Bert T. Kobayashi, Jr. is a Senior Partner of the law firm and one of its founding partners.  Mr. Kobayashi is intimately involved with the governmental, political and business fabric of the State of Hawaii and is there by in touch with the vibrant business pulse of the State of Hawaii.  These extensive and comprehensive contacts enable Mr. Kobayashi to effectively advise his clients in their business activities in the State of Hawaii.

Mr. Kobayashi's practice concentrates in the areas of commercial and construction litigation, consultation in development and construction, construction document drafting and consultation, administrative law, governmental procurement and contracts and public utilities representation.

Current Business Community Activities:

Mr. Kobayashi is a respected member of the business community.

He has been a director of First Hawaiian Bank since 1975 and now also sits as a director of its holding company, BancWest Corporation.  Mr. Kobayashi also sat as a director of Western Air Lines until its sale to Delta Air Lines and on the board of Schuler Homes, Inc. until it merged with Western Pacific and then with D.H. Horton, Inc. resulting in one of the largest homebuilders in the United States.  Mr. Kobayashi currently is a member of the board of directors for the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu and was its president in 1997.  He also sits on the board of Hawaii Holdings, Inc. which controls Hawaiian Air Lines.

Community Activities:

Mr. Kobayashi's community business activities have involved the following:

Director of Hawaiian Insurance and Guaranty, a Hawaii casualty insurance company, from 1975 through 1982, Director of Inter-Continental Medical Services from 1986 until its sale in 1996, Advisory Board of GTE Hawaiian Telephone Company from 1997 until its merger with Verizon in 2001, Director and Vice Chair Person of Friends of Hawaii Charities, the host entity for the New PGA event, the Sony Open in Hawaii, Director and President of the Ahahui Koa Anuenue, the University of Hawaii's Athletic Foundation; past director of the Hawaii Public Schools Foundation, past member of the Board of Visitors for Lewis and Clark's Northwestern Law School in Portland, Oregon, member of the Executive Committee of the Japan-Hawaii Economic Council, which was founded in 1971, member of the Athletic Director Search Committee for the University of Hawaii.

Mr. Kobayashi’s professional law activities have been the following:

Member of Hawaii Asia Pacific Association, Member of the American Bar Association and the Hawaii Bar Association, Member of the State of Hawaii's Judicial Selection Commission from 1985 through 1991.  He was its chairperson from 1987 through 1989.  Member of the American Trial Lawyers Association and the American Board of Trial Advocates, and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Member of the American Law Institute. National Board of the American Judicature Society. Member of the American Arbitration Association.  He has served as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association in construction and commercial arbitrations.

Honors:

Mr. Kobayashi has been listed for more than ten years in Best Lawyers in America under the categories of Commercial Litigation and Insurance Defense.  He has also been listed each year in the Honolulu Magazine's issues featuring the Best Lawyers in the State of Hawaii in Commercial Law and Litigation and Insurance, ever since the magazine started its annual recognition of the outstanding lawyers in the state.

In 1987, he received the Alumni's Distinguished Service Award from the University of California's Hastings College of the Law. In 2003 he was awarded the Honorary Alumnus Award by Lewis and Clark's Northwestern School of Law and in 2005 was awarded the University of Hawaii's Charles Ushijima Award for Distinguished Service.

Lectures:

Mr. Kobayashi has taught classes in civil procedure for the Hawaii Bar Review Course, and Wills and Estates for the Honolulu Police Department Recruit School.  For the College of Continuing Education at the University of Hawaii, he has taught both as a regular instructor in business law and as a guest instructor in construction law, engineer's and architect's liability.  He has also lectured for Professional Education Systems, Inc. in the area of construction law for attorneys, contractors and design professionals in Hawaii.  He has taught in the area of procurement law, RFPs and construction contracts for the Corporation Counsel's annual conference.

Educational Background:

Mr. Kobayashi was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and graduated from Roosevelt High School. Mr. Kobayashi attended the University of Hawaii from 1958 to 1960, and graduated from Gettysburg College in 1962, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with minors in psychology and mathematics. Mr. Kobayashi received his Juris Doctor degree in 1965, from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

Military Service:

Mr. Kobayashi was commissioned in 1962 as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Branch. After graduating from law school, he entered active duty in 1965 as a First Lieutenant and was trained at the Combat Infantry Platoon Leaders School at Fort Benning, Georgia (IOBC 21) and the Counter Intelligence School at Fort Holabird, Maryland. Mr. Kobayashi served in Vietnam with the 519th MI Battalion HHQ Co. from June 1966 to June 1967. He was the head of the PsyopslInfra-structure Section of the R&A Branch of MACV in Saigon and head of the strategic interrogation team for Operation Hastings in Quin Yon.  He was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service in Vietnam.  He received his honorable discharge with the rank of Captain in 1967.