KITAGAWA & EBERT, P.C.

8001 Irvine Center Drive
Suite 960
Irvine, California
92618-2920
Tel (949) 788-9980
Fax (949) 788-0918
info@japanuslaw.com

LISA M. KITAGAWA, Esq.

Lisa M. Kitagawa represents many prominent Japan businesses throughout the U.S. She has extensive experience in corporate, contracts, employment, litigation, arbitration, trials, collections, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, tax-free reorganizations, real estate, etc. for many companies in a variety of industries. She is licensed to practice law in both California and Georgia. She is a member of the U.S. federal courts including the U.S. Supreme Court, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. District Court (Central District), U.S. Tax Court, and U.S. Court of Federal Claims. She was with several large international law firms before establishing Kitagawa & Ebert, P.C. in 1993. She is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell, their highest rating for knowledge, professional skills and ethics.

Ms. Kitagawa was educated in both the U.S. and Japan. She graduated from Kyoto University, Japan (LL.M., 1986), Loyola Law School (J.D., 1982) and University of Southern California (B.S. Business Finance, 1979) and attended Tokyo University in 1981. She was the third American lawyer to have earned the LL.M. in Japanese Civil Law from Kyoto University. She received scholarships from the Japan Ministry of Education (Monbusho) and the College Women's Association of Japan, as well as many other scholarships. She was one of the youngest lawyers to be admitted in California in 1982. She was an editor of the landmark English treatise, "Doing Business in Japan" whose General Editor Prof. Zentaro Kitagawa was her mentor at Kyoto University. She is fluent in Japanese.

Ms. Kitagawa is a member of the American Bar Association, California State Bar Association, Georgia State Bar Association, Orange County Bar Association, Japanese American Bar Association, Asian Pacific American Women Lawyers Association, former Advisory Board Member for the International Law Section of the Practicing Law Institute, former Advisor to the Executive Committee of the International Law Section of the State Bar of California, Kyoto University Alumni Association (Rakuyukai), Tokyo University Alumni Association (Nanka Todaikai), Japan Business Association (JBA), Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Southern California (JCCSC), Japanese Maquiladora Association (JMA), South Bay Management Seminar (SBMS), and American Association of Japanese University Women (AAJUW). She was featured in numerous interviews on U.S.-Japan law in the Los Angeles Times, ILS Magazine, Rafu Shimpo, Transpacific Magazine and U.S. Japan Publication. Ms. Kitagawa has taught numerous seminars and published articles on U.S. and Japan business law, including the following:

Publications

Selected Topics in Japanese Tax Law, Professor Zentaro Kitagawa, Doing Business in Japan (1985 and 1986 supplements);
Foreign Direct Investment in the U.S.: An Overview of U.S. Reporting Requirements,
Asia-Pacific Lawyers Association (1989);
An Overview of Acquisitions of Hotels and Golf Resorts, Journal Interworld (November 1990);
America Seikatsu Shoroppo: Articles on Incorporations, Business Licenses and Sexual Harassment, ILS International Legal Strategy (September 1997);
California Overtime Law, ILS International Legal Strategy (January 1998);
Documenting Employee Personnel Files with Respect to Performance Evaluation, Discipline and Termination, ILS International Legal Strategy (January 1998);
General Legal and Procedural Considerations for Real Estate Purchases and Sales Transactions in the United States, ILS International Legal Strategy (February 1998);
U.S. Employment Manual (Revised), ILS International Legal Strategy (June 1998);
U.S. Employment Law Manual for Japan Businesses, ILS International Legal Strategy (October 2000);
U.S. Employment Law Book with CD-ROM, ILS International Legal Strategy (November 2000);
Zoom-In! Lawyer Interview,U.S. Japan Publication (February 2006); and
Debt Collection, U.S. Japan Publication (July 2007).

Seminars

Mergers and Acquisitions of High Tech Companies, Osaka and Tokyo, Japan (April 1990);
Fundamentals of Real Estate Investment & Development, Osaka and Tokyo, Japan (April 1990);
Doing Business with the Japanese, Japan Festival in San Diego (January 1992);
International Business Transactions with the Pacific Rim, State Bar Statewide Minority Attorneys' Conference (June 1992);
Hate Crimes and Japan-Bashing, O.C. Japanese Coalition (June 1992);
U.S.-Japan Relations, Future of the Nikkei Community Conference (October 1992);
Representing and Negotiating with the Japanese, California State Bar International Law Section Education Institute (November 1992);
International Law and Technology Conference, California State Bar International Law Section (January 1993);
Legal and Business Considerations in Acquisitions, including Auctions, RTC/FDIC, REO, Bankruptcy and Probate Sales, Osaka and Tokyo, Japan (June 1993);
Japanese Women's Symposium (July 1997);
Termination Procedures, So. California Ikkikai Benkyokai (May 1998);
Separation Agreements, So. California Ikkikai Benkyokai (June 1998);
Sexual Harassment, South Bay Management Seminar (July 1998);
Sexual Harassment, Osaka University, Japan (January 2000);
Legal Education and Training in the U.S., Osaka University, Japan (January 2000);
Treaty of Friendship Commerce & Navigation, Kanazawa University, Japan (April 2001);
Legal Risk Management in the U.S., Wakunaga of America Co., Ltd. (July 2002);
Overview of the Acquisition of a Private Company, (July 2002);
California Employment Law Recent Developments, Japan Pharmaceutical Mfrs. Assoc. (April 2004);
Recent Legal Developments & Legal Risk Management, California Ikkikai Benkyokai (June 2005);
Sexual Harassment Claims, California Ikkikai Benkyokai (December 2005);
Collection Litigation, California Ikkikai Benkyokai (January 2006);
RIF - Reduction in Force, South Bay Management Seminar (December 2008);
RIF - Reduction in Force "Surviving the Recession," Japan Business Association (June 2009);
Employment Risk Management "7 Key Points for Japanese Executives," Japan Business Association (September 2010);
Employment Risk Management "Managing Labor Costs in a Changing Economy," Japan Business Association (September 2011);
"Business Legal Structures and Employment Law Basics," Asian Pacific Islander Small Business Program Expo (September 2011);
Employment Risk Management "7 Key Points for Japanese Executives," Japanese Maquiladora Association (October 2011);
Employment Risk Management "Managing Labor Costs in a Changing Economy," Kyoto Comparative Law Center (November 2011);
Employment Risk Management "7 Key Points for Japanese Executives," Osaka Chamber of Commerce (November 2011);
Employment Risk Management "7 Key Points for Japanese Executives," Tokyo Lexis Nexis Japan (November 2011); and
"Hiring to Firing," Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Southern California (February 2012).