Private Practice

Many ELP alumni find their niche in private practice, whether on the Mainland or at some of Hawaii's most prestigious firms.

Alumni Profiles - Private Practice

Government

Several alumni follow exciting government career paths at the federal, state, or city and county level.

Alumni Profiles - Government

Public Interest

ELP alumni have had remarkable success in public interest careers, dedicating their expertise and passion towards making a difference.

Public Interest Alumni Profiles

Innovative Career Paths

Career opportunities are limitless, and many ELP alumni have sought innovate career paths beyond the traditional legal work.

Innovative Career Paths Alumni Profiles

Beyond Hawaii

Former students have pursued successful careers all throughout the United States and across the globe.

Beyond Hawaii Alumni Profiles

Alumni Updates

Click here to read the latest edition of Ke Kula Kanawai, the Law School's weekly newsletter, which frequently features WSRSL alumni updates

ALUMNI PROFILES

Mark Murakami - WSRSL Class of 1999 - Associate with Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert

Mr. Murakami practices in the firm's Business-Commercial Law, Dispute Resolution and Real Estate & Construction practice groups. Mark was the Valedictorian of the Class of 1999 from the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii where he served as Articles Editor of the University of Hawaii Law Review. He has received numerous academic awards, including: Dean’s Scholar; Porter Scholastic Award (2 times); Awards for highest grade in Property I, Torts I, Contracts I, Corporations, and Professional Responsibility; Kono Award for Academic Achievement; Phi Delta Phi Professional Responsibility Award; HSBA Real Property and Financial Services Section Award.

Mark is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. He served for 13 years on active duty before joining the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve in 2005. During his time on active duty, he served on three different Coast Guard cutters, including command of a patrol boat in California. Twice nominated for the American Bar Association’s Military Lawyer of the Year Award, he spent four years assigned to the Fourteenth Coast Guard District Legal Office prosecuting courts-martial, litigating cases in federal court as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and advising Coast Guard officials on maritime, criminal, environmental and international law issues. He has been awarded two Coast Guard Commendation Medals and three Coast Guard Achievement Medals.

Mark was born on Maui and raised in Kailua, Oahu. He is a graduate of Kailua High School and was active in the Castle Performing Arts Center. He is married to Kimberly A. Murakami and has one son, Tyler.

Source: http://www.hawaiilawyer.com/atty/mmm/mmm.htm

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ALUMNI PROFILES

Scott Nishimoto - WSRSL Class of 2002 - State of Hawaii Legislature, House Representative

Rep. Nishimoto has been a member of the Hawaii Bar Association since 2003, received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law in May 2002 and his Bachelors degree in Sociology in 1997. At UHM, Rep. Nishimoto was elected student body president of the Associated Students of UH. His professional experience includes serving as a staff member in the Washington, D.C. office of U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye and working as a law clerk at Cronin Fried Sekiya Kekina & Fairbanks. He has the distinction of being selected as the first Anheuser-Busch/Frank Horton Fellow with the Asian Pacific American Institute of Congressional Studies, also in the nation's capitol. Rep. Nishimoto was a member of the 2003 Japanese American Leadership Delegation invited by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership to meet with Japanese leaders in the political, business, non-profit, academic and cultural fields. He currently is on the board of directors for the Hawaii Children's Cancer Foundation and is a member of the State of Hawaii Workforce Development Council. In addition, Rep. Nishimoto serves on the Department of Health's Comprehensive Cancer Control Interim Steering Committee, Diamond Head Lion's Club, Kaimuki Adult School Community Council and School Community Based Management Councils for Liholiho and Ala Wai elementary schools.

Rep. Nishimoto is a member of several House Committees, including Health (Vice-Chair), Finance, Hawaiian Affairs, Human Services, and Joint Task Force to Conduct a Review of the State Highway Fund.

Source: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/house/members/rep21.asp

Rep. Nishimoto with ELP Director Denise Antolini (left photo) and President Barack Obama (right photo)

ALUMNI PROFILES

Lea Hong - WSRSL Class of 1991 - Director, The Trust for Public Land

Lea Hong is the Hawaiian Islands Program Director for The Trust for Public Land. Raised in Wahiawa, the Leilehua High School graduate received a degree from Rice University in Texas before receiving her law degree from the William S. Richardson School of Law. Ms. Hong litigated complex land, water, and cultural preservation/access disputes on behalf of Hawaiian and environmental organizations at the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund and in private practice as a partner in the Honolulu law firm of Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing before joining The Trust for Public Land. Honolulu Magazine recognized her as one Hawai‘i's best lawyers in environmental law. Ms. Hong is also an adjunct professor at the University of Hawai’i William S. Richardson School of Law.

ALUMNI PROFILES

Kapua Sproat - WSRSL Class of 1998 - Assistant Professor at the William S. Richardson School of Law; Of Counsel for Earthjustice.

Kapua Sproat is Of Counsel for Earthjustice's Mid-Pacific Office and an Assistant Professor at the University of Hawai’i William S. Richardson School of Law teaching with the Environmental Law Program and the Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law. As part of the Earthjustice team, Ms. Sproat litigated state and federal environmental cases under the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, State Water Code and various Hawai'i environmental laws.

"Working at Earthjustice has enabled me to combine my legal education with cultural knowledge and grassroots organizing to implement an integrated advocacy approach to issues. Importantly, I am able to work side by side with community leaders and my extended family to protect and defend the natural and cultural resources upon which our cultures and island lifestyles depend."

--- Kapua Sproat (Source: http://www.earthjustice.org/about_us/offices_staff/staff/kapua_sproat.html)

• Michael Dahilig ('06), is a joint-degree graduate with the UH Department of Urban and Regional Planning. Mr. Dahilig's other experiences include clerking for a judge on Kauai, working at an environmental consulting firm, and serving on the UH Board of Regents.

• Kim (Moffie) McIntyre ('02), moved to San Diego, attended Scripps Institute of Oceanography, and formed her own consulting firm on ocean policy issues with fellow Scripps graduates.

• Peter Whitfield's ('06), post-law school experiences include clerking for a federal judge in North Carolina and creating his own non-profit organization dedicated to protecting endangered species.

Kim (Moffie) McIntyre - WSRSL Class of 2002 - Strategic Ocean Solutions, Director of Ocean Law & Policy

After graduating in 2002 from the William S. Richardson School of Law, Kim moved to California to pursue a Master’s of Advanced Studies in marine biodiversity and conservation from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. Kim then formed her own consulting firm, Strategic Ocean Solutions, to focus on ocean policy issues with fellow Scripps graduates. She serves as the firm's Director od Ocean Law & Policy. As indicated in her profile on the company's website, "Kim believes that a sustainable ocean policy is a delicate balance between the values of the community and the natural needs of the ecosystem. She brings this forward-thinking approach to all her efforts to shape effective marine conservation laws and policies."

Source: http://www.healthyocean.com/kim_mcintyre.html

ALUMNI PROFILES

Ruth Hokulei Lindsey- WSRSL Class of 2002 - Assistant Professor of Law, Southern Illinois University

After completing her J.D. from the William S. Richardson School of Law, R. Hokulei Lindsey pursued an L.L.M. from the University of Wisconsin Law School.

She is now an Assistant Professor at the Southern Illinois University School of Law and her primary area of research focuses on the intersection of property law and Native peoples' land rights and territory. Professor Lindsey's interests also include intellectual property and traditional knowledge rights of Native peoples.

Source: http://www.law.siu.edu/fac_staff/hlindsey/

After graduating from law school, she clerked with the Honorable Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson at the Superior Court of Guam from August 2000 to September 2001. In February 2001, three weeks after having her first child, Georgette took and passed the Guam Bar Examination on her first attempt and was officially sworn in as an attorney on May 25, 2001.

In October 2001, Georgette joined the law firm of Mair, Mair, Spade and Thompson as an associate attorney where she practiced in the areas of contract, corporate, labor, banking and insurance defense law.

Next, in July 2003, she joined the non-profit law firm of Guam Legal Services Corporation as a staff attorney. There she worked as an attorney under the Domestic Violence program where the majority of her practice involved obtaining civil restraining orders for victims of domestic violence.

Thereafter, in August 2004, she accepted a law clerk position with the Honorable Michael J. Bordallo at the Superior Court of Guam. The challenge posed to Georgette was to clear a three year backlog of cases for Judge Bordallo. At the time, Judge Bordallo had a pending Decision and Order list consisting of over seventy pending items, the majority of them involving civil matters. Within one year of clerking for Judge Bordallo, Georgette was able to substantially bring his Decision and Order list down to less than thirty and at the same time she kept Judge Bordallo current on his Decisions and Orders during her tenure as his law clerk by efficiently completing new Decision and Orders taken by him under advisement. During this time, Georgette needed almost no supervision as she was a self-starter and because of the high quality of her work, Judge Bordallo often made little or no changes in adopting her work.

In December 2005, six weeks after having her second child, Georgette joined the Law Office of John S. Unpingco & Associates, LLC as an associate attorney. Georgette practices in the areas of business and corporate law, civil law, probate and family law.