Micky Yamatani is an invaluable member of our firm. She is the head of the firm's Asian Languages Practice Group, which represents Korean, Japanese, and Filipino clients in their native languages. She is fluent in speaking, reading, and writing the Japanese language. Micky’s practice with Coates Frey Tanimoto & Gibson, AAL, LLLC concentrates on family law litigation, including divorce, child custody and support, post-decree enforcement, domestic violence, and temporary restraining orders. Micky has an additional special focus on international issues, including U.N. treaties governing child custody.
Micky ran her own successful private practice for over 20 years, focusing on civil litigation, estate planning, and family court cases before joining our family at Coates Frey Tanimoto & Gibson, AAL, LLLC in January of 2018. Through her extensive family law work, in addition to handling conventional divorce and child custody cases, she became an acknowledged authority on Hague Convention cases involving unlawful child abductions to Japan. By using her vast network of lawyers and government officials in Japan, she has helped many Hawaiian parents whose children were abducted and taken to Japan get the children safely returned to Hawaii.
Outside of her traditional legal practice, Micky has lectured in English and Japanese, addressing audiences of Hawaiian and Japanese lawyers as well as members of the public for the past few decades. She also authored numerous articles on family law-related issues and has submitted Advisory Opinions to the Japanese courts on issues of divorce and child custody. In 2019, she authored in Japanese a chapter in the Japanese law textbook in issues related to the U.S. legal system.
Micky became a member of the New York State Bar in 1989 and the Hawaii State Bar in 1990. She went on to become a member of the Family Law Section of the Hawaii State Bar Association.