Headquartered in California, Kitagawa & Ebert is one of the few American law firms that have won trials and arbitrations for Japanese business clients in federal courts and arbitrations in multiple states.
It represents many prominent Japanese clients in the United States and has lawyers licensed in California, Texas, Georgia, New York, Michigan, Nevada and Alabama, including those admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. They also have satellite offices in both Texas (by appointment) and Georgia (by appointment).
“Japanese businesses entrust us with complex business litigation matters and engage our firm for guidance on business legal risk management. We are experienced U.S. business lawyers who win difficult trials and arbitrations,” said Partner Lisa Kitagawa, who is the third of only four American lawyers to have graduated from Kyoto University.
“In the USA, only 1% of civil cases go to trial, so very few U.S. lawyers have actual trial and arbitration experience,” she added.
“We are respected for our winning strategies and ability to communicate persuasively and respectfully with clients, opposing lawyers, judges and arbitrators. We skillfully navigate through complex business matters and build bridges so that our clients succeed and win,” Kitagawa added.
Partner James Ebert, who also attended Kyoto University, is a lawyer and a California certified public accountant.
“Kitagawa & Ebert is a Japanese bilingual practice that excels at legal strategy and has mastered the legal research, legal writing and litigation skills which are required for complex business litigation, trials and arbitrations. Other Japanese bilingual lawyers lack actual litigation or trial experience, and do not have a deep understanding of U.S. history and business culture,” Kitagawa said.
Because of its sophisticated utilization of technology amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the firm continues to grow and expand its Japanese client base, which encompasses a broad spectrum of industries, including energy, technology, automotive, food, logistics, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, real estate, finance, investment, entertainment and the internet.
“With our firm’s extensive business experience, Japanese bilingual team and understanding of U.S. and Japan cultures, we are successful in winning complex business disputes. We also have a busy transactional business practice in contracts, corporate, real estate, employment and other matters,” Kitagawa said.
“We understand the complexities of doing business in the USA. We provide experienced business strategies, including risk management for our clients’ success in the USA,” she added.
