Address:
Marr Jones & Wang
Pauahi Tower
1003 Bishop Street, Suite 1500
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
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Phone: (808) 536-4900
Fax: (808) 536-6700
Web site: marrjones.com
Firm Size: 14 Lawyers |
Primary Contact:
Barry W. Marr
bmarr@marrjones.com
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Firm Description
In 1995, the founding lawyers of Marr Jones & Wang left the state’s two largest law firms to form what is now the largest law firm in Hawaii devoted exclusively to the representation of management in labor and employment law matters. Labor and employment law presents unique issues and requires unique strategies; we believe employers are best served by attorneys who have devoted their careers to this area of the law.
Clients of the firm include both Hawaii and mainland-based companies, including: financial institutions; construction companies; federal contractors; retailers; manufacturers; hotels; medical centers; marine, airline and other transportation companies; as well as the State of Hawaii and its counties. Employers call on our firm for assistance in all areas of labor and employment law, from counseling and compliance to negotiations and collective bargaining to litigation and other forms of dispute resolution. Our lawyers have represented clients before both state and federal administrative agencies, and before the highest courts in the nation.
Each of our fourteen attorneys and three paralegals has dedicated their careers to labor and employment law. With a breadth of experience ranging from three to more than 30 years, our eight partners and six associates are able to staff client projects very efficiently, ranging from discrete legal questions to complex employment litigation.
Our firm has been awarded an AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell, the publishers of the nationwide legal directory. This is the highest rating awarded and is based on legal ability and adherence to ethical standards of practice. The firm is also listed in The Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers.
Attorney Biographies
Leighton M. Hara
Prior to joining the firm in 2009, Leighton M. Hara practiced commercial litigation where he defended numerous corporations, governmental entities, and individuals in civil actions. His practice areas have also included employment and construction law. Mr. Hara also served as a law clerk at the Circuit Court of the Third Circuit, State of Hawaii, to the Honorable Riki May Amano and the Honorable Terence T. Yoshioka. Mr. Hara received his undergraduate degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and his law degree from the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii.
Patrick H. Jones
Patrick H. Jones graduated from Georgetown University (B.S.,
magna cum laude) and Georgetown University Law Center (J.D.,
cum laude). He has spent his entire professional career representing management in various employment-related matters, including discrimination and harassment claims in the courts and before the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He has also represented clients in compliance reviews and complaint investigations conducted by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. He has significant "traditional" labor law experience, including arbitrations under collective bargaining agreements and claims before federal and state administrative agencies.
Darin R. Leong
Prior to joining the firm on January 31, 2007, Mr. Leong was an attorney in the labor and employment department of Proskauer Rose LLP in New York City. Mr. Leong counsels employers in all aspects of employment law, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour compliance and disability accommodation. He also represents management with respect to traditional labor matters before the National Labor Relations Board, collective bargaining, arbitration under collective bargaining agreements and obtaining court injunctions against illegal strikes and job actions. In addition, Mr. Leong represents musicians, artists, record labels and distributors with respect to their rights under copyright and trademark law. He is licensed to practice in the states of Hawaii and New York.
Barry W. Marr
Barry W. Marr graduated from Hobart College (B.A.), Albany Law School of Union University (J.D.) and Georgetown University Law Center (L.L.M.). Following law school, he was counsel to the Chair of the National Labor Relations Board. He has broad experience in both traditional labor law and employment law. In addition to representing employers in more than 250 cases before arbitrators and administrative agencies, he has served as both spokesperson and as counsel in collective bargaining negotiations. He also has litigated employment disputes in federal and state courts involving breach of contract, wrongful discharge, employment discrimination, defamation, fraud, and sexual harassment. He has served as an adjunct professor and has lectured on labor and employment law matters both in Hawaii and on the mainland. He has been selected for inclusion in
The Best Lawyers in America; he is listed in
America's Leading Business Lawyer; and he is a contributing Editor of
The Developing Labor Law, published by the Bureau of National Affairs.
Melanie Mito May
Melanie Mito May graduated from Santa Clara University (B.S., cum laude) and Hastings College of the Law (J.D.). Prior to joining our firm, she completed a clerkship in the civil motions divisions at the Circuit Court of the First Circuit in Honolulu, Hawaii, with the Honorable Daniel G. Heely and the Honorable Kevin S. C. Chang. Since joining the firm, she has dedicated her professional career to working with management to find solutions to employment problems. She has assisted employers in drafting employment contracts, creating employee handbooks, enforcing employment policies and investigating employee misconduct. She has been a partner since 2003.
Jason M. Minami
Jason M. Minami received both his undergraduate degree (B.A.) and master's degree (M.A.) from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and his law degree from the Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii (J.D.). Prior to joining the firm in 2010, Mr. Minami practiced commercial litigation where he represented a wide variety of clients ranging from large corporations to small companies in civil actions, with an emphasis on insurance insolvency and bad faith litigation. He also served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu, State of Hawaii, and as a law clerk to the Honorable Michael A. Town, Circuit Court of the First Circuit, State of Hawaii.
William N. Ota
Willam N. Ota received his undergraduate degree from Illinois College and his law degree from the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii. He has been in private practice since 1997. Prior to joining the firm, he specialized in insurance defense litigation, particularly medical malpractice defense and lawsuits involving catastrophic personal injury. His practice areas have also included employment law, hospital law, and various aspects of health care law.
Richard M. Rand
Mr. Rand has practiced labor and employment law in Hawaii for over 26 years. He has counseled employers on a wide range of federal and state legal issues including employment claims, wage and hour law, complex labor negotiations and Davis Bacon Act compliance. In addition, he has been lead counsel in jury trials in both federal and state court and has argued numerous cases before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and Hawaii Appellate Courts. Mr. Rand also represents employers in arbitration and mediation proceedings. He has represented both buyers and sellers in the labor and employment aspects of many major real estate transactions. Mr. Rand has been recognized in
Best Lawyers in America as one of Hawaii’s premier employment lawyers. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Hawaii. Mr. Rand is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University Law Center.
Megumi Sakae
Megumi Sakae is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Washington University in St. Louis where she was an associate editor of the law review. She has represented clients in arbitrations before the National Association of Securities Dealers (now known as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) and American Arbitration Association as well as in mediations. Ms. Sakae also advises clients on preventive labor and employee relations practices, including sexual harassment, employment discrimination, employment contracts, severance agreements, protection of trade secrets and restrictive covenants, leave laws, and wage and hour compliance.
Cynthia M. Surrisi
Cynthia M. Surrisi represents employers in matters arising under federal, state and local labor and employment laws, with a particular emphasis on airlines, the Railway Labor Act, and the Federal Aviation Administration Regulations. She represents airlines before federal and state courts, bankruptcy courts, the National Mediation Board, System Boards of Adjustment, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration, and Presidential Emergency Boards. She has substantial experience in advising airlines in complex labor negotiations, contract administration, and interest and rights arbitrations. She has acted as lead labor counsel in airline acquisitions, mergers, and other forms of airline cooperation.
Lynne T. Toyofuku
Lynne T. Toyofuku has extensive experience in client counseling and training, arbitration, mediation, administrative agency practice before the NLRB, the EEOC, the DOL Wage and Hour Division, the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, and Hawaii’s Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, and federal and state court litigation. She serves as an arbitrator on the Court Annexed Arbitration Program and as a delegate to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference. She received her undergraduate degree from Tufts University, cum laude, and her law degree from Boston University School of Law.
Sarah O. Wang
Sarah O. Wang graduated from Whitman College (B.A.,
summa cum laude with distinction) and the University of Virginia School of Law (J.D.), where she was a member of the Order of the Coif and Notes Editor for the Virginia Law Review. Following law school, she clerked for the late Judge Charles E. Wiggins of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She represents employers in a wide range of labor and employment law matters, including federal and state court litigation, administrative audits and hearings, labor arbitrations, and federal and state appellate cases. She also devotes a substantial amount of her practice to providing training and guidance for employers and their supervisory employees to assist them in managing personnel issues and in complying with various employment laws. Ms. Wang has been selected for inclusion in
The Best Lawyers in America and she has been listed in the Chambers USA directory,
America's Leading Lawyers for Business since 2004.
Jennifer C. T. Woo
Jennifer C.T. Woo joined Marr Jones & Wang as an associate in May 2007. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Woo completed a clerkship with the Honorable James S. Burns, Chief Judge of the Intermediate Court of Appeals of Hawaii. As a law student, Ms. Woo worked for the firm as a law clerk. She also clerked at the Honolulu Office of the Prosecutor and served as a summer clerk for the Honorable Kevin S.C. Chang, United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Hawaii.
Christopher S. Yeh
Christopher S. Yeh graduated from Harvard University (B.A., summa cum laude) and Harvard Law School (J.D., cum laude). He joined the firm as an associate in December 1998 and became a partner in 2003. He advises companies on a wide range of employment matters and has successfully represented employers in proceedings before the state and federal courts in Hawaii, the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, and the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. He has represented employers in labor arbitrations and in representation hearings at the National Labor Relations Board. He is an adjunct professor at both the University of Hawaii’s William S. Richardson School of Law and at Hawaii Pacific University.
