Maui Self-Help Center Volunteers Recognized for Service to the Community
Posted on Oct 14, 2015 in Featured NewsTwenty-four attorneys and an AmeriCorps Advocate were recognized for their volunteer service at the Second Circuit’s Self-Help Center in the Maui courthouse. The “Access to Justice Luncheon” was held on October 6, 2015, at Hoapili Hale, in the courtroom of Judge Rhonda Loo.
In the past year, the Self-Help Center attorneys provided the Maui community with more than 200 hours of legal assistance, at no charge. Since the center opened in October of 2012, it has had over 1,800 visits by self-represented litigants. The attorneys have helped guide the unrepresented parties with court forms and processes, civil matters such as landlord/tenant issues, divorce, personal injury, collection cases and temporary restraining orders.
The volunteers were recognized by Hawaii Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald, Intermediate Court of Appeals Associate Judge Dan Foley, Second Circuit Chief Judge Joseph Cardoza, Second Circuit Judge Rhonda Loo, and Hawaii State Bar Association (HSBA) President Greg Markham.
The volunteer attorneys who were honored (and the number of pro bono shifts they worked at the Self-Help Center) are as follows: Ben Acob (23), Mary Blaine Johnson (18), Caroline Peters-Belsom (10), J. Kevin Jenkins (11), Valentina Stewart-Watson (1), Sonya Toma (10), Davelynn Tengan (1), Brianne Wong-Leong (8), Lynn Araki-Regan (4), Loren Tilley (6), Allison Mileur (2), Richard Minatoya (1), Yukari Murakami (8), Annalisa Bernard Lee (4), Sam Shnider (8), Keri Mehling (5), Gary Murai (3), Douglas Sameshima (1), Danielle Sears (3), Shae Aisha Hill (1), David Raatz (2), Lauren Akitake (1), Tim McNulty (2), Nicole Forelli (1), and Tracy Jones (1).
Also recognized was Magdalena Bajon, an AmeriCorps Advocate, who volunteers to run the Self-Help Center each week through the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii.
The Chief Justice thanked the volunteers, the Maui County Bar Association, the Hawaii State Bar Association, the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, and judiciary staff and judges for their support of the Center.
For more information on the Maui Self-Help Center see: http://bit.ly/1MpcAOd
First row, left to right: Hawaii Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald, Second Circuit Judge Rhonda Loo, Second Circuit Chief Judge Joseph Cardoza, Intermediate Court of Appeals Associate Judge Dan Foley, HSBA President Greg Markham, Tracy Jones. Second row, left to right: Caroline Peters-Belsom, Magdalena Bajon, Ben Acob, Brianne Wong-Leong, Allison Mileur, Keri Mehling. Back row: J. Kevin Jenkins.