Donna H. Kalama
Partner

EDUCATION
William S. Richardson School of Law, J.D.
Willamette University, B.A. (magna cum laude)

PRACTICE AREAS
Appellate, Administrative Law, Class Actions, Commercial Litigation, Professional Liability, Personal Injury and Wrongful Death, Products Liability, NAGPRA, Civil Rights, Land Use Litigation, Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices, Real Estate Litigation, Premises Liability

EXPERIENCE
Donna’s 30+ years as a litigator have involved a broad spectrum of legal issues and often complex, novel cases. Having worked in both private practice and as a deputy attorney general, Donna has navigated state and federal courts and administrative tribunals in cases ranging from slip-and-falls to complex class actions. She has been involved in many high-profile cases, including claims involving the molasses spill in Honolulu Harbor, litigation over Hawaii’s Marriage Equality Act, and resolution of the Kalima class action lawsuit. She defended Bishop Museum in a contentious case involving NAGPRA claims, defended the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission in a complex constitutional challenge, and defended the county in a claim by a former police chief who demanded the county pay for his legal representation in a criminal corruption case.

RECENT RECOGNITION
Donna was included in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® for Adminsitrative/Regulatory Law and Appellate Practice.

  • Hawaii Courts
    United States District Court for the District of Hawaii
    Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

  • Honorable Samuel P. King, Senior Judge, US District Court, District of Hawaii

  • Hawaii State Bar Association -- Appellate Section member
    Federal Bar Association Hawaii Chapter -- Civic Education co-chair
    U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii -- Civic Education Committee member

  • Eric K. Yamamoto, Moses Haia, Donna Kalama, Courts and the Cultural Performance: Native Hawaiians’ Uncertain Federal and State Law Rights to Sue, 16 University of Hawaiʻi Law Review 1 (1994)

    David L. Callies, Donna H. Kalama, Mahilani E. Kellett, The Lum Court, Land Use, and the Environment: A Survey of Hawaii Case Law 1983 to 1991, 14 University of Hawaiʻi Law Review 119 (1992)