James A. Kawachika is counsel to the law firm. His practice concentrates on civil and commercial litigation, including business, real estate, estates and trusts, and professional liability litigation, as well as serving as a mediator and arbitrator in legal disputes. He regularly advises lawyers and law firms on legal ethics and professional responsibility matters and represents lawyers in disciplinary proceedings and bar admission and reinstatement cases. He also serves as an expert witness in legal ethics.

Mr. Kawachika is a past president of the Hawai ̒i State Bar Association and a former chair of the Disciplinary Board of the Hawai ̒i Supreme Court. He is a past president of the Hawai ̒ i Justice Foundation and is the current chair of the Hawai ̒i Judicial Selection Commission. Mr. Kawachika has also served on the board of directors of the Legal Aid Society of Hawai ̒i and is a current director of the American Judicature Society. He has been appointed by four separate American Bar Association presidents to the editorial board of the ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct, the Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, and the Standing Committee on Professional Discipline. Mr. Kawachika also represents Hawai̒ i in the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates.

Mr. Kawachika received his B.A. degree from the University of Hawai ̒i and earned his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley (Boalt Hall). He is a member of the Hawai ̒i State Bar Association, American Bar Association, and the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility. He is AV Preeminent-rated by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America by Woordard/White, Inc. and the Best Lawyers in Hawai ̒i by Honolulu Magazine in the areas of commercial litigation, estates and trusts litigation, and professional malpractice law.

In 2011, Mr. Kawachika received the C. Frederick Schutte Award for outstanding and meritorious service to the legal community and the profession. In 2012, he was awarded the Hawai ̒i Justice Foundation’s Spirit of Justice Award for his contribution to the access to justice.