Blaine Tamaki
Blaine Tamaki is a trial attorney with law offices in Yakima, Kennewick, and Bellevue, Washington. He was appointed by Governor Jay Inslee as a Regent at the University of Washington on October 3, 2017.
He graduated from the University of Washington (UW) School of Law in 1982 and with a B.A. in Economics with Honors Distinction from the UW in 1979. He started his own law firm Tamaki Law in his hometown Yakima in 1994. Tamaki Law achieved unprecedented success as a diverse rural plaintiff’s litigation law firm representing clients of all races and ethnic cultures throughout the Pacific Northwest. Blaine Tamaki was selected Washington Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2012, awarded annually to only one lawyer in the State by the Washington State Association of Justice.
Blaine Tamaki was selected as Hospital Board Chair of St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Yakima during the 1990’s during its corporate merger with Providence Hospital. He has served on the Board of Directors, and as Vice President, of the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association. He has also won numerous awards and honors including “Super Lawyers”, 100 Top Trial Lawyers, the Alfred Anderson Award, the 2016 Warren G. Magnuson Award, the Latino Bar Association of Washington 2015 Ally Award, and the Local Hero Award from the Washington State Bar Association.
Blaine is a third-generation Japanese-American raised in Yakima. His American father, eight years old at the time, was interned during WWII because of his Japanese descent. As a former member of the Commission on Asian American Affairs, he is committed to the many UW AAPI students who need to feel safe from prejudice and discrimination during these pandemic times. Blaine and his wife Precy have established their own charitable foundation to help their community and the marginalized.
He is Chair of the Board of Regents for 2024-25.
- Appointed by Governor Inslee from May 5, 2017 to September 30, 2022
- Confirmed by Senate on March 7, 2018
- Reappointed by Governor Jay Inslee from November 22, 2022 to September 30, 2028
- Confirmed by the Senate on April 11, 2023