Kenly Kiya Kato, who is Of Counsel with the firm, is an experienced litigator with substantial trial experience.  Ms. Kato received her Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1996 where she served as an articles editor for the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, in Political Science.
Following law school, Ms. Kato served as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert M. Takasugi of the United States District Court, Central District of California where she assisted in the disposition of both criminal and civil cases.

Ms. Kato worked as a Deputy Federal Public Defender for the Central District of California for six years where she was responsible for defending clients in criminal cases before the United States District Court for the Central District of California and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. As a Deputy Federal Public Defender, Ms. Kato made countless court appearances and successfully tried numerous cases. Jurors frequently noted Ms. Kato's sincerity and belief in her client as a factor motivating them to vote in favor of her clients. Ms. Kato was also responsible for pre-indictment and pre-trial negotiations in which she obtained favorable resolutions for her clients without trial, often times resulting in the dismissal of criminal charges.

Ms. Kato has represented clients charged with a wide range of criminal offenses including drug offenses, immigration offenses, internet crimes, and crimes of violence, as well as, white collar offense including bank fraud, mail fraud, tax fraud, securities fraud, healthcare fraud and money laundering.
In the civil arena, Ms. Kato has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in civil rights actions. She currently focuses her civil practice on employment litigation defense.

Ms. Kato’s reported cases include United States v. Bonas, 344 F.3d 945 (9th Cir. 2003), in which she successfully argued that the government's attempt to retry her client violated the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment, thus, entitling her client to a dismissal of all charges.

Ms. Kato has also been appointed to serve as a member of the Criminal Justice Act Indigent Defense Panel for the United States District Court for the Central District of California where she is responsible for the representation of indigent clients in criminal cases.

Ms. Kato is currently the co-chair of the Community Concerns Committee which is responsible for bringing issues of social justice to the attention of the local Asian Pacific American Bar Associations. Ms. Kato is also working with International Bridges of Justice to improve the representation of criminal defendants in Asian nations.

Ms. Kato is an active member of the bar. She is a Central District of California lawyer delegate to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, as well as a member of the Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel and Standing Committee on Discipline. Ms. Kato is also a member of various bar associations including the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and the Los Angeles County Bar Association.  She currently serves on the Board of Governors of the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice.  Ms. Kato is also currently the co-chair of the Community Concerns Committee which is responsible for bringing issues of social justice to the attention of the local Asian Pacific American Bar Associations. Ms. Kato is also working with International Bridges of Justice to improve the representation of criminal defendants in Asian nations.