Biography

Lorraine Bannai is Director of the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality and a Professor of Lawyering Skills at Seattle University School of Law.  After earning her J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law, Professor Bannai practiced with what is now the San Francisco firm of Minami Tamaki.  While in practice, she was on the legal team that successfully challenged Fred Korematsu’s conviction for violating military orders removing Japanese Americans from the West Coast during World War II.  She has written and spoken widely on the issue of the wartime incarceration, including testimony before United States Senate Judiciary Committee and presentations before numerous academic and civic institutions such as the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, the Japanese American National Museum, and the Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association.  Her recent writing includes a biography of Fred Korematsu, Enduring Conviction: Fred Korematsu and His Quest for Justice, published by the University of Washington Press.