He has tried cases on every island representing defendants who have been sued as well as plaintiffs who have been injured. Many of the cases he has handled have received publicity locally, nationally and internationally such as when he represented "Tyke" the Elephant who went on a rampage in Honolulu after killing his trainer; defending local landowners for a boulder which fell from their property killing a neighbor in her house; representing a young Big Island man seriously injured in an automobile accident after the Takata seat belt buckle failed (resulting in a jury verdict of $14 million); representing Hawaii residents in their class action lawsuit and recovery (along with 25 other states) of more than $1.1 billion from the manufacturers of LCD television and computer monitor screens; representing architects and engineers sued for construction defects. Mr. Hisaka continues to represent people injured in automobile accidents, due to defective products and other accidents.
Yuri was born in Kyung Buk, South Korea. After graduating from Young Do high school in 1989, she came to the United States. Yuri studied English and is now bilingual in Korean and English.In 1999, Yuri started working in Honolulu for a law firm as a Korean interpreter. She has continued to work in the legal field as an investigator and legal assistant. With her Korean language skills she is the point of contact with clients whose first language is Korean.
Brian Oyadomari is a legal assistant with 45 years of experience (since 1975) in litigation. For 12 years he worked for insurance companies handling claims made against their insureds for property damage and personal injury arising out of automobile accidents as well as based on premises liability, product liability, legal and medical malpractice. He also handled construction claims and insurance coverage matters. As a Claim's Manager for Traveler's Insurance Company, he managed a staff of claim's adjusters in all areas of property and personal injury claims.
In 1987, Brian was one of the pioneers of mediation (structured negotiation of settlements) in Hawaii. He established Mediation Specialist which utilized many retired judges as well as practicing attorneys on his panel of experienced mediators and arbitrators. Brian personally mediated and arbitrated hundreds of personal injury cases. He was one of just a few non-lawyers approved to act as a mediator for the Court Annexed Arbitration Program for the First Circuit Courts ("CAAP"), State of Hawaii. (Today, virtually every personal injury lawsuit filed in Hawaii must first proceed through the CAAP before going to trial.)
Since 2001, Brian has worked for lawyers representing injured parties making claims against the people or companies causing those injuries. In these cases, he handles the investigation of the claims and many of the day to day handling of the claim file. There are very few people working in litigation who have as much experience as Brian.
Marvis Lin Chun has been Steven K. Hisaka's assistant since he started his firm in 1985. She has double duty responsibilities as the office administrator and his paralegal. After graduating from The Kamehameha School for Girls, Lin's initial course of study at Cannon's School of Business was court reporting and transcription, from which she found her career path and chosen profession as a paralegal. She has been in the legal profession since 1969 and worked continuously for attorneys considered leaders in their specialty area of civil litigation. She worked in the litigation departments of Hawaii's two largest and oldest law firms and was the support supervisor at one of the firms.
Through continued studies at Kapiolani Community College, Hawaii Pacific University and affiliations with Hawaii
Legal Support Professionals (HLSP) and NALS, a national association for legal professionals, Lin received her paralegal (PLS) certification. She is a life time member of NALS.
Lin has actively participated in legal education and training programs, including the Basic Legal Training Course as an instructor for the Hawaii State Bar Association (HSBA); Legally Speaking, as a panelist on the TV programs regarding the Legal Secretary Profession; Hawaii Discovery, Pretrial and Trial Procedures as a panel member and contributor to the reference manual for the Professional Education Systems Institute (PESI); co-author of the Litigation Secretary's Procedures Manual, Vols. I and II, for the Carlsmith Carlsmith Wichman & Case firm; as well as chaired and moderated seminars on behalf of HLSP. Lin received the Outstanding Volunteer Award from the HSBA for her years of work for its Basic Legal Training Course.
Todd Cosgrove is a graduate from the University of Hawaii at Manoa where he majored in history. He has worked on Mr. Hisaka's staff since 2011 in a variety of capacities. He is skilled in computer related matters and is in charge of the office computer technology and software. He is also a legal assistant working on case management for personal injury and asbestos cases. With his computer/internet skills, he is the primary on-line researcher in the office.