Before joining the firm in 1968, Charlie was a judge advocate in the United States Air Force at the Pentagon.

His practice emphasizes business law, commercial litigation, bankruptcy reorganization and arbitration. He was appointed to represent several thousand Guamanians whose lands were taken for military bases after World War II and to supervise the distribution of a settlement fund approximating $40 million dollars.

He was responsible for an upset victory in the United States Supreme Court in a landmark case defending private property rights, Kaiser Aetna v. United States, 444 U.S. 164 (1979).

Charlie has acted as an arbitrator in over 300 commercial and labor arbitrations since 1969, in addition to practicing law in the areas of general business law, commercial litigation and bankruptcy reorganization proceedings. In the course of his legal practice, he regularly experiences adversarial situations which require careful, experienced negotiating in an effort to settle the dispute rather than resort to expensive litigation.

His significant arbitration experiences include acting as impartial arbitrator in a multi-million dollar dispute bent the City & County of Honolulu and the contractor regarding construction of a refuse to energy plant. Other cases involve acting as arbitrator in disputes between: developers and contractors involving claims in excess of one million dollars a hotel chain and its Hong Kong licensee for the Far East regarding hotel development labor unions and owners or government entities involving contract interpretations.

Professional & Community Affiliations

American Bar Association
Hawaii State Bar Association
Federal Judicial Selection Commission (1984-1988)
Hawaii Supreme Court Committee on Lawyer Professionalism (1985-1988)
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services (Labor Arbitration Panel)
American Arbitration Association
Catholic Diocese of Honolulu (Development Committee)
University of Hawaii Cancer Research Center
Industrial Relations Research Association