Mieko Failey is an Associate at Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, where she provides advice and counsel to non-profit organizations and government agencies on a broad range of matters involving compliance, risk management, employment matters, and operational issues. Her practice also includes business and facilities matters, with a focus on helping nonprofit clients navigate contracting, formations, tax-exempt status, and corporate governance while minimizing risk and ensuring compliance. Mieko brings a diverse background in legal advocacy, policy development, and nonprofit leadership, with a particular emphasis on matters affecting underserved and LGBTQ communities.
As part of the firm’s Nonprofit and Business and Facilities practice groups, Mieko also advises nonprofit and public agency clients on compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (Titles II and III).
Prior to joining LCW, Mieko served as the Director of Legal Services at The LGBTQ Center Long Beach, where she founded and led the legal department. In that role, she managed complex legal matters involving employment, housing, civil rights, and regulatory compliance, while advising executive leadership on governance, liability, and operational risk. She also secured and administered multimillion-dollar public funding to support legal programming and organizational development.
Mieko also served as an Adjunct Professor at Loyola Law School, where she taught LGBTQI+ Advocacy and Inclusive Lawyering. She is a nationally recognized speaker and trainer on trauma-informed legal practices, victims’ rights, and equitable access to justice, and she regularly conducted training for attorneys, judges, and government agencies nationwide. She continues to conduct trainings as part of LCW’s training program on a wide range of issues including harassment prevention, ADA (Titles II and III), trauma-informed approaches, and LGBTQ issues.
Mieko earned her J.D. from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, with a Public Interest Concentration, and received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, with Highest Distinction, from the University of California, Berkeley.
