Cynthia Hernandez joined OIR after practicing law at the union-side law firm of Gilbert & Sackman in Los Angeles. As a union attorney she specialized in representing private and public sector labor unions and was responsible for arbitrating discharge and contract disputes on behalf of the firm’s clients.
Ms. Hernandez began her law career as a trial attorney at the National Labor Relations Board (”NLRB”) where she investigated unfair labor practices committed by employers and labor organizations. After her tenure at the NLRB, she was appointed by the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda to defend Rwandan detainees who were charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes for the atrocities that occurred in Rwanda in 1994.
Ms. Hernandez received her J.D. degree from USC Law School in 2000. While in law school, she served as an extern for the Honorable Consuelo Marshall, United States District Court, Central District of California and clerked at the Directors Guild of America. As a law student supervisor for the USC Law School Post-Conviction Justice Project she assisted inmates with post-conviction relief and represented Mariel Cuban Detainees in INS Panel Hearings. In 2006, USC’s La Raza Law Students Association selected Ms. Hernandez as the recipient of their “Inspirational Alumnus Award,”—an annual award given to one lawyer and one judge for their contributions to the Latino community.
As an undergraduate, Ms. Hernandez attended UC San Diego, Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico and the University of Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa. In 1993, she earned a M.A. in Education from Claremont Graduate School. She was a bilingual educator before becoming an attorney and speaks Spanish and Swahili.