Masaki Okubo
Staff attorney
Masaki handles retaliation and severance matters and runs the clinic’s evening sessions.
Masaki worked second shift at a supplier plant in Livonia to pay for college, and he still keeps the hours: most of his meetings are after five. He joined the clinic as a fellow after law school and stayed on as a staff attorney.
He reads severance agreements with workers line by line and represents people punished for reporting safety and pay problems.
Masaki’s admissions and schooling
Bar admissions
State Bar of Michigan
2021
Courts
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
2022
Education
Michigan State University College of Law
J.D., 2021
Eastern Michigan University
B.S., 2017
Languages
English
Japanese
How Masaki works
Masaki’s rule for a first meeting is that the worker talks first and he takes notes. He asks for the order things happened in, because in a retaliation case the timeline usually tells the story.
He speaks Japanese with clients who prefer it, and he’s the one who answers the clinic’s email on weekday evenings.