David M. Louie

David Louie is a commercial litigator at Kobayashi Sugita & Goda, LLP in Honolulu, Hawaii. From 2011 to 2014, he served a 4 year term as Attorney General of Hawaii, the first Chinese-American in the U.S. to serve as a state attorney general. As Attorney General, he was the chief law enforcement officer for Hawaii, providing advice, counsel and representation to the Governor, the Cabinet, the Legislature and all State agencies and employees. Mr. Louie has been involved in numerous legal issues of importance for both the state and the nation. His achievements include: helping to pass and defend legislation legalizing same sex marriage in Hawaii, settling 30 year old claims of Native Hawaiians against the State for $200 million, negotiating a $40 million conservation easement on 665 acres of pristine ocean front land, and working closely with other attorneys general on the national mortgage foreclosure settlement, internet safety, human trafficking and consumer protection.
Prior to serving as Attorney General, Mr. Louie was in private practice for 32 years, concentrating in the areas of civil litigation, insurance defense, construction defect litigation and commercial litigation. He successfully handled many jury trials, arbitrations and mediations. Mr. Louie was named a Hawaii Super Lawyer. He served as President, Vice-President, and Director of the Hawaii State Bar Association, Lawyer Representative for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and Northwest Regional Governor for NAPABA. He served as Chair of the State of Hawaii Aloha Tower Development Corporation. He served as the Vice Chair of the Hawaii Supreme Court Rule 19 Special Committee on Judicial Performance concerning judicial evaluations. Mr. Louie graduated from Occidental College (cum laude 1973) and Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley (1977).
Mr. Louie is a member of the Society of Attorneys General Emeritus. As Attorney General, he was a member of the National Association of Attorneys General, and served as the chair or vice-chair of the Intellectual Property, Internet Safety and Cyber Security/Privacy, Consumer Protection, and Civil Rights Committees. He is a member of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, where he was a past Co-Chair for the Premises Liability Section, and a past Chair of the Diversity Committee. He is a member of the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys, the Defense Research Institute and the American Bar Association. Mr. Louie has been a faculty member and lecturer for numerous continuing legal education seminars for the American Conference Institute, HSBA, FDCC, NAPABA, ABA, Pacific Law Institute, Professional Education Systems, Inc. and the National Business Institute. He has authored a number of published articles regarding trial techniques and legal issues.