University of Hawai'i University Relations Media & Publications Honolulu, HI 96822	(808) 956-8856 Telephone (808) 956-3441 Facsimile ur@hawaii.edu E-Mail
For Immediate Release:	December 17, 1998
Contact:Jim Manke, 808 956-9706 Cheryl Ernst, (808) 956-5941

Alumnus to be first attorney Judge Kirimitsu nominated to be UH General Counsel Walter S. Kirimitsu, associate judge of the Intermediate Court of Appeals, has been nominated to be general counsel to the University of Hawai'i. Long a respected figure in Hawai'i legal circles, Kirimitsu is a graduate of St. Louis High School and the University of Hawai'i. "The Board of Regents and I have great confidence in Judge Kirimitsu. His proven legal expertise, familiarity with educational concerns and commitment to serving the people of Hawai'i make him a valuable addition to the UH team as we move toward the challenges and opportunities of the next millennium," said UH President Kenneth P. Mortimer. The university general counsel is an outgrowth of legislation granting the University greater flexibility, including the authority to hire its own attorney. Legal representation previously was handled by the state's attorney general. Reporting to the UH president and Board of Regents, the general counsel will provide a wide range of legal services including managing litigation involving the University, researching specific legal problems and representing the UH system in state and federal courts and before administrative boards and commissions. Kirimitsu is expected to begin in late January, pending approval by the full Board of Regents. The judge was appointed to the appeals court in 1995, after nearly 20 years with Shim, Tam, Kirimitsu and Chang, Attorneys at Law. A 1965 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, he began his legal career as a law clerk for the Hawai'i State Supreme Court, served four years in the U.S. Air Force judge advocates corps and entered private practice. He has served as treasurer and president of the Hawai'i State Bar Association and chaired its long range planning committee. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and American Board of Trial Advocates and served 10 years as commissioner of the Judicial Arbitration Commission. In 1995 he was a member of the UH law school dean search committee. Kirimitsu earned a bachelor of arts in Japanese language and literature from UH in 1962. He was student body president, served on the UH Athletics Board and was active in ROTC. His role as a student leader continued a practice established at St. Louis High School, where he was student body president, student newspaper editor-in-chief and class salutatorian. He has been a member of the St. Louis Schools Board of Trustees since 1988 and chair since 1996.

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