Carlsmith Ball Ranked Among First Tier Law Firms By U.S. News And World Report And Best Lawyers

U.S. News & World Report and The Best Lawyers in America recently released their 2014 rankings for Best Law Firms. Carlsmith Ball is pleased to be ranked in the first tier for law firms in Hawaii in 14 separate practice areas and in tier two for 8 practice areas. The firm's total number of tier one and two rankings is unmatched in Hawaii.

Tier One Rankings

• Banking and Finance Law
• Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)
• Corporate Governance Law
• Corporate Law
• Employee Benefits (ERISA)
• Energy Law
• Land Use & Zoning Law
• Litigation - Banking & Finance
• Litigation - Land Use & Zoning
• Litigation - Real Estate
• Litigation - Trusts & Estates
• Mergers & Acquisitions Law
• Real Estate Law
• Trusts & Estates Law

Tier Two Rankings

• Administrative & Regulatory Law
• Admiralty & Maritime Law
• Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
• Environmental Law
• Financial Services Regulation Law
• Health Care Law
• Mortgage Banking Foreclosure Law
• Tax Law

Earlier this year, Best Lawyers recognized 27 Carlsmith attorneys in its 2014 Best Lawyers in America list:

Hilo, Hawaii

Steven S. C. Lim - Land Use & Zoning Law and Real Estate Law-Lawyer of the Year (Land Use & Zoning Law)

Honolulu, Hawaii

Jennifer A. Benck - Land Use & Zoning Law
Steven M. Egesdal - Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Commercial Litigation, and Corporate Law
Joanne L. Grimes - Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law and Non-Profit/Charities Law
Michelle C. Imata - Banking and Finance Law
Eric A. James - Real Estate Law
John C. Khil - Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
Lorraine Klevanksy - Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
Karl K. Kobayashi - Real Estate Law
Timothy J. Lui-Kwan - Administrative / Regulatory Law and Litigation - Land Use & Zoning
Mark K. Murakami - Real Estate Law
Harry Y. Oda - Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Litigation - Trusts and Estates, and Trusts and Estates Law
Lawrence S. Okinaga - Banking and Finance Law, Financial Services Regulation Law and Litigation - Banking and Finance
Michael M. Purpura - Commercial Litigation and Litigation - Securities
Dean H. Robb - Admiralty & Maritime Law
Tom E. Roesser - Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Mortgage Banking Foreclosure Law
Ian L. Sandison - Environmental Law
James L. Starshak - Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Health Care Law, Non-Profit / Charities Law, and Trusts and Estates Law
Robert E. Strand - Real Estate Law
Gerald A. Sumida - Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Corporate Governance Law, Energy Law, and Securities / Capital Markets Law
J. Thomas Van Winkle - Banking and Finance Law, Corporate Law, and Mergers & Acquisitions Law; Lawyer of the Year (Corporate Law)
David W.K. Wong - Tax Law

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Robert D. Triantos - Litigation - Real Estate and Real Estate Law

Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii

Craig G. Nakamura - Litigation - Real Estate

Since its inception in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Because Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 41,000 leading attorneys cast nearly 3.9 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers "the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice."