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

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 litigation and transactional work. But that gives us the opportunity to benefit from One challenging aspect of our practice is that it involves both litigation and transactional work. But that gives us the opportunity to benefit from a broader perspective than if we were approaching a broader perspective than if we were approaching construction just construction 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 of us to rely on the others in our group. We each have different emphases, each have different emphases, which means that 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. ENVIRONMENTAL

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. 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

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,

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.

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.”

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.”

Keoni notes,

“Starting with my introduction and training in the quiet title area around the year 2005, Phil has been there as a teacher and collaborator for me and we have handled together well over fifty quiet title cases big and small. Since Mauna Kea [Trask] joined us about four years ago, I have Starting with my introduction and training in the quiet title area around 2005, Phil has been there as a teacher and collaborator for me and we have handled together well over fifty quiet title cases big and small. Since Mauna Kea [Trask] joined us about four years ago, I have endeavored to work with him in this area endeavored to work with him in this area in a similar fashion to how in a similar fashion to how Phil mentored me, and given Phil mentored me, and given the limited amount of attorneys in the limited number of attorneys in Hawai‘i who regularly Hawai‘i who regularly practice and truly understand the quiet practice and truly understand the quiet title area, it title area, it is great to have another Cades attorney from the is great to have another Cades attorney from the next generation to work with. next 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 has more knowledge or experience than me in a particular area is more efficient for me and more cost-effective for the client, because it avoids reinventing the wheel. Further, someone else may have a different perspective on a matter than me, and considering different perspectives increases the quality of our work.” Two heads are better than one. Working with someone else who has more knowledge or experience than me in a particular area is more efficient for me and more cost-effective for the client because it avoids reinventing the wheel. Further, someone else may have a different perspective on a matter than me, and considering different 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! 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

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

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 “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.

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.