K. Chike Odiwe 

When he was a boy, K. Chike Odiwe knew that he wanted to be involved in civil rights when he grew up. He has now ended up at one of the state’s top law firms in the field of police misconduct.

Odiwe, who is black, had never experienced disparity until a white shopkeeper wrongly accused him of stealing candy.

“I wasn’t afraid because I knew I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said. “It was more the humiliation and realization that profiling is a real issue.”

Now, he is lead counsel on some of the biggest cases involving excessive force in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2023, Odiwe obtained a $4.4 million settlement from the Bay Area Rapid Transit on behalf of passenger Cyrus Greene, who was shot in the head by an officer. Greene was chased from a station and fired upon from the back after an officer determined he was carrying a concealed weapon. C.G. v. Bay Area Rapid Transit, 4:21-cv-00113 (N.D. Cal., filed Jan. 7, 2021).

Currently, he has a big media case involving Banko Brown, a man who was accused of shoplifting by a San Francisco Walgreens security guard who then shot and killed him on a sidewalk outside.

Odiwe started his career being mentored by famed civil rights attorney John Burris after law school. He was offered a position at Burris’ firm and assigned second chair in a police shooting case after just two weeks on the job. The client was awarded $1.7 million in 2017 for head injuries suffered by being hit by a bean bag round following a party.

Closing arguments are his favorite part of the legal system, which Odiwe sees as a chance to drive home facts to secure a win for clients. To aid in this, he has compiled a contact list of some of the best experts available — and is always on the lookout for more.

With 70 cases completed so far, Odiwe’s career is on a fast trajectory upward. He has another 30 that will be filed by the end of the year. Odiwe sees himself on a mission to help as many people as possible.

“I can inspire people about where I came from and where I am now — how far you can go if you work hard and believe in yourself,” he said. “You can do more than you think.”

—Tori Richards