Aloha,
It’s a great time to be a lawyer. With high profile trials occurring (both local and national), cases being overturned on appeal making the news, and university campuses seeing students and administrations struggling to find a balance between anarchy and the exercise of Constitutional rights, having knowledge of the law helps in interpreting the significance of today’s events.
Another, and arguably more important, benefit to being a lawyer is the opportunity to participate in the Senior Counsel Division’s (SCD) events throughout each month.
Earlier this month, SCD knocked it out of the park with their speaker, Terry Revere, at their monthly Coffee Hour presentation on May 2. Mr. Revere gave a deep dive into the world of condominium and homeowner’s association law in Hawaii. With over 30 years of experience handling these cases, his insights and summations of his recent cases sparked MANY questions from the audience. His presentation has already received a significant amount of views when it was uploaded to YouTube. Click
here to watch this presentation and also check out other Coffee Talks given by other experts in their fields.
Next month, SCD will host Dan Falardeau, from New Direction Trust Company, who will provide information on self-directed IRA’s and how one can determine if this is an appropriate investing opportunity to include in a person’s retirement plan.
Later this month, the SCD will be joining the Young Lawyer’s Division (YLD) in their efforts in providing legal services to the community during law week. From May 20 to May 24, members of the SCD will be answering the phones during the Ask-a-Lawyer event. YLD will also be having information booths set up at various public locations throughout the islands. When the SCD had manned information booths like this in the past, those that participated felt this was a great opportunity to share their knowledge and experiences to members of the public in need of our specialized skills. Please take a moment to check with the YLD as to how to volunteer for not only these activities, but others they conduct throughout the year.
In closing, May is Mental Health Awareness Month. In recent years, I have seen both the Hawaii State Bar Association and the Hawaii Judiciary redouble their efforts in addressing the need to make sure those that practice law in Hawaii do not become overwhelmed with the stresses of their profession. Achieving a healthy work/life balance should be all our goals. Not only for us, but for those we care about and those that care about us. Please take the time to take care of yourselves. In doing this, you can better enjoy May’s other days of observations, like National Chocolate Parfait Day, Star Wars Day, World Laughter Day (which follows National No Pants Day for some reason), and last but not least National Eat What You Want Day.
Aloha and thank you for your service.