Richard Otera

Practice Areas

Commercial Litigation & Business Torts

False Advertising & Unfair Trade Practices

Franchise & Distribution - Corporate

Franchise & Distribution - Litigation

General Counsel Services

Motor Vehicle Manufacturers & Distributors

Class Action & Multi-Claim Litigation

Career

Rich practices primarily in franchise and distribution law and litigation. He has counseled clients for over 20 years in all aspects of the automotive industry in the U.S., including as in-house counsel for a major OEM and as general counsel for a Tier 1 automotive supplier.

From 2001 to 2015, Rich worked at the U.S. headquarters of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., as the primary in-house lawyer responsible for dealer franchise and other commercial legal issues for the Honda and Acura auto divisions nationwide. In that capacity, Rich focused on franchise law; antitrust law; negotiation and documentation of development agreements, supply agreements, strategic commercial agreements, joint ventures and other contracts; digital media transactions; management of complex commercial litigation, including nationwide class actions; and counseling executive management on day-to-day business operations.

In 2015, Rich was hired to establish the first-ever U.S.-based legal department for Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., a Fortune Global 500 manufacturer of electrical components and other related products in core areas including automotive. As General Counsel of the Americas, Rich established and led a full-service legal department providing comprehensive legal support to 46 SEI subsidiary companies throughout North and South America.

Professional Memberships

American Bar Association

Japanese American Bar Association

National Asian Pacific American Bar Association

Personal

Loyola Law School, JD, cum laude (1994)

Order of the Coif

St. Thomas More Law Honor Society

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

Staff (1992-1993)

Note and Comment Editor (1993-1994)

University of California, Los Angeles, BA, English (1990)