According to an article published by The Practice magazine, between the years 2000 and 2015, the number of Asian American lawyers practicing in the United States has grown from 20,000 to 53,000, and now comprise nearly five percent of lawyers Nationwide. In recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage month, we’re taking some time to feature some of the amazing and important work currently being done by our Keller Rohrback attorneys of AAPI heritage.
Eleanor Wang is an associate in the Seattle office working in the Complex Litigation department with a focus on class action and consumer litigation and mortgage put-back litigation. Currently Eleanor is devoting much of her time to the Hard Disk Drive Suspension Assemblies Antitrust Litigation, an class action anti-trust case currently consolidated in the Northern District of California and having to do with the alleged price-fixing of disk drive suspension assemblies, which are a critical component for the performance and operation of electronic devices.
“The market for HDD suspension assemblies is dominated by two Japanese companies: TDK and NHK Spring. Together, these companies and their subsidiaries control approximately 90 percent of the global market for HDD suspension units. The manufacturers have been engaging in global price-fixing conspiracy and market allocation practices for more than a decade. The end users, likely including you and me, have been paying more for the products that include HDD suspensions assemblies than they otherwise would have paid in a competitive market. This case is important as it sends a strong message to those manufacturers that they should not engage in price-fixing or market allocation practices. I hope this case will help promote free and open competition that benefits consumers by ensuring lower prices and new and better products.” -Eleanor Wang
Eleanor Wang
Natida Sribhibhadh
Natida Sribhibhadh is an associate in Keller Rohrbach’s Seattle office, working in the complex litigation department with a focus on class action and consumer litigation and governments and municipalities. Natida has put in work on a number of important cases dealing with issues ranging from the tragic Opioid Epidemic and artificially high prescription drug prices to preventable environmental disasters. One of the important cases that Natida is currently focusing on relates to the tragic 2020 Oregon Labor Day fires that were allegedly caused by downed power lines as a result of power company PacifiCorp’s negligence. James v. PacifiCorp et al. is pending in the Multnomah County Circuit Court.
“This litigation means more than just holding a single utility company accountable for its role in causing a devastating wildfire. It means compelling utility companies to recognize the fact that utility-caused wildfires are a risk they must plan for. It means providing justice for the Labor Day 2020 wildfire victims whose lives were abruptly upended.” – Natida Sribhibhadh
David Ko is a partner based in Keller Rohrback’s Seattle office. David works in KR’s complex litigation department and focuses his practice on class and consumer litigation, litigation on behalf of government entities, and data privacy protection. A prominent matter that David has been focusing his energy on lately is the Facebook, Inc. Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation pending in the Northern District of California where he is one of the lead attorneys on the matter. This case is brought on behalf of all Facebook U.S. users since 2007 and arose from the much-publicized Cambridge Analytica scandal, wherein Facebook allegedly allowed third parties to access Facebook users’ personal content and information without their consent.
“Our data are seemingly everywhere, often times not by choice. This case is vital to defining what roles and responsibilities companies like Facebook have in protecting and monitoring this extremely valuable and personal information.” – David Ko.
David Ko
Benson Wong
Benson Wong is a Keller Rohrback partner based in the Seattle office and is a member of KR’s corporate finance, business, and employment law teams. He advises clients in the formation and operation of businesses ranging from “mom and pop” operations to firms that employ hundreds of employees. Benson also represents clients involved in mergers and acquisitions and in connection with commercial real estate transactions. In addition, he serves as legal counsel for a number of non-profit tax-exempt organizations. Outside of his work at KR, Benson is civically active in his community, having previously served on the Mercer Island City Council from 2014-2021 and as Mercer Island’s mayor between 2020-2021.
Dean Kawamoto is a Keller Rohrback partner working out of the Seattle office. Dean is a member of the complex litigation department and focuses his practice on class action and consumer litigation, environmental litigation, representation of governments and municipalities, as well as institutional investors. Currently, Dean is co-lead counsel in the In re JUUL Labs, Inc., Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, pending in the Northern District of California. Dean and his team represent multiple county health departments and school districts that are on the front lines combatting the epidemic of youth vaping and nicotine addiction.
“This case is about corporate responsibility—holding companies that facilitate and profit from teen addiction responsible for the harm they cause to families and communities. Our goal is to provide public health departments and schools with the resources they need to confront this urgent public health crisis.” – Dean Kawamoto
Dean Kawamoto
Yoona Park
Yoona Park is Keller Rohrback’s newest partner working out of the Portland office. Yoona is a member of KR’s complex litigation department with an emphasis on class action and consumer litigation, environmental litigation and representation of governments and municipalities. Currently Yoona is working on a series of cases representing cities and states against chemical manufacturer Monsanto for environmental damage sustained by the manufacture and subsequent escape of toxic chemicals known as “PCBs” into the environment. PCBs, which can cause a wide range of systemic toxic effects in humans and animals and can seriously impair endocrine, neurologic, and reproductive systems, have been known to be toxic since the 1930s, but continued to be manufactured and marketed by Monsanto until finally being banned in 1979. Still these chemicals last indefinitely and continue to persist in the environment. Yoona is one of the Keller Rohrback attorneys seeking to hold the chemical giant responsible for the toxic contamination it created and to force Monsanto to clean up the mess it made and compensate people for the harms to our important natural and cultural resources.