Naoki is a partner in Shook’s Class Action and Complex Litigation Group. He represents clients in the alcohol, food and beverage, consumer packaged goods, technology and life sciences, pet food, automobile, and pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Naoki has led the defense of more 75 class actions, and he regularly speaks on strategies for defending class action litigation. Beyond class actions, Naoki also serves as lead counsel in mass and aggregated litigation, including MDL and JCCP (California) proceedings, along with class opt-out litigation and mass arbitrations.
Naoki generally defends clients against consumer protection claims, including those brought under California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL) and Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA) and similar laws in New York, Illinois and Florida. He regularly counsels and defends clients on issues or in litigation related to regulatory compliance including, for example, matters involving the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act or California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (Prop 65). Naoki also regularly defends clients in data privacy litigation, including class actions brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and California’s wiretapping statutes. Naoki has represented Unilever United States Inc., Monster Energy, Hostess Brands, Starbucks, The Hershey Company, Goya Foods, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Inc., Tyson Foods, Nissan North America Inc., Ford Motor Company, Toyota Motors Sales U.S.A. Inc., Hoffman-La Roche Inc., and Genentech Inc., among others.
Successfully defending any litigation requires an understanding of each client’s goals and objectives, i.e., the definition of “winning” varies from client to client. Naoki works tirelessly to learn the ins and outs of each client’s case and identifies the most efficient way to resolve the case. Clients value his attention to detail and common sense approach to problem-solving.
A native of San Francisco, Naoki lives in Orange County, California, with his wife and son, along with their dog and three cats.
Publications and Presentations
Courts Should Not Substitute Party Status for Personal Jurisdiction in Class Actions, Corporate Disputes, January-March 2021 (with Jim Muehlberger and Kyle Steingreaber).
Growing Pains: Cannabis and California’s Consumer Claims, Cannabis Law Journal, October 2020 (with Edd Gaus).
Prop. 65 Compliance for Growers, Shippers and Producers, Webinar, Western Growers Association, October 2018 (with Paul La Scala and Emily Weissenberger).
Trends in Consumer Goods Class Action Litigation, Grocery Manufacturers Association 2018 Legal Conference, February 28, 2018 (with Jim Muehlberger).
Media Coverage
The Plaintiffs' Bar Is Definitely Not Sleeping: Naoki Kaneko Sees a Rise in Labeling Demands, The Recorder, June 30, 2021.