Hear From the HSBF President

Aloha, colleagues and friends.

With Halloween just around the corner, the shops are full of skeletons, spiderwebs, and children choosing costumes. Those scares are the fun kind, and they end when the candy runs out. The unease many of us feel these days is different. We read headlines about judges facing threats, public trust in institutions eroding, and fierce disagreement over whether the law applies equally to everyone. Even in Hawaiʻi, far from the centers of national conflict, our clients, neighbors, and families ask us whether the system still works. They deserve an honest answer, and they deserve lawyers who will help make ensure that the answer is yes.

Our state motto, Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono, tells us that the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness, in balance, fairness, and doing what is right. That idea sits close to the heart of what we do as lawyers.

An independent judiciary is the cornerstone of these ideals. It is a promise to every person who walks into a courtroom that the outcome will turn on the facts and the law, not on who is more powerful or politically connected.

Whether a tenant facing eviction, a small business owner, a family in crisis, or a citizen challenging government action, every litigant enters on a level playing field. When that promise weakens, everyone is less safe.

Judicial independence does not defend itself. It depends on a legal profession willing to do the daily work of protecting it. That begins with how we practice. We are candid with the court. We keep our word to opposing counsel. We disagree without demonizing, and we accept adverse rulings with respect. When we criticize a decision, we do it on the merits, and we do not attack the integrity of the judge who made it.

It also means speaking up. Lawyers are trusted voices on what courts do and why. When misinformation spreads or judges are unfairly maligned, we can explain calmly and accurately how due process works, why appeals exist, and why no one, in any branch of government, is above the law. Civic education is not a distraction from our work. It is part of it.

Finally, it means access. The rule of law is hollow if only those who can afford counsel can invoke it. Pro bono service, legal aid, and community education programs are how we turn principle into practice. Each hour a volunteer attorney gives shows a neighbor that the system is meant to work for them too.

The HSBF exists to support exactly this work, and we are grateful to every member who gives their time, talent, and resources. In uncertain times, our steadiness matters.

This month, I invite you to take one concrete step. Take a pro bono case, speak at a school or community group, mentor a new lawyer, or simply thank a judge for their service. Small acts of integrity, repeated across our profession, are what hold our institutions together.

Mahalo for all you do, and for standing watch for our legal system.