Taro Kusunose
Managing 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 – 2025 ed.)
Washington Law & Politics magazine “Super Lawyer,” 2022 – 2024
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
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