Campaign News

Press Releases

CARLSMITH BALL ESTABLISHES FACULTY SCHOLAR FUND

Hawaiʻi’s Largest Law Firm Donates $150,000 to UH Law School

"Our gift was inspired by the UH William S. Richardson School of Law’s tremendous contribution to Hawaiʻi and the Asia-Pacific legal community. We are pleased to support the Law School’s efforts to continue its tradition of faculty excellence in teaching and research."

(Honolulu, Hawaiʻi) — Carlsmith Ball LLP, the state’s oldest and largest Hawaiʻi-based law firm, has announced a gift of $150,000 to the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The donation will establish the school’s first Law Faculty Scholar position.

"Carlsmith is a benefactor of UH’s distinguished law school program by employing graduates who come to our firm with the values, skills and knowledge to serve clients and the Asia-Pacific community with honor," said Kobayashi, a 1981 graduate of the Law School.

The Carlsmith Ball Faculty Scholar fund will offer financial support for faculty research and scholarship for professors at the William S. Richardson Law School, which is highly ranked in many areas within legal education and is the only American Bar Association-accredited Law School in the Pacific-Asia region.

"Our faculty is a diverse, dedicated, and remarkably skilled group of teachers who are recognized nationally and internationally for their legal expertise and scholarship," said Aviam Soifer, dean of the William S. Richardson School of Law. "Excellence in research and scholarship is vital to the Law School’s ability to serve current and future law students and the entire community. We are particularly grateful to Carlsmith Ball for its leadership, partnership and investment in Hawaiʻi’s Law School."

Carlsmith Ball LLP is a leading law firm in the Pacific Region with close to 100 lawyers in eight offices in Saipan, Guam, Honolulu, Kapolei, Maui, Kona, Hilo and Los Angeles. For more than 150 years, Carlsmith Ball has assisted clients in achieving their objectives through effective, result-oriented representation in large commercial and financial transactions and in complex arbitration and litigation matters.



The William S. Richardson School of Law is dedicated to providing excellence in legal education and scholarship and to promoting justice, ethical responsibility and public service. Founded in 1973, the Law School places special emphasis on the fields of law of particular importance to Hawaiʻi and the Pacific region, such as environmental law, Native Hawaiian rights, ocean law, and Pacific and Asian legal studies. The Law School now offers a part-time program. For more information about the William S. Richardson School of Law, visit www.hawaii.edu/law.

The School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) was established by the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaiʻi in 1988. SOEST brings together in a single focused ocean, earth sciences and technology group, some of the nation’s highest quality academic departments, research institutes, federal cooperative programs, and support facilities to meet challenges in the ocean and earth sciences. Scientists at SOEST are supported by both state and federal funds as they endeavor to understand the subtle and complex interrelations of the seas, the atmosphere, and the earth. For more information, visit www.soest.hawaii.edu.

The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation is an independent, university-related, nonprofit organization whose purpose is to raise private funds according to priorities determined by the academic leadership of the University of Hawaiʻi and approved by the Board of Regents. Founded in 1955, the Foundation provides a full range of fund raising and alumni relations services for all ten UH campuses. For more information, visit www.uhf.hawaii.edu.