ke kumu Spring/Summer 2022

SPRING/SUMMER

2022

ke ku mu

A P U B L I C A T I O N F O R T H E F R I E N D S , F A M I LY, A N D C L I E N T S O F C A D E S S C H U T T E L L P

Celebrating our founders...

J. RUSSELL CADES ARTHUR G. SMITH

URBAN E. WILD BILL FLEMING

FRED SCHUTTE HAROLD WRIGHT

EUGENE BEEBE

OUR COMMEMORATIVE CENTENNIAL ISSUE CELEBRATING A CENTURY OF LEGAL SERVICE IN HAWAI‘I

INTRODUCING THE NEW

CADES.COM

OUR NEW WEBSITE LAUNCHED ON APRIL 1

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Contents 4

Welcome!

Ho‘okahi Haneli, Pōhai Nu‘uhiwa Campbell

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A Brief History of Cades Schutte

9

Success in Teams Michele S. Loudermilk

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Celebrating A Century By Giving Back

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Half a Century of Practice at a CenturyOld Firm Celebrating Jeffrey S. Portnoy’s 50th Anniversary

18

Messages from our Alumni

23

The Aloha Shirt Rebellion Nick Dreher

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A P U B L I C A T I O N F O R T H E F R I E N D S , F A M I LY, A N D C L I E N T S O F C A D E S S C H U T T E L L P

SPRING/SUMMER

2022

Management Committee: Amanda M. Jones Nathan T. Okubo Ryan M. Wilson Cades Schutte Building 1000 Bishop Street, Suite 1200 Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96813 The contents of this newsletter should not be construed as legal advice on any specific fact or circumstance. Its content was prepared by Cades Schutte LLP. It was designed for general information purposes only. Your receipt of such information neither creates an attorneyclient relationship with any Cades Schutte LLP attorney, nor a business relationship with any of its administrators. You should not act or rely on any of the information contained herein without seeking professional legal counsel. Prior results or outcomes referred to in these materials do not in any way suggest or guarantee a similar result in other matters.

© 2022 Cades Schutte LLP. All Rights Reserved.

The comments and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of Cades Schutte LLP or the attorneys or staff of Cades Schutte LLP. A CADES SCHUTTE PUBLICATION | KE KUMU

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WELCOME!

HO‘OKAHI HANELI

100!

In 2022, our firm celebrates its centennial anniversary. It is often said, ‘O ke kahua ma mua, ma hope ke kūkulu. The site first, and then the building. In this issue of ke kumu, we reflect on our firm’s history and the many people who have created a solid foundation here during the past 100 years.

Our alumni, along with our current attorneys and staff, have paved the way with their respected and excellent work, establishing our firm as the premier, full-service law firm of Hawai‘i. We also highlight the charitable work that we have done in our community, including our renewed commitment to serve our community in our Ho‘okupu for 100 Initiative this year. We are honored to have served our clients and community for the past 100 years, and look forward to the next 100 and beyond!

On the Cover Celebrating our founders, the ones who started it all...

Mahalo nui loa Patricia J. McHenry was instrumental in the creation of this newsletter, acting as lead proofreader and editor. Pōhai Nu‘uhiwa Campbell, our resident polyglot, assisted with drafting the forward of this issue.

Feedback?

If you have questions, or would like to see an article on a particular area of law, please let us know!

Submit feedback via email to: feedback@cades. com.

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A Brief History of Cades Schutte

1922

CONTRIBUTORS

Arthur G. Smith and Urban E. Wild founded the firm as Smith & Wild

1929

J. Russell Cades joins the firm from Philadelphia

1932

Eugene Beebe joins the firm, establishing Smith, Wild & Beebe as the preeminent litigation practice in town

1936

Smith, Wild, Beebe & Cades welcomes Hawai‘i’s first true tax attorney (Russell’s brother, Milton Cades) Urban E. Wild and Russell Cades successfully represent the petitioners in McCandless v. United States, 298 U.S. 342 (1936), in which the Supreme Court holds that in condemnation cases, an owner is entitled to present evidence of the most profitable use to which its land can be put in the reasonably near future so that the owner is paid a fair price for the land

1930s

THE GREAT DEPRESSION -- The firm continues to serve its clients, even those who could not pay, by borrowing money to keep expenses paid

1938

Russell Cades represents the Territory of Hawai‘i in Inter-Island Steam Navigation Co. v. Hawaii, 305 U.S. 306 (1938), in which the Supreme Court holds that an Act of Congress does not supersede a territorial law unless the intent to do so is clear. The Shipping Act of 1916 did not deprive the Hawai‘i Public Utilities Commission of all jurisdiction over common carriers in the Territory of Hawai‘i

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1945

WWII -- The firm is appointed by military order to represent civilian contractors in dealings with the Corps of Engineers, Russell Cades deals with military red tape for government contractors

1949

Harold Wright, a graduate of St. Louis High School and the University of Hawai‘i, then Harvard Law School, joins the firm, ultimately specializing in real estate and banking law

Bill Fleming joins the firm’s litigation practice. Leaving Cornell during his third year of law school to fight in World War II, Bill never actually completed law school or passed the bar exam and was later awarded his law degree and admitted to the Hawai‘i bar under special exemption

1952

Fred Schutte, a graduate of Roosevelt High School and the University of Hawai‘i, then the Columbia University School of Law joins the firm

1955

The beginning of the tourism and construction boom. The firm experiences increased workloads and grows from 10 to 17 lawyers from 1959 to 1963

1963

The firm moves into expanded offices in the new First National Bank of Hawaii Building (subsequently named the First Hawaiian Bank Building)

1965

The firm becomes one of the first law firms to adopt an “Aloha Friday” dress code, allowing its attorneys to wear aloha shirts

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1966

Fred Schutte is appointed Managing Partner of the firm

1969

The firm name changes to Cades Cox Schutte Fleming & Wright, then to Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright in 1970

1971

The firm hires its first woman attorney, Bernice Littman. She later also became Hawai‘i’s first female partner at a major law firm

1977

Outgrowing its space (the firm grew from 17 to 44 attorneys from 1968 to 1980), the firm moves into the Bishop Trust Building (now known as the Cades Schutte Building)

1980s

Real estate in Hawai‘i takes a downturn, causing the firm to handle increased mortgage foreclosures, loan workouts, and restructuring business agreements.

The Litigation Department maintains a steady pace, keeping busy with foreclosures, bankruptcies, and other disputes

1982

Partner Richard Griffith obtains a favorable outcome for Aloha Airlines in Aloha Airlines, Inc. v. Director of Taxation of Hawaii, 464 U.S. 7 (1983), in which a unanimous Court rules that the Airport Development Acceleration Act preempts a Hawai‘i statute that imposes a tax on the gross income of airlines operating within the State

1982

The Cades Schutte partnership is the first major firm in Hawai‘i to admit a woman partner. The firm also abandons the managing partner model and substitutes it with an elected policy committee of five partners

1987

Cades Schutte opens its Big Island A CADES SCHUTTE PUBLICATIONRoy | KE KUMU offices, headed by partner A. Vitousek III

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1994

1998

Partner Susan Oki Mollway is confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawai‘i.

She is the first Asian-American woman appointed to the United States federal bench

Partner Susan Oki Mollway successfully argues for the respondent, resulting in a unanimous Supreme Court decision that the Railway Labor Act does not preempt state law causes of action in Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. v. Norris, 512 U.S. 246 (1994)

2002

Partner Richard R. Clifton is confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

2003

The firm is rebranded as Cades Schutte LLP, the Hawai‘i economy begins to recover, and the firm adds lawyers, many lateral hires from Honolulu or the mainland

2013

Cades Schutte opens its Maui office headed by Rick Kiefer

2013

Cades Schutte opens its Kaua‘i office headed by Allison Mizuo Lee, becoming the only law firm in Hawai‘i with offices in all four major Hawai‘i counties 8 KE KUMU | A CADES SCHUTTE PUBLICATION 8 KE KUMU | A CADES SCHUTTE PUBLICATION

2022

Cades Schutte celebrates 100 years

Success in Teams By: Michele S. Loudermilk _________________ mloudermilk@cades.com

It’s no revelation that our world grows more complex every day. In our daily lives, we are constantly adapting to changes in technology, healthcare, transportation, biology, and nature. Inevitably, all of these changes raise legal issues, many of which require proficiency and experience in discrete areas of law. However, business problems are not usually so discrete and often they are a tangled ball of issues to be unraveled. This kind of problem-solving requires people who not only have specialized knowledge, but who can collaborate with others.

Quite a few years have passed since Cades Schutte has had a “name partner” working at the firm. We are individual parts of a greater and more enduring whole. As we celebrate our centennial this year, we honor the lawyers who laid the foundation for our success, and we reinforce our commitment to the generations who will follow us. So, too, we recognize some of the most successful teams in our firm and learn why they are so successful.

CONDOMINIUMS Developable land has always been precious here, and as the first state in the nation to enact a condominium property regime statute in 1961,1 Hawai‘i was at the vanguard. Distilled to their base components, condominiums are made up of just two things: units and common elements. However, anyone who has opened a set of condominium documents will attest that condominiums are not so simple and in fact, can be highly complicated. A condominium is a type of ownership; it is not a type of building or use. Condominiums can be residential, industrial, office, or a combination of some or all; they can be parking stalls, boat slips, stand-alone homes, towers, or invisible “boxes” drawn on a map.

A condominium project regime is created by statute and development of a condominium property regime requires knowledge of the governing laws, as well as an understanding of how the financing, permitting, and purchase and sale processes work. John Love, a partner on our Condominium and Community Development team, says, “I enjoy working on condominium projects, as they require knowledge of multiple practice areas and working closely with clients and other attorneys on our team to envision and create a new community.” It is this appreciation of teamwork that has strengthened and sustained the Cades Schutte condominium practice group for more than 60 years.

Since Doug Prior became one of Hawai‘i’s first experts on condominium law and a creator of Hawai‘i’s first governing condominium documents in the early 1960s, Cades Schutte lawyers have volunteered their time and talents to the recodification of Hawai‘i’s condominium statute.

Over the years, several Cades Schutte partners have served as commissioners on the state Real Estate Commission, which oversees the registration of certain condominium projects, managing agents, and condominium hotel operators, among other condominiumrelated regulatory duties. “Condominium law can be a complex and technical field to navigate, and being a part of this team has given me a phenomenal opportunity to learn from the best,” comments Sachi Hiatt, a senior associate on the Condominium and Community Development team.

CONSTRUCTION DISPUTES Teamwork requires a certain level of trust, and a knowledge of everyone’s strengths and skills. An area in which this is A CADES SCHUTTE PUBLICATION | KE KUMU

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particularly crucial is construction disputes, which often involve multiple parties and can be stressful and complicated. The Cades Schutte construction dispute resolution practice was created and managed by Jim Campbell in the late 1950s, and consistently has had a deep bench of lawyers collaborating to help clients through their conflicts and issues. Problems can range from mechanics’ liens to construction defects, to bidding procedures, and payment disagreements.

A partner in the Construction Law and Litigation group, Lisa Swartzfager notes, “I like the variety in cases – we work on everything from a single home dispute to large condominium disputes. I like that I learn something new about the construction process with every case.”

Jeff Osterkamp, also a partner in the practice group, elaborates on the edge teamwork provides:

One challenging aspect of our practice is that it involves both

One challenging aspect of ourwork. practice thatgives it involves litigation litigation and transactional Butisthat us theboth opportunity and transactional work.

But that gives us the opportunity to benefit from to benefit from a broader perspective than if we were approaching a construction broader perspective than if we were approaching construction just just through the litigation or transactional lens. It also through the litigation or transactional lens.

It also makes it vital for each makes it vital for each of us to rely on the others in our group. We ofeach us to rely the othersemphases, in our group.

We each havethat different emphases, haveondifferent which means we can go to which means that we can go to each other for answers that otherwise each other for answers that otherwise might not be available to us. mavailable to us.

Stacey Gray is an associate in the firm’s Environmental Law practice group, but before attending law school she spent more than seven years as an environmental scientist and nearly three years as a marine fisheries observer. Stacey notes about Pat McHenry, the chair of the practice group, “[s]he has a wealth of knowledge and has been a valuable unofficial mentor in my career. While I feel there is a canyon of knowledge between her experience and mine, she generously provides assistance when I need it.”

In turn, Pat who is Senior Counsel at Cades Schutte, remarks, “Stacey’s 10 years of on-the-ground experience as an environmental consultant in conjunction with her legal knowledge and Lindsay [McAneeley]’s broad knowledge of environmental law, including on high profile matters, have proved invaluable to our environmental practice.” Having our environmental lawyers practicing with a wide spectrum of experience and disciplines provides opportunities for cross-training, and strengthens the core practice at Cades Schutte.

WATER RESOURCES

Very little business can be accomplished in Hawai‘i without running into at least one environmental law. Since Love Canal and then Three Mile Island caught the country’s attention in the 1970s,2 Cades Schutte lawyers have worked to interface with clients, consultants, and varied government agencies on a wide array of federal, state, and county laws and regulations. Consequently, there are few other practices where having collaboration as a core value of our firm is more important.

There is no practice area at Cades Schutte that has a longer history of collaboration, mentorship, and evolution than water law. Since Arthur Smith, one of our founders, focused his practice on Hawai‘i’s water laws, our firm has helped steer clients through the complex and controversial matters they encounter. Dave Schulmeister, currently the senior partner in the practice group, recalls that when he came to Cades Schutte in 1980, J. Russell Cades was then the firm expert on water rights law and took an interest in Dave because he had written a paper in law school about a United States Supreme Court case relating to the unique nature of Hawai‘i law relating to fishponds and navigable waters.3 That interest sealed Dave’s fate, and he has been at Cades Schutte since then.

Two sensitivities of an environmental law practice are the ever-changing laws and regulations, and the combination of legal and scientific terminology embedded in those laws and regulations. Yet, like most practices, a wealth of education comes from experience. A benefit of the Cades Schutte teamwork focus is the ability to develop different skills.

Working in the area of water law requires not only knowing the evolution of common law and statutory laws and regulations but also having an understanding of Hawai‘i’s history and its evolution. Dave notes, “laws governing water in Hawai‘i are complicated and constantly evolving.” A partner in our Water Resources group, Trisha Akagi agrees, adding,

ENVIRONMENTAL

Water rights is a unique area of law in that the cases can span decades and can proceed, sometimes simultaneously, before a number of tribunals including administrative agencies, trial courts, and appellate courts. Dave’s historical case knowledge and experience litigating before all of these tribunals have been valuable resources in my development as a water rights attorney.

Even more invaluable, however, has been Dave’s willingness to allow me to assume more and more responsibility in our cases and his confidence in my ability to do so.

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TRUSTS AND ESTATES The Trusts and Estates group had its origins in 1929, when Charlie Gregory started the practice at Cades Schutte. Today, the attorneys in this group help clients with documents as simple as wills to sophisticated dynasty trusts, they help trustees through the trust administration process, and they assist in dispute resolution proceedings. The ability to connect with people and a talent for explaining legal concepts in ways that are easy to understand are essential skills for this group.

Pōhai Nu‘uhiwa Campbell, an associate in this department, appreciates the ways her department works as a team because she says it helps her development as an attorney. “Working with experienced attorneys has helped accelerate my learning because I am able to receive lots of feedback in order to improve and develop my skills quickly.” Pōhai adds that collaboration has also grown her confidence because she can participate in client meetings and be involved in complex matters that give her new opportunities and broader exposure to an array of issues.

As Summer Shelverton, a partner in the Trusts and Estates Department says,

I think collaboration, mentoring, and continuity are the keys to success in our expanding Trusts and Estates Department.

Being able to work with and learn from Rhonda [Griswold], with her vast knowledge and extensive experience, and then pass that knowledge down to new associates, is not only immensely rewarding, but also ensures we are able to fulfill our clients’ needs for this generation and the next.

The essence of estate planning is examining what one has and contemplating how to preserve or build on it for the future. That is the same analysis that brings Cades Schutte to our centennial; careful planning and intentional collaboration.

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE DEFENSE Trisha Nishimoto, a partner in the Medical Malpractice Defense group, observes that this niche practice area demands collaboration because of the volume, the specialized nature of the practice, and its steep learning curve. At Cades Schutte, the attorneys in this practice group defend physicians, hospitals, and other medical providers in disciplinary actions before licensing boards, alternate dispute resolution and litigation proceedings, and insurance and peer review matters.

Although any type of adversarial proceeding is stressful, the inherent nature of the allegations and the harm make malpractice claims and proceedings much more so. Trisha says that daily collaboration has “strengthened our clients’ trust in our expertise because it guarantees that the knowledge and experience of our senior attorneys will be passed on to junior partners and associates who strive to practice for decades to come.”

Indeed, the variety of perspectives, whether coming from differences in generations, genders, cultures, or life experiences, has optimized problem solving and widened the bandwidth for creative solutions.

And, a life lesson from Jeff Portnoy, the practice group chair, to Trisha – one that we would all do well to learn - is “slow down and enjoy the ride.”

LEASING Working with leases is an integral part of any real estate legal practice in Hawai‘i. Leases can be for residential, office, commercial, industrial, or agricultural uses. Because they can cover space within buildings, land, land and buildings, condominium units, and portions of planned developments, the preparation and negotiation of leases also requires knowledge about title, zoning, and other land use laws. “Leasing work runs the gamut from small retail space leases to complex long-term ground leases, so collaboration is inherently useful,” explains Finance and Real Estate associate Imran Naeemullah.

Partner Lisa Ayabe adds that benefits of collaborating include efficient problem solving, improved perspectives on issues, and attorney retention. She says, “I enjoy working with Michele [Loudermilk], Lori [Wilke], and Imran because they welcome and support a collaborative approach to client service.”

Over the decades, Cades Schutte attorneys have had extensive experience with leases, from the perspective of both the tenant and the landlord. Many large landowners in Hawai‘i enter into commercial ground leases for their properties, and for many years Cades Schutte has served as counsel in some of the largest ground lease transactions in the state. The attorneys in the Finance and Real Estate practice group meet regularly to share information, and in fact during the COVID-19 pandemic, a small task force was formed to track and analyze trends among landlords and tenants, and lease language such as force majeure clauses. The ability to engage on current topics and hone areas of expertise is vital to maintaining excellence in a practice area.

QUIET TITLE AND PARTITION The Cades Schutte lawyers who handle quiet title and partition matters often work with title companies, family members, genealogists, language translators, appraisers, and real estate brokers. For them, the ability to coordinate and interface with numerous people having different goals and interests is essential. When all the owners of real estate cannot be identified, an action to quiet title is required. If the owners of real estate cannot agree on how to share or own their real estate, a partition action may be needed. Partner Keoni Shultz says, “[t]his firm has been active in the quiet title area from its beginnings and it is great to collaborate with so many of our long term clients who have been trusting us with their title issues on lands throughout the islands for a century.”

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Many title problems date back to the 1850s when the Māhele occurred.

In addition, Hawai‘i’s laws relating to title are a unique combination of western laws of inheritance and laws unique to Hawai‘i as a monarchy and then a territory. As a result, this is a specialized practice that benefits from good mentoring and the sharing of acquired knowledge.

Senior Counsel Philip J. Leas, who chairs this practice group, remarks that when he trains new lawyers in this area, he advises them to “show courtesy and some understanding of [people’s] genealogy from what you have already figured out.”

CORPORATE & BUSINESS The corporate and business practice at Cades Schutte is one of our oldest.

It was started by Urban E. Wild, one of our founders, and the department was later chaired for many years by C. Frederick Schutte, who was followed by Gunner Schull. While our firm regularly welcomes new business clients, we also have had the privilege of representing a number of clients for many decades. This privilege and the relationships we have forged and appreciate owe themselves in great

Keoni notes,

Starting with my introduction and training in the quiet title area

“Starting with my introduction and training in the quiet title area around around 2005, Phil has been there as a teacher and collaborator for the year 2005, Phil has been there as a teacher and collaborator for me me and we have handled together well over fifty quiet title cases and have handled fiftyjoined quiet title casesfour big and bigweand small.

Sincetogether Mauna well Keaover [Trask] us about small.

Since Mauna Kea [Trask] joined us about four years ago, I have years ago, I have endeavored to work with him in this area endeavored to work withtohim this area in a similar to how in a similar fashion howin Phil mentored me, fashion and given Philthementored me, and given the limited amount of attorneys limited number of attorneys in Hawai‘i who regularly in Hawai‘i whoand regularly practice andthe trulyquiet understand the itquiet practice truly understand title area, title have another attorney is area, greatittois great have to another CadesCades attorney from from the the next to work with. nextgeneration generation.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TECHNOLOGY Some of the practice teams at Cades Schutte are large enough to be midsize law firms of their own. Within the Intellectual Property and Technology practice group however, just two are licensed to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Out of only 36 licensed in the entire state though, this is an admirable ratio. “Martin [Hsia] is a very knowledgeable and highly respected intellectual property practitioner who is always striving to get the best results for his clients. It’s a great privilege to have learned from him and to continue collaborating and practicing together as partners,” says Keri Ann Krzykowski, one of those two lawyers.

As computers and electronic communication have taken over our lives and duplication of ideas and inventions have become so much easier, protecting intellectual property is an indispensable component of any business model. Cades Schutte’s Intellectual Property and Technology group helps clients with patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, anti-counterfeiting seizures, and unfair competition. Martin Hsia, the chair of this practice group, says of Keri:

Two heads are better than one. Working with someone else who “Two are betterorthan one. Working has heads more knowledge experience than mewith in asomeone particularelse areawho is has more knowledge or experience than me in a particular area is more efficient for me and more cost-effective for the client because more efficient for me and for theelse client, it avoids reinventing the more wheel.cost-effective Further, someone maybecause have it aavoids reinventing the wheel.

Further, someone else may have a different perspective on a matter than me, and considering different onincreases a matter the thanquality me, and considering different differentperspective perspectives of our work. perspectives increases the quality of our work.”

Many times, work in this area requires not just knowledge of the law, but creativity and awareness of trends, and cultural or generational shifts. This is not an area for people who block out a changing world!

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part to the collaborative spirit of our lawyers. “As a young attorney, working with Ryan [Hamaguchi] and David [Banks] has shown me that great lawyering requires more than just a substantive understanding of the law; Ryan’s and David’s longstanding relationships with our clients are key to their deep understanding of our clients’ businesses,” notes Wil Morrison, an associate in the Corporate & Business Department.

Hawai‘i’s special position between the continental U.S. and Asia makes it perfectly situated for domestic and international business.

Cades Schutte business clients are not only Hawai‘i-grown, but they come from the mainland U.S. and all over the world, so the ability to adapt is helpful. Ryan Hamaguchi, a partner in the Corporate & Business Department, says:

I’ve had the privilege of learning from seasoned attorneys like Dave, Marc [Rousseau], and Dan [Devaney], who each possess “I’ve had the privilege of learning from seasoned attorneys like Dave, unique expertise and lawyering styles, to help me hone my area Marc [Rousseau], and Dan [Devaney], who each possess unique of practice and identity as a corporate attorney. Now as a new expertise and lawyering styles, to help me hone my area of practice corporate partner, I feel a strong sense of responsibility to “pay it and identity as a corporate attorney. Now as a new corporate partner, I forward” to help the next generation develop its craft and ensure feel a strong sense of responsibility to “pay it forward” to help the next our firm’s corporate practice continues to serve clients’ needs into generation develop their craft and ensure our firm’s corporate practice the future. continues to serve clients’ needs into the future.”

Because many clients come to us when they are just starting their businesses, we have the opportunity to help them and watch as they grow over the years. The Corporate & Business practice ranges from helping clients choose an entity, to expanding their businesses, to planning for the future, or to transitioning to a next generation. In much the same way, the teamwork and cooperation that are inherent at Cades Schutte follow the same path.

“from the ground up.” Since our founding never have three or more lawyers left to form another firm, and we strive for consensus even when it is not required. As part of our centennial planning, we asked retired attorneys about their memories from Cades Schutte. Among the responses from attorneys at all levels of retirement were “helping each other unselfishly”, readiness to help “other Cades attorneys regardless of personal workload”, and “sharing of work and credit.”

“If we have seen further, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.”4 We look with gratitude to the attorneys who paved the way before us, who have nurtured and taught us, and who set collaboration, with integrity and excellence, as core firm values. It is appropriate to fortify and renew these values with intention and purpose for today’s Cades Schutte, and for the generations to come. For while we celebrate the past 100 years, we greet with excitement and confidence the 100 to come.

Not many law firms are so fortunate as to commemorate 100 years, and we are immensely proud to have served Hawai‘i for a century. Our strength and stability are not by chance, though. We embrace diversity, we emphasize collegiality, and we focus on developing our attorneys

Endnotes 1 Act 180, Session Laws of Hawai‘i, 1961 (codified as Chapter 170A, Revised Laws of Hawai‘i).

2 “Historical Environmental Topics”, United States Environmental Protection Agency, April 23, 2021, https://www.epa.gov/history/ historical-environmental-topics 3 Kaiser Aetna v. United States, 444 U.S. 164 (1979).

4 Isaac Newton.

Michele S. Loudermilk (Partner) has practiced for more than 30 years in the areas of real estate transactions, commercial leasing, and financing, earning a reputation for collaboration and problemsolving.

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CELEBRATING A CENTURY

BY GIVING BACK

Cades Schutte has always made giving back to the community a priority. This year, in celebration of its centennial year, the firm is starting The Hoʻokupu for 100 Initiative led by partner Trever K. Asam. To honor our commitment to serving the community, the firm will be coordinating and sponsoring pro bono and volunteer activities throughout the year. For attorneys and staff that provide at least 10 hours of volunteer or pro bono service through these activities, the firm will donate $100 to the 501(c)(3) organization of the individual’s choice.

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For our first volunteer activity in February, approximately forty Cades Schutte attorneys and staff gathered at Kailua Beach for a beach cleanup sponsored by Sustainable Coastlines. Stacey F. Gray and Caitlin M. Moon took the lead in coordinating the event, and our volunteers worked diligently sifting through the sand to find microplastics and waste in the naupaka plants along the beach.

In addition, for all of March, Cades Schutte attorneys staffed the Hawaii State Bar Association Legal Lines. This program runs every Wednesday evening, with attorneys answering a telephone hotline and providing free legal information to the public (not legal advice).

Mallory T. Martin served as the organizer for this year’s Legal Lines, and attorneys Pōhai Nu‘uhiwa Campbell, Jarrett A. Dempsey, Sachi E. Hiatt, Bryce M. Nakamura, Molly A. Olds, Reyn S. P. Ono, W. Davis Prendergast, Nicole K. C. Yamane, Nathan C. Yang, Janine M. Yim, and Michael Soon Fah participated.

Please stay tuned for additional updates on our pro bono and charitable endeavors throughout 2022!

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Half a Century of Practice at a Century-Old Firm C

elebrating 50 years of practice this year, Jeffrey S. Portnoy, a partner of Cades Schutte’s Litigation Group, has known the century-old firm for half of its history, a feat that only a handful of other currently practicing attorneys have. He has served many roles at the firm, including serving on its Management Committee and as Chair of the Litigation Department.

Despite spending his entire legal career in Hawai‘i, he was not born or raised here. He was originally from the East Coast (New York) and is a graduate of Duke University School of Law in North Carolina. During his first year at Duke, he was in the law library with a friend discussing fun places to clerk for the summer, and they settled on Hawai‘i.

At the time he knew nothing about Hawai‘i beyond what he had seen on Hawaii Five-0.

They turned to Martindale Hubbell, the directory which listed all of the law firms in the U.S. and found four law firms that had six or more lawyers. Jeff and his friend arbitrarily split the four firms up and each wrote a letter to two firms, one of Jeff’s was Smith, Wilde, Beebe & Cades (now Cades Schutte). The letter expressed Jeff’s interest in becoming a first-year law clerk, however, he received a reply soon after thanking him for his interest but explaining that the firm did not hire first-year law students.

Jeff had thought this was the end of his endeavor to go to Hawai‘i until two years later.

He was exploring options post-graduation: he was being considered for several federal

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court clerkships in North Carolina, he had job offers in public defender and legal aid offices in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Augusta, Georgia, and he was working on a presidential campaign for the former Governor of North Carolina Terry Sanford.

When he went home to Long Island, New York for the holidays, his father gave him a letter he received from the firm asking if he was still interested.

“This is a joke,” Jeff says he originally thought and threw the letter in the garbage, but his father convinced him to reconsider and at least write back to be polite. Jeff replied to the letter saying he was still interested, and then came home to North Carolina to find a job offer in the mail.

It was a complete shock to Jeff because the firm didn’t have anything from him other than a first-year resume. He asked his classmates who had taken trips paid for by big law firms (which Jeff had not done since he was only applying to public defenders and legal aid clinics), who told him he should try to get a free trip to Hawai‘i.

Jeff called Bill Swope, who was the hiring partner at the time, and started to explain that he was Jeff Portnoy from Duke and had received the firm’s offer letter. Bill immediately stopped Jeff and said, “Mr. Portnoy, if you’re looking for a free trip, we aren’t giving any.” He then explained why Jeff received the offer. The firm did its standard recruiting at Harvard, Stanford, Yale, and other “prestigious” law schools.

They invited certain applicants to Hawai‘i, but none accepted a job offer. They discussed next whether they should go through a second list or look at the resumes they’ve received in the past. They decided to do the latter, and offered Jeff a job.

presidential campaign (Sanford lost the during his 50-year career that he would North Carolina primary). highlight, he says that it is difficult to go back and chose from the hundreds and Jeff was still waiting for responses from hundreds of matters he has worked on. the clerkships, but he needed to make a He has argued many cases in the Hawai‘i decision, so he accepted the offer (knowing Supreme Court and 9th Circuit Court of he would decline if he got a clerkship). In Appeals. Most important to the public are the end, he did get two federal district his media cases including defamation, clerkships, but they would not start until the privacy, and public access to the courts and following January, and Jeff did not want to government meetings and records, but also wait that long (“bar trips” after law school significant decisions in other areas including were not as common back then) so he insurance, personal injury, professional declined the clerkships and came out to liability, commercial disputes.

Hawai‘i.

Outside of the office, Jeff was President When Jeff arrived, he was not what the firm of the Board of Directors for Manoa Valley thought he was from his first-year resume, Theatre (MVT) for over 25 years. During this and he had little in common with the other time, the theater progressed from a broken lawyers at the firm. His second and third down early turn of the 20th-century old years at Duke were a time of significant wooden church to a $1 million state of the political and social changes, and Jeff came art modern black box theater that entertains to a Cades firm that was quite conservative several thousand people every year by and represented established clients like presenting Broadway and off-Broadway banks, insurance companies, and big plays and musicals. MVT has provided an corporations. Nevertheless, many of the opportunity for hundreds of local actors, older attorneys took him under their wing designers, directors, and technicians to including Bill Fleming, Russell Cades, and pursue their passion or advocation, several Fred Schutte. of whom have gone on to professional theater in Seattle, San Francisco, Los One example: there was a mandatory Angeles, and Broadway. department rotation at the time: each lawyer was required to spend time in each of the For 27 years, Jeff was also the radio color four departments before the firm decided the commentator for the University of Hawai‘i attorney’s practice (Litigation, Real Estate, Men’s Basketball team. He broadcast Tax, and Probate). He was initially assigned literally hundreds of basketball games, as to the Real Estate Department, it was not well as hosted a weekly basketball college a good fit. “Reading loan documents, I’d show, a post-game show, and a coaches rather put my finger on the stove” he says. show, and he continues to do a once-aHe always knew he wanted to be a litigator. week radio show on college basketball.

Over the decades, the firm has gone through a very positive transformation.

Bernice Littman, the firm’s first woman attorney, had joined a few months before Jeff. They were followed by additional likeminded and diverse associates leading to improved compensation, family leave, partnership admission, and a recognition of the firm’s responsibility to better reflect the community in which it practiced. “The firm changed and became an interesting, fun place to work,” Jeff says.

Jeff explained that he didn’t know anything about Hawai‘i but Bill told him he could have a week to decide. He started considering the position more seriously, talking to Terry Sanford (the North Carolina primary was coming up in May), who told him he would be crazy not to take the position, and that if he did end up getting the nomination he would fly Jeff back to work on his When asked if there are any specific cases

As the longest-tenured partner at Cades Schutte, Jeff has certainly had an illustrious career. Although those first few years were challenging both for the firm and him, he says he never regretted coming to Hawai‘i and practicing at Cades Schutte. “I’m the longest active partner,” he chuckles, “and it probably will never happen again. Nobody’s gonna work 50 years, let alone at one place.”

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MESSAGES FROM OUR ALUMNI As we celebrate 100 years of service and the growth of our firm from just two attorneys, our founders Arthur G. Smith and Urban E. Wild, to over 80 attorneys today, we are proud to remain connected with our alumni who have come and gone. Many have left to become judges, work in-house at leading organizations, or enjoy retirement. We took some time to ask them about their time at Cades Schutte, what they have been doing since they left our firm, and any messages they have for future generations.

James H. Ashford 23 1/2 years (March 1990 to September 2013) What are you doing post-Cades Schutte?

I have been a judge for the last seven-plus years, initially in District Court and now in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit.

What is your fondest memory from your time at Cades Schutte?

What makes Cades Schutte “Cades Schutte” or, put differently, what is that “Cades Schutte” quality all the attorneys and staff have in common?

I believe there is a genuine commitment to quality and integrity, top to bottom. That results in superior work product and typically satisfied clients.

I sure liked talking with the “old timers” among the nonlegal staff.

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Kawena Beaupré 8 years (2006 to 2014) What are you doing post-Cades Schutte?

Hawai’i Community Foundation, Senior Vice President & General Counsel.

What makes Cades Schutte “Cades Schutte” or, put differently, what is that “Cades Schutte” quality all the attorneys and staff have in common?

Exceptional work ethic and drive.

What is your fondest memory from your time at Cades Schutte?

Summer Associate trip to the Big Island.

If you refer friends and family to Cades Schutte, why?

Top attorneys in the state who are experts in their field and care about their clients.

Nick C. Dreher 40 years (1973 to 2013) What are you doing post-Cades Schutte?

Serving on the boards of three non-profit organizations, traveling and enjoying time with my wife, Koren, and my four children and eight grandchildren.

What makes Cades Schutte “Cades Schutte” or, put differently, what is that “Cades Schutte” quality all the attorneys and staff have in common?

A willingness to help each other unselfishly.

What is your fondest memory from your time at Cades Schutte?

Do you have any advice or a message for current attorneys and staff as the firm enters the next 100 years?

Chicken hekka parties in the lounge with the money from the coke machine, time spent with mentors and co-workers, playing hearts at lunchtime, softball games on the weekends, plate lunches on the grass by the Iolani Palace bandstand at Friday performances of the Royal Hawaiian Band, and pau hana get-togethers at Arthurs.

Be proud of our history but don’t be afraid to change for the better.

Gino L. Gabrio 37 years (1981 to 2018) What are you doing post-Cades Schutte?

Exploring the mainland U.S. and Canada by small motorhome/ van six months per year. Planning trips and designing vans the remaining six months. Enjoying four grandkids, walking and riding my bike and Peloton.

Do you have any advice or a message for current attorneys and staff as the firm enters the next 100 years?

Accept only the best of everything.

What is your fondest memory from your time at Cades Schutte?

Meeting Bill Swope and Doug Prior at my 1980 interview in North Beach San Francisco. Bill still hired me even though he had to teach me how to twirl pasta with my fork and spoon.

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Mark A. Hazlett 37 years (June 1973 to June 2010) What are you doing post-Cades Schutte?

Left with wife Dorothy in June 2010 to sail around world.

Red Sea piracy caused us to go to Europe from New Zealand.

We then spent three years in the Mediterranian and came back in July 2015. Dorothy was then found to have cancer of the appendix. After four years of home care and hospice she died two years ago. I now enjoy the Cades retiree group, lots of exercise, hiking, adult enrichment courses, grandchild help, and spending time with my friend Susan Mollway.

What is the biggest change you saw during your time at the firm?

Technology-- In early days lots of mainland travel and broad authority to act; less oversight by unqualified mainland firms and less work done by them. No fax, email, computer

research, internet, word processing programs, etc. Many attorneys did not competently type. Work expected on Saturdays or at least morning. Many spouses stay-at-home made working too much easier.

What makes Cades Schutte “Cades Schutte” or, put differently, what is that “Cades Schutte” quality all the attorneys and staff have in common?

Collegiality, professional development, ethics, sharing of work and credit. A sense many clients were an inheritance and belonged to the firm. Attorneys like Russell Cades, Milton Cades, Fred Schutte, Dick Griffith, Jimmy Campbell, etc. had interests outside the law and did not expect youngers to spend all their lives on time sheets.

Edward Kemper 3 years (1968 to 1971) What are you doing post-Cades Schutte?

If you refer friends and family to Cades Schutte, why?

Started my practice with other attorneys in a firm which focused on personal injury and other areas.

Cades Schutte has specialized attorneys that I refer clients to.

What is your fondest memory from your time at Cades Schutte?

Do you have any advice or a message for current attorneys and staff as the firm enters the next 100 years?

Tax lunches at the Pacific Club. An attorney would speak on a topic to the group during the lunch.

Keep up the good work.

Bernice Littman 43 years (1971 to 2014) What are you doing post-Cades Schutte?

In-house counsel for National Housing Corporation of Hawaii, Inc. Taking one course per semester at UH. Picking up my grandson Jaaz at school. Pilates three times a week.

What is your fondest memory from your time at Cades Schutte?

There is not a single one. Becoming a partner was exciting.

Working with so many clever and interesting people was the greatest pleasure.

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What makes Cades Schutte “Cades Schutte” or, put differently, what is that “Cades Schutte” quality all the attorneys and staff have in common?

I’m not sure there is anything “all” have in common. Most have a devotion to providing the best client service.

If you refer friends and family to Cades Schutte, why?

I know the talents of more Cades Schutte people than those of any other law firm. The partners who hired me in 1971 assured me that Cades Schutte is the best law firm in Hawai‘i and I have never had reason to doubt them.

Stan M. Kuriyama 15 years (part time in 1977, then full time from 1978 to 1992) What are you doing post-Cades Schutte?

Currently retired. Formerly, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. What is your fondest memory from your time at Cades Schutte?

The really nice going away dinner they had for me when I left the firm. Didn’t realize they were so happy to see me go!

What makes Cades Schutte “Cades Schutte” or, put differently, what is that “Cades Schutte” quality all the attorneys and staff have in common?

their lawyers to perform accordingly. More importantly, the lawyers themselves expect and demand that they personally perform at the very highest level in the state.

Do you have any advice or a message for current attorneys and staff as the firm enters the next 100 years?

Demand the highest quality of legal work from your lawyers — do not accept or settle for anything less. Keep in close touch with the needs and preferences of your clients.

Watch your billings to be sure they’ll be viewed as fair and reasonable from the client’s perspective. Loyalty to, and mutual support of, one another, are important qualities in a strong and successful law firm.

Providing the highest quality of legal representation. Cades Schutte recruits the best of the best legal talent, and expects

April Lee 3 years (2007 to 2010) What are you doing post-Cades Schutte?

Do you have any advice or a message for current attorneys and staff as the firm enters the next 100 years?

In-house counsel at First Hawaiian Bank.

What is the biggest change you saw during your time at the firm?

Associates allowed to split time between different legal practice groups to allow younger attorneys to explore other areas beyond their assigned area of practice.

The Cades Schutte culture is a strategic asset that should remain constant in terms of maintaining a level of professional excellence beyond compare and also evolve over time to meet the needs of the firm’s internal stakeholders and clients in order to ensure the firm’s continued longevity for another 100 years.

If you refer friends and family to Cades Schutte, why?

Solid professional reputation for having attorneys with incomparable legal expertise, who are also genuinely good people to work with.

Caryn H. Okinaga 10 years (September 2003 to April 2013) What are you doing post-Cades Schutte?

I am currently the Director of Commercial Operations at American Savings Bank.

What makes Cades Schutte “Cades Schutte” or, put differently, what is that “Cades Schutte” quality all the attorneys and staff have in common?

Intelligent, hard working, and for the most part, humble.

What is your fondest memory from your time at Cades Schutte?

The smart, hard working, ethical attorneys who were all great people. My fondest memory includes the lasting relationships.

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Eric N. Roose 10 years (1987 Summer Associate, then 1989 to 1999) What are you doing post-Cades Schutte?

I have held positions at several international law firms: White & Case, Tokyo Office 1999 - 2011 (Partner/Head of Taxation Group for APAC Region), Morrison & Foerster, Tokyo Office 2011 - 2013 (Partner), and Singapore Office 2013 - 2015 (Partner and Head of Tax Group for APAC Region), Withersworldwide 2015 - Current (Managing Partner Tokyo Office, Head of International Tax Group for APAC Region).

opportunity to engage in small chat with Harold and Russell around the coffee maker. Two perfect gentlemen, who despite their stature, always took the time to give you a warm smile and say hello to a young associate.

Do you have any advice or a message for current attorneys and staff as the firm enters the next 100 years?

Count yourself very lucky to be there. It truly is a special firm in a very special place.

What is your fondest memory from your time at Cades Schutte?

I shared secretaries with Harold Wright as a junior associate on the 15th floor. Russell Cades would still come to work every day in his office on that floor. It provided me the

Sheree N. Stewart Approximately 9 years (2002 to 2011) What are you doing post-Cades Schutte?

Post-Cades Schutte, I worked for 3 plus years at a boutique law firm in Honolulu, then went in house as General Counsel to JN Group, and now am General Counsel to MacNaughton Inc. What makes Cades Schutte “Cades Schutte” or, put differently, what is that “Cades Schutte” quality all the attorneys and staff have in common?

When I was at Cades Schutte, the firm was proud of the fact that nearly all of its partners had begun their careers at Cades Schutte as summer associates. There was a certain comfort in knowing that those who I worked with and for had all come up through the ranks at Cades Schutte and had

shared that same experience and path. Cades Schutte breeds excellent lawyers, in large part because the associates are nurtured and mentored by partners who were once in their shoes. I still consider those partners at Cades Schutte who I began my career with to be my “lawyer-parents” - they raised me as a lawyer and passed their knowledge and experience down with generosity and a sincere desire to make me the best lawyer I could be. I remain very thankful to these people today, they know who they are.

Do you have any advice or a message for current attorneys and staff as the firm enters the next 100 years?

I am proud to be a Cades Schutte alumni, and to have been raised as a lawyer by and amongst the best. Wishing the firm continued success for the next 100 years!

Larry T. Takumi 37 years (1973 Summer Clerk, then 1974 to 2011, taking a year leave in 1974 to clerk for Federal District Court Judge C. Martin Pence) What is the biggest change you saw during your time at the What makes Cades Schutte “Cades Schutte” or, put firm? differently, what is that “Cades Schutte” quality all the attorneys and staff have in common?

Becoming more racially diverse. I was the third Asian American to make partner, but in January 1981 I was the only It’s been ten years since I retired, but our office has long Asian American partner and there were six Asian American been respected for its “creative thinking, legal reasoning, associates among 51 attorneys. Look at the firm today. It’s superb drafting and practicality.” so much more diverse with excellence.

What is your fondest memory from your time at Cades Schutte?

The camaraderie of the attorneys and many members of the support staff.

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By: Nick Dreher _________________ Retired Cades Schutte Partner

Behind the yellow stucco facade of the First Hawaiian Bank Building, widely regarded as one of the ugliest in Honolulu, a rebellion was brewing. It was October 1974, and the weather was even hotter and more humid than usual for this time of year. Three floors of the building were home to Cades, Schutte, Fleming & Wright, one of the largest and oldest law firms in town. Ever since its founding, in 1922, the firm had adhered to a strict dress code - suits and ties every day except on Saturdays when the men (and, for the first 50 years of its existence, it was only men) were allowed to remove their jackets. However, ever since the beginning of the widespread promotion of the wearing of locally produced aloha shirts in the mid-sixties, more and more local businesses were allowing, even encouraging, their employees to wear aloha shirts - first on “Aloha Fridays” and during the summer months and later on any day of the year. The last bastions of formal business dress codes were the Honolulu law firms, including Cades Schutte. By the muggy October 1974, most of the 14 associates in the firm felt they had suffered enough and that a change to the dress code was overdue. The ringleaders of the aloha shirt rebellion, probably including Michael Nabi, the firm’s foremost iconoclast, spread the word that there would be a secret meeting of the associates after work to prepare a formal statement of their demands that could be presented to Fred Schutte, the firm’s managing partner. Mr. Schutte was then the leading corporate lawyer in Hawai‘i, justifiably famous for being a master of business strategy. He was about to provide a lesson in strategy to the aloha shirt rebels. Early that afternoon, Mary Otsuka, one of the firm’s receptionists, announced on the PA system (this was long before email) that there would be an associate’s meeting at 4:30 in the lounge, that attendance was mandatory, and that Mr. Schutte would chair the meeting and provide the agenda. Somehow he had gotten wind of the secret associates meeting. When we assembled in the lounge that afternoon, wondering what to expect, Mr. Schutte distributed the meeting agenda, with only one item - “the unacceptable decline in associates’ billable hours.” We were all roundly chastised for our disappointing lack of productivity and urged to correct the situation immediately.

A week later another mandatory meeting was called by Mr. Schutte at which he announced that the partners of the firm had decided to modify the firm’s dress code and that, henceforth, except for court appearances, all attorneys would be encouraged to wear aloha shirts instead of dress shirts and ties. He also informed us that, until further notice, associates’ meetings would be held monthly and that billable hours would be number one on the agenda for each meeting. Although it didn’t seem like it at the time, later most of us came to view the aloha shirt rebellion as a win-win event.

The associates got a relaxed dress code and Mr. Schutte got to remind us, once again, who was really in charge.

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Cades Schutte Building 1000 Bishop Street, Suite 1200 Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96813

Leading the way since 1922