Dale Minami

Founder of the San Francisco-based law firm, Minami Tamaki LLP, Dale has transitioned to the role of Senior Counsel.  He has, and still is, handling personal injury and wrongful death litigation for the past 50 years, including claims resulting from auto accidents, pedestrians, defective products, slips and falls and other situations where persons were injured through the negligence of others.Mr. Minami has been recognized as one of the top personal injury lawyers in the Bay Area.  He was selected by Law & Politics Magazine as one of the Super Lawyers for each year from 2004 through 2023 in the Personal Injury category, one of the Top 100 Super Lawyers for Northern California from 2007 through 2023, one of the Top 10 personal injury lawyers in Northern California from 2013 through 2018 and one of the Best Lawyers in America by the Best Lawyers group for 2015-2023.  He has received an “AV” rating by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, the highest rating for competence and ethics issued by that publication, and reserved for attorneys designated as outstanding in their field.Dale has been involved in significant litigation involving the civil rights of Asian Pacific Americans and other minorities, includingKorematsu v. United States, a lawsuit to overturn a 40 year old conviction for refusal to obey exclusion orders aimed at Japanese Americans during WWII, originally upheld by US Supreme Court in a landmark decision, UnitedPilipinos for Affirmative Action v. California Blue Shield, the first class action employment lawsuit brought by Asian Pacific Americans on behalf of Asian Pacific Americans,Spokane JACL v. Washington State University, a class action on behalf of  Asian Pacific Americans to establish an Asian American Studies program at Washington State University andNakanishi v. UCLAa claim for unfair denial of tenure which resulted in the granting of tenure after several successful grievance hearings and widespread publicity over discrimination in academia.In 1968, Mr. Minami graduated magna cum laude from the University of Southern California as a member of Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor's degree in political science. He obtained his Juris Doctor from the University of California at Berkeley in 1971. He is licensed to practice law in California, before the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.Since his admission to practice in 1972, Mr. Minami has built an impressive resume. In addition to obtaining outstanding results for clients, he co-founded the Asian Law Caucus, the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area, the Asian Pacific Bar and the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans, and he serves on the advisory boards for several foundations and organizations.Mr. Minami has been involved in the judicial appointment process and in establishing or influencing public policy and legislation. President Clinton appointed him as Chair of the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund in January 1996. Mr. Minami has served as a member of the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission and has chaired the California Attorney General's Asian Pacific Advisory Committee, advising the State's Attorney General on key issues. He has also served as a Commissioner on the State Bar's Commission on Judicial Nominee's Evaluation, and on Senator Barbara Boxer's Judicial Screening Committee, which made recommendations for federal judicial appointments.Minami is the recipient of numerous awards, including the the ABA Medal, the American Bar Association's highest award, the ABA's Thurgood Marshall and  Spirit of Excellence Awards.  He has received numerous other awards including the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association's Trailblazer Award, the ACLU Civil Liberties Award, honorary Juris Doctor degrees from the University of San Francisco and McGeorge Schools of Law, designation of a dormitory at U.C. Santa Cruz as the Queen Liliuokalani-Minami Dormitory, Berkeley Law's Citation Award, the naming of a public interest fellowship in his name at Berkeley Law, the naming of the Minami Impact Award from the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area and awards from the Asian American Legal Defense Fund, the Asian Law Alliance, the Asian Law Caucus, the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies, among others.His firm, Minami Tamaki LLP, has also received the Firm of the Year and President's Awards from NAPABA and the Asian Pacific Fund Award, respectively.