Mika Kurose Rothman

Mika practices primarily in the areas of civil rights and employment litigation.

Having grown up in a family of community and political activists, Mika has a deep commitment to social, economic, and racial justice. She brings a strong work ethic and passion for justice to every aspect of a client’s case.

Mika began her career at MacDonald Hoague & Bayless as a summer associate in 2018, and rejoined the firm in September 2019. During law school, Mika served as an intern for the Honorable Beverly Martin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and volunteered for the Seattle Clemency Project, working on clemency petitions on behalf of meritorious individuals incarcerated in state prisons. She gained valuable experience with UW Law School’s Race & Justice Clinic, where she represented a young man in post-conviction resentencing proceedings and worked with child psychology experts, produced a sentencing mitigation video, and co-wrote a brief examining state and federal juvenile sentencing law. In her third year of law school, Mika took a leave of absence to serve as legislative counsel to U.S. Senator Patty Murray and advised the Senator on federal judicial nominations.

Prior to law school, Mika served in the Obama administration as a staff member in the Office of the White House Counsel and the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. In the White House Counsel’s Office, Mika worked on the administration’s Clemency Initiative, through which President Obama commuted sentences for over one thousand federal prisoners serving unjustly long sentences for low-level, non-violent drug offenses.

Professional and Civic Involvement

Washington State Bar Association

Washington Employment Lawyers Association

Asian Bar Association of Washington

Japanese American Citizen’s League

Education

University of Washington School of Law, 2019

New York University, 2010