Ms. Sakata, originally from Fairfax County, joined the firm in January 2007. Ms. Sakata graduated cum laude from George Mason University in 2000 with a B.A. in Government and International Politics and a minor in Legal Studies. In 2004, Ms. Sakata received her law degree from American University Washington College of Law. While in law school, she worked as a paralegal at Hughes and Associates and assisted in the litigation of construction law and insurance defense cases. Later, she was employed as a law clerk by Stein, Mitchell & Mezines in Washington D.C., where she worked on government investigations of corporate officials and antitrust and trade regulation matters.

Upon graduation from law school, Ms. Sakata served as judicial law clerk to the Honorable LeRoy F. Millette, Jr. of the 31st Judicial Circuit Court in Virginia. During her two-year clerkship, she had an opportunity to work on several high profile cases, including Commonwealth v. John Allen Muhammad, the “Washington Area Sniper” case.

Ms. Sakata is admitted to practice in Virginia and is awaiting admission to the District of Columbia.