People
Shandyn Pierce

Shandyn H. Pierce

Associate
(415) 995-5125

Intro

Shandyn is an Associate in the Appellate Practice Group where he focuses on appeals and law in motion in state and federal courts.  

Prior to joining Hanson Bridgett, Shandyn served as Assistant City Attorney and Assistant General Counsel for several municipalities and special districts in the Bay Area. Shandyn worked on a broad range of municipal and special district law issues, including matters relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, rent control and stabilization, Brown Act requirements for notice and agenda posting, weapons confiscation petitions, pre-trial discovery motions, First Amendment rights, the Public Records Act, requirements for timely filing of government claims, social media and the workplace, and transgender and non-binary employee rights.   

Education

J.D. UC Law San Francisco (Formerly UC Hastings) ( 2020 )
B.A. California Polytechnic State University ( 2015 )

Academic Distinction

Student Leader of the Year (2018-2019)

CALI Excellence for the Future Award for Statutory Interpretation & Administrative Law

Moot Court - Snodgrass Award Recipient

Black Law Student Association, President

National Black Law Student Association, Sub-Regional Director

Selected to serve as Student Counsel for the Hastings Appellate Project, culminating in a precedent setting Ninth Circuit win for domestic violence victims seeking asylum in the United States.

Admissions and Courts

California
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Role

Intro

Shandyn is an Associate in the Appellate Practice Group where he focuses on appeals and law in motion in state and federal courts.  

Prior to joining Hanson Bridgett, Shandyn served as Assistant City Attorney and Assistant General Counsel for several municipalities and special districts in the Bay Area. Shandyn worked on a broad range of municipal and special district law issues, including matters relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, rent control and stabilization, Brown Act requirements for notice and agenda posting, weapons confiscation petitions, pre-trial discovery motions, First Amendment rights, the Public Records Act, requirements for timely filing of government claims, social media and the workplace, and transgender and non-binary employee rights.   

Areas of Focus

Education

J.D. UC Law San Francisco (Formerly UC Hastings) ( 2020 )
B.A. California Polytechnic State University ( 2015 )

Academic Distinction

Student Leader of the Year (2018-2019)

CALI Excellence for the Future Award for Statutory Interpretation & Administrative Law

Moot Court - Snodgrass Award Recipient

Black Law Student Association, President

National Black Law Student Association, Sub-Regional Director

Selected to serve as Student Counsel for the Hastings Appellate Project, culminating in a precedent setting Ninth Circuit win for domestic violence victims seeking asylum in the United States.

Admissions and Courts

California
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Bar Association of San Francisco - Appellate Law Section, Executive Committee 

Contra Costa County Bar Association - Appellate Section, Co-Chair

“A California Bar Exam Like None Before It,” Law and the Pandemic Podcast (March 2021)

"Episode 2: Pierce and Mergaert," Black Hastings Speaks Limited Podcast (December 2020)

California Lawyers Association, Wiley W. Manuel Pro Bono Legal Services Award (2023)

California Academy of Appellate Lawyers (CAAL), Fellow (2024)

Diaz-Reynoso v. Barr, 968 F.3d 1070 (9th Cir. 2020) [Asylum - Domestic Violence Victims Fleeing Persecution]

“Overcoming a Historic Bar: Victory for Applicants, Not High Court,” The Recorder (January 2021)

"2020 Bar Applicants Held Hostage by Hubris,” The Recorder (September 2020)

“Law School Grad: California Bar Exam Decision Is a ‘Hurtful Half-Measure’,” The Recorder (July 2020)

“Navigating the Remote 2021 California Bar Exam,” Bar Association of San Francisco (April 2021)

“Agents of Change,” YJA Convention (2016)