Family Law

• Divorce
• Child Support
  Brief of Amici Curiae Owners’ Counsel of America and Institute for Justice in Support of Petitioner, Violet Dock Port, Inc. v. St. Bernard Port, Harbor, & Terminal District, 2018 U.S. S. Ct. Briefs LEXIS 2549 (July 11, 2018).
• Adoption
• Paternity
  Since 2011, his community service work has focused primarily on children and family law. He serves as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (Guardian ad Litem) for children involved in Hawaii’s foster care system through the Family Court’s CASA Program, as well as a Group Facilitator for Kids First, a mandatory program for children and families going through divorce or paternity cases in Hawaii.
• Premarital Agreement
  While attending law school, Toren served as a Legal Assistant with two Honolulu-based law firms. In this time, he researched and wrote about third-party insurance issues, as well as drafted basic motions, prenuptial agreements, and memos. He also managed client correspondences and transmittals between opposing attorneys.
• Guardianship
  Guardianship – Represents family members in guardianship proceedings, including seeking or disputing appointment of a guardian and assisting with administration issues.

Criminal Law

• Criminal Defense
  Summa cum laude, from the University of Hawaii, William S. Richardson School of Law. While in law school, she served as staff writer and technical editor for the University of Hawaii Law Review. She was a Law School Ambassador and Phi Delta Phi Legal Honor Society historian. Laurel was a scholar advocate for Professor Eric K. Yamamoto and an Advanced Criminal Law Scholar for Justin D. Levinson. She earned CALI Excellence for the Future Awards for the highest score in her class in Criminal Law, Family Law, and Advanced Civil Procedure.
• Wrongful Death
  Personal Injury:Successfully works on numerous types of personal injury suits representing both plaintiffs and defendants in wrongful death, toxic tort, product defects, and general negligence matters.
• Theft
• Murder
  Prior to enrolling in law school, Laurel worked as an Honors Intern at the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Kapolei. While there, she assisted special agents with trial preparations for a federal capital murder case. Laurel also prepared transcripts for drug related cases while ensuring consistency, accuracy, and conformance with policy. It was during this time that she discovered her affinity for the law.
• Identity Theft
  As a Law Clerk and also a volunteer with Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, Clint assisted with a myriad of projects. He helped implement the Community Navigators Project to facilitate meaningful public access to civil legal needs through community leaders. He created and presented seminars for identity theft prevention and conducted I-765 Employment Authorization Document clinics. Clint also coordinated “Providing Refuge – A Legal Training” to highlight local housing laws’ intersection with domestic violence, disability rights, and language access.

Business and Corporate Law

• Corporate Law
  The Best Lawyers in America ® for her work in Business Organizations (including LLC’s and Partnerships), Corporate Law, Real Estate, and Employment Law-Management.
• Mergers and Acquisitions
  Business Tax Planning and IRS Private Letter Rulings – Tax planning advice and consulting, including business structuring and formation, expansions, investments, mergers and acquisitions, tax-sensitive transactions (involving real or personal property, including 1031 exchanges and condemnations), tax aspects of leases, bond financing, syndications, securities offerings, tax-free reorganizations, redemptions, divestitures and dissolutions, foreign tax planning and compliance advice, and structuring and compliance work for tax-exempt organizations.
• Business Disputes
  His practice emphasized business law, commercial litigation, bankruptcy reorganization and arbitration. He was appointed to represent several thousand Guamanians whose lands were taken for military bases after World War II and to supervise the distribution of a settlement fund approximating $40 million dollars.
• Business Transactions
  Prior to joining the firm in 1969, he served as City and County of Honolulu, Deputy Corporation Counsel and as Deputy Attorney General for the State of Hawaii. His practice emphasized business and commercial transactions, real estate, financial institutions, and creditor’s rights.
• Limited Liability Companies
  Family Business Entities – forming, administering and terminating family businesses, family limited partnerships, limited liability companies and corporations.
• Construction Contracts
  Anna is in Damon Key’s Dispute Resolution and Real Estate and Construction practice areas. As a director of the firm, her main focus is construction law and commercial litigation. She has represented construction organizations, developers, owners, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and design professionals in reviewing and drafting construction contracts, as well as in all forums of dispute resolution, including extensive arbitration and administrative hearings, and appeals.
• Trade Secrets
• Intellectual Property
• Unfair Competition

Employment Law

• Wrongful Termination
  Represented employers in discrimination, harassment and wrongful termination claims, including EEOC and Hawaii Civil Rights Commission claims. Conducted anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training. Investigated claims by employees.
• Employment Discrimination
  Class Actions: Involved in numerous class action suits involving the Voting Rights Act, unlawful termination of service by utility service, employment discrimination, and pursuit of land, subsistence, and sovereignty rights by Alaska Natives.
• Employment Contract
  Employment: Counsel and assist employers (corporations, non-profits, supervisors, human resource specialists) regarding employment issues; provide advice regarding employment agreements and employee handbooks/policies; and counsel clients with issues arising from termination, discipline, non-compete agreements, discrimination, harassment, etc.
• Employment Litigation
  Successfully prosecuted and defended litigation and arbitration, as well as mediation, of all manner of commercial and business disputes, representing clients as large Fortune 500 companies and as small as sole proprietors.  Litigated cases involving trade secrets, unfair competition, complex accounting and tax issues, non-competition clauses, deceptive trade practices, intellectual property disputes (trademark, tradename, copyright and patent litigation), and simple failure to pay or perform.  Defended class action lawsuits involving monopoly and tying claims and employment claims.
• Non-compete Agreement
  Employment Law – human resources matters, employment and noncompete agreements, employment discrimination, employee handbooks, and plant closures.
• Sexual Harassment

Property Law

• Real Estate Litigation
  Ken and Damon Key colleagues Michael A. Yoshida and Anna H. Oshiro, co-authored the Hawaii chapter in the Aspen Construction Series’ two volume Fifty State Construction Lien and Bond Law book, now in its Third Edition. He and Damon Key colleague Anna H. Oshiro co-authored the Hawaii chapter in The Design/Build Process: A Guide to Licensing and Procurement Requirements in the 50 States and Canada; the Hawaii chapter in the State-By-State Guide to Architect, Engineer and Contractor Licensing; and with Damon Key colleagues Denis C.H. Leong, Michael A. Yoshida, Alan Van Etten and Anna H. Oshiro authored the Hawaii chapter in State-By-State Guide to Construction and Design Law. He and Anna Oshiro also co-authored the Hawaii Real Estate Law Manual’s construction chapters.
• Construction Litigation
  As new construction across the state continues to accelerate, an increase in construction disputes will naturally follow. At Damon Key, it is our mission to help owners, general contractors, construction managers, subcontractors, architects, engineers, and material suppliers effectively and expeditiously overcome legal issues that may arise on projects of all sizes.
• Real Estate Transactions
  The cost of a commercial real estate transaction can be much more than the dollars and cents expressed in a contract, with potential pitfalls lurking beneath the surface of any given deal. Our team of real estate attorneys are one of the most experienced in Hawaii, with decades of combined experience. We examine provisions of complex real estate transactions to identify issues relating to indemnity, hazards, exposure, title defects, and other matters of consequence.
• Eminent Domain
  Damon Key’s Land Use and Eminent Domain Group have been involved in some of the Most Important Cases in the Field
• Easement
• Land Use and Zoning
  Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America list in the practice areas of Commercial Litigation, Litigation-Construction and Litigation-Real Estate. She was also selected in 2022, 2021 and 2020 by Super Lawyers Rising Stars list in Land Use & Zoning.
• Landlord-Tenant Disputes
  Represented buyers and sellers in litigation and arbitration arising out of purchase and sale transactions, and handled boundary, easement, covenant and restriction, and adverse possession cases. Represented landlords and tenants in both commercial and residential landlord-tenant disputes. Advised and represented property owners and industry organizations regarding short-term and transient vacation rentals, and defended property owners from claims of transient vacation rental violations by private parties and county enforcement agencies.
• Property Damage
  Author, “Insurance Coverage for Property Damage Caused by the Big Islands’ Volcanic Eruptions,” (Damon Key Legal Alert Spring/Summer 2018)

Immigration Law

• Citizenship and Naturalization
• Family Immigration
  Prior to joining Damon Key, Ms. Lan provided legal services through her Honolulu-based law office, The Law Office of Na Lan, LLLC, which focused on business, employment and family-based immigration law. She also practiced condominium and business law as an associate at a boutique law firm in Honolulu.
• Green Cards

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  Automobile – handling various claims with regard to auto insurance coverage, including liability, injury, personal injury protection and property loss.

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  Foreign Investment – transnational transactions, tax and government reporting requirements and tax consequences (in coordination with our Immigration Law practice group and our Estate Planning practice group).
• Wills
• Trusts
  Kapiolani Park Preservation Society v. City and County of Honolulu: The Lease of Public Park Land as a Breach of a Charitable Trust, University of Hawaii Law Review, Vol 11 (Fall 1989)
• Power of Attorney
  Preparation of Estate Plans – Prepares and revises estate plans, including Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney and Advance Health Care Directives.
• Probate

Finance Law

• Bankruptcy
  Bankruptcy: Successfully represented creditors in Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases in Hawaii involving more than 1 billion dollars in claims. Represented creditors and receivers in state court actions involving numerous creditors, substantial claims and assets.
• Foreclosure
  Collection of delinquent assessments and foreclosure – representing associations to collect delinquent assessments owed by homeowners, proceeding with judicial or nonjudicial foreclosures if needed, and handling lease cancellations for cooperative housing corporations.
• Tax Law
  We offer a range of tax-related services to individuals, trusts, business entities and tax-exempt organizations. We provide tax-planning advice, help structure and implement tax-sensitive business arrangements and transactions, and handle tax controversy matters in administrative and judicial proceedings. Our clients include local, national and international businesses and organizations of all types, including developers and real estate investors, service providers, financial institutions, retailers, manufacturers, health care groups and tax-exempt organizations, as well as individual taxpayers.
• Debt Collection
  Her consulting and business transaction experience includes contract drafting and review, project documents amendment/restatement, legal opinions, covenant compliance and enforcement, ADA & FHA compliance for homeowners associations, commercial lease drafting and review, conveyance document drafting, acquisition and sales of businesses and real properties, and due diligence research. She is also experienced in debt collection, as well as judicial and non-judicial foreclosures.