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Shayna Mittler van Hoften

Shayna Mittler van Hoften

Partner
(415) 995-5880

Intro

Shayna chairs our Public Transit & Transportation Practice Group. An engaged, knowledgeable legal advisor, she provides strategic, practical counsel to government agencies in sensitive legal and political environments.

Shayna helps clients identify and mitigate government ethics and governance challenges. She works with them to adopt and implement local revenue enhancements, negotiate intergovernmental agreements, and undertake major programs and projects. Clients rely on Shayna to ensure they comply with disability access and other civil rights laws, and to develop and abide by public agency administrative, financial and risk management best practices. Shayna also drafts all forms of legislation and regulation, and pens written and oral comments on state and federal statutory and regulatory proposals.

Shayna provides frequent training on compliance with the Brown Act, Public Records Act, and conflict of interest laws and regulations, including for compliance with AB 1234.

Shayna has been licensed to practice law in the State of California since 2004. During law school, she clerked in the San Francisco city attorney’s office and for Disability Rights Advocates. Prior to attending graduate and law school, Shayna worked in state and federal government affairs in Washington, D.C.

Shayna Mittler van Hoften - Belonging at Hanson Bridgett

Education

J.D. University of California, Berkeley School of Law ( 2004 )
M.P.P. University of California, Berkeley ( 2003 )
B.A. Pomona College ( 1997 )

Admissions and Courts

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

Role

Public Transit & Transportation Practice Leader

Civil Rights in Public Transit. Regularly assists public transit providers comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, including working together to analyze fare and service changes with potentially discriminatory effects on minority and low-income populations, and to develop Limited English Proficiency Language Assistance Plans.

State Initiative Measure. Co-drafted Proposition 86, which sought to fund health insurance coverage for uninsured children in California by raising the state tax on tobacco products.

American Public Transportation Association, Vice Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee (2025-2026)

East Bay Leadership Council, Board of Directors, present

Junior State of America Foundation, Board of Directors, Board President, present

League of California Cities, City Attorneys Department, Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) Committee (2011–2013)

Municipal Management Association of Northern California (MMANC), Women’s Leadership Summit and Annual Conference Planning Committees (2009–2017)

California Political Attorneys Association, Regulatory Committee (2012–2015)

"Trump DOT Pick Puts Highway, Road Rebuilds Back In Focus," Law360 (November 2024)

"Trump Win Puts Emissions Regs On Chopping Block," Law360 (November 2024)

"Hanson Bridgett Leads Legal Support for California's Transition to Zero-Emission Buses," Daily Journal (September 2024)

"3 Issues Buttigieg's DOT Will Tackle In The Biden Years, " Law360 (February 2021)

"Biden Mask Mandate Fills Gap, But Enforcement Still Murky," Law360 (February 2021)

"New Year, Renewed Board," CA Special District Volume 12, Issue 1 (January–February 2017)

MMANC Service Award (2011–2013)

MMANC Booster Award (2010)