Best Lawyers in Hawaii 2011

Presenting 282 attorneys in 77 specialties, statewide.

A key reason we turn to Woodward/White,  publishers of The Best Lawyers in America, for this list is the methodology the research firm uses.  The attorneys on this list are there solely because their peers nominated them and voted for them, through a series of peer surveys.

“Whether by telephone, email or fax, we ask voting lawyers the same question,” says Best Lawyers. ““If you could not handle a case yourself, to whom would you refer it?’” Voting lawyers rank the nominees and provide comments.

That isn’t the end of the process, either. “As soon as the selections are finalized, the selected lawyers are checked against state bar association sanction lists to make sure that every lawyer is in good standing with the ethics committee of his or her state bar.”

A more detailed explanation of the methodology can be found at bestlawyers.com/aboutus/selectionprocess.aspx.

Don’t see your lawyer on the list? Don’t panic. As Best Lawyers notes, “Ultimately, of course, a lawyer’s inclusion on these lists is based on the subjective judgments of his or her fellow attorneys. While it is true that the lists may at times disproportionately reward visibility or popularity, we remain as confident today as we were 20 years ago that the breadth of our survey, the candor of our respondents and the sophistication of our polling methodology largely correct for any biases, and that these lists continue to represent the most reliable, accurate and useful, as well as the most transparent, guide to the best lawyers available anywhere.”

Over the years, we’ve added some writing of our own to expand on the list: advice on when to hire an attorney and profiles of selected attorneys with interesting life or work stories, for example.

This year, we’d thought we’d try something different: humor.

We asked attorneys on the list if they wouldn’t mind sharing their favorite lawyer jokes. Our thanks to those who got back to us. Enjoy the jokes along with the listings.

(Looking for the list of Hawaii's Best Lawyers? HONOLULU Magazine generally keeps only the most current version online. Click here to find the most recent list.)