Jodi Shin Yamamoto is Of Counsel to the firm, practicing in the areas of energy, regulatory, telecommunications, real estate, and utilities law.  She is particularly well known for helping clients obtain favorable results in complex, multi-party administrative proceedings, such as proceedings before Hawaii’s Public Utilities Commission and County-level land-use authorities. Jodi was selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2020 and 2021 in the area of Real Estate Law. Before joining the firm, Jodi served for six years as Vice President and General Counsel of Bishop Museum, which for over 125 years has been a leading cultural, educational, and research institution in the Pacific region. In that role, Jodi ensured that the museum’s goals were achieved through her supervision of corporate governance, contracts and agreements, licensing arrangements, and strategic litigation.  Jodi also worked for four years as a commercial litigator for a large Hawaii law firm. Jodi’s extensive experience helps the firm’s clients navigate particularly complex regulatory matters.  Recent results Jodi has helped the firm’s clients achieve include obtaining government approvals of the merger between Charter and Time Warner Cable from two Hawaii regulatory agencies in approximately eight months and obtaining a Special Management Area permit for the renovation and re-powering of a century-old biomass power plant on the Hamakua coast in administrative proceedings involving sixteen intervenors.

Jodi is active in the Honolulu community and devotes considerable time to public service. She is currently a member of the Board Governors of  ‘Iolani School and of the Board of Trustees of Hanahauoli School, a Co-President of the Brown Club of Hawaii, and a Board Member of the Jarrett Middle School Foundation and Access Tennis Foundation.  Jodi also serves as a Co-Chair of the ‘Io Society for ‘Iolani School and on the Executive Leadership Team for the American Heart Association.  She is a past President of the Board of the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii. Jodi received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Policy and Sociology, with honors, from Brown University.  She earned her J.D. Cum Laude, from Boston University School of Law, as both a Paul J. Liacos Scholar and an Edward F. Hennesey Scholar.

Area of Practice:

  • Energy
  • Regulatory
  • Telecommunications
  • Real Estate
  • Utilities
  • Water Rights

Bar Admission:

  • State of Hawaii
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii
  • Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Education:

  • Brown University, A.B. in Public Policy and Sociology, with Honors
  • Boston University School of Law, J.D. Cum Laude

Associations:

  • Hawaii State Bar Association

Pro Bono / Community Service:

  • Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, Board President
  • Board of Trustees of Hanahauoli School, Board Member
  • Brown Club of Hawaii, Co-President
  • Co-Chair of the ‘Io Society, ‘Iolani School
  • Jarrett Middle School Foundation, Board Member

Prior Experience:

  • Cades Schutte LLP, commercial litigation associate
  • Bishop Museum, Vice President and General Counsel