Respected HSTA lawyer nominated to state Supreme Court

Gov. Josh Green Monday nominated respected attorney Vladimir P. Devens, who for seven years has served the Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association as its labor lawyer, to an associate justice position at the Hawaiʻi State Supreme Court.

In a news conference Monday morning announcing the nomination, Green told reporters, “Vlad, who is known for his pidgin-laced intellectual opinions, brought a freshness to the process.”

“His extensive labor experience was important to me. We have a great deal of individuals that are in labor and the public workforce and I’d really like to see that additional perspective for our court system,” the governor said.

Devens told the news conference, “Should the state Senate confirm me as a state Supreme Court associate, I will bring to the court the same hard work, commitment, dedication, excitement and belief in our constitution and in our court that has marked my decades of work as a litigator. As I embark on this new chapter of my career, with the state Senate willing, I believe I bring a very diverse background with many experiences in my legal practice and community work that I am confident will be a very helpful addition and perspective to Hawaiʻi’s Supreme Court.”

“I will always be committed to my role under the state constitution to equal justice under law for all,” Devens added.

His firm, the Law Offices of Vladimir P. Devens, has represented the HSTA in numerous legal matters, including collective bargaining, arbitrations and in cases before the Hawaiʻi Labor Relations Board. Devens also played a critical role in advising HSTA to support and protect its members during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Should the state Senate approve Devens’ nomination to the high court, HSTA will continue to be represented by Keani Alapa, an attorney in Devens’ firm who has also worked closely with HSTA officers, managers and staff since 2016.

In a letter supporting Devens to the state’s Judicial Selection Commission earlier this year, HSTA President Osa Tui, Jr. wrote, “His success in matters related to collective bargaining make Mr. Devens and his firm highly sought after by some of Hawaiʻi’s largest public and private sector unions. The legal advice he provides is rooted in a deep understanding and knowledge of Hawaiʻi state statutes and extensive experience in related case law.”

HSTA Deputy Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Andrea Eshelman has worked closely with Devens on multiple legal matters and every case he and his firm have handled for the union since 2016.

In her letter to the Judicial Selection Commission, Eshelman said Devens “has a strong grasp of the law, and his breadth and depth of litigation experience and knowledge in a wide variety of practice areas, in my opinion, makes him uniquely qualified to serve as an Associate Justice. Mr. Devens’ legal advice reflects a deep understanding and knowledge of case law, statutes, and procedures; he has the ability to get to the heart of any legal issue quickly.”

“Mr. Devens is exceedingly competent; he approaches all cases with diligence and honest assessment, providing clients not only the legal answer but thoughtful analysis and strategy for the best possible outcomes,” Eshelman added.

Devens has been licensed to practice in Hawaiʻi for more than 35 years. His legal career has been dedicated and focused on litigation, in which he has represented plaintiffs, defendants, corporations, businesses, and public workers and unions in a wide variety of matters. Besides labor disputes, grievances, contract negotiations and interest arbitrations, he has handled cases about construction, land use, permitting, public trust doctrine, constitutional issues, sunshine laws, privacy rights, uniform information practices, corporate governance, fiduciary duties, asbestos defense, wrongful death, products liability, sexual abuse, child abuse, defamation, and class actions, among other areas.

Devens served as lead counsel in the Hawai‘i Supreme Court’s landmark child abuse decision in Kahoohanohano v. DHS, has litigated constitutional privacy right cases, and handled significant litigation involving child sexual abuse issues and numerous wrongful death cases. His previous public service roles include participation as a member of the Governor’s Hawai‘i Impaired Driving Task Force in 2013 and as chair and vice chair of the State Land Use Commission.

Born and raised in Honolulu, Devens is a product of public education. He graduated from Kalani High School and attended the University of California at Berkeley, where he majored in economics. He earned his law degree from UC Berkeley’s School of Law.

Green Monday also nominated Lisa M. Ginoza as an associate justice of the state Supreme Court.

Ginoza has served as chief judge of the State of Hawaiʻi Intermediate Court of Appeals for five of her 13 years with the appeals court. Ginoza also served as first deputy attorney general from 2005 to 2010, assisting the attorney general in leading a department of more than 700 employees including 170 attorneys across 16 legal services divisions and five non-legal divisions covering crime prevention, Criminal Justice Data Center and investigations, among others. In private practice, Ginoza worked for some of the top law firms in Honolulu overseeing various types of litigation and handled cases at all court levels, including the Hawai‘i Supreme Court, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Devens and Ginoza are being nominated to replace Michael Wilson and Paula Nakayama, two associate Supreme Court justices who retired earlier this year. Their nominations were among six names provided to the governor after a thorough review of the backgrounds and qualifications of all applicants by the Judicial Selection Commission.

The nominations are subject to confirmation by the State Senate, a process that begins with a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Friday, Nov. 17 at 10 a.m.

The Senate will convene in a floor session at 11 a.m. Monday, Nov. 20. The session will be followed by a separate decision-making meeting of the Judiciary Committee at 11:30 a.m. on the same day, at which time the committee will make a recommendation on each appointment.

Final Senate votes on the appointments are expected Tuesday, Nov. 21.

With Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald’s swearing in of three new First Circuit District Court Judges Monday afternoon, the state will have a total of 81 judges/justices on the bench. There will be 40 women and 41 men in those positions.

Feature photo courtesy of the office of the governor. From left: Vladimir Devens, Gov. Josh Green, and Lisa Ginoza.