Minami Tamaki LLP announced Senior Counsel B. Mark Fong's retirement effective December 31, 2024.

Mark joined the firm as Senior Counsel in 2006, was a Partner from 2014 through 2023, and transitioned to Senior Counsel in 2024. He has led the firm's Personal Injury Practice Group since 2017, taking over from firm co-founder and Senior Counsel Dale Minami.

Starting January 1, 2025, Seema Bhatt will lead the practice group. Dale continues to advise the group, and Mark will stay connected with the firm and remain a trusted resource.

An award-winning trial lawyer, Mark has obtained multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements, specializing in the trial of catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, product liability, premises liability, and medical malpractice cases throughout California in state and federal courts.

Through Mark's nearly 20 years with Minami Tamaki, he has fought for the rights of people who have been injured or suffered the loss of loved ones due to the carelessness of others. Through his leadership, Mark expanded the firm's capacity to tackle catastrophic injury cases and trained the next generation of personal injury attorneys at the firm.

A third generation San Franciscan, Mark's deep roots in San Francisco Chinatown and in Asian American and legal communities have made Minami Tamaki a stronger partner with numerous nonprofit organizations that serve our neighborhoods and causes.

“We congratulate Mark on his well-deserved retirement,” said Minami Tamaki Managing Partner Sean Tamura-Sato. “The Personal Injury group thrived under Mark's leadership, achieving groundbreaking results while embodying the firm's core values of collaboration and mutual respect. While the firm will miss Mark deeply, he has left an indelible imprint on the firm, and we are truly grateful for everything he has done.”

“I've had an extraordinary journey at Minami Tamaki,” said Mark. “Working alongside the giants of the Asian American bar to fight for the rights of the most vulnerable in our society has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. I know the spirit of this firm—its unwavering commitment to social change—will continue to thrive through all my colleagues. I am extremely pleased that Seema will lead our practice group going forward and provide our clients with the quality of representation they deserve.”

Mark has been recognized as one of the top personal injury lawyers in the Bay Area. He is a Life Fellow of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), one of the most prominent organizations of trial attorneys in the country, whose members are selected by invitation only, upon demonstration of significant jury trial experience.

He was named a Northern California Super Lawyer in the Personal Injury category from 2010 through 2024 and made the Top 100 list in 2015 and 2016. He was a finalist for Trial Lawyer of the Year by the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association in 2019.

He was selected by his peers for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America in the area of Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs from 2014-2025, and his practice group received a Tier 1 ranking in the 2015 to 2025 Editions of U.S. News-Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” under the category of Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs for the San Francisco metro area.

Several of Mark's cases were recognized by Top Verdict's Top 50 and Top 100 Settlements in California in 2016 and by Leaders in the Law in its “Northern California's Leading Lawyers” 2017 publication. Mark is also a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

Mark has been rated “AV Preeminent” by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory for over 25 years, signifying the highest level of legal ability and professional standards of ethics. He was honored as one of San Francisco's Top AV Rated Lawyers in 2013. He is also listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers for high professional legal standards and ethics.

Mark received his B.A. in Political Science with high honors in 1978 from the University of California Berkeley, and his J.D. from UC Law San Francisco (formerly University of California Hastings College of the Law) in 1981. In law school, he served as an extern to Justice Winslow Christian of the First District California Court of Appeal. Mark was admitted to the California Bar in 1981.