Yukiko Kojima Recognized as a “Top 100” Lawyer for 2026
Yukiko Kojima was recognized as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers” in California (subscription required) for 2026 by Daily Journal, California’s leading legal newspaper. The annual “Top 100” list recognizes California lawyers whose work has a profound impact at both the state and national levels.
The publication highlighted Yukiko’s leadership on the Los Angeles Convention Center Expansion and Modernization Project, which will add up to “190,000 square feet of additional contiguous exhibit space, 55,000 square feet of meeting space and 95,000 square feet of multi-purpose space” to the center. The project reached commercial close in September 2025 and broke ground the following month.
As Daily Journal reported, the Convention Center will serve as a venue for the LA28 Olympics, creating significant scheduling challenges that were addressed during contract negotiations. In the article, Yukiko explained how the contract called for “phasing delivery of the project, with construction to be halted during the Olympics and the LA Convention Center made available for the exclusive use of LA28, and included contractual provisions that incentivize timely Olympics readiness and mechanisms to help identify and mitigate delays early should they arise.”
Daily Journal also highlighted Yukiko’s work on several other major infrastructure projects, noting she currently “advises the Maryland Department of Transportation and Maryland Transit Administration on the Purple Line Light Rail P3 Project, leads the Nossaman team advising the Port of Los Angeles Harbor Department on a pre-developer procurement for the Pier 500 marine container terminal, and co-leads teams advising the New York City Department of Transportation's design-build program and Dallas College's downtown campus redevelopment procurement.”
The article concluded with Yukiko sharing her perspective on the evolving project delivery landscape. Yukiko said, “For the past few years we have seen a movement away from firm-fixed price procurements toward progressive delivery of projects, involving more sole source negotiation between public owners and their private party counterparts and changes in risk allocation between public and private sector participants as compared to what we've seen in the past…while the appetite for progressive delivery continues, results from earlier projects and the lessons learned from them are likely to emerge and shape how the trend evolves.”
