By PBI Intern Catherine Titzer
Introduction
Although often romanticized as a tropical paradise by the mainland United States, Hawaiʻi faces profound and complex legal challenges, particularly in the areas of land and environmental rights—challenges that many residents, especially Native Hawaiians, struggle to advocate for due to systemic barriers and limited access to legal resources.
Pro bono legal work has played an important role in addressing these challenges, empowering Native Hawaiian communities and other residents to navigate legal systems, protect their rights, and advocate for sustainable solutions to land and environmental issues.
Pro Bono Regulations in Hawaiʻi
Hawaii, like several other states, has adopted the American Bar Association’s recommended aspirational goal of 50 pro bono hours per year for lawyers. Hawaiʻi also requires its lawyers to report their pro bono hours.
From Plantations to Wildfires: The Lasting Legacy of Colonization in Hawaiʻi
The public’s idyllic perception of Hawaiʻi fractured for the first time with the onset of the 2023 wildfires, which killed 102 people and devastated Maui’s landscape, ranking among the deadliest wildfires in U.S. history. Although news of the wildfires made national headlines, few understand their historical roots: Hawaiʻi’s plantations.
The plantations directly led to the 2023 wildfires by spending over a century destroying natural wildlife and introducing invasive, extremely flammable species of grass that fueled the flames of the fires. As Uʻilani Tanigawa Lum, an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and Kaulu Luʻuwai, a Post-JD Legal Fellow at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa write, “What happened in Maui Komohana was not a natural disaster. Instead, it was the consequence of over 150 years of rapacious land and natural resource management practices.”
However, this is far from the only modern issue that the plantations created. Plantations displaced hundreds of thousands of Hawaiians, devastating theirʻāina (land) and wai (water). The plantations’ legacy persists today, as Native Hawaiians continue to fight for their land and environmental rights.
How Legal Aid and Pro Bono Make a Difference
Pro bono and legal aid work have been an important part of advancing land and environmental justice in Hawaiʻi, with individual attorneys and organizations making significant contributions to protect the islands’ landscapes and communities. Plantations displaced countless Hawaiian families with rightful claims to their land, and for decades, plantation owners and others with financial capital used legal means to consolidate and maintain control. Today, these families continue to seek justice.
Maui lawyer Dr. Lance Collins has leveraged pro bono work to protect Native Hawaiian family kuleana lands and environmental rights. He has worked on numerous pro bono cases in a variety of areas, such as Tuttle v. Front Street Affordable Housing Partners, Chun v. Bd. of Land & Natural Resources, Academic Labor United v. Bd of Regents of the University of Hawaiʻi, and Hussey v. Say. His extensive pro bono contributions, including serving as lead counsel in a landmark case to safeguard affordable housing, have earned him recognition from the Hawaiʻi State Bar Association and the Supreme Court of Hawaiʻi.
Pro bono work presents a strong avenue for fighting for environmental and land use justice in the wake of the plantations. Dr. Collins explains that environmental and land use cases are rarely heard because the client typically cannot pay for an attorney. Pro bono representation allows these issues to be given the attention they deserve. “I don’t treat pro bono cases any differently than I would treat another case,” he says. Recognizing the extensive community need for this work, Dr. Collins encourages those who have the capacity to “step up and do more pro bono work.”
Dr. Bianca Isaki—a lawyer, activist, Treasurer for KAHEA, the Hawaiian Environmental Alliance, and lecturer at the University of Hawaiʻi—has also been instrumental in advancing the fight for land and environmental rights with pro bono and low bono work.
Dr. Isaki worked successfully with Dr. Collins in the Kapu family case, helping a family reclaim their ancestral land. “That case was about Hawaiians on kuleana lands being chased out by the legal system and their lands being deprived of water.” She also recently worked pro bono on an environmental review case with a proposed wave pool, which would have had significant adverse environmental and cultural impacts. With Dr. Isaki’s help, the case ended in success for the plaintiffs and improvements in environmental review documents.
Reflecting on the role of pro bono work in the fight for environmental and cultural justice, Dr. Isaki says that attorneys should do pro bono as much as they can, but they should also look to get involved in organizing and amplifying the work of nonprofits. “I would show up at public hearings, see who is testifying, and testify yourself. Everyone is watching you, and they find out what position you take. It shows that you care enough to show up personally. And then people will find you.” Dr. Isaki emphasizes that there is no end to the amount of community advocacy work that can be done. “Be on the right side,” she urges.
Law firms and organizations have been central to advancing environmental and land justice in Hawaiʻi. The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (NHLC) is a leading public interest law firm dedicated to these efforts. NHLC’s mission is to protect and advance Native Hawaiian identity and culture by integrating Kanaka Maoli values into the practice of law and advocacy in courts and before administrative agencies.
NHLC’s work contributes to “the protection and preservation of Native Hawaiian culture, identity, health, and well being.” They provide assistance in many areas, including cultural heritage, land, and environmental issues.
Liʻulā Christensen, Esq., is a Senior Staff Attorney at NHLC. Ms. Christensen has extensive experience in quiet title defense for Hawaiian families, particularly those involving kuleana lands and other fee simple properties. She also provides regular counsel and representation to families on issues related to Hawaiian Home Lands leaseholds.
Christensen speaks to the importance of pro bono in allowing NHLC to diversify its practice and help clients they may not otherwise have the expertise. She discusses a case with a contract for a Hawaiian band and how external pro bono work made helping the band possible: “We didn’t necessarily have the expertise in that but a private attorney did and was willing to work pro bono. Through our organization, the attorney who wouldn’t have represented the client outside of this was able to help them.” Having external pro bono support allows their firm to save resources that they can pass along to their clients. “It layers in so many different ways,” Christensen emphasizes.
In addition, certain cases, such as land title cases, can take years to resolve. NHLC is essential for these cases, as they are organized to assist in long term cases through pro bono work. “That’s what makes NHLC special—we are organized in a way to provide a full-service attorney to the client pro or low bono,” Christensen explains. She describes how NHLC will represent their clients, and then the client’s children, because the cases can take so long as to be cross-generational. NHLC is thus able to assist generations of clients and provide crucial services for ensuring Hawaiian families have the rights to their ancestral lands:
“When you look at the small footprint of kuleana property, for a lot of Hawaiians, the cost benefit analysis doesn’t work out so it’s not worth it for them to fight for the land title, and the plantations get the land by default. NHLC started in 1974 to provide defense in these land title cases.”
NHLC also handles cases involving water rights, the restoration of stream flows, and the protection of ancestral burials, ensuring that kūpuna (ancestors) are treated with respect and care during new developments. Christensen explains that pro bono work is integral to enabling the community to benefit from these cases. “We see it as a benefit to the larger lāhui, rather than an individual,” she discusses. “It benefits everyone, so that’s part of why we work pro bono.” NHLC’s work exemplifies how legal services can translate to systemic, community changes.
Conclusion: Call to Action
Hawaiʻi’s communities, due to centuries of displacement and settlement, often lack the resources needed to reclaim their land rights, which are central to their cultural practices and livelihood. Pro bono work has, and will continue to, make a lasting difference for Hawaiian and indigenous communities. Here are some organizations offering pro bono opportunities to make a difference in Hawai‘i:
- Earthjustice
- Kapolei Access to Justice Room
- Lawyers for Equal Justice
- Legal Aid Society of Hawaiʻi
- Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation
- Office of Hawaiian Affairs
- Volunteer Legal Services Hawaiʻi
The fight for justice, land rights, and environmental preservation in Hawaiʻi is far from over, and through sustained advocacy and support—like the work offered by these organizations—pro bono lawyers can help ensure that Native Hawaiian voices and rights are heard for generations to come.