Dean E. Ochiai was appointed as a First Circuit Court judge on February 15, 2013 by Governor Neil Abercrombie.  Prior to becoming a Circuit Judge, he was a District Court judge from June 16, 2011 upon appointment by Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald.  He currently sits on the civil trial calendar.

Prior to being appointed to the bench, Judge Ochiai was Vice President and Managing Attorney for the First Insurance Company of Hawaii.  His earlier Hawaii legal experience includes being a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Deputy Corporation Counsel and private practice with a Honolulu law firm.

Judge Ochiai has been a volunteer member of the Court Annexed Arbitration Commission and was a training panelist, the Attorneys Disciplinary Board, and currently sits on the Hawaii Supreme Court Board of Bar Examiners.

He is a graduate of Hastings College of the Law and the University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Business Administration (nka Shidler College of Business).