Carlsmith Ball Unveils Five Additions to Leadership Team

Carlsmith Ball LLP has named Joanne Lo Grimes and Jon Yamamura co-chairs of the firm; Vicki Nakahara managing partner; Arsima Muller chair of the Transactional Group; and William Harstad chair of the Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Group. 

Co-chairs Grimes and Yamamura are long-time attorneys with the firm, and will continue their active client work while developing the next generation of lawyers to lead the firm. 

Nakahara, who will continue her practice in the Transactional Group of the firm’s Honolulu office, joins Michelle Imata and Laura Lucas as firm-wide managing partners. Her new responsibilities have her working closely with the firm’s co-chairs. Nakahara will also help manage the firm’s marketing and operations functions.

Grimes earned her Bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business and Master’s degree in International Management from Thunderbird. She earned her law degree from the University of Hawaii Richardson School of Law. She is a certified financial planner and was named by Chambers as one of the world’s leading high net worth advisors in 2017. HONOLULU Magazine named her Lawyer of the Year for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law in 2016. She has been selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for Employee Benefits Law and Non-Profit/Charities Law since 2010.

Yamamura received his Bachelor’s degree from Stanford University where he earned membership in the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa honor society. He went on to graduate from the UCLA School of Law. He spent over two years working as a foreign attorney in Japan before rejoining Carlsmith Ball. He was selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2018 for Banking and Finance Law.

Nakahara received her Bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California. She earned her law degree from the University of Oregon. In 2018, she was honored as one of the Best Lawyers in America for her work in real estate law, and HONOLULU Magazine named her one of Hawaii’s Best Lawyers. In 2017, Chambers and Partners USA ranked her as a top real estate lawyer.

Muller, the new chair of the Transactional Group at Carlsmith Ball, graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Boston College and a law degree from George Washington University Law School. Muller’s practice includes business formations, real estate, corporate and finance projects, and environmental law. She serves clients throughout the Pacific Rim, and is licensed to practice law in Hawaii, Guam and the Marshall Islands.

Harstad, the new chair of the Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Group at Carlsmith Ball, is from Honolulu. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Grinnell College and his law degree from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis. He was named one of the Best Lawyers in America 2018 for Litigation - Real Estate. He has also been selected by his peers for inclusion in Super Lawyers as one of the Rising Stars for Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Rights.