James C. McWhinnieDamon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert, Honolulu, USAAreas of Practice: Alternative Dispute Resolution, Business & Commercial Law, Construction Law, Insurance Law, Litigation & Appeals, Personal Injury -- Defense, Personal Injury -- Plaintiff, Professional Malpractice Law, Toxic Torts Contact Information:
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Jim has been selected by his peers to be included in The Best Lawyers in America in the area of Commercial Litigation. He has also been rated "AV" (the highest available rating) by Martindale Hubbell for many years, and is a member of The Million Dollar Advocates Forum (attorneys who have won million and multi-million dollar cases). His legal practice emphasizes civil litigation. As a director of the firm, he is responsible for substantial commercial, product liability, construction, environmental, and personal injury cases. Further, he has extensive experience in all aspects of alternative dispute resolution, having acted as an advocate, arbitrator and mediator. Jim chairs the firm's practice management committee and serves on the compensation, marketing, and other committees.
In 2003, Jim was elected Secretary of the Hawaii State Bar Association ("HSBA") for 2004. He has also been a member of the HSBA's Judicial Administration Committee, having been its co-chair for four years (1997-98, 2001 and 2002). In addition, Jim has served on the HSBA's Fee Dispute Committee, been a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section, and co-founded the HSBA's Lawyer Kokua Program, which was designed to assist new members of the Hawaii Bar. In July 2000, Jim was appointed by Chief Judge David A. Ezra to the Merit Selection Panel for United States Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii.
Since being first appointed in 1998 by Chief Justice Ronald T.Y. Moon, Jim has served on the Hawaii Supreme Court's Special Committee on Judicial Performance, which was created pursuant to Hawaii Supreme Court Rule 19. The "Rule 19 Committee's" purposes include improving individual judges' performance, providing a source of information for application and retention decisions by the Judicial Selection Commission, facilitating the Chief Justice's assignment and use of judges, improving the design and content of judicial education programs, and assisting the Chief Justice in administering the judiciary. From 1989 to 1992, Jim served as a delegate to the Hawaii State Judicial Conference.
Prior to attending law school, Jim managed several restaurants in Waikiki while attending graduate school in the University of Hawaii's Masters in Business Administration program. Before joining Damon Key as a director in 1989, he was a litigation partner in the Honolulu law firm of Rother, Bybee, Chang and Rulon. Bar Admissions Hawaii, 1983 U.S. District Court District of Hawaii, 1983 U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 1984 Education De Paul University College of Law, Chicago, IL, January 1983, J.D. Cum Laude University of Hawaii - Manoa, M.B.A. program St. Mary's College, Winona, MN, USA, May, 1975 B.A. Major: Psychology Cum Laude Published Works
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