AJS Chairman Lawrence Okinaga was recently on KHON’s What’s the Law, a weekly podcast which provides valuable information on important legal topics. He joined producer/host Coralie Chun Matayoshi to discuss how judges are selected, canons of ethics that judges need to abide by, and why the U.S. Supreme Court doesn’t have a judicial code of ethics. Tune in to the podcast here or click on the image below.

UPDATE: We are sorry to announce that this presentation is canceled.

Please join us for a special presentation by The Honorable Anthony Kennedy (ret.), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Justice Kennedy served on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1988 until his retirement in 2018. He was nominated to the court in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan. From February 2016 until his retirement in 2018, Kennedy was the senior associate justice of the court.

There is no charge to attend, but registration in advance is required.

Finance Factors, a kama`aina company that’s been serving Hawai`i for over 70 years, has been a long-time and generous supporter of the American Judicature Society. CEO Russell Lau has been a board member and treasurer for many years at AJS. He and his Executive Assistant Brenda Cochran also volunteer numerous hours to the organization. What’s more, the Finance Factors Foundation annually donates to AJS to help cover basic operational expenses. Established in 1952, Finance Factors offers an array of real estate loans and deposit products.

The webinar sponsored by the AJS, WSR School of Law, and HSBA featuring Seth Waxman was a resounding success!  Mr. Waxman, universally considered to be among the country’s premier Supreme Court and appellate advocates who has delivered over 85 oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court, conducted a review of the 2022-23 Supreme Court term.  There were 215 attendees at the webinar from 17 U.S. states (the largest number from Hawaii), plus one person each from Japan, India, and Guam. 

Responses submitted by 98 of the individuals who completed confidential evaluations of the webinar indicated:

The following are a few of the comments from the respondents:

• I really appreciated Seth Waxman’s clarity and knowledge.  He is an exceedingly clear presenter and I very much appreciated his time.  I hope he presents again!
• Mahalo nui for holding these informative sessions.  Very informative!
• Seth Waxman’s presentation was superb, professional, and scholarly.  Judge Bennett’s introduction was apt.  Well done all!
• Please keep more of these webinars possible.
• Thank you, I really appreciated the presentation!
• This was an excellent webinar and Seth Waxman was an impressive and knowledgeable speaker.  The presentation was very informative.  Thanks to AJS and the other sponsors for the wonderful presentation.

A big mahalo to the AJS program committee, the webinar speakers, and sponsors for an excellent event!

The 2023 Sidebar Program took place on July 11, 2023 at the beautiful and historic Hawaii Supreme Court Courtroom. Nearly 60 summer clerks, interns and young lawyers attended the program, a record-setting number.

This year’s distinguished panel, moderated by Hawaii Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald, included: 

• Hon. Jill A. Otake, District Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii,
• Hon. Lisa M. Ginoza, Chief Judge, Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals,
• Hon. R. Mark Browning, Chief Judge, First Circuit Court,
• Hon. Gary W. B. Chang, Judge, First Circuit Court, and
• Hon. Karin L. Holma, Judge, First Circuit District Court.

The panel and CJ Recktenwald offered keen and pointed insights, and the attendees were able to participate in real-time via “clickers” to share their thoughts as to how the hypothetical issues might best be addressed. 

The panel discussion was followed by a reception where the attendees divided themselves into small groups and enjoyed unscripted time with the judges present, who talked about their career paths and experiences before the bench, as well as on the bench.

As was done in the past, all of those who registered for the program received a complimentary one-year membership in AJS, a $50 value.

Mahalo to the AJS Sidebar Committee (the Hon. Jeannette Castagnetti, the Hon. Todd Eddins, Calvert Chipchase, Carrie Okinaga, Hon. Dean Ochiai, and Jocelyn Chong) for putting on another excellent program!

About the Sidebar Program

An important priority of the American Judicature Society is to ensure that the next generation of judicial leaders value their responsibility for perpetuating a fair judicial system and are well prepared to address any related institutional challenges into the future.

Each summer for almost the past 30 years, AJS has set aside a day dedicated to supporting young, aspiring lawyers. The annual Sidebar Program is open to summer associates from law firms, judicial and government agency law clerks and other new lawyers for a day of education and networking with each other and veteran professionals.