The William S. Richardson School of Law Commencement Ceremony took place on May 15, 2016 at the Andrews Amphitheater University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Retiring Professor and former Dean, Lawrence Foster ’81, and soon-to-be Supreme Court Law Clerk, Kamaile Nichols Turcan ’08, addressed the graduates about law school memories and finding one’s own definition of success.  Former Governor John Waihe‘e ’76 also spoke in honor of the first Richardson graduates forty years ago.  The event celebrated a total of ninety-one graduating law students, with ten achieving certificates in Environmental Law along with an LLM with Specialization in Environmental Law.  These graduates bring the total Environmental Law certificate recipient total to 216, in addition to four LLMs and one VIP with a specialization in Environmental Law.  Recent graduate Rachel Figueroa said that she chose to pursue the Environmental Law certificate because of her “passion for protecting the environment and helping those in the community who may not be able to afford legal counsel.”  Although she loved all of her classes, one great memory Rachel recalled from an Environmental Law class was in LWPA 584 Emerging Hawai’i Water Issues taught by Assistant Professor Kapua‘ala Sproat ’98.  The class serves as an introduction to the legal framework for water resource management in Hawai‘i, and Rachel learned specifically about the journey toward water law justice for the Nā Wai ‘Ehā community of East Maui.  After graduation, Rachel plans to focus on studying for and passing the bar exam.  Good luck and ho‘omaika‘i ‘ana to Rachel and all of the recent Environmental Law graduates!

 

Class of 2016 Environmental Law Certificate Recipients:

Derek Brow

Rhiannon Tereari‘i Chandler-‘Īao

Frank Cioffi

Jordan Davis

Rachel Figueroa

Jason Jutz

Nica Nordyke

Saisamoa Grey-Price

Janice Ringler

Matthew Weyer

Regine Mikkelsen (LLM, with Specialization in Environmental Law)