JABA - Japanese American Bar Association of Greater Los Angeles

In Memoriam: Justice Morio Fukuto, 77, a pioneer Japanese American jurist

JABA was invited to present a floral tribute and did so at the funeral services for the late Justice Morio Fukuto, who served before his retirement on CA Court of Appeals, Second Appellate District, for 12 years. The service was held on Nov. 24 at St. Mary's Episcopal Church and was attended by family members, many friends and many dignitaries, estimated at about 300. Justice Fukuto was the first Japanese American (and possibly even Asian American) to be appointed as Deputy District Attorney at the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office. There began his remarkable legal career. Some of the many dignitaries in attendance at the services were LA District Attorney, Steve Cooley, many LA deputy district attorneys, federal judge Wallace Tashima, Court of Appeals Justice(Ret.) Elwood Lui, Presiding Justice of Division two, 2nd Appellate District, Roger Boren, Justice Kathryn Doi Todd, Judge Sam Ohta, Judge Roger Ito, Judge Vince Okamoto, Judge Madge Watai(Ret.), Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki(Ret.), Judge Bernard Gross(ret.), Mia Yamamoto, Gavin Wasserman, Harvey Horikawa, former JABA President Louis Ito, and many more judges and Justices of the CA Court of Appeals.

Judge Okamoto told a humorous story at the service about the time a drunk driving case was tried before Judge Fukuto, and the defendant raised the "soy sauce" defense i.e. he had sushi with a lot of sauce and this caused him to drive as he did. Judge Okamoto said it was the first time he had ever been called as a witness in a trial ( while a Deputy DA) to testify about the properties of "soy sauce" which he did to rebut the defense. The prosecutor that called him to testify was Gavin Wasserman's father.

Although not mentioned in Justice Fukuto's obituary in the Los Angeles Times, Mrs. Grace Fukuto personally requested as an option, in lieu of flowers, a donation to the Keiro South Nursing Home. JABA made a donation to Keiro South in memory of Justice Fukuto.

The Japanese American Bar Association Educational Foundation (JEF) 2008 Scholarship Applications are now available. Please go to the Scholarships page for more information. Awards are given in honor of Justice John F. Aiso, Justice Stephen K. Tamura, and Judge Edward Y. Kakita, highly distinguished and pioneering Asian American judges, and through the Lim, Ruger & Kim Foundation.

JABA Past-President Mia Yamamoto awarded 2008 ABA Spirit of Excellence Award - Congratulations to Mia!

Judicial Candidate Mentoring Program

JABA is pleased to announce the establishment of its Judicial Candidate Mentoring Program. JABA’s goal, through this program, is to promote and enhance judicial opportunities for its members by providing individual mentoring to those interested in a judicial career. If you are interested in becoming a judge or commissioner and would like to be mentored on an individual and confidential basis, please contact Judicial Appointments Committee Chair Katherine Hikida at (213) 894-2285. You must be a JABA member (add link to membership application) to participate in the Judicial Candidate Mentoring Program. If you are a judicial officer interested in mentoring, please contact Katherine Hikida. JABA thanks you for your support!

Young Lawyers Group

On Wednesday, March 7, 2007, there was a YLG Happy Hour at McCormick’s. The event was fun and well attended. There were about 25-30 attendees, most of whom were new to JABA. Young lawyers came from all over the city and from firms including O'Melveny, Latham, Paul Hastings, and Irell. Many of the lawyers who are mentees in our mentor-mentee program were there, as were some of the mentors. We also received additional applications for the mentor-mentee program. We discusssed the installation dinner and future YLG events, which we plan to have a different locations throughout the city.

On August 2, 2007, the Young Lawyers Group hosted a well attended dinner discussion. The topic was "Taking the Long View - An Insider's View on What it Takes to Succeed at a Firm." Attendees included Byron Shibata, Keiko Ishida, David Ono, Paul Ota, Tak Soto, Shannon Natsuko James, Ray Sakai, James Toma, Shige Itoh, Sean Torres, Mark Arimoto, Doug Sugimoto, Melanie Murakami, Eric Saiki, Hon. Robert Kawahara, Hon. Phyllis Shibata and Audra Mori. The featured speaker was Bruce Ishimatsu, a partner at Loeb & Loeb LLP, who not only shared his insights on law firm success but also on how to enjoy the profession and life in general. Future YLG dinner discussions will be held on the following Thursdays: 10/25/07, 1/24/07, and 4/24/07.