An Event You Don't Want to Miss!
 February 19, 2010
A Presentation Brought to You by the HSBA, The State of Hawaii Judiciary and The William S. Richardson School of Law
Join us next Friday, February 19 from 4 p.m. - 5 p.m. at the Hawaii State Supreme Court as His Excellency Hisashi Owada President of the International Court of Justice, speaks on, "The Future of International Law in the 21st Century."
View the event flyer here.
REGISTER TODAY FOR UPCOMING MCPE SEMINARS TO BE HELD AT YOUR HSBA!
Thurs., February 25, 2010
Topic: Two Topics, One Great Speaker!
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 11 a.m. OR 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Location: HSBA
3 MCPE Credits
Wed., March 4, 2010
Topic: Ethics for Collection Law and Bankruptcy Lawyers
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Location: HSBA
3 MCPE Credits
Price: $50 per seminar
Have questions? Please contact the CLE Programs department at (808) 537-1868.
PRESIDENT MESSAGES
 February 12, 2010
From HSBA President, Hugh Jones
"If You Didn't Know Then, You Know Now--HSBA's Judicial Evaluation Process"
The HSBA’s role in the judicial appointment process has been criticized by the American Judicature Society and others in the past. Why does the HSBA Board of Directors review the qualifications of those individuals appointed as judges? The answer is that Article IX of the HSBA Constitution provides that "[t]he Board shall evaluate the qualifications of persons appointed to judicial office in Hawaii or the positions of Hawaii State Attorney General or Hawaii U.S. Attorney, and inform the confirming authority of such recommendations and evaluations.”
The HSBA board has adopted detailed procedures for this evaluation process to ensure fairness to those being evaluated. The board solicits confidential comments from members, shares any negative information with the nominee without revealing confidential information, interviews the nominee and checks the nominee’s references. The HSBA’s procedures have been continually revised to improve them. The last significant change to the policy amended the policy to eliminate the “highly qualified” rating. Thus, at present, the HSBA Board, by written ballot, classifies a nominee as qualified or not qualified. Under applicable policies, the vote is confidential.
Call for Comment on (2) Judicial Nominations Due by Noon, Tuesday, February 16, 2010.
- Lisa M. Ginoza -- ICA
- R. Mark Browning -- Circuit Court, First Circuit
Submit your comment to president@hsba.org, a private and secured account. You may also fax your comment to HSBA at (808) 521-7936. All identifying information is confidential.
 February 12, 2010
From YLD President, Lisa K.Y. Nakahara
Let's Mingle!
The YLD is having its first social mixer of the year on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Ka Restaurant and Lounge (formerly E&O Trading Company). The YLD is co-sponsoring this event with the Shidler College of Business Alumni Association and it is open to all professionals. Event information can be found here. You must RSVP by Monday, February 22 at 3:00 p.m. We hope to see you all there!
Legal Line volunteers are still needed to help on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the HSBA office. Volunteers intake questions from the public and give out legal information on a wide range of subjects including family law, landlord/tenant, bankruptcy, estates and trusts, and criminal law. To volunteer your time for this project, please call James Maruyama at 792-7338 or via email at JamesM@HSBA.org.
New Member Benefit
  Effective April 1, 2010 HSBA members with fewer than 50 employees will be able to get Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) for the member rate of .40/$100 of covered payroll. Members who are currently insured through The Hartford will see their premiums reduced effective April 1, 2010.
While this rate is guaranteed only for groups with fewer than 50 employees, larger groups will have access to preferred underwriting. Options available for solo practitioners.
Call PSH Insurance Inc. at (808) 531-6211 or click here to apply or for more information.
REMINDERS AND NOTES
Court Update!
The HSBA Web site is now set up to feed from the Judiciary's Web site. Click here to view the feeds on our court news page that includes the 2010- 2011 Judiciary Furlough Schedule.
Lawyer Referral Information Service is Looking for You!
Click here for more information.
Hawaii Lawyers: Scam Alert! If it seems too good to be true, it may be!
Click here for more information.
Did You Know?
HSBA members are welcome to utilize the HSBA conference rooms to meet with clients and use the internet or host meetings. Check out the HSBA conference room guidelines here.
Congratulations Hawaii Women Lawyers!
 At its annual meeting on January 15, 2010, HWLF celebrated a year in which a very successful fund raiser allowed it to make grants totaling over $100,000 to organizations supporting women and children in our community.
Photo above: Gail Cosgrove, left, and Rhonda Griswold, dinner event chair. |
