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Don Tamaki and Lisa Mak Honored with 2023 Minority Bar Coalition Unity Awards

Don Tamaki and Lisa Mak Honored with 2023 Minority Bar Coalition Unity Awards

Congratulations to Minami Tamaki Senior Counsel Don Tamaki and Senior Associate Lisa P. Mak on receiving Unity Awards from the Minority Bar Coalition for their efforts to promote the cause of diversity in the legal progression in the San Francisco Bay Area community.

The Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area nominated Lisa. who is a former President of AABA. The Alameda County Bar Association nominated Don. Don and Lisa received their awards on November 9, 2023, at Golden Gate University School of Law.

The Minority Bar Coalition is a network of over 40 diverse bar associations dedicated to working in a unified manner to advance the cause of diversity in the legal profession. MBC does this by sharing best practices and resources in bar association programming and advocacy, finding issues of common cause, and building shared platforms.

Minami Tamaki Attorney Lisa P. Mak Honored with NAPABA ‘Best Under 40’ Award

Minami Tamaki Attorney Lisa P. Mak Honored with NAPABA ‘Best Under 40’ Award

Lisa P. Mak, a Senior Associate in our Consumer and Employee Rights Practice Group, was honored with a prestigious National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) “Best Under 40” Award.

NAPABA is the nation’s largest Asian Pacific American membership organization representing the interests of 60,000 attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students.

The BU40 award recognizes talented individuals in the Asian Pacific American legal community who are under the age of 40 and have achieved prominence and distinction in their respective fields, and who have demonstrated a strong commitment to Asian Pacific American civic or community affairs.

Lisa served as the 2022 President of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area, one of NAPABA’s largest affiliate organizations.

In addition to Lisa, the 2023 BU40 honorees are: Avanti Bakane; Alexander Chen; Amy B. Cheng; Wesley Cheng; Kira Teshima Conlon; Christine Han; Cathleen Hartge; Stacey Cho Hernandez; Beatrice Leong; Nathan Leong; Amisha Patel; Gregory Schwartz; and Navdeep Singh.

Lisa will receive the award at NAPABA’s 35th annual national convention, which runs November 9-12 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Nine Minami Tamaki LLP Attorneys Named to 2024 ‘The Best Lawyers in America’ Lists

Nine Minami Tamaki LLP Attorneys Named to 2024 ‘The Best Lawyers in America’ Lists

The Best Lawyers in America recognized nine Minami Tamaki LLP attorneys in its 2024 edition. Partners Sean Tamura-Sato, B. Mark Fong, Olivia Serene Lee, Suhi Koizumi, Senior Counsel Dale Minami, and Senior Associates La Verne A. Ramsay and Angela Mapa made the Best Lawyers list. Senior Associate Seema Bhatt and Associate Lisa P. Mak were selected for Best Lawyers: Ones To Watch.

Dale, Mark, and Seema are part of the firm’s Personal Injury practice group. Best Lawyers has recognized one or more of the firm’s personal injury attorneys for the past 11 years.

Suhi, Olivia, La Verne, and Angela are part of the firm’s Immigration and Nationality Law practice group. Best Lawyers has recognized one or more of the firm’s immigration attorneys for the past seven years.

Sean and Lisa are part of the firm’s Consumer and Employee Rights practice group. Best Lawyers has recognized one or more of the firm’s consumer and employee rights attorneys for the past three years.

Lawyers on the Best Lawyers list are divided by geographic region and practice areas. They are reviewed by their peers based on professional expertise and undergo an authentication process to make sure they are in current practice and in good standing.

The Ones To Watch awards are recognitions given to attorneys who are earlier in their careers for outstanding professional excellence in private practice in the United States. Lawyers are not permitted to pay any fee to participate in or be recognized by Best Lawyers.

These individual awards qualify Minami Tamaki LLP for consideration by the Best Lawyers Best Law Firms list, which is announced in November. The firm has been recognized nine times on the Best Law Firms rankings, which are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys in their field, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process.

Best Lawyers has published its list for more than three decades, striving to earn the respect of the profession, the media, and the public as a reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals. Its first international list was published in 2006 and since then has grown to provide lists in over 75 countries.

Minami Tamaki Attorneys Named to 2023 Super Lawyers

Minami Tamaki Attorneys Named to 2023 Super Lawyers

We’re proud to announce that nine Minami Tamaki LLP attorneys were selected as Northern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars for 2023. A special congratulations to Senior Counsels Dale Minami and Don Tamaki on being named to Super Lawyers for all 20 years! This is a distinction achieved by only 0.4 percent of attorneys in Northern California in 2023.

PERSONAL INJURY
Dale Minami (Top 10, 2013-2018; Top 100, 2007-2023; Super Lawyers, 20 years)
B. Mark Fong (Super Lawyers, 14 years)
Seema Bhatt (Rising Stars)

IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY LAW
Olivia Serene Lee (Super Lawyers, 3 years)
Suhi Koizumi (Super Lawyers, 5 years)
Dian Sohn (Rising Stars)

CONSUMER AND EMPLOYEE RIGHTS
Sean Tamura-Sato (Super Lawyers. 3 years)
Lisa P. Mak (Super Lawyers)

CORPORATE/NONPROFIT
Donald K. Tamaki (Super Lawyers, 20 years)

Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in California are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive Super Lawyer honors and no more than 2.5 percent are selected to receive the Rising Star recognition.

Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive, and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys.

The Super Lawyers lists are published nationwide in Super Lawyers Magazines and in leading city and regional magazines and newspapers across the country. Super Lawyers Magazines also feature editorial profiles of attorneys who embody excellence in the practice of law. For more information about Super Lawyers, visit SuperLawyers.com.

PHOTO – Top Row (L-R): B. Mark Fong, Suhi Koizumi, Sean Tamura-Sato, Olivia Serene Lee, La Verne A. Ramsay; Middle Row (L-R): David Palmer, Dale Minami* Top 100, Donald K.Tamaki, Seema Bhatt; Bottom Row: (L-R): Lisa P. Mak, Ember Oparowski, Angela C. Mapa, Dian Sohn, Julia Pilkington. – *Chosen to 2023 Super Lawyers **Chosen to 2023 Rising Stars

<strong>Minami Tamaki Investigating BetterHelp Over Data Protection Practices</strong>

Minami Tamaki Investigating BetterHelp Over Data Protection Practices

Minami Tamaki LLP is investigating allegations that telehealth counseling network BetterHelp, Inc. mismanaged sensitive health information.

Based in Mountain View, California, BetterHelp offers online counseling services under several names, including: BetterHelp, Compile, MyTherapist, iCounseling, Terappeuta, Teen Counseling, Pride Counseling, Faithful Counseling, and ReGain.

In 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a proposed order banning BetterHelp from sharing consumers’ health data for advertising. The proposed order also required BetterHelp to pay $7.8 million to settle charges that it revealed sensitive customer data after promising to keep such data private.

The FTC alleged that BetterHelp used consumers’ e-mail addresses and the fact that they had previously been in therapy to instruct Facebook to identify similar consumers and target them with advertisements for BetterHelp’s counseling services.

The allegations against BetterHelp are particularly concerning given the sensitive nature of the information managed by the platform with which the platform deals. Many individuals turn to online therapy services like BetterHelp for assistance with mental health issues that they may be reluctant to discuss in person.

If you used BetterHelp counseling services and wish to discuss this matter, you may contact Minami Tamaki at (415) 788-9000 or through our online form. We look forward to the opportunity to speak with you.

<strong>Minami Tamaki LLP and Szeto-Wong Law Win Judgment in Civil Rights Lawsuit Alleging Sutter County Delayed Hate Crime Investigation</strong>

Minami Tamaki LLP and Szeto-Wong Law Win Judgment in Civil Rights Lawsuit Alleging Sutter County Delayed Hate Crime Investigation

See coverage of this case in the Sacramento Bee and ABC10 Sacramento

Minami Tamaki LLP is pleased to announce a judgment for its client Rouble Claire in a civil lawsuit against Sutter County and two sheriff’s deputies.

Mr. Claire, a first-generation Sikh American whose family has called Sutter, California, home since 1973, alleged that the Sutter County sheriff’s office failed to adequately investigate a pair of racist hate crimes he experienced in 2021.

On May 11, 2021, a woman confronted Mr. Claire in the parking lot of a local store. The woman shouted at Mr. Claire, including calling him a “f—— Hindu.”  The woman then sped towards Mr. Claire in her car, only swerving away at the last moment.  Mr. Claire called 911 and waited for the Sheriff’s Office to report to the scene, but no one arrived at the scene, so Mr. Claire returned to his home.

Later that same day, an associate of the woman who threatened Mr. Claire in the parking lot went to his house and wrote “Sand N—–” in chalk on the street and on his driveway, and called him “N—–.”  Mr. Claire again called law enforcement to report this incident, but the Sheriff’s Office failed to make any arrests, failed to further investigate, and failed to even prepare a report of the two incidents that day. 

One deputy who responded to the chalking incident poured water on the chalking in an attempt to wash away the evidence of the racial slurs before taking photos of the scene.

Over the next several months, Mr. Claire continued to contact the Sheriff’s Office about these disturbing incidents, but the Sheriff’s Office refused to take action.  Mr. Claire sought the assistance of the Sikh Coalition, which continued to follow up with the Sheriff’s Office.  The Sheriff’s Office finally prepared a police report that recommended criminal charges against the woman who threatened Ms. Claire in the parking lot.  However, the Sutter County District Attorney’s Office (the “District Attorney”) declined to press charges.  The District Attorney’s office cited the amount of time that had elapsed between the incidents and the preparation of the report recommending charges as a reason not to prosecute the matter, despite the fact that this delay was due to the Sheriff’s Office’s months-long delay in investigating this matter and recommending charges. 

On May 9, 2022, Minami Tamaki LLP and Szeto-Wong Law filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of California against Sutter County, two officers of the Sutter County Sheriff’s Office, and the two women who Mr. Claire harassed him.

Mr. Claire and his legal team secured an offer of judgment from Sutter County and the Sheriff’s deputies as to Mr. Claire’s claims that they violated his rights, which the court entered in his favor.

“This judgment reflects the unavoidable fact that Sutter County’s institutions failed our client,” Szeto-Wong and Tamura-Sato said in a joint statement Monday. “No one should have to experience hateful words or conduct – nor should they go months without an adequate investigation or have their legitimate concerns belittled and ignored when the safety of them and their family is at risk.”

The case is Claire v. County of Sutter, et al., 22-cv-00780-WBS-AC, Eastern District of California.

See coverage of this case in the Sacramento Bee and ABC10 Sacramento.

Minami Tamaki Representing Sleep Technologists in Wage and Hour Claims

Minami Tamaki Representing Sleep Technologists in Wage and Hour Claims

Minami Tamaki LLP’s Consumer and Employee Rights Group is representing sleep technologists in their legal claims regarding the failure of their employers to provide legally mandated meal periods and rest periods.  

Sleep technologists, also called polysomnographic technologists, assist sleep specialists in documenting and analyzing sleep study patterns. A physician may refer a patient for a sleep study, which is an overnight visit to a sleep center to diagnose sleep disorders.  

Sleep technologists provide overnight care to these patients, often working shifts of 12 hours or longer. Sleep technologists monitor the breathing, movement, oxygen levels, and brain activity of patients throughout the night to determine what may be disrupting their sleep patterns.  

An individual sleep technologist is often required to monitor two to three patients at the same time. Minami Tamaki is representing sleep technologists who allege that they are regularly forced to monitor these patients throughout the night without being provided meal period or rest periods as required by law.  

California law states that an employer may not require a non-exempt employee to work for a period of more than five hours per day without providing the employee with a meal period of not less than 30 minutes, except that if the total work period is no more than six hours, the meal period may be waived by mutual consent. A second meal period of not less than 30 minutes is required if an employee works more than ten hours per day, except that if the total worked is no more than 12 hours, the second meal period may be waived by mutual consent as long as the first meal period was not waived. Non-exempt employees are also entitled to a ten-minute rest break for every four hours worked, or major fraction thereof.

Minami Tamaki has extensive experience in litigation regarding the fundamental workplace right to receive meal periods and rest periods.  For more information on litigation regarding wage and hour claims on behalf of sleep technologists, you may contact Minami Tamaki Consumer and Employee Rights Group attorneys Sean Tamura-Sato and Lisa Mak online or call us at 415-788-9000.

*The contents of this article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.  Information in this article may not constitute the most complete or up-to-date legal or other information.  Readers should contact a licensed California attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter. Use of this website does not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader and Minami Tamaki LLP.

Minami Tamaki LLP Attorneys Present at NAPABA Convention

Minami Tamaki LLP Attorneys Present at NAPABA Convention

Minami Tamaki LLP Senior Counsel Donald K. Tamaki and Associate Lisa P. Mak spoke at the national convention of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) held in Las Vegas from November 3-6, 2022.

Don was on the panel “Long-Overdue Reparations for African Americans: Why AAPIs Should Care” with Loyola Marymount Prof. Cheryl Grills, and filmmaker Jon Osaki, moderated by Bonnie Youn, Managing Director, The RMN Agency. The panel explored the role of Asian Americans and the fight for Black reparations.

Lisa was on the panel “Gathering Facts, Building a Case and Appearing in Court in the New Normal” with U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona Wang, Mintz Group Chief Legal Officer Patricia Astorga, and King and Spalding LLP Counsel Jenny Pelaez. The panel explored approaches, benefits, and challenges of conducting investigations and litigation in the virtual or hybrid setting.

In related news, Lisa started a two-year term as Alternate Regional Governor for Northern California on the NAPABA Board. She is also serving as President of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area, the largest local Asian American bar association in the country and one of the largest minority bar associations.

Minami Tamaki LLP was the inaugural recipient of NAPABA’s APA-Owned Law Firm of the Year.

What Employers and Employees Should Know as Tech Industry Braces for Layoffs

What Employers and Employees Should Know as Tech Industry Braces for Layoffs

The tech industry has recently been hit by a series of major layoffs that will impact thousands of employees. Meta, Twitter, Lyft, and Stripe, among others, have all announced major job cuts in the face of economic challenges.

The decision to conduct layoffs is always difficult, especially when there is an urgency to implement layoffs quickly. Common issues that arise in layoffs include:

Potential employment discrimination claims. Employers must develop objective criteria for layoff decisions. Employers that fail to base layoff decisions on nondiscriminatory reasons, such as quality of work, may be subject to employment discrimination claims.   

Potential retaliation claims. Employees who have complained of suspected violations of the law may have grounds to pursue a retaliation claim if selected for a layoff.  

Disparate impact on protected classes. Employers should review selection criteria to determine if they will disproportionately affect older employees, employees with disabilities, or any other group protected by employment laws.  

Advance notice requirements. In some cases, employers are required to provide advance notice of layoffs under the federal WARN Act or the California WARN Act.  

While most employers are not legally required to offer severance packages to laid-off employees, many employers will decide to do so voluntarily. Issues for employers and employees to consider in severance agreements include:

Release of claims. Employers may condition severance payment, or increased payment, on the employee signing a waiver of potential legal claims against the employer. Employees should consider the impact of giving up the right to pursue such claims before agreeing to accept severance payments.

Confidentiality and non-disparagement. In exchange for a severance payment, employers often seek to force employees to agree not to discuss the terms of the severance package or to make negative statements about the employer. California has recently placed limitations on some of these restrictive clauses, which employers should be careful to comply with. 

Non-compete and non-solicitation clauses. Non-compete agreements that prevent former employees from working for a company’s competitors are generally not enforceable in California.    

Protections for older workers. The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act requires that employers provide workers who are at least 40 years old with at least 21 days to consider a severance offer.  

Employees are not required to simply accept an employer’s offer of a severance package in exchange for waiving their legal rights. Severance agreements can sometimes be negotiated, and employees can seek more favorable terms.  

For more information on reductions in force and severance agreements, you may contact Minami Tamaki Consumer and Employee Rights Group attorneys Sean Tamura-Sato and Lisa Mak online or call us at 415-788-9000.

*The content of this article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.  Information in this article may not constitute the most complete or up-to-date legal or other information.  Readers should contact a licensed California attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter. Use of this website does not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader and Minami Tamaki LLP.