Hannah J. Makinde
Senior Associate
Hannah Makinde is a litigation senior associate who practices in federal and state courts. Her practice includes general corporate litigation, toxic tort, contractual disputes and various matters for automotive clients.
Hannah manages cases at all stages of litigation, with particular experience in preparing pleadings, motions and discovery, as well as representing clients in both offensive and defensive depositions.
Prior to joining the firm, Hannah practiced civil litigation as an in-house attorney for a natural gas provider. In previous years, she clerked for the Honorable Roger T. Benitez in the US District Court for the Southern District of California.
While attending the Howard University School of Law, Hannah served as a judicial intern for the Honorable Natalia M. Combs Greene in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and held legal internships at a Shanghai-based international law firm, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, the US Department of Transportation and the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division.
- Defending a leader in on-demand identity verification and fraud prevention against a putative class action pending in the Northern District of Illinois, alleging several violations of that state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) arising from the handling of a minor’s uploaded “selfie” and school identification documents in order to register as a developer of a popular online gaming application.
- Representing a national insurance company defending against several lawsuits nationwide asserting putative class actions for breach of contract, conversion, and other relief, arising from allegations that the company set rates for the cost of insurance in a manner inconsistent with its policies’ plain language.
- Representing an identity verification, location intelligence and fraud prevention company based in the UK, and its California-based affiliate, against claims of trade secret misappropriation and intentional interference, and contract claims, arising from alleged violations of a confidentiality agreement during the due diligence attendant to a corporate acquisition.
- Representing US original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in franchise litigation and pre-litigation disputes.
- Advising a US OEM in service agreements for nationwide recall and facility programs and other related warranty programs.
- Advising an OEM in various commercial, regulatory and corporate matters, an alternative mobility program and national dealer assistance financing.
- Defending a US OEM in consumer breach-of-warranty actions.
- Defending a nationwide transportation company in premises liability and personal injury automobile litigation.
- Securing confidential payment to a manufacturer of organic hemp-derived products in a breach-of-contract action, and securing complete dismissal of a retailer’s US$250 million counterclaim.
- Obtaining favorable judgments for an international watch manufacturer in breach-of-contract litigations.
- Secured dismissal of the chief deputy city attorney of Los Angeles in a putative federal class action alleging collusion between the city attorney’s office and plaintiffs’ lawyers in an earlier lawsuit against the city’s Department of Water and Power, so as to deprive ratepayers of full recompense for overcharges, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute.
- Resolving, amicably, an action for fraudulent transfer, breach of fiduciary duty and civil theft, on behalf of a California investment company.
- Securing amicable settlement in favor of a US subsidiary of a Japanese corporation, recovering funds in breach of fiduciary duty and civil theft litigation.
- Negotiating a favorable settlement for a major chemical manufacturer in toxic tort litigation.
Education
- Howard University School of Law, J.D., senior articles editor, Howard Law Journal
- University of California, Irvine, B.A.
Admissions
- California
- New York