Attorneys

Partner

Desmond Nakamoto

Desmond Nakamoto began his legal career as a Judge Advocate in the United States Army. After proudly serving his country, Desmond was honorably discharged in 2004, and immediately began working as a Workers’ Compensation defense attorney for a small firm. 

Since 2007, Desmond has been a founding partner, focusing solely on Workers’ Compensation defense. He has earned accolades from numerous clients for his zealous and aggressive representation. 

From 2009-2011, Desmond has been recognized for his outstanding work and contributions in Workers’ Compensation by being named a “Southern California Super Lawyers-Rising Star” by Los Angeles Magazine-a distinction bestowed upon only 2.5% of attorneys under the age of 40.

Partner

Ariel Favela

Ariel J. Favela graduated from UCLA in 2000 with a degree in Spanish and a Specialization in Business Administration. He earned his JD from Southwestern Law School in 2007. Before entering law school, Ariel managed his family’s interpreting agency that has provided certified interpreting exclusively for Workers’ Compensation matters for over 30 years. This is where Ariel received a firsthand introduction to Workers’ Compensation law. He then decided to enroll into law school.

While in law school, Ariel clerked at a Workers’ Compensation defense firm in Los Angeles. Shortly after graduating law school and passing the California Bar, he joined a State-wide Workers Compensation defense firm and was immediately assigned a caseload from various municipalities and employers. He attended, conducted, and defended various hearings, trials, depositions, and doctor cross-examinations.

In January, 2010 Ariel joined a boutique Workers’ Compensation defense firm with founding partner Desmond Nakamoto in their Orange County office. 

In 2018, Ariel became partner of the newly formed Nakamoto, Favela and Liu, LLP.

As the first attorney in his family, Ariel prides himself as a detailed-oriented and conscientious individual who puts quality and service above all else. He is fluent in Spanish which has proven to be a major asset due to the high volume of Spanish speaking cases in the current Workers’ Compensation atmosphere.

PARTNER

Susan Liu

Susan S. Liu graduated from the University of Southern California in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts double majoring in Political Science and Social Sciences with an emphasis in Psychology. During her stay at University of Southern California, Ms. Liu was president of Delta Phi Kappa.

She earned her JD from Southwestern University Law School in 2008. While in law school, she was vice president of the Southwestern Asian Pacific American Law Student Association.  She was also a judicial extern with Honorable Michael Vicencia at the Los Angeles Superior Court and clerked for the Los Angeles Public Defenders’ Office.

Since finding her place in the field of workers’ compensation, she worked for several years at a prominent workers’ compensation defense firm in Downtown Los Angeles.

Since November 2013, she worked with Desmond Nakamoto and Ariel Favela at a boutique Workers' Compensation defense firm. 

In 2018, Susan became partner of the newly formed Nakamoto, Favela and Liu, LLP.

Susan prides herself in providing aggressive and efficient claims defense to all types of companies which include third party administrators, self-insured employers and insurance companies.