Best Lawyers in Hawaii, United States for Real Estate Law
Vicki Nakahara is a Partner in the firm's Honolulu office and is a member of the Transactional practice group. She concentrates her practice in the areas of commercial real estate transactions, financing and lending, and corporate transactions. Ms. Nakahara began her legal career working as an associate at Lane Powell PC in their Portland, Oregon office. Representative Matters Commercial Real Estate Prepared and negotiated documentation of the sales of real property on behalf of sellers and b...
Trevor A. Brown represents clients in both litigation and transactions. His real estate experience ranges from resort acquisition and development to acting as trial counsel to establish beach access rights based on Kingdom of Hawaii land use. Mr. Brown's corporate experience ranges from negotiating corporate restructurings to acting as trial counsel to force the break-up of related land development corporations. Mr. Brown counsels trustees and beneficiaries in trust matters and also represent...
Ms. Strona is a Director of the firm. Ms. Strona focuses her practice in the areas of commercial real estate transactions, leasing, commercial asset and equity sales and acquisitions, and corporate law. Ms. Strona has been selected to the Hawaii Super Lawyers® list since 2025, and the Hawaii Super Lawyers®, "Rising Star" list in the practice area of Real Estate Law since 2020. Ms.Strona has been named to T he Best Lawyers in America ® 2026 list in the practice area of Real Estate ...
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.
Karl Kobayashi concentrates his practice in the area of commercial real estate with an emphasis on sales, acquisitions, leasing, financing and development. He also practices in the area of entitlements (land use and zoning law) and has represented clients in contested case and other regulatory proceedings before agencies such as the State of Hawai`i Land Use Commission, the Hawai`i Community Development Authority (Kaka`ako), the City and County of Honolulu Zoning Board of Appeals, the Maui Pl...
Na Lan is a Director at Damon Key and brings to the firm a unique combination of capabilities and experience in the areas of condominium and community association law, immigration, business and real property transactions, and dispute resolution for Mandarin-speaking investors and business owners. Born and raised in China, she is fluent in both Mandarin Chinese and English. Ms. Lan once again was selected by her peers for inclusion in the 2025 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America® for he...
Joel D. Kam is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Real Estate Law. Joel D., who practices law in Honolulu, Hawaii, has been recognized since 2019. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Joel D. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Lauren R. Sharkey, is a Director and concentrates her practice in the areas of real estate, taxation and business & commercial law. She represents businesses in wide-ranging commercial matters including acquisitions and sales of real estate and business, development and leasing. Ms. Sharkey also advises businesses and individuals as to state and federal tax issues. She is licensed (inactive) as a certified public accountant in Hawai’i and California. She is a former summer clerk to ...
Greg Kugle concentrates his practice in the area of litigation. He works in the areas of commercial disputes and business litigation, construction, land use and real estate, antitrust, product liability and personal injury, aviation, bankruptcy, admiralty and insurance coverage. He has litigated cases before the Hawaii District and Circuit Courts, the Hawaii Bankruptcy Court and United States District Court, and has handled appeals before the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals, the Hawaii S...
Ivan M. Lui-Kwan was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii. He has practiced law for over 50 years, focusing on Hawaii’s land use, administrative and real estate law. Mr. Lui-Kwan is a Director of the law firm, has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America ® for Administrative/Regulatory Law, Government Relations Practice, Land Use and Zoning Law, Leisure & Hospitality Law, Real Estate Law, and named “Lawyer of the Year” in Honolulu by The Best Lawyers in America ®...
Lawrence Okinaga is a partner in the firm's Honolulu office and a member of its Transactional practice group. He concentrates his practice in the areas of corporate, financial institutions, real estate, and administrative law. Mr. Okinaga has developed this deep experience in representing corporations, partnerships and individuals, for more than 38 years. He regularly advises clients on business matters and supervises the firm's litigators in clients' disputes. He is listed in Chambers USA: A...
Jon Yamamura is a Partner in the firm's Honolulu office and is the Chair of the Transactional Practice Group. He concentrates his practice on real estate, mergers and acquisitions, buying and selling businesses and business interests, and business planning and reorganization. Mr. Yamamura also works on a wide range of complex corporate and finance projects and cases. In addition, having served over two years as a foreign attorney on staff at the Anderson Mori law firm in Tokyo, Japan, he has ...
Ken is a Fellow in the American College of Construction Lawyers, and has served on the Governing Committee of the American Bar Association’s Forum on the Construction Industry. He has degrees in chemistry from Cornell and meteorology from Penn State. In 1996, Penn State’s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences named him a Centennial Fellow. He was a meteorologist for 4 years, serving as General Staff Weather Briefing Officer in Saigon, Vietnam (7th Air Force), and Chief Forecaster ...
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 ...
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.