Alumni Q&A with Matthew Kugizaki

Catch us up! What professional and personal milestones have you achieved since your time at Loeb?

A meaningful professional milestone for me has been transitioning from a Litigation associate at Loeb to pro bono director at Inland Counties Legal Services (ICLS). ICLS is a nonprofit legal aid organization providing free legal services to people of limited financial means in Riverside and San Bernardino counties in California. In my role, I oversee several legal programs, including a small-business clinic, an expungement program, an LGBTQIA+ services program, a guardianship program and others, and I work collaboratively with law firms, law schools and corporate partners to amplify our impact.

Loeb has a strong relationship with ICLS, providing services to clients and supporting clinics, like establishing a health care directives clinic for LGBTQIA+ individuals. Health care directives are critical legal documents that allow people to outline their preferences for medical treatment if they become unable to communicate their decisions. ICLS and Loeb’s health care directive partnership is a first-of-its-kind for ICLS’ service region, ensuring LGBTQIA+ people retain agency over their medical wishes and have their identities respected during times of medical need and emergency.

As a Litigation associate at Loeb, I learned how to advocate on behalf of clients, write persuasively and collaborate with talented attorneys and legal professionals tackling complex legal and societal issues on a daily basis. I was involved in pro bono work and was a member of various affinity and other groups, including Loeb Pride, Associates Committee and Attorneys of Color and Ethnic Diversity, planning projects and collaborating on firm initiatives. My involvement in pro bono work at Loeb especially equipped and inspired me to eventually transition to a full-time pro bono role.

On a personal note, my husband, Nick, and I got married last year at a Taco Bell in Las Vegas. We currently live in Joshua Tree, in a rainbow-themed, artistically constructed home that was recently featured on Zillow Gone Wild, a show exploring unusual homes.

Are there any skills or lessons you acquired at Loeb that you’ve taken on your career journey?

At Loeb, the focus on—and opportunities to partake in—pro bono work was impactful, particularly through my role on the firm’s Pro Bono Committee, which allowed me to actively grow these efforts, especially in Los Angeles. I coordinated pro bono opportunities for me and other Loeb attorneys and worked alongside local organizations to serve the community. My litigation experience at Loeb involved working on impactful and challenging cases, many with a community service component. I advocated on behalf of educational institutions and nonprofits, which reinforced my commitment to helping others as a profession.

The skills I acquired at Loeb, such as litigating, writing and problem-solving, have been invaluable. Loeb’s emphasis on diligence and efficiency in solving complex problems has been crucial in my current role. Every day, I am confronted with complex issues involving how to build successful legal programs, advocate for clients facing challenging circumstances and work collaboratively alongside colleagues and volunteers—often with significant time and resource constraints—and every day, I am seeing myself apply the skills I learned and refined at Loeb.

What does being a part of Loeb Reconnected, Loeb’s alumni community, mean to you?

Loeb Reconnected means that even after leaving the firm, I can stay connected and hear what others are doing. There’s a common thread we all share, and it’s nice having this community. In my current role at ICLS, it’s been especially rewarding to maintain this connection with Loeb because I work so closely with law firms and other organizations to deliver high-quality pro bono legal services to people who otherwise couldn’t afford them. It’s been meaningful for me to create new opportunities with law firms, like Loeb, working together to support the community on initiatives for which we are aligned.

During my time at Loeb, I developed several professional and personal relationships with my colleagues. I still get to work with many of these people, such as Meredith Madnick, a critical thought partner on all pro bono initiatives between Loeb and ICLS. As a result, we have provided pro bono opportunities for over 20 Loeb attorneys—several of whom I worked directly with at Loeb years ago—ensuring that LGBTQIA+ people in our region maintain control over their health care decisions, strengthening small businesses and nonprofits in our region, and more. 

I also work alongside Sasha Bass, with whom I worked closely with to expand Loeb’s pro bono committee while I was an associate at Loeb, and now I work closely with Sasha to expand the health care directives clinic that Loeb and ICLS launched together. It’s been such an incredible full-circle moment.

Can you share a specific Loeb memory that you are fond of?

One of my fondest memories is from my first week at Loeb, when I attended a training in New York with other associates. Despite my being new, it was clear that Loeb valued training, relationships and inclusivity. I also recall working with Ivy Kagan Bierman and Rebel Steiner to build out Loeb Pride, brainstorming on and implementing strategies to support the LGBTQIA+ community. In one instance, we hosted a program with local advocates to discuss how to help advance LGBTQIA+ civil rights in our country, emphasizing Loeb’s commitment to supporting the community beyond billable work. 

What did you like most about working at Loeb? What about Loeb’s environment made your experience unique?

What I valued most about Loeb was the opportunity to learn from so many talented attorneys and legal professionals in a wide range of cases, matters and projects—both billable and nonbillable. I was also so fortunate to work closely with several different Litigation partners, each with their unique styles and strategies, serving as critically important mentors in my legal path.

My involvement in committees at Loeb further instilled in me that being a lawyer is more than handling cases and client work. It’s about being the best advocate we can for the cases we work on and also using our position to help the broader community on important issues. Loeb’s resources and commitment to advancing causes important to me helped inspire me to dedicate my career to helping others. Even though I now manage legal services and cases differently, my experience at Loeb helped provide the foundation upon which I stand today.