Taro Kusunose  Principal

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Practice Emphasis

Taro Kusunose is an experienced attorney whose practice focuses on corporate and business law, trademarks, and real estate matters.  He is chair of the firm’s Business and Transactions practice group.

Consistently recognized by his peers as a Washington Law and Politics magazine Rising Star attorney (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011), Taro’s philosophy is to be highly responsive to the firm’s clients, and to get it done right the first time.  As those who work with him can attest, Taro is diligent, detail-oriented and straightforward, but also unafraid to aggressively assert the client’s position, when appropriate. 

During law school, Taro served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Christopher M. Klein of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California.  He also served as a research editor for the University of California, Davis School of Law Journal of International Law & Policy.

Taro is a longtime Northwest local.  He moved from Los Angeles to Bellevue, at age seven, when his father joined the Boeing Company.  He graduated from Newport High School in 1991.  When not with his wife and kids, Taro is often out mountainbiking the hills of western Washington.

Taro is also fluent in business-level Japanese.  [Click here for Japanese (日本語)]

Practice Areas

Education

  • Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1996, University of California at San Diego
  • Juris Doctor, 1999, University of California, Davis School of Law 

Representative Cases

  • Corporate and Business Law—Negotiating and drafting contracts; Preparing key business operational documents; Negotiating and drafting documents for the purchase and sale of businesses and major company assets; Analyzing business entity selection, structure, formation and maintenance issues; Analyzing and resolving disputes involving the foregoing.
  • Trademarks—Obtaining federal (USPTO) and state trademark registrations, as well as Madrid/WIPO international and worldwide trademark registrations; Drafting documents for the licensing and transfer of trademarks and other intellectual property; Analyzing trademark infringement and registrability issues; Analyzing and resolving disputes involving the foregoing.
  • Real Estate—Negotiating and drafting documents for purchase and sale of commercial and investment real estate; Negotiating and drafting complex leases, Drafting real estate financing documents; Drafting property co-ownership agreements; Drafting and recording CC&Rs; Analyzing and resolving disputes involving the foregoing.

Bar Admissions

  • All Washington State courts
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
  • United States Court of International Trade (New York, New York) 

Publications

  • Single Application International Trademark Registration Now Available to the United States, International Association of Defense Counsel Intellectual Property Committee Newsletter 1-2 (Feb. 2004) (with James D. Nelson). 
  • Barring Consequential Damages Despite the Failure of an Exclusive Remedy, International Association of Defense Counsel Business Litigation Committee Newsletter 1-5 (Sept. 1999) (with James D. Nelson).

Professional & Civic

  • Washington Law & Politics magazine “Rising Star,” 2005-2011
  • Washington State Bar Association 
  • Nikkei Concerns board member, 2003-present