Rosemary T. Fazio
Of Counsel

Rosemary T. Fazio, Of Counsel and formerly Partner at Ashford & Wriston, has practiced with the firm since 1978.

Ms. Fazio focuses her practice on real property and complex commercial litigation and arbitration matters. Her experience includes:

• Representing landowners’ interests in multi-million dollar real property valuation matters, including condemnation, rent renegotiation, lease-to-fee conversion, partition, and real estate tax appeals for resort, commercial, industrial and residential properties
• Representing the dissenting minority shareholder of one of Hawaii’s largest corporations
• Representing Hawaii’s largest landowner in a case of first impression involving recovery of delay damages in condemnation actions

Ms. Fazio has extensive management experience. She has served on the firm’s management committee and led the firm’s attorney performance committee.

Professional Activities:

Ms. Fazio has lectured regarding real estate matters, alternative dispute resolution and legal ethics at various professional seminars. She chaired the State Judicial Selection Commission, on which she served from 2003-2009. She also served from 2009-20011 as secretary on the Hawaii Federal Judicial Selection Commission. The American Judicature Society appointed her to serve as a member of the national advisory committee for the Hunter Center for Judicial Selection. She previously served as treasurer and director of the Hawaii State Bar Association, and the Young Lawyers Division of the Hawaii State Bar Association. She currently serves on the Board of the HSBA’s Senior Counsel Division. She was appointed by the Hawaii Supreme Court to serve on the Attorney Disciplinary Board. During her 9 year tenure on that Board she served as Vice-Chair and Chair of the Opinions Committee. Prior to becoming a member of the Disciplinary Board, she presided as a hearings officer in attorney disciplinary matters for 10 years. She continues to serve in that capacity. She serves as a hearings officer on medical claim and design claim conciliation panels. She was a member of the Special Committee on Judicial Careers and Selectivity of the Hawaii Chapter of the American Judicature Society. She was appointed by the Hawaii Supreme Court to serve on the Hawaii Judicial Performance Committee (2011–). Ms. Fazio is a director both of the Alumni Association of the University of Hawai`i School of Law and the Friends of the Law School. The U.S. District Court (Hawaii) appointed her to serve as a member of the Court’s Judicial Retention Panel (2000) and as a member of the Judicial Conference.

Professional Recognition:

In 2023, Ms. Fazio received the Ki’e Ki’e Award from the Hawaii State Bar Association in recognition of her outstanding provision of legal services at no charge to a large segment of the community. In 2020, 2021 and 2022, Ms. Fazio also received the U.S. President’s Volunteer Service Award in connection with her pro bono work with the United States Marine Corps. She has also received numerous other professional honors, most notably her appointment as the Lawyer Representative of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, and her induction into the Hawaii Chapter of Lambda Alpha International (honorary land economics society), for which she served as president. Ms. Fazio is listed in Best’s Directories of Insurance Professionals and Hawaii Super Lawyers, and has also been named as one of the best real estate litigation, real estate, arbitration, and eminent domain/condemnation lawyers in Hawaii in The Best Lawyers in America, 1995 to present editions, and as one of the leading Hawaii real property lawyers in America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (Chambers USA). Ms. Fazio has received the Martindale-Hubbell® “AV Preeminent™” rating. She received the “Lawyer of the Year” distinction in 2012 in the area of Eminent Domain and Condemnation. Additionally, she received the “Kukulu Hale” Award from the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks for the Hawaii Lease Transaction of the Year 2000.

Community Activities:

Ms. Fazio is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of Historic Hawaii Foundation. Until 2019 she was a member of the Board of Directors of Hawaii Public Radio, for which she previously served as Chairperson for 3 years and for which she served as Chairperson of the general manager search committee. She was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Waikiki Improvement Association. Additionally, she serves as the volunteer lawyer one day/week at the Kaneohe Marine Corps Base Hawaii. In the past, she has served as a director for the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, Child & Family Services, the YWCA (East Oahu), The Outdoor Circle, and Health & Community Services Council. She is a former member of the Rotary Club of Honolulu Sunrise (1990 -1997).

Reported Cases:

• County of Kauai v. Hanalei River Holdings Limited, 137 Haw. 471, 375 P.3d 250 (2017)
• Queen Emma Foundation v. Tatibouet, 123 Haw. 500, 236 P.3d 1236 (App. Ct. 2010)
• Krystoff v. Kalama Land Co., Ltd., 88 Haw. 209, 965 P.2d 142 (App.Ct. 1998)
• Excelsior Lodge No. One, Independent Order of Odd Fellows v. Eyecor, Ltd., 74 Haw. 210, 847 P.2d 652 (1992)
• Gerner v. Trustees Under Will and of Estate of Campbell, 72 Haw. 4, 803 P.2d 199 (1990)
• Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff, 69 Haw. 247, 739 P.2d 248 (1987)
• Hawaii Housing Authority v. Lyman, 68 Haw. 55, 704 P.2d 888 (1985)
• Maui Land and Pineapple Co., Inc. v. Dillingham Corp., 67 Haw. 4, 674 P.2d 390 (1984)
• Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff, 467 U.S. 229, 104 S.Ct. 2321, 81 L.Ed.2d 186 (1984)
• Burgert v. Lokelani Bernice Pauahi Bishop Trust, 200 F.3d 661 (9th Cir. 2000)
• Walsh v. Centeio, 692 F.2d 1239 (9th Cir. 1982)