Eric Y. Nishizawa

ERIC Y. NISHIZAWA In 1984, Mr. Nishizawa was conferred a Bachelor of Arts in History by the University of California at Los Angeles. After his undergraduate studies, Mr. Nishizawa studied Japanese for a year at the International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan. While in Tokyo, Mr. Nishizawa also interned at the Law Offices of Kenji Hashidate. In 1988, Mr. Nishizawa was conferred a Doctorate of Jurisprudence by Loyola Law School. While attending Loyola, Mr. Nishizawa was extern to the Honorable Harry L. Hupp, Judge of the United States District Court, Central District of California, and to the Honorable Miriam Vogel, then Judge of the California Superior Court. Mr. Nishizawa was also active in Loyola's Asian Pacific American Law Students Association and received their Outstanding Service Award in 1988. In 1989, Mr. Nishizawa became associated with Morgan Lewis & Bockius, where Mr. Nishizawa practiced general civil litigation in the California trial courts and the United States District Court. Among his representations, he litigated two securities fraud actions involving loan investment packages sold by a national securities trading house, a fraud action arising out of a loan by a foreign bank, a corporate shareholder dispute concerning a jointly held California corporation, two wrongful death actions for international clients, a product liability action involving a steel alloy tubes manufacturer and a major oil company, and various other general business, construction, and real property related disputes.

Since leaving Morgan Lewis & Bockius in 1992, Mr. Nishizawa has been co-counsel on a nationally prominent civil rights action, which was covered extensively in the ABA Journal. Mr. Nishizawa's representations include appeals and writ petitions to the California Court of Appeal as lead counsel, bench and jury trials to verdict in the Los Angeles and Orange County Superior Courts and the United States District Court involving administrative mandamus, breach of contract, business torts, copyright, corporate formation and governance, judicial foreclosure and receivership actions, negligence, partnerships, security disclosures, trademarks, unlawful detainer actions, and other general business, construction, and real estate related litigation and transactions.

Among the results of his representations are he reversed a bench trial judgment by appeal to the California Court of Appeal, he negotiated a settlement that required no payment of money by his clients in a corporate and real estate action, where he was engaged after a trial court verdict against his clients for over ten million dollars, he obtained the plaintiff’s dismissal of a federal breach of contract complaint against his client seeking the dollar equivalent of 1.5 million euros without any payment by his client after the parties filed a joint pretrial conference order, he obtained defendants’ payment of 1/3 of their cash on hand and their dismissal of their cross complaint to settle a breach of contract lawsuit by his clients after 1 day of his questioning the defendant’s president in trial, and he settled a federal copyright infringement complaint against his client for $1,500 after plaintiff originally demanded $250,000.

Mr. Nishizawa has also negotiated and drafted various contracts, including purchase and sale agreements, service agreements, and commercial leases, and served as counsel in the formation of corporate and limited liability companies.

Mr. Nishizawa was the 25th Anniversary President of the Japanese American Bar Association, co-chairs the Executive Committee of its Business Lawyers Group, and has served as its President-elect, Vice president, Treasurer, and a member of its Board of Governors. Mr. Nishizawa serves on the Los Angeles Community Advisory Board of the United States Army and is a member of U.S. - Japan Council. Mr. Nishizawa has served as a judge pro tem in the Los Angeles Municipal Court. Mr. Nishizawa was appointed by the Foreign Ministry of Japan to the 2007 Japanese American Leadership Delegation. Mr. Nishizawa was nominated to attend and attended the National Security Seminar at the U.S. Army War College in 2010. Mr. Nishizawa served as a member of the Board of Governors, and as the 2006, 2007, and 2009 Awards Dinner Committee Chair of the National Japanese Memorial Foundation and has also served on the Board of Governors of the West Los Angeles Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League, the Loyola Law School Alumni Association, the Loyola Law School Barristers, the 1993 Publicity Committee of the Annual Convention of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and represented the Japanese American Bar Association at the Los Angeles Bench and Bar Committee.

Mr. Nishizawa is also of-counsel to Teraoka & Partners, a law firm whose practice emphasizes the representation of Asia Pacific companies in litigation, labor, corporate formation, real estate, and business and intellectual property transactions matters.

Mr. Nishizawa has lived and traveled extensively in Japan and is proficient in written and spoken Japanese.

Loyola Law School (J.D., 1988)
University of California at Los Angeles, CA 1984 (B.A., History)

Japanese American Bar Association; 
National Japanese Memorial Foundation;
Japanese American Citizens League;
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.

California 1989; United States Supreme Court Bar; United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit Bar; United States District Court, Central District of California Bar.