Kenzo Kawanabe

Kenzo Kawanabe is a trial lawyer who represents individuals and businesses, as plaintiffs and defendants, in high-stakes cases relating to commercial disputes, shareholder disagreements, mass torts, products liability, construction, environmental matters, and intellectual property.

Mr. Kawanabe is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has significant trial and litigation experience including:

• Counsel for technology companies pursuing claims to protect their intellectual property rights including trademarks.
• Counsel for officers and shareholders in complex business disputes.
• Trial counsel for companies in a variety of industries (e.g. caller authentication, aviation, team sports apps) concerning various claims including breach of contract, infringement, and trade secrets misappropriation.
• Trial team leader in a five-week trial on behalf of schools and students against the State of Colorado in a historic public education finance case.
• Pro bono counsel for refugees seeking asylum, blind tenants, and legal clinics.

Mr. Kawanabe served on the DGS Executive Committee, as Pro Bono Coordinator, and currently Co-Chairs the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. He teaches at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and dedicates significant time to volunteer work, including board service for Colorado Legal Services and the Colorado Lawyers Committee.

Mr. Kawanabe is a fourth-generation Coloradan who engages in community service. He serves on the board of advisors for the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System and as board chair for the Boettcher Foundation. Mr. Kawanabe also is the former board chair of The Denver Foundation, one of the nation’s largest community foundations which annually grants tens of millions of dollars to nonprofit organizations. He served on the boards of the Sakura Foundation, Colorado Nonprofit Development Center, Community Resource Center, Foundation for Sustainable Urban Communities, Barton Institute for Philanthropy and Social Enterprise, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice.

Mr. Kawanabe clerked for then Chief Justice Mary J. Mullarkey of the Colorado Supreme Court. He is a member of the American Bar Association (ABF fellow), Colorado Bar Association (past board of governors and Bar Fellow), Denver Bar Association (past board of trustees and Executive Committee), National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (first-ever General Counsel), Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Colorado (past president and past foundation president), and Minoru Yasui Inn of Court.

Recognition

• American College of Trial Lawyers Fellow
• AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rating from AVVO
• Benchmark Litigation
• Best Lawyers (Past Lawyer of the Year for Mass Tort)
• Chambers USA Litigation Leader (Band 1)
• Colorado Super Lawyer (TOP 10) from Thomson Reuters
• Colorado Client Choice Award
• 5280 Top Lawyer
• Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America

Awards

• Asian American Hero, Asian Avenue Magazine (2020)
• National Philanthropy Day (Colorado): Volunteer of the Year (2019)
• Law Week Colorado Barrister's Best for Colorado's Best Commercial Litigator (2017)
• PEBC Investing in Education Award (2014)
• Colorado Education Association Coloradan Award (2013)
• Colorado Lawyers Committee Team Award (2012)
• American Constitution Society Impact Award (2012)
• APABA Minoru Yasui Award (2012)
• Law Week Colorado Lawyer of the Year (2011)
• CASE Leadership Award (2011)
• Denver Mayor’s Pascoe Civic Leadership Award (2009)
• Denver Bar Association Richard Marden Davis Award (2005)
• University of Colorado Outstanding Young Alumni (2004)
• NAPABA Best Lawyers Under 40 (2003)
• Denver Business Journal Top 40 Under 40 (2001)

Court Admissions

• Colorado
• United States District Court for the District of Colorado
• United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
• United States Supreme Court