R. Brian Tsujimura
Counsel

Rick Tsujimura joined the firm as counsel in July 2012. He was admitted to practice law in the State of Hawaii and before the United States District Court, District of Hawaii in 1975.

Mr. Tsujimura practices in the area of governmental relations and provides strategic business advice to companies seeking to enter and improve their business operations in Hawaii. He has worked in government as a deputy attorney general [of which he served as a supervisor of the regulatory division which included the departments of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Health, Hawaiian Home Lands, Business and Economic Development], in business as assistant general counsel for AMFAC, Inc., and as president of AMFAC Property Development Corp. responsible for the Waikele development and master planning of AMFAC’s Kaanapali development. He was a principal in Mills Dowling Tsujimura, a residential development company active in all four countries.

He currently represents State Farm Insurance Cos., T-Mobile, Reed Elsevier, Nareit Hawaii, and the Mortgage Bankers Association of Hawaii. Former clients include Gannet Corporation, AES Hawaii, General Motors, Hertz, Marriott Vacation Clubs, National Electronic Manufacturers Association, Microsoft, Howard Hughes Cos., DR Horton, Castle & Cooke, and W.W. Grainger.

Professional Activities:

Mr. Tsujimura is a member of the American and Hawaii State Bar Associations. He is the former chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals of the City and County of Honolulu, and the former vice-chair of the Hawaii Community Development Authority. Mr. Tsujimura is also the former president and board member of the Land Use Research Foundation.

Community Activities:

Active in the community, Mr. Tsujimura has served as the chair of the Board of Governors of the East West Center, which for over 50 years has served as a U.S. based institution for public diplomacy in the Asia Pacific region. He also served as the chair of the U.S. Board of Global Hope Network International and on the advisory board and leadership of the Geneva Institute for Leadership and Public Policy, both based in Geneva, Switzerland. He has served for 23 years on the board, subsidiaries, and committees of the Queen’s Health Systems, Hawaii’s oldest and pre-eminent family of healthcare-related companies [of which he served as the chair of the Queens Development Corp, responsible for the re-development of the International Marketplace in Waikiki]. He has also served on the City Charter Commission, City & County of Honolulu.  He is the author of Campaign Hawaii, which details his 50 plus years of political involvement in the State of Hawaii.  He has served as the moderator for Makiki Christian Church.

Reported Case(s):

• Midkiff v. Tom, 471 F.Supp. 871 (1979)
• Midkiff v. Tom, 483 F.Supp. 62 (1979)