Joanna Mendoza

My name is Jim and I am President of Hygieia Biological Laboratories, a Sacramento area biotechnology firm. Since founding the firm in 1991, I have retained and worked with over twenty attorneys. I have interacted with and observed the performance of many others. Hygieia has been a client of Ms. M...endoza's since 1992. Today Ms. Mendoza fills the role of General Counsel to our firm and she is our principal litigator. The caliber of Ms. Mendoza's work is such that we consider her irreplaceable. She is simply without peer. Because of the complex matters we frequently find at issue, Hygieia has developed a practice of close collaboration with counsel that is unheard of elsewhere. We require frequent communication and the ability to balance numerous assignments - often with shifting focus and priorities. It is not unusual for us to deal with legal situations which have little or no precedent. Ms. Mendoza does all of this and more. She excels at grasping technical concepts that are outside of her area of training and quickly understands the legal consequences of each new situation. Her ability to generate synergism in a collaborative work environment, to quickly and efficiently solve novel problems and to effectively communicate her position both verbally and in writing is extraordinary. The quality of her legal writing is sublime. In particular, I have observed that Ms. Mendoza exhibits a rare degree of balance between a disciplined knowledge and understanding of the law on the one hand, and an energetic, engaged and artful advocacy for her clients on the other. Perhaps it would be sufficient to assert that Ms. Mendoza is the "best damn lawyer in Sacramento" but this would short change aspects of legal practice which define it as a profession. Here too, Ms. Mendoza sets a standard to which all could aspire. Unquestionable integrity, and unfailing professional courtesy are her everyday attributes. It is remarkable to observe the pleasure and elegance with which she approaches her work. Despite having such a full practice that she is constantly referring prospective clients to colleagues, Ms. Mendoza is completely engaged in a wide variety of public service activities. This includes arbitration and pro tem judicial work, as well as frequent contributions to lay and professional press and audiences on matters of legal interest. Ms. Mendoza is active and has held or holds leadership positions in numerous aspects of Local, State and Federal Bar programs. Notably, she has contributed considerable time and creativity to the review and reform of several aspects of intellectual property law relating to patent law, trade secrets and public records. Taken together, these activities clearly indicate an individual who is not merely a first class lawyer but is truly a community leader in every sense of the word.