Top Litigation Lawyers in ZIP 96813 | 32 available

With a dynamic focus on the practicalities and goals of my clients, I concentrate my law practice in: 1) Dispute Resolution and Litigation and 2) Business and Transactional Law. As a tenacious advocate for my clients, I have successfully litigated in the Federal U.S. District Court, Hawaii’s Circuit and District Courts, and the Intermediate Court of Appeals.  My experience in alternative dispute resolution includes mediation and arbitration, both as counsel for clients and as the mediator/arbitrator.. My transactional practice includes the full spectrum of acquiring, selling, and/or operating a business, from handling negotiations and due diligence, to drafting contracts and other legal documentation.  I am also often called upon to give legal consultation, providing clients with the legal insight they need to avoid potentially damaging legal issues and achieve successful results.. With each endeavor, I strive to serve under the highest work ethic and professional standards.  Mindful of the trust that has been placed upon me, I am committed to achieving the goals of my clients and providing them with practical solutions.. Please see our website for more information.

Summer H. Kaiawe concentrates her practice in the areas of business and real estate litigation, intellectual property, and land use and environmental law.. Ms. Kaiawe has experience in a variety of litigation cases, including those in the areas of patent infringement, contract disputes, quiet title, title insurance and escrow, lender liability, seller's real property disclosure and boundary disputes, and wrongful death.  Ms. Kaiawe advises clients on a range of intellectual property matters, including the registration and protection of trademarks and copyrights, licensing, and privacy and publicity rights.  Certified with an environmental law certificate from the William S. Richardson School of Law, Ms. Kaiawe has also advised clients regarding compliance with state and federal underground storage tank regulations, CERCLA liability, and due diligence in connection with real property transactions.. Ms. Kaiawe is committed to giving back to the local community, and currently serves on the Boards of Directors for several non-profit organizations, including Aloha Harvest, the Hawaii State Bar Association Young Lawyer’s Division, and the William S. Richardson School of Law Alumni Association.. While in law school, Ms. Kaiawe served as a class representative on the Student Bar Association, a board member of the Law and Business Organization, a member of the American Inns of Court, and competed on the Client Counseling Moot Court Team.  She also served as the 2010 Linnel Nishioka Environmental Law Fellow.

Mr. Hunter joined Kobayashi, Sugita & Goda in 2012 and practices in the firm’s commercial litigation section.. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 2012, and was inducted into the Order of the Coif and Thurston Society. Mr. Hunter was an Executive Board member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Team, and was a team member for three years. He took first place at the International Competition for Mediation Advocacy in Toronto, Canada.. Mr. Hunter received the 2011 American Bankruptcy Institute Medal of Excellence in Bankruptcy. He was also awarded the 2012 Ferguson Admiralty Law Scholarship. While in law school, Mr. Hunter received CALI Excellence for the Future Awards and Witkin Awards for Academic Excellence in Antitrust, Bankruptcy, Commercial Contract Drafting, International Negotiation and Dispute Resolution, Maritime Law, Negotiation and Settlement, Real Estate Transactions, and Regulated Industries.. Mr. Hunter was a judicial extern at the Federal Bankruptcy Court in San Jose, California, for the Honorable Judge Stephen Johnson. He also worked as a judicial extern in the San Francisco Superior Court, Law and Motion Department, for the Honorable Judges Peter Busch and Charlotte Woolard.. Before entering law school, Mr. Hunter was a real estate investment sales broker for CB Richard Ellis in Honolulu. During that time, he was involved in over 75 sales and 135 leasing transactions for nearly a billion dollars in commercial real estate assets. He was engaged in projects in Hawaii, Guam, and the Caribbean.. Mr. Hunter holds a business degree from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. He also is a licensed real estate broker.. Mr. Hunter is a member of the Hawaii State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. He is admitted to practice before all state courts in the State of Hawaii, and the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii. Mr. Hunter also serves as a volunteer mediator with the Mediation Center of the Pacific.

Leighton represents clients in a wide range of high-stakes litigation, including disputes related to employment matters, contracts, personal injury, and commercial transactions.. Leighton’s clients have included numerous high-profile corporations, executives, agencies, and organizations, including major airlines, hospitals, and hotels.  Leighton has significant litigation experience, having participated in jury and non-jury trials in both state and federal courts.. Prior to joining the firm, Leighton was a partner at Marr Jones & Wang LLLP, where he handled numerous employment litigation matters, conducted in-house trainings on best employment practices, and participated in corporate investigations.  Leighton also practiced commercial litigation at Watanabe Ing, LLLP where he defended numerous corporations, governmental entities, and individuals in civil actions. Leighton served as a law clerk at the Circuit Court of the Third Circuit, State of Hawaii, to the Honorable Riki May Amano and the Honorable Terence T. Yoshioka.. Mr. Hara is admitted to practice before all of the state and federal courts of the State of Hawaii, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Brian W. Tilker is a director at the law firm of Torkildson Katz.  He concentrates his practice on business litigation, and has represented clients in a wide-variety of matters in both state and federal courts.  In addition to the practice of law, Mr. Tilker is a Lecturer in Law at the William S. Richardson School of Law, teaching a first- year course in legal writing and advocacy.

Bennett Chin is the head of M4’s Design Professionals Defense & Counseling Group, primarily representing and counseling architects and engineers. He has represented clients in a wide range of projects including shopping centers, airports, municipal works, transportation projects, residential projects, hospital projects, commercial high-rises, restaurants and government buildings. He has given seminars on loss prevention and risk management and has lectured for numerous organizations, including AIA, ACEC, University of Hawaii School of Architecture, Lorman Education Services, California BAR/BRI and Hawaii BAR/BRI.. Mr. Chin attended the University of California, Berkeley and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy. He obtained his law degree from the Santa Clara University School of Law.. His legal career has spanned being a partner in a small civil litigation practice in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he mediated, arbitrated and tried cases for various clients, to serving as a Senior Complex Litigation Attorney with Sedgwick, Detert Moran & Arnold, LLP in their San Francisco offices. At Sedgwick, Mr. Chin represented architects, landscape architects, civil engineers, developers and contractors in all aspects of construction litigation including discovery, mediation, arbitration and trial. He also managed the eDiscovery team in the defense of a large window manufacturer in a product liability class action lawsuit.. Later, Mr. Chin served as Claims Consultant for XL Insurance – Design Professional in their San Francisco offices. He managed a large volume of design professional claims and loss prevention matters. Mr. Chin was directly involved in negotiating large losses through mediation and mandatory settlement conferences. He assisted insureds with contract review and assessment of their risk management practices.

Although Phil Brown has been a full time litigation attorney since 1985, he became a Hawaii attorney after moving to Honolulu in 1993.  Mr. Brown started this office in 1997 after working for some of the finest law firms in Hawaii, New York and Virginia.. Upon graduation from Washington and Lee University School of Law in 1985, Mr. Brown was an associate at Hunton and Williams.  In 1987 Mr. Brown joined the New York office of Reid and Priest (later known as Thelen Reid and Priest).  Mr. Brown often credits these two highly regarded, national law firms as the main reason for his strong background in commercial litigation.  In 1993 Mr. Brown moved to Honolulu and joined its then largest law firm, Carlsmith Ball.  At Carlsmith Ball, he litigated against some of Hawaii’s finest attorneys, including famed Plaintiffs attorney, David C. Schutter.  Following one oral argument, Mr. Schutter offered Mr. Brown the opportunity to join Schutter and represent the claims of some 4000 annuity holders in a case against a national financial institution.  Mr. Brown candidly admits when he met Schutter, Brown had little experience representing the rights of Plaintiffs.  However, Brown accepted the challenge and two years later mediated a Thirty-Nine Million Dollar settlement for the annuity holders.. Mr. Brown started his own boutique litigation office in 1997.  Relying on his diverse experience, Mr. Brown represents Plaintiffs and Defendants in Commercial Litigation, Real Estate Litigation, and Personal Injury cases.. Mr. Brown has Martindale Hubbell’s highest legal/ethics ratings and is listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers under Civil Trial Practice, Commercial Litigation and Personal Injury.  Mr. Brown is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers.  Mr. Brown has also been recognized in Honolulu Magazine’s Best Lawyers in Hawaii and was honored by the National Trial Lawyers Association as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer.