DALE MINAMI, American Lawyer, Partner of MINAMI, LEW, TAMAKI & LEE, specializing in the field of General Civil and Criminal Trial Practice, Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury, Family, Employment, Business, Corporate, Entertainment and Immigration Law.
Background
Minami was born in Los Angeles, California, graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1968 from the University of Southern California, and received his Juris Doctor degree in 1971 from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley.
Education
University of Southern California (Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, 1968), Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi. Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California (Juris Doctor, 1971). Lecturer, University of California at Berkeley, 1971-1983.
Member, California Fair Employment and Housing Commission, 1981-1984.
Chair, California Attorney General’s Asian Pacific Islander Advisory Committee, since 1988.
Career
United States, one of the most controversial United States Supreme Court decisions of the 20th century. Minami"s cases have often involved the civil rights of Asian-Pacific Americans and other minorities. In the early 1980s, Minami helped lead a legal team of pro bono attorneys in successfully reopening Fred Toyasaburo Korematsu v.
United States, resulting in the erasure of Fred Korematsu’s criminal conviction for defying the internment.
United Pilipinos for Affirmative Action v. California Blue Shield was the first employment class action lawsuit brought by Asian-Pacific Americans on behalf of Asian-Pacific Americans.
Spokane JACL v. Washington State University was a class action to establish an Asian American Studies program at Washington State University.
Nakanishi v. University of California, Los Angeles involved a claim for unfair denial of tenure that resulted in the granting of tenure after several hearing and widespread publicity over discrimination in academia. Minami has been involved in the judicial appointment process and in public policy and legislation.
He has also served as a Commissioner on the California State Bar Association’s Commission on Judicial Nominee"s Evaluation, Senator Barbara Boxer"s Judicial Screening Committee and was appointed by President Bill Clinton as Chair of the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund in 1996. Minami"s San Francisco-based law firm, Minami Tamaki Limited Liability Partnership, specializes in personal injury law and entertainment law.
Clients include Kristi Yamaguchi, Philip Kan Gotanda and Steven Okazaki.
He is counsel to several community organizations, including the Center for Asian American Media (formerly NAATA), and the Asian American Journalists Association.
Membership
Member, California Fair Employment and Housing Commission, 1981-1984. Chair, California Attorney General"s Asian Pacific Islander Advisory Committee, 1988-1990. Member: Commission on Judicial Nominee"s Evaluation, State Bar of California, 1985-1987.
Senator Barbara Boxer"s Judicial Screening Committee, 1993-1996.
Member: Bar Association of San Francisco (Member, Judiciary Committee, 1988-1989). Alameda County Bar Association.
Asian American Bar Association. Asian/Pacific Bar of California (President, 1982).
Civil Liberties Public Education Fund (Chair, 1996).