Name Partner,
Bird Marella

Location: Los Angeles

Member Since: 2016

Ekwan E. Rhow is a name principal at Bird Marella. He is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School. Versed in all aspects of litigation and motion practice, Ekwan has particular expertise in trial work and has first-chaired over twenty five cases that were tried to verdict or award. Chambers and Partners has recognized Ekwan as a “trial expert who is often called upon to undertake high-profile work” and lauded his “very good strategic insights into the points that matter.” He has overseen high-stakes trials in courts throughout California and nationwide.

As a result of his successful jury trial track record and his focused cost-effective approach to case management, clients from varied industries have retained Ekwan to represent them in their complex business disputes. His regular roster of clients includes Fortune 500 companies (Xerox, Western Digital and Aramark), large private companies (Vizio, Prospect Medical and Newegg), international conglomerates (Samsung, CJ and LG), prominent Hollywood financiers and production companies (Relativity Media, Ryan Kavanaugh and Roy Lee) and other national and local corporations. Because his clients come from a myriad of industries (including the technology, banking, entertainment, healthcare and manufacturing sectors), his jury trial experience covers a broad range of business-related issues including finance, contracts, securities, intellectual property, real estate and employment.

A significant facet of Ekwan’s practice involves the defense of companies against class action lawsuits. Ekwan has also been involved in many matters involving the entertainment industry. He has handled disputes over production credits and box office compensation involving films such as “How to Train Your Dragon” and has defended concert-related litigation for music industry celebrities such as Asian pop star Rain.

In addition to his representation of companies in their commercial matters, Ekwan has been involved in many unique high-profile representations including defense of the CEO of one of the nation’s largest consumer electronics companies after his highly-publicized detention in China. After a three-year negotiation within the Chinese government and coordination with the U.S. government, Ekwan secured his release. The case was profiled in a Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times article.

Ekwan is among the handful of attorneys ranked individually by Chambers and Partners USA for Commercial Litigation in California. He has also been recognized among the select group of “California Litigation Stars” by Benchmark Litigation, and the only ranking guide focusing exclusively on U.S. litigation, and among the “500 Leading Lawyers in America” by Lawdragon. He has been named a “Southern California Super Lawyer” by Los Angeles Magazine every year since 2004 and one of the nation’s “Best Lawyers Under 40” by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, a 10,000-plus member bar organization. The Diversity and the Bar Magazine named Ekwan as one of its 2012 “Leading Law Firm Rainmakers.” His trial results have been recognized by major publications such as the Daily Journal, which names one of his wins in 2013 as a “Top Plaintiffs’ Verdicts by Impact.” He was an appointee to the State Bar of California’s Commission on Access to Justice and a past President of the Korean American Bar Association. In 2003, he was selected by the federal judges of the Central District of California to serve as one of its 33 lawyer representatives to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference. He recently completed a term as co-chair of the ABA’s Section on International Litigation

From 2009 to 2013, Ekwan was a member of the Board of Governors and the Executive Committee of National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. He co-chaired the 2010 NAPABA Convention Los Angeles.