding issues; leaves of absence; employment policies and handbooks; independent contractors; employment-related agreements; and reductions in force. Her experience includes representing companies before federal and state courts and administrative agencies, including the U.S. Department of Labor, the California Labor Commissioner, the Employment Development Department, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Ms. Cordoza’s background also includes traditional union matters, and she has handled collective bargaining negotiations, grievance hearings, labor arbitrations, and related NLRB issues. While her practice now focuses on pre-litigation dispute resolution, Ms. Cordoza has represented employers in all areas of employment law litigation, including contract disputes, discrimination claims, employee terminations and trade secret issues.

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Cordoza was the first-ever in house employment attorney at Lucasfilm, Ltd. Although she loved the job, she did leave it in August, 2007 to keep a promise to herself and her husband that, when their children were the appropriate age, the family would travel around the world for an extended period of time. Ms. Cordoza has only recently returned from this around-the-world odyssey.