- AdoptionOur practice with respect to adoptions is limited to relative and step-parent adoptions. We strive to be compassionate and caring as we provide timely and cost-effective assistance.
- Business FormationOur firm has extensive experience representing individuals and all types of business entities with their business needs. Whether our clients need business formation services, business planning, managerial advice, business agreements, or other assistance, we pride ourselves in developing innovative, practical, and timely solutions.
- Business TransactionsWe have experience representing buyers and sellers in all aspects of negotiating and documenting acquisitions and sales of real property in Hawaii from the simple drafting of deeds and other conveyance documents to handling more complex residential and commercial transactions and assisting both buyers and sellers in appropriate due diligence matters.
- Limited Liability CompaniesOur firm has a broad civil litigation and general civil practice with particular emphasis in the areas of insurance, surety, professional liability, real estate, corporate, international and commercial law, government contracts, environmental law, employment, construction, and probate. The firm’s clients range from individuals to corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, and other business and non-profit entities of varying sizes, and include financial institutions, insurance companies, contractors, developers and professionals.
- Construction Contracts
- Workers Compensation
- Wrongful TerminationThe ever increasing rate of claims of discrimination, harassment and retaliation against business entities creates a challenge for employers to ensure compliance with sometimes differing state and federal laws. Our attorneys have extensive experience defending employers and businesses against all types of employment-related claims, including discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, retaliation, violation of state and federal Whistleblower laws, and wage and hour claims. Our representation of clients spans the duration of claims from the administrative level with the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission through the litigation phase in both state and federal court. It includes taking cases through various forms of alternative dispute resolution, including formal and informal settlement negotiations, mediation and arbitration, as well as litigating cases through pre-trial discovery, motions practice, trial, and appellate review. Because every case is unique and every client has different needs, we commit ourselves to representing the best interests of each client and providing well-reasoned advice for each specific circumstance.
- Employment ContractIn addition to litigation, our practice includes pre-litigation support through advice on best practices, drafting and updating employee handbooks, developing strategies for handling difficult employment situations, and drafting, reviewing and negotiating pre- and post-employment agreements.
- Construction LitigationOur firm has a wide variety of construction industry clients including general contractors, subcontractors, specialty contractors, manufacturers, suppliers, architects, engineers and other design consultants, construction managers, owners, utilities, governmental agencies, developers, associations, sureties, and most other individuals and entities involved in various aspects of the construction process. Our construction litigation practice includes the representation of claimants and respondents in mediation, arbitration and litigation in the state and federal courts. We pride ourselves on finding creative solutions to these complex disputes.
- Personal InjuryThere are many laws that govern the construction process and the laws differ depending on whether the project is federal, state, or private. Construction law deals primarily with contract law and involves the design, the initial bidding on the construction project, the negotiation and formation of the construction contracts, disputes between the parties involved in the construction process, payment disputes, delays and post construction disputes, including design and construction defects and deficiencies. Although construction law is a specialized field, it touches on many legal practice areas. In addition to the law as it is applied to contracts, construction law also involves tort claims, consumer protection laws, mechanics’ liens and other security interests, commercial law, planning law, surety law, bonding disputes, insurance coverage issues, bid protests, employment law, environmental law, product liability, personal injury and workers compensation, delay claims and alternative dispute resolution. Many of the attorneys at our firm have experience and expertise in these construction law practice areas. We also assist clients in drafting and interpreting design and construction contracts and other contract documents.
- Medical MalpracticeOur lawyers have tried numerous medical malpractice cases to verdict with significant success. We are routinely called upon by our clients to defend the most difficult catastrophic injury cases.
- TrustsWe have experience advising and representing individuals who had a legal relationship with a decedent in obtaining title to property, whether that property was left to them by a will, by a relative who died without a will, or by a spouse who was left without his or her fair statutory share. We also have experience advising trustees in interpreting trust and will provisions and provide advice to them in fulfilling their fiduciary duties and responsibilities. Our objective is to provide these services in a cost effective way after fully explaining the implications of the various options available and to make understandable what sometimes seems complicated.
- Debt CollectionOur firm handles all aspects of commercial bankruptcy and insolvency, including the representation of debtors, creditors, trustees, ombudsmen and examiners. For businesses, the most common form of bankruptcy is a Chapter 11 case, where creditors are stayed from pursuing debt collection activities while the debtor attempts to develop a new capital structure under which creditors can be paid in whole or in part. The goal of Chapter 11 is to preserve going concern values, maximize the value of the debtor’s assets and the creditors’ recoveries, and preserve jobs. Chapter 11 is both expensive and complex both for debtors and for creditors. Many Chapter 11 cases are resolved through the sale of the business or its assets, although it is sometimes feasible to restructure the business without a sale, as in the case of Hawaiian Telephone Company, where this firm was one of the lawyers representing creditor Lehman Brothers. The rights of secured creditors, unsecured creditors and parties to contracts with the Chapter 11 debtor vary greatly, and it is important that all parties have skilled legal counsel to prevent the loss of important rights. Unlike Chapter 7, where the liens of secured creditors are unaffected, a Chapter 11 can bring about a substantial modification of obligations to secured creditors and, in exceptional cases, result in the complete loss of their liens.