Taro Kusunose

Principal

Practice Emphasis

Taro acts as “outside general counsel” to countless local, national, and international businesses. He has been a transactional attorney in downtown Seattle since 2000. He joined the Lasher firm in 2005, and became a Principal of the firm in 2008. Taro grew up in Bellevue, after moving from L.A. in the second grade.

Corporate and Business Law; Commercial Real Estate Acquisitions & Financing; Complex Commercial Leases; Trademark Registrations

Industries served include: manufacturing, services, trading, commercial real estate, U.S. subsidiaries and affiliated companies of foreign businesses

Despite growing up in Bellevue, Taro is fluent in business-level Japanese.

For Taro’s bio in Japanese, please click here.

Education

  • Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Taxation, University of Washington School of Law
  • Juris Doctor (J.D.), University of California, Davis School of Law
  • Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Political Science, cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, University of California at San Diego

Representative Cases

  • Corporate and Business Law – Structuring tax-efficient domestic and international transactions; 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 disputes involving each of 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; analyzing disputes involving each of 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 disputes involving each of the foregoing.

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).

Presentations

  • Advanced LLC Issues: Forming an LLC to Purchase Real Estate, National Business Institute Continuing Legal Education Seminar (Seattle, WA, September 2017), Speaker
  • Resolving Commercial Lease Disputes, National Business Institute Continuing Legal Education Seminar (Seattle, WA, June 2015), Speaker
  • Retail, Office and Restaurant Leases: Key Provisions and Warranties, National Business Institute Continuing Legal Education Seminar (Seattle, WA, June 2013), Speaker

Professional & Civic

General Counsel to the Japan Business Association of Seattle (Shunju Club)

Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® in the practice area of ‘Real Estate Law’ (2019 – 2024 ed.)

Washington Law & Politics magazine “Super Lawyer,” 2022, 2023

Washington Law & Politics magazine “Rising Star,” 2005-2012

Nikkei Concerns board member, 2003-2012

Judicial Extern to the Hon. Christopher M. Klein of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California, 1998-1999

Newport High School (Bellevue, WA), Alumnus, 1991