Kukui Claydon

Kukui Claydon is a Director of the firm. Ms. Claydon is an integral part of the firm’s litigation team, representing clients in complex litigation matters. Ms. Claydon’s practice is well-rounded with impressive depth representing clients in construction, real estate development, large financial institutions and business owners who are often involved in multimillion dollar disputes.

Ms. Claydon represents both corporate and public entities, ranging from large and medium-sized Hawaii companies to Fortune 500 firms, to national banks, to multiple state entities.

Ms. Claydon has been selected to the Hawaii Super Lawyers®, "Rising Star" List in the practice area of Business Litigation since 2018.

Ms. Claydon has been named to The Best Lawyersin America®, Ones to Watch list in the practice areas of Commercial Litigation, Construction Litigation and Real Estate Litigation.

Ms. Claydon is the President Elect of and active in the Hawaii Federal Bar Association. Ms. Claydon has also been selected as a lawyer representative to the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii, a two-year position.

Examples of notable matters Ms. Claydon has worked on include:

Lender Litigation. Representation of national banks in State and Federal Court, in defending wrongful foreclosure suits, pursuing multimillion dollar commercial foreclosures, and defense in fair debt collection practices, and other suits.

Complex Construction Defects Litigation. Representation of general contractor in multimillion dollar complex construction dispute over defects in luxury resort construction.

Contract Litigation. Representation of various corporate clients in contractual disputes.

Real Estate Developer Defense. Assisted in representation of developer of Hokuli?a, a luxury subdivision development on the Kona coast of Hawaii, in a dispute related to the sale of multiple related lots. Following the recession in 2008, the luxury development was stalled. Claimants had purchased residential lots prior to full effect of economic downturn, and when portions of the project were subsequently delayed or not completed, claimants asserted claims seeking recission of their purchase contracts, and punitive and/or treble damages. Following a multi-week arbitration, all claims not previously disposed of by summary judgment or settlement were resolved in favor of developer client by three-member arbitration panel.

State Entity Defense. Defense of multiple State entities in a variety of claims brought by private parties and state entities in lower and appellate state courts, and before the Labor and Industrial Relations Appeals Board.

Product Liability Defense. Represented international airplane manufacturing company over products liability dispute relating to helicopter crash. The case settled shortly before trial.

Appellate Litigation. Represented numerous clients in appellate litigation and briefing both as appellant and appellee, including matters related to land use and easement disputes, wrongful foreclosure matters, representation of institutions against allegations of sexual abuse in appeals by co-defendants, and complex construction appellate matters.

Ms. Claydon serves on the Board of Directors for the Ronald McDonald House Charities, Hawaii.

While in law school, Ms. Claydon served as research assistant on numerous projects including the biography of Justice Ruth Badar Ginsburg, with Professor(s) Wendy Williams and Mary Hartnett; on the China Health Law Initiative for the O'Neil Institute for National and Global Health Law; and researcher and technical editor for Georgetown Law Journal's Annual Review of Criminal Procedure. She also served as the Executive and Submissions Editor for the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics for two years.

Ms. Claydon published THE REAL TIME PLAYERS: LEGAL ETHICS, PUBLIC INTEREST, AND PROFESSIONAL SPORTS SUBSIDIES, GEORGETOWN JOURNAL OF LEGAL ETHICS, SUMMER 2014, VOL XXVII NO.3.