By Andrew Cohen
David Louie ’77 has been nominated by Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie to become the state’s next attorney general.
Pending confirmation by the Hawaii State Senate, Louie will soon confront issues such as Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement, transitioning to a state-appointed Board of Education, and a number of class action lawsuits—filed against the state under previous administrations—that could cost Hawaii hundreds of millions of dollars.
“I couldn’t be happier that Mr. Louie has accepted this critical position,” said Abercrombie. “He is well versed in many areas of law and will be a tireless advocate for the interests of the people of Hawaii. He is the kind of person we need on our team as we address the challenges facing our communities.”
A trial lawyer and managing partner at the Honolulu law firm of Roeca Louie & Hiraoka, Louie has held leadership positions with several Hawaii legal organizations. He served as president, vice-president, and director of the Hawaii State Bar Association, and as vice-president, secretary-treasurer, and director of the Hawaii Defense Lawyers Association.
The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Northwest Regional Governor, Louie has worked in practice areas such as commercial litigation, construction defect litigation, directors & officers liability, insurance defense, legal malpractice, personal injury, premises liability, prison litigation, product liability, and toxic torts. In doing so, he has successfully represented business owners, contractors, insurers, national retailers, and manufacturers among his clients.
Louie was named to the most recent Best Lawyers in America list, and has been honored as a Hawaii “Super Lawyer” since 2008.
At a press conference at Abercrombie’s state capitol office on December 19th, Louie said he was “humbled, thankful, and grateful” for the appointment.