 The inspiration and namesake of the law school is, of course, Retired Chief Justice William S. Richardson. “CJ” is the firm’s senior partner. After graduating from law school, combat service in the U.S. Army, and the private practice of law, CJ was elected as Lieutenant Governor and serve with Governor John A. Burns, the namesake of the medical school. He was subsequently appointed as Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court. After he retired from the Supreme Court, CJ was appointed as a Trustee of the (then) Bishop Estate. He is in residence at the law school UHELP office.
Attorney Scott Suzuki is the firm’s community services volunteer. Scott is a 2004 graduate of the William S. Richardson School of Law. He also has a Master of Public Health in Gerontology degree from the University of Hawaii, a B.A as well as a Master of Gerontological Studies degree from the University of Miami of Ohio.
Kyle Kagihara is this year’s Elder Law Program Law Clerk. |
The UHELP
director/attorney is Professor James Pietsch. He is the firm’s directing partner. Early in his career, he served as a regular Army officer in the Medical Service Corps and later in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Upon release from active duty he was the staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii (LASH) Elder Law Unit prior to assuming his position at the law school in 1991. He received national recognition for his work in Elder Law when he was presented with the Paul Lichterman Award. He is the recipient of the Elizabeth and Hung Wo Ching Memorial Award for Faculty Service at the University of Hawaii. In 2007 and 2008 he served as Special Advisor to the Multinational Force-Iraq Law and Order Task Force and as Rule of Law Advisor to the Baghdad Provincial Reconstruction Team.