Overview
Maki Arakawa is a seasoned legal advisor in technology and commercial transactions. Drawing upon her extensive experience in-house and at international law firms, Maki advises companies of all sizes on technology transactions.
With over 15 years advising on technology deals, Maki adeptly and efficiently addresses the legal needs of companies developing, selling, and procuring technology. Maki has deep institutional knowledge of how businesses operate, develop, and execute strategic priorities, and respond to market and regulatory conditions. Her solutions are pragmatic, efficient and customized to meet the specific needs of her customers.
Transactions counsel. Maki provides comprehensive advice on a diverse range of agreements and transactions, including hardware procurement contracts, services agreements, development agreements, license agreements, distribution and supply agreements, and partnership agreements. She works to develop legal approaches that support a customer’s business objectives. Customers appreciate her deep knowledge and practical, even-keeled approach to getting deals done.
Streamlining processes. Maki goes beyond advising on individual transactions by leveraging her extensive in-house counsel experience to assist customers in simplifying their contracting and related legal operations. This includes creating negotiation playbooks, updating contract and document templates, and creating and refining internal processes and guides to enhance the efficiency of her customer’s internal legal operations.
Prior industry and legal experience. Before joining Summit Law Group, Maki served as in-house counsel at Amazon, in both the U.S. and Japan. During her tenure, she provided legal support across a broad variety of business units, including IT infrastructure, the global data center organization, and fulfillment center operations and customer service. Additionally, Maki gained valuable experience as a foreign attorney in a leading Japanese law firm in Tokyo, where she worked on cross-border matters, including corporate mergers and acquisitions, technology transfers/agreements, and pre-litigation commercial disputes.
Customers. Maki’s diverse customer base includes a global online retailer, a global social media platform, companies specializing in fintech, platform workflow, and data analytics, and educational nonprofits.
Outside of work, Maki enjoys traveling, visiting local farmers’ markets, and cheering on her children’s youth sports endeavors.
Credentials
Education
- UC Berkeley School of Law (J.D., 2002)
- Stanford University (B.A. with honors, International Relations and Economics)
Admissions
- Washington State
- California
Awards & Accolades
- The Best Lawyers in America® since 2024
Memberships
Maki is a member of the Washington Women’s Foundation and the Mother Attorney’s Mentoring Association.
Community Service
Maki provides pro bono legal services in partnership with Communities Rise and the UW Entrepreneurship Clinic.
Experience
Representative Matters
- Served as legal counsel for establishment of an international joint venture and related distribution, supply and services arrangements.
- Drafted, advised and assisted with negotiations of license agreements, product development and supply agreements involving large pharmaceutical companies.
- Researched and drafted memoranda related to various intellectual property issues for a leading gaming industry company.
- Represented companies in the aviation and wind turbine manufacturing industries in pre-litigation contractual disputes/settlements.
- Represented private equity funds in acquisitions, divestitures and day-to-day portfolio company management in deals typically ranging from $100 million to $1 billion in size, focusing mostly in the technology, financial services, food and beverage, pharmaceutical and consumer products industries.