Best Lawyers in Hawaii, United States for Litigation - Construction
Matt Evans is a Director of Damon Key and practices in the firm’s Business & Commercial Law, Real Estate, Construction Law, Creditors’ Rights, Insurance, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, and Appeals practice groups. With a primary focus on commercial disputes, Matt aims to provide legal services in a manner that places his clients’ goals at the center, with a mind toward helping them prevent disputes before they occur and, when necessary, resolve disputes by finding ...
Ian Wesley-Smith is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation and Litigation - Construction. Ian, who practices law in Hilo, Hawaii, has been recognized since 2027. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Ian is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Adrian L. Lavarias is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Construction Law, Litigation - Construction, Litigation - Real Estate, Litigation - Trusts and Estates and Real Estate Law. Adrian L., who practices law in Honolulu, Hawaii, has been recognized since 2018. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Adrian L. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Mr. Engle's practice focuses in the areas of real estate litigation, construction contracts and disputes, and complex business litigation. Examples of Mr. Engle's work include: Constitutional Law. Represented a national REIT in a highly publicized constitutional challenge of legislation affecting the methods for calculating lease rent under long-term industrial ground leases. Successfully obtained ruling declaring statute unconstitutional under the contracts and equal protection clauses of th...
Andrew J. Lautenbach is a Director at Starn O’Toole Marcus and Fisher who has earned a reputation for taking an aggressive yet practical approach when representing clients in complex matters. Mr. Lautenbach has extensive experience in complex litigation matters, including numerous jury trials, bench trials, and high stakes arbitrations. Mr. Lautenbach recently served as a lawyer representative to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of the United States District Court for the Di...
William Harstad is a Partner in the firm's Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution practice group. He has experience in numerous arbitrations and litigations, with amounts in dispute ranging from the tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of millions of dollars. Mr. Harstad has also represented both secured and unsecured creditors in bankruptcy proceedings on both the East Coast and in Hawai`i, including in various adversary proceedings.Mr. Harstad's litigation experience is broad and...
Blake W. Bushnell is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Construction Law and Litigation - Construction. Blake W., who practices law in Honolulu, Hawaii, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Blake W. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Anna practices in the firm’s Appeals, Construction Law, Insurance Defense/Surety Law, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, and Real Estate practice groups. As a director of the firm, her main focus is construction law and commercial litigation. She has represented construction organizations, developers, owners, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and design professionals in reviewing and drafting construction contracts, as well as in all forums of dispute resolution, including extens...
David A. Nakashima is a litigation attorney with more than thirty-five years of experience representing businesses and individuals in complex disputes. Based in Honolulu, Hawaii, he works with clients at Nakashima Ching LLC to address a wide range of commercial, real estate, and construction-related matters. His practice focuses on careful analysis, practical strategy, and effective advocacy tailored to each client’s objectives. David’s recognized practice areas include Bet-the-Co...
Harvey J. Lung is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Arbitration, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Litigation - Construction and Mediation. Harvey J., who practices law in Honolulu, Hawaii, has been recognized since 2006. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Harvey J. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Sharon V. Lovejoy represents clients in a wide variety of litigation matters with primary focus in commercial, real estate and business litigation. Ms. Lovejoy has been named to The Best Lawyers in America ® , "Lawyer of the Year" in Honolulu list, Appellate P ractice (2020), Mortgage Banking Foreclosure Law (2015, 2019, 2024, 2026), Litigation-Banking & Finance (2014, 2022, 2025) and Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions-Plaintiffs (2027). Lovejoy is also recognized by The Best Lawyers ...
A. Bernard “Bernie” Bays is a Director of the firm. Mr. Bays has over 50 years of experience and has successfully represented clients in numerous landmark Hawaii litigation cases and over 150 trials or arbitrations. Mr. Bays focuses his practice in the areas of complex commercial litigation, business litigation, real estate litigation, trusts and estates litigation, legal malpractice law-defendant litigation, real estate law and land use and zoning law. Mr. Bays is Board Certified...
Craig G. Nakamura is the Administrative Partner in the firm's Maui Office and is a member of the Litigation practice group. He concentrates his practice in the areas of real estate and general corporate law. Mr. Nakamura has extensive experience in commercial real estate, civil litigation, construction disputes, foreclosures, mediation and arbitration. He was recently selected by attorney peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2018 in the fields of Litigation - Real Estate and Rea...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.