San Francisco-based Minami Tamaki LLP law firm has named Indian-American attorney Seema Bhatt as Partner, starting January 1, 2025. Bhatt, who joined the firm in January 2016 is succeeding B. Mark Fong, who retired on December 31, 2024.

The law firm is named after pioneering civil rights attorneys Dale Minami and Donald K. Tamaki, and specializes in personal injury, consumer and employee rights, and immigration and nationality law. The law firm has been involved in many historic legal cases, including the successful reopening of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case of Korematsu v. United States that led to reparations for Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II.

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Bhatt has practiced personal injury law for 14 years, playing a key role in high-profile cases like litigation against Tesla. She was selected as a Northern California Super Lawyer Rising Star from 2017 to 2024. Several of her cases were also recognized by Top Verdict’s Top 100 Settlements in California in 2016 and by Leaders in the Law in its 2017 “Northern California’s Leading Lawyers” publication. 

Previously, Bhatt served on the board of the South Asian Bar Association of Northern California, and is also on the diversity committee of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association. Additionally, she is also a member of the Asian American Bar Association and Consumer Attorneys of California.

“As an Indian American woman in a field where diversity has historically been lacking, I am inspired by the firm’s legacy of breaking barriers and standing firmly by its values,” said Bhatt. “Minami Tamaki was founded during a time when Asian American attorneys faced significant obstacles, yet its founders built one of the leading firms in their fields without ever compromising their principles. It’s a privilege to continue that tradition and to contribute to a profession that grows stronger as it becomes more inclusive.”