Biography
B. Makoa Kawabata is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and has been featured twice in the Daily Journal’s Top Verdicts report – for a defense victory in a $5mm defamation case (featured as a top verdict of the year), and for a plaintiff victory in a $12mm breach of contract case.
Prior to starting Rosenberger + Kawabata, he was a member of the team representing owners of VW vehicles impacted by “dieselgate,” a scandal resulting in the largest fine ever imposed on an automaker. Mr. Kawabata was also a member of the team that represented the EPA’s environmental remediation contractor involved in multi-district litigation arising from the Gold King Mine spill. Both events were covered on the front page of the New York Times.
While at UCLA Law, Mr. Kawabata was enrolled in the entertainment, media and intellectual property concentration and worked at Sony Pictures Entertainment and NBCUniversal. He also spent time as an editor for the flagship UCLA Law Review, a tournament champion competitor on the moot court and trial advocacy competition teams, the co-chairman for the Public Interest Law Fund (alongside Mr. Rosenberger), and the 1L class president. Mr. Kawabata also coached for the national award-winning UCLA mock trial teams.