Joy Yanagida formed the law firm on Maui in 1991, after practicing international law in Washington, D.C. for ten years. The firm specializes in real estate and business litigation, and family law.
NOTABLE CASES OF THE FIRM INCLUDE:
Cybersquatting
- Hawaii Tourism Authority v. Pacific Motivation Advisers, John Hendrickson, et alia (Maui businessman wins cybersquatting lawsuit and secures ownership over HawaiiConventionCenter.Com)
Multi-state business disputes
- Onaka v. Onaka (Hi. 2001) (husband wins all his Hawaii and Las Vegas business assets in divorce case, and wife must pay his legal fees)
Creditors’ remedies in bankruptcy
- Onaka v. Onaka (Utah, 2002) (husband wins reversal of federal bankruptcy discharge obtained by his ex-wife)
Real estate and securities fraud
- Fujimoto v. Au, 95 Hawai'i 116, 19 P.3d 699 (Hawai'i 2001) (Hawaii families, putative investors in limited partnerships, win decision that “innocent” general partners are liable to them for the criminal conduct of other general partners)
Multi-state custody battles
- Savage v. Savage (Hi. 2002) (father wins custody over his two sons who live in Hawaii and Oregon)
Constitutional law
- State v. Sandoval (1997) (immigrant wins reversal of 48- count conviction for sex assault)
- State v. Vinge, 916 P.2d 1210 (1996) (Hawaiian wins reversal of his sentencing on First Amendment grounds)
- State v. Kekona, 886 P.2d 740 (1994)(Hawaii Supreme Court exhorts police to tape confessions in the stations house).
Representative clients
- City Bank, Hawaii National Bank, AOAOs of Kihei Kai, Kalama Terrace, Waiehu Terrace, Iao Parkside, Irrigations Systems, Inc., Hawaii Meeting Builders (owners of HawaiiConventionCenter.com)
Education
- Baldwin High School in Wailuku (1973)
- Stanford University (A.B. with Distinction, 1977)
- Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley (J.D. 1980).
Principal, Law Offices of Joy Yanagida (1991 - present)
- Specializing in real estate and business litigation, and family law.
- Serving Maui's legal needs for thirteen years.
Dickstein Shapiro & Morin, Washington, D.C. (1987-1991)
- Griffel v. Egyptian Arab Republic (Ras Burqa Massacre) , with Leonard Garment, obtained $1.2 million for the American and Israeli victims. She coordinated judicial, congressional, diplomatic and media aspects of the case in the Middle East, as well as in the United States.
- General Counsel to the Burma America Fund, an eleemosynary organization of which Ezra Solomon of Stanford University was the first President.
- Advised Alitalia and Kuwait Airways on all U.S. legal matters
- Represented generic pharmaceutical industry re administrative, Congressional and criminal investigations
The Office of the White House Counsel (1987); President Reagan's Tower Commission (1986-87)
- Staff attorney in President Reagan's Tower Commission (the late Senator John Tower, Senator Ed Muskie and National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft), appointed by the President to examine the role of the NSC staff in the Iran-Contra Affair.
- Office of the White House Counsel regarding Iran-Contra matters.
U.S. State Department; Office of the Legal Adviser, Washington, D.C. (1980-1986)
- Renegotiation of bilateral aviation agreements with Japan and China
- Aviation Sanctions on the Soviet Union for the invasion of Afghanistan
- Aviation Sanctions on Poland for the imposition of martial law
- U.S. and European Aviation Sanctions against the Soviets upon the shoot down of KAL OO7.
- South Pacific fisheries disputes
- lead article in The American Journal of International Law re U.S. treaty Indian, non-Indian and Canadian interests over salmon fishing rights.
Washington College of Law at American University in Washington, D.C. (1991)
- Adjunct professor, International Environmental Dispute Resolution at the
Education
- Stanford Law School (J.D. with Distinction, 1994)
- University of California at Berkeley (B.A. Economics 1990) Phi Beta Kappa
Law Offices of Joy Yanagida, Wailuku, Hawaii, of counsel (1999-present)
Davis, Levin, Livingston & Grande, Honolulu, Hawaii, research attorney (1998-2000)
Belles Graham Proudfoot & Wilson (1995-1997)
Law Clerk, U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii (1994-1995)
Director, Maui County Bar Association (1999 -2000, 2000-2001)
Education
- Seton Hall University School of Law, Newark, N.J.
Juris Doctor, June 2003
- Santa Clara University School of Law
Summer Abroad Hong Kong, June 2002
- Hawaii Pacific University, Honolulu, HI
Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, January 2000
Pi Sigma Alpha National Honor Society (Political Science National Honor Society)
Dean's List Award recipient for Fall semesters 1998 and 1999
- Taipei Language Institute, Kaoshiung, Taiwan
Mandarin Language Study, Summer 1999
Experience
- Law Offices of Joy Yanagida, Wailuku, HI
Associate, December 2003 - present
- Robert J. DeGroot Attorney at Law, Newark, NJ
Law Clerk, September 2002 - December 2003
- American International Assurance Co.( AIG Subsidiary), Hong Kong, China
Law Clerk, July 2002
- International Institute of New Jersey, Immigration Law Center, Jersey City, N.J.
Legal Internship, June 2001

Jean-Claude Mademba-Sy, the firm's business manager since 1995, brings his business acumen and managerial experience to the firm's litigation projects. He is also the architect of the law firm's highly automated infrastructure.
Mr. Mademba-Sy moved to Maui following a distinguished career in Toronto, Canada at Philips Electronics, Ltd. As manager of Philips' Financial Business Systems Division, he designed and marketed electronic systems to the financial institutions across Canada. Among his accomplishments at Philips Electronics:
- 1987 Self-Service Banking Man of the Year (Worldwide)
"In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the world-wide development of the Self-Service Banking business"
- 1988 Member of the World Top 21 Club
- 1985, 1986 and 1987 President's Club (for achieving or exceeding yearly sales objectives)
- 1989 Sales Manager of the Year - Record sales and record profits for the Division of Financial Business Systems
- 1989 Award - Diebold International Corporation (for excellent sales accomplishments)
Mr. Mademba-Sy also served as the Directeur Général Adjoint of Les Prévoyants du Canada, S.A., Montreal, Canada (1980-1981), a medium-sized general insurance firm, overseeing its Departments of Analysis and Programming, Systems and Methods and its Computing Data Center.
Mr. Mademba-Sy began his career at IBM Canada (1974-1980), initially as a system engineer and later as an account manager. Mr. Mademba-Sy was conferred membership in:
Mr. Mademba-Sy is completing his second year at the William S. Richardson School of Law. His education includes:
- Baccalauréeat Ecole Saint Martin de France (Pontoise), France (1969)
- Classes Préparatoires, Lycée Jacques Decours, Paris, France. (1971)
- BS Industrial Relations, University of Montreal, Canada (1974)
- IBM Basic Technical Training School (1974)
- Canadian Securities Course (with Honors) (1988)
Mr. Mademba-Sy is from Versailles, France.
Secretary Joanne Guerrero controls office operations with exceptional
courtesy, professionalism and dispatch.
Education and Awards
- H.P. Baldwin High School (cum laude, 2003)
- National Merit Scholarship Commended Student
- Maui Writers' Conference Scholarship Award Recipient
- California State Polytechnic University of San Luis Obispo (2003/04)
Experience
- Law Offices of Joy Yanagida (2004 - present)
- Computer Networking(2002/2003)
- Computer network management and repair, including hardware, software, printers, network components, servers, etc.
- Bed Warehouse & Furniture Outlet, LLC (1999 to present)
Sales and support
- Manager EAST computer lab of H. P. Baldwin High School.
|
|