Daniel J. Ichinaga

Daniel J. Ichinaga is a Seattle business attorney who advises individuals, companies, and nonprofit organizations on significant commercial and organizational matters. As chair of a business practice group, he handles business and nonprofit formation, mergers, stock and asset acquisitions, succession planning, employment law, private securities offerings, and outside general counsel work. His clients include higher education institutions and religious nonprofits that rely on practical guidance for complex legal decisions.

Daniel earned his J.D. from the University of California, Davis, King Hall School of Law in 1983. He received his B.A. summa cum laude from Seattle Pacific University in 1980. This academic training established a strong foundation in legal analysis, careful judgment, and problem solving, supporting his ability to evaluate business risks, structure agreements, and guide clients through demanding transactions and disputes.

Daniel has more than 30 years of experience serving as outside general counsel to profit and nonprofit entities. He has formed corporations, limited liability companies, and nonprofit corporations while advising owners on control, management, and exit planning. His transactional work includes business and real estate purchases, financing arrangements, stock redemptions, private securities offerings, and taxable and tax-exempt bond financings. He also counsels employers and employees on agreements, workplace policies, restrictive covenants, severance matters, discrimination claims, and contract disputes.

Daniel J. Ichinaga is admitted in Washington and before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He is AV Preeminent rated by Martindale-Hubbell and has been selected to Washington Super Lawyers each year from 2001 through 2026. His background also includes service on the legal team that helped overturn Gordon Hirabayashi’s wartime curfew and internment convictions, reflecting a career grounded in careful advocacy, public service, and client trust.

Law Office Affiliations

• Attorney, Ellis, Li & McKinstry PLLC
• Member, Washington State Bar Association

Licensed State

• Washington

Education

• University of California, Davis, King Hall School of Law
  Juris Doctor (JD)
• Seattle Pacific University
  Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Awards & Badges