ADVERTORIAL
It was 1999 and the U.S. Supreme Court had issued a trio of cases that decimated the ADA by limiting who could count as disabled.
NAHO KOBAYASHI MCGUIREWOODS LLP
“Ting are better now,” she says. “I’m a grown-up and
have my career.” Tis is important, she says, adding whimsically, that
we shouldn’t forget the lessons of Sesame Street. “You know,” she explains, “it really is important to do
something meaningful in your life, and this has really helped me to be happier and less symptomatic.” Center is reticent to talk about herself and her condi-
tion, but feels an obligation because it’s important for young people. It has led her to become an advocate for disability rights in the workplace, and to champion the cause of others whose rights have been denied in areas like abortion, sexual harassment, and the discrimination faced by lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transsexuals. Her “first big thing” in her career was being part of
the action that led to the amendment of the American Disabilities Act in 2008. “Tat was a really exciting time because I was a young
lawyer,” she says. “It was 1999 and the U.S. Supreme Court had issued a trio of cases that decimated the ADA by limiting who was recognized as disabled.” Tese decisions, Albertsons v. Kirkingburg, Murphy
v. United Parcel Service, and Sutton v. United Air Lines, lowered the bar that determined a disability, such as if the condition was mitigated by medication or other factors. Another decision in 2001, University of Alabama v. Garrett, limited disabled persons’ ability to sue state governments for back pay after failing to make reasonable accommodation in the workplace. “Prudence Poppink (an attorney who worked for the
state’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing) was a great advocate for the state of California,” Center says. “Her idea was that we could have our own law. I did a lot of the legwork, assembled the coalition, and
We congratulate Naho Kobayashi, a partner in McGuireWoods’ Charlotte office, for being named a “2012 Best Lawyer Under 40” by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. NAPABA recognized Naho for having achieved prominence as a lawyer who provides counsel on complex commercial and banking transactions, while also demonstrating an unwavering dedication to the Asian Pacific American community.
Naho focuses primarily on advising lenders and investors in debt financings and related equity investments in connection with acquisition financings, with an emphasis on transactions involving borrowers in the healthcare/pharma/ medical devices, timberlands/forest products and cable/communications industries.
Naho is co-chair of the McGuireWoods Recruiting Committee and has served as a member of an external committee for a major financial institution providing advice with respect to that client’s internal ongoing diversity initiatives. She has also served as a panelist for the 2012 Mecklenburg County Bar Diversity Day, an annual half-day seminar for high school students interested in the practice of law.
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