 Most of think tech Hawaii's law across the sea program. Today we're going across the sea of life and law and talk with Levi Hoakano, the new president of the Hawaii State Bar Association for 2021. Levi joined the bar in 2006. And he's always been involved in various aspects of the Hawaii State Bar Association. I've asked Levi to discuss his background, his role as the president of the Hawaii State Bar Association, recent events in Hawaii and the United States and the future of the legal profession. First of all, I mean, that's a lot of talk to talk about. Welcome. Good to see you, Levi. How are you? Good to see you, Mark. Let's start with why did you become a lawyer? How did that, you know, how did that happen? And is there anything in your personal or family background that motivated you to the legal profession? Thanks for having me, Mark. You know, honestly, I did not have any kind of previous experience in the law after college, after undergrad. I went to Loyola Marama University for undergrad and then came back home to get my master's at University of Hawaii in public administration. And during that program, there was a section where we covered the law, a module on the law. And the instructor was very inspired about how the law works and what you can accomplish through the law. And so that instructor, that was Jerry Gubin. Oh, okay. Yeah, sure. We talked that section. And it started the process of me looking into, going into and learning more about the law. I spoke with some of my financial aid advisors for the school and they encouraged me to take the LSAT, walked me through the process and the rest is history. I applied only to UH. I figured if I was going to go to law school, it's going to be at home or not at all. So that was kind of the beginnings of everything. And one of the best decisions I made, I really enjoyed it. So you kind of got into law through another educational goal and you got interested in it. And now you're practicing law. What kind of law do you practice? So right now I'm the chief of client services for the army in Hawaii. So I oversee three different offices for the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate here. So I have my client, well, within the client services office, we have our legal assistance office. And in that office, we handle family law, landlord, tenant, estate planning and military administrative matters, all civil stuff. We do not handle any kind of criminal matters. And we assist soldiers, their dependents and retirees and not just army soldiers. We also assist a Navy personnel, Air Force personnel if they come in for assistance as well. And then we have our special victims council office where we assist victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, sexual harassment. And we help them to navigate through the uniform code military justice process, walk them step by step along the way and making sure that their rights are preserved throughout the entire process. And then I also have my tort claims division where we handle army claims. Wow, so, and that might explain why when I went to your law firm website the other day, I saw this notice up there, a beautiful beach scene but then saying that basically you're not taking any new clients, you're currently at service with the Department of Army. Now, how did you get involved with the Army? I mean, that doesn't seem, I mean, you went to law school, I mean, your path, your voyage across the sea of law has been kind of, you went off in different directions. Now, how did you get to the Army? So I grew up knowing about the Army because both of my grandfathers served in the Army in World War II. One, my Japanese side grandfather, he served for the 442nd in Europe. And then my Hawaiian grandfather served in the Pacific. And so I grew up knowing that they served in the Army and they didn't really speak about it much but I knew that it was there. And in high school, so I went to commandment schools for high school and back then we had a mandatory JROTC program for all males. So for two years, we had to participate in the JROTC program. And that's where I really got to know kind of the ins and outs of basics of the Army. You know, it's JROTC, so it's not fully grueling program as opposed to going to actual basics. But that's where I really got to learn about the concepts and the background and history of military service. So after law school, I decided to commission with the Hawaii Army National Guard as a judge advocate. So in 2009, I commissioned as a first lieutenant, went off to my basics classes in 2010 to become a judge advocate for the Hawaii Army National Guard. And during that time, I took an active duty tour with the 25th Infantry Division of the Schofield and served just about three years on active duty up here. And that really opened the door to serving as a DA civilian, Department of the Army civilian here, which is where I currently sit. And when you were on active duty, where did that take you? Were you just stationed here in Hawaii? Just stationed here in Hawaii. I was just stationed here in Hawaii with the 25th of its Schofield. So it wasn't a deployment or anything. I did do a short tour down in Quasul and Atoll in Micronesia for a couple of months to advise the garrison commander out there. That was a very interesting experience because just anybody can go through the Quasul and very interesting issues and way of life out there. And so then, I mean, I can see how different things have come up in your life and have had you going towards different areas. How did you get involved with the Hawaii State Bar Association? I mean, I understand all lawyers are members, but I've seen you a lot with the Hawaii State Bar and various activities. How did that happen? So, okay, so the blunt answer is that I was kind of middle of the pack, upper middle of the pack of my law school class. Definitely wasn't an academic standout, but I was doing all right. But so in order to kind of help myself along the way for professional development, I want to get involved in some of the activities that lawyers get involved in. So while a student, I got to know Lynn Flanagan, who was the executive director of the bar at the time. I had great mentors in Lynn and Caroline Lee, Lori Dorchicki, were the associate deans of the law school at the time and really got to know the legal committee while still a student. And I liked what they did, some of the events that they put on, some of the programs that they did. So I knew I wanted to be involved somehow with it. And after graduation, got to know the Young Lawyers Division. Some of my classmates became members of the YLD and on their board of directors. And so when a vacancy opened up on the YLD board, they asked me to step in and serve and fill that vacancy. And from there, just continued on serving on the board, eventually becoming the president in 2011, I think it was. And just kept up the involvement. After Pat Moushee Meeson came on as executive director, she took a chance, called me up and asked me if I wanted to work for the bar as the programs director. So I thought that was a great opportunity to stay involved and kind of meet as many people as I could in the legal profession through that position. It was a great opportunity. I'm glad she took a chance on me and just wanted to continue serving. And it sounds also like what you're saying is relationships are important. Because I hear everything you're talking about is relationship driven. You're talking about people that have influenced you and given you opportunities. So that's probably, is that advice for Young Lawyers? Is that what you're telling? That's exactly what I was telling, that's what you picked up exactly right on the mark. And Hawaii, you're familiar with this on how small boy's legal community is. We all basically know each other in some capacity or another, either personally or professionally, by reputation. And I think it's very important to build those relationships and to maintain them because we're gonna see each other all the time across the table on the same side, on different sides. And I think it's important that we maintain those relationships and foster them, build them. And I think the Young Lawyers should get into that practice to get to know each other. That sounds like real good advice. I believe it too, that's advice. I give a lot of Young Law students and Young Lawyers too. I like it. Now, you became president of the bar and you were president for this year and you recently sent out a message from HSBA president Levi Hoakano. Now I wanna read it and then I want you to talk about it, why you did it. Your message was sent out on January 7th, 2021 about the actions yesterday by the riotous group at the US Capitol. You said, the actions yesterday by the riotous group at the US Capitol runs contrary to our freedom to peacefully protest and assemble. Constitutional protections and procedures are a delicate fabric that we as citizens and especially as lawyers must uphold if democracy is to survive. This is a time for all of us to come together, to work towards building a more perfect union through the rule of law and a fair and impartial judicial process. As president of the HSBA, I ask that you join me in condemning the actions of those yesterday at the US Capitol and work to improve our community by working together to settle any difficulties we may face in a civil manner out of many, one, out of many, one. Okay, why did you do that? Why did you send out this message? What were you trying to convey? And what did you mean by out of many, one? What is, what are you doing here? You know, when the events unfolded on January 6th at the Capitol, I was watching it on the news live and I couldn't believe what was going on. That this is what's happening here in the United States. And I felt it was important to send the message to our membership that as lawyers, we have a role to play in ensuring our democracy, the process of our democracy is protected. And I did struggle with the words to use to convey that message. Because as a mandatory bar association, we have some restrictions on what we can use membership dues for. And we can't take any kind of political or partisan ideological stances. So I want to be sure that the statement was politically neutral, but that it conveyed the message that we need to play our part to ensure the process is done correctly within the confines of the law, within the bounds of the law, because it's so easy to unravel. You know, we're self-regulating when it comes down to it. And we need to make sure that we're following the process and we're ensuring that our clients follow the process. And we have a role to play in protecting the democratic process. Well, you felt it was important to send that out. Obviously. I mean, you sent it out the day after. And obviously I can tell that you had, you know, how am I going to approach this? That is what you were thinking. And you, but you decided to do it. So, I mean, you felt strongly enough that this was important to get it out there. Yes, I absolutely did. You know, I talked to some other people about the message before, went out just to be sure that what I was saying adequately conveyed how tough it is to uphold the rule of law, to make some tough decisions and to stand up for something that I think is important. I did receive some feedback after that message went out. Overwhelmingly positive. A lot of people said, hey, thank you for sending that out. Really appreciate it. Of course, as lawyers, we are bound to get an array of opinions on things that we do. But overwhelmingly, it was positive. People who are appreciative of sending it out. The National Conference of Bar Leaders and Bar Executives, I think they compiled a website of all of the bar associations across the country that have issued statements about the events on January 6th. It wasn't just us that decided. Okay, so there were other bar associations doing similar, sending out similar messages. And at the end of yours, you say out of many one. Where did that come from? What were your thoughts? Why did you say that? So it comes from the Ipra-Brasunam, the motto. And I thought it was important because we're so diverse. Lawyers, all of us come from varied experiences, backgrounds, grew up in different areas. And we all take different positions. But when it comes down to it, we're all here to uphold the judicial process, the rights of others, and we all have a role to play. So when it comes down to it, all of us have a goal of upholding due process, the constitution and ensuring that we play our role correctly in a democratic society. Okay, now you may have, we may have some questions coming in from viewers. A giant mob has already formed at the Washington Monument. Are you scared? That's the question. I am not. And the reason why I'm not is because we have a large number of our brothers and sisters in the National Guard who are stationed and deployed to Washington DC to protect the peace in conjunction with civil authorities. I think at the heart of it, that democracy and the rule of law will survive. I know you can see them a little bit difficult being completely opposite end of the country from where all of that is taking place. So I am not scared, but I'm cautious. That's definitely cautious in those situations. I know that we've got about several hundred from our own Hawaii National Guard who is going out there to assist with the civil authorities there. And so I wish that in the past. And you have faith in, you are involved, not just in law, but in the army. And so you kind of have faith in both is what I hear you saying. Faith in both lawyers and our military that they'll stand up for democracy. Is that what you're saying? They'll stand up for doing what's right. You know, in the military, we have to follow the lawful orders of those appointed above us. And as officers, we swear allegiance to the constitution. And that's when individual individual person, the Joint Chief of Staff, all of the armed services issued a joint statement emphasizing that. I think that was really positive for them to do that. I think it was important for them to remind all of us that that's what we're fair to do. And I have to be clear that my statements are not on behalf of the army. These are just Levi speaking. Right, right, of course. Now, is there anything that you want to add to your statement, to the message? Anything more you would like to say while you have this opportunity or is your message pretty clear? I thought it was pretty clear, but you know, we all have diverse viewpoints and the beauty of our system is that we can express them, you know, without fear of being imprisoned for our viewpoints like that. And now, your statement, is that the position of the Hawaii State Bar Association or of you as president? That I think was as me as president. Because of the, what I felt was the urgency of getting a message out, it wasn't run by the board prior to it being issued. Okay, now, let's talk. I mean, what do you think you're speaking in hopeful but cautious tones about the future of the United States? What are your thoughts? What are your thoughts about what happened and where are we going? I mean, you're cautious, but where are we going? Where are we going with this? And what is the role of lawyers and our Bar Association specifically? But where do you think we're going? You know, I honestly have no, you know, I can't predict the future. But I do believe that, you know, democracy will continue, the United States will continue on, that we will persevere. And the lawyers, we're here to uphold the rule of law, whether it's, you know, prosecution or defense, we all have a role to play. You know, John Adams famously defended the British after the Boston massacre, because it was important to, if we were to have a rule of law, sometimes you have to take the unpopular positions to defend those to uphold their rights. And that's what makes it a good system, a great system and a more perfect system. Not a perfect one, but we're working towards that. And here in Hawaii, what is the role of the Bar and lawyers? I mean, what is the position of the Bar Association and what is the role of the Bar Association? And then where do lawyers fit in? So, you know, the Bar Association, we're not a political organization, we don't advocate for ideological viewpoints. So our role is to ensure that on an administrative level, the lawyers have opportunities to use some public service, some pro bono opportunities, get educated on various areas of the law through the Continued Legal Education Program and serve the public better the judicial process. A lot of it comes through with judicial nominees, the Bar Association takes an evaluation position to assist the judiciary in evaluating judicial candidates or for retention of judges. You know, we're more for the administrative side of things as an association as a whole. But the individual lawyers, I mean, we're all there to assist our clients to navigate the judicial system, allow access to justice, access to the courts so that they can preserve or enforce their rights as they need. You know, I don't think anybody could have ever foreseen that we'd be talking about these issues. And, you know, you became president of the Waste Bar Association and has a lot of upbeat things you do. I mean, a lot of fundraising for various good causes and it's a positive type of position. Who could have thought, Levi, who could have thought that we've been talking about these potential problems? Now, what are your plans and hopes and aspirations as the Hawaii State Bar Association president for this year? What are your thoughts in that respect? So there's a couple of things that I wanna focus on this year. Support for our judiciary is gonna be important. You know, the judiciary budget is gonna be important too so that we can keep courts open throughout the COVID pandemic, making sure that judiciary programs are funded to assist the public. I think support for our judiciary during the legislative budget process is gonna be a priority. And I think I hope that all of our members can voice their concerns if they have any for themselves or for their clients, especially who need access to the courts during the year. And the other things that I wanna focus on of course is part of the fundraising because a number of the Bar Association programs are funded through our fundraising efforts which we were not able to do last year because of COVID. We weren't able to have our traditional Bar Association Dinner fundraiser which helps to fund these programs that allows access to justice or teaching moments for the public. So this year I hope to explore alternative ways of conducting fundraisers, online side and auctions or other programs where we can raise some funds for next year's programs. The other thing I wanna do is focus on participation with our neighbor island members. I practiced law on the big island for about three or four years and I know how it can be when you're on the neighbor island. Sometimes it seems like not everything trickles down to you so I wanna work with our neighbor island our associations, our neighbor island members to ensure that we're getting them the programs that they need and the services that they require out there as well. And lastly is leadership development. I wanna focus on working with our young law members to develop a passion for leading either this organization in the future or a section or a law related organization or community service organizations that they're interested in. So leadership development is definitely gonna be a priority with the Bar Association's Leadership Institute which is a great program for lawyers from three to 15 years of practice to learn more about leadership techniques and styles within their legal profession. And so I guess, and most of this stuff you'll be doing virtually I guess for the present and foreseeable future. And are you mostly doing Zoom meetings and that type of thing? Are you any chance you're gonna go over to the neighbor islands or is that not? Yeah, all of our meetings are still are being conducted over Zoom. Last year, Greg Fry, he really started to have to pioneer alternative ways for us to meet alternative ways to administer programs. So he laid the tough groundwork. All I have to do is continue on with what he's doing. So he definitely did the heavy lifting for the Bar Association last year. So I really appreciate his work in that. I'd love to be able to go out to the neighbor islands to meet with people in person, but we have to do our part to prevent the spread of COVID and do what we can. So for the time being, it's gonna be virtual meetings. Yeah. And right now, none of us can really see the future. As you said, if there's any way we can help you here at Think Tech or on my program, Law Across the Sea, please let me know. Definitely. We have a minute left. Are there any closing comments that you'd like to make to lawyers, the Hawaii State Bar Association members? Just thank you for the opportunity to serve all of you. The opportunity to get your trust that you've placed in me to serve in this position. I think it's an honor to serve as president of the Hawaii State Bar Association. And I look forward to working with everyone. Look forward to meeting as many people as I can through this process and assisting as many people in as many programs throughout the process. If there's any questions for me, feel free to reach out. And I look forward to serving. No, I'm just going on that. If people wanna get a hold of you, how did they get a hold of you through the Bar Associations at the best way? Directly through the Bar Association is the best way. Okay. HSB.org. All right. Levi Hoakano, I wanna thank you so much for being my guest today and for talking about different issues that we're facing in these very strange times. And look forward to someday getting together in person. Yes, Mark, I've known you a long time, Mark. I really appreciate it. Talking with you. Okay. So we're a pal for now. Aloha. Thank you very much. Levi Hoakano.