Time Line

• Richard S. Miller appointed Dean

1982

• American Bar Association fully accredits Law School
• Friends of the William S. Richardson School of Law created
• School sends first team to National Moot Court Competition

1983

• Law Library Building opened
• School name changed to William S. Richardson School of Law
• Alumni Association renamed the William S. Richarson School of Law Alumni Association (WSRLAA)
• School moves into new building at 2515 Dole Street
• Pacific and Asian Legal Studies (PALS) program approved 
• Wallace S. Fujiyama Distinguished Visiting Professorship established 
• U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan speaks at Tenth Anniversary celebration 

1984

• U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun delivers graduation address

1985

• Jeremy T. Harrison appointed Dean
• School begins three-year exchange of faculty with Hiroshima University
• Student Bar Association formed
• Charter Agreement executed under which University of Hawai‘i recognizes the William S. Richarson School of Law Alumni Association as the Law School's official alumni association

1987

• Jurists-in-Residence program inaugurated with U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Myron H. Bright; DFS Hawai‘i sponsors the first six programs
• Former Governor of Massachusetts and Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis visits the Law School

1989

• School elected to full membership in the Association of American Law Schools
• Wayne C. Metcalf ’78 receives the University of Hawai‘i Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award

1990

• U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens visits as Jurist-in-Residence
• George M. Johnson Visiting Professorship established

1991

• University of Hawai‘i Elder Law Program (UHELP) established through the joint efforts of the Law School, the Legal Aid Society of Hawai‘i and the City and County of Honolulu Elderly Affairs Division

1992

• U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron White and Judge Myron Bright, Jurists-in-Residence, visit the Law School
• School adopts the graduation requirement of 60 hours of pro bono service by each student
• Certificate in Environmental Law established

1993

• School's Jessup International Moot Court Competition Team wins first prize in the United States and second in the world
• Kent M. Keith, Ph.D. ’77 receives the University of Hawai‘i Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award

1994

• U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and Judge Myron Bright, Jurists-in-Residence, visit the Law School

1995

• Dr. Lawrence C. Foster appointed Dean
• David Callies appointed inaugural Benjamin A. Kudo Professor of Law
• Pacific-Asian Legal Studies Certificate established
• Chief Justice Richardson receives the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Hawai‘i Alumni Association

1996

• U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy and Judge Myron Bright, Jurists-in-Residence, visit the Law School
• First Alumni Association Annual Dinner and Twentieth Reunion of the Class of 1976
• Inaugural Hawai‘i Summer Session co-sponsored by the Law School and the University of Mississippi School of Law

1998

• U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Judge Myron Bright, Jurists-in-Residence, visit the Law School
• Celebration of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Law School's Founding at Ala Moana Hotel attended by over 400 people
• Judy Weightman '81 receives the Alumni Association's first Outstanding Alumni Award; She passes away the same year
• Davis Levin Livingston Grande and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa sponsor Distinguished Lecture Series feature Professors Lani Guinier and Gerald Torres

1999

• Law School teams finish first and third in National Native American Moot Court Competition
• Web-based Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal (APLPJ) founded
• Dr. Terry T. Shintani ’79 receives the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Hawai‘i Alumni Association

2000/01

• U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Judge Myron Bright, Jurists-in-Residence, visit the Law School; Case Lombardi & Pettit takes over sponsorship of the Program

2001

• Jack S. Fritz ’79 receives the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Hawai‘i Alumni Association

2002

• Law Students' Pledge, written by Professor Chris K. Iijima, formally adopted by the Faculty
• U.S. Supreme Court Justice Kennedy and Judge Bright return as Jurists-in-Residence
• First Annual Student Bar Association End-of-the-Summer Bash honors Dean Foster

   

• Gifford/Starn O'Toole Marcus & Fisher Distinguished Lectureship in Real Property established

2003

• International Environmental Moot Court Team finishes first in U.S., second in the world
• Aviam Soifer appointed Dean
• LLM Program for International Students launched 
• Law School celebrates its Thirtieth Anniversary and honors Dean Foster at the Hilton Hawaiian Village with over 700 attendees. School has 20 full-time faculty, 2000 alumni and over 300 students. The entering class of 105 students pay $5400 per semester as residents and $9,252 as non-residents.
• Annual Patsy T. Mink Fellowship launched
• Chief Justice Richardson receives a Lifetime Achievement Award from University of Hawai‘i Founders Alumni Association

2004

• First All Class Reunion at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider
• First Annual Graduating Class Dinner Hosted by Law School Alumni Association
• U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her husband Martin Ginsburg, and Judge Myron Bright, Jurists-in-Residence, visit the Law School
• Inaugural Stew Day, during which faculty honor the "stew-dents" by serving the student body hot stew lunches and dessert
• Launch-A-Lawyer program launched
• Beatrice K. Dawson ’81 receives the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Hawai‘i Alumni Association
• The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit begins to sit regularly at the Law School

2005

• Inaugural Galiher Ono Lecture features Paul Brest
• Native American Moot Court team wins second place for best brief
• Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law established
• January Term (J-Term) Program established
• The Pre-Admissions Program celebrates its Thirtieth Anniversary at Kalama Beach Park with 180 attendees
• The Law School entered into a partnership with the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the First Circuit Family Court to look at ways to improve services to children and families in the child welfare system
• Beloved Director of the Pre-Admissions Program Chris Iijima passes away
• Hawai‘i Innocence Project established

2006

• U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy and his wife Mary Davis Kennedy, and Judge Myron H. Bright, Jurists-in-Residence, visit the Law School
• Environmental Law Program receives ABA Award for Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law & Policy
• Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law receives $1.2 million in federal funding

   

• Pre-Admissions Program renamed the Ulu Lehua Program
• Law School assumes management of Hawai‘i Summer Session; Hawai‘i Summer Session renamed Hawai‘i Summer Law Program
• Hon. Thomas K. Kaulukukui, Jr. ‘77, the first graduate to become a circuit court judge, receives a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Hawai‘i Alumni Association
• Jackie Mahi Erickson '77 receives the Outstanding Alumni Award from the Alumni Association

2007

• Inaugural Bright Jurists-in-Residence Program launched with visit by the President Emeritus of the Supreme Court of Israel, Aharon

  

  Barak, and his wife, Judge Elika Barak
• Native American Moot Court team finishes in first place in the U.S.
• Inaugural Dan & Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair for Democratic Ideals launched with the appointment of Dr. John Hope Franklin
• Head of State of Independent Samoa, Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi, visits the Law School for the first time
• First students graduate with Pacific Asian Legal Studies certificates with a specialty in Native Hawaiian Law
• Gary O. Galiher '77 and Diane Ono '91 receive Outstanding Alumni Awards from the Alumni Association

2008

• Jurists-in-Residence U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer and his wife Dr. Joanna Breyer, and Judge Myron H. Bright visit the Law School
• Part-Time JD Program launched
• Thirty-fifth Anniversary Homecoming Celebration honoring our founders, Chief Justice Richardson (retired), Governor John A. Burns, and Wallace Fujiyama, in memoriam, at the Andrews Amphitheater
• Jon Van Dyke appointed inaugural Carlsmith Ball Faculty Scholar
• Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law renamed Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law
• Sabrina S. McKenna '82 receives the Outstanding Alumni Award from the Alumni Association
  

2009

• Sabrina S. McKenna '82 receives the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Hawai‘i Alumni Association
• Richard Parsons, chairman of the board of Citigroup and economic adviser to President Obama, visits the Law School as the Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals

• David Callies receives a Board of Regents' Excellence in Teaching Award
• Jon Van Dyke receives a Board of Regents' Medal for Excellence in Research

• Chief Justice William S. Richardson celebrates his 90th Birthday with more than 900 guests at Realizing the Dream fundraiser 

2010

• Michael J. Marks Foundation; the Cades Foundation; Alexander & Baldwin, Inc.; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; and Mr. and Mrs. Daniel E. Stoller establish the Marks Professorship to provide “support for research and scholarship in the area of business law"; Danielle Conway is the inaugural holder of the professorship

  
• His Excellency Hisashi Owada, President of the International Court of Justice, visits the Law School as a Bright International Jurist-in-Residence
• Randall Roth receives a Board of Regents' Excellence in Teaching Award

2011

• Jurist-in-Residence U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. and his wife Martha Ann visit the Law School

2012

• Jurist-in-Residence U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor visits the Law School
• Eric Yamamoto appointed inaugural Fred T. Korematsu Professor of Law and Social Justice 
• Charles Booth, Linda Hamilton Krieger, and Randall Roth are named Carlsmith Ball Scholars
• Christina D. Romer and W.S. Merwin visit as the Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chairs in Democratic Ideals

2013

• The Jon Van Dyke Institute for International Law and Justice and the University of Hawaiʻi Law Review host “He Hali‘a Aloha No Jon: Memories of Aloha for Jon,” a symposium tribute to Jon Markham Van Dyke who passed away in 2011
• Melody K. MacKenzie ’76 receives a Board of Regents' Excellence in Teaching Award
• Calvin Pang ‘85 receives the Robert W. Clopton Award for Distinguished Service to the Community
• Advanced Juris Doctor (AJD) program is launched

2014

• Law School celebrates its 40th Anniversary at the ʻIolani Palace
• U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia returns to the Law School as Jurist-in-Residence
• John Sayles serves at the Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals
• Canada Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella visits the Law School as the Bright International Jurist-in-Residence
• D. Kapuaʻala Sproat '98 receives a Board of Regents' Excellence in Teaching Award