In addition to Wayne Parsons’ wealth of experience in personal injury law, he actually began his career in the sciences, earning his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Engineering – Physics and Engineering – Mathematics, with a minor in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan. After first discovering Hawaii’s appeal while working on the 1969 Apollo space project a
t an astronomical Observatory on the Island of Maui, Wayne attended the University of Michigan Law School and moved to Hawaii permanently in 1975. Wayne honed his trial advocacy skills in the public defender’s office, and in his early years the opportunity to work with some of the country’s premier trial attorneys, including Melvin Belli, F. Since 1983, he has focused exclusively on plaintiff’s personal injury matters and consumer advocacy in the construction industry, assembling a talented staff and a network of outside expert consultants while working on some of the largest and most significant cases in Hawaii’s history. Wayne has been selected for inclusion to SuperLawyers, a listing of attorneys in each state who received the highest point totals, as chosen by peers and through the independent research of Law & Politics magazine. In the late 1980s, Wayne obtained national affiliation for the Hawaii lawyers with the 25,000-member American Association for Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America). In 1988, Wayne founded the People’s Law School in Hawaii, a six-week adult education course offering non-lawyers basic legal information – he calls it “Real law, for real people”. In 1994, Wayne was honored with the Founder’s Award for creating the Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii (CLH). He has been elected to a number of leadership roles in the local legal community, including serving as the President of the Hawaii State Bar Association in 2006, and he regularly participates nationally at InjuryBoard. Professional Honors and Organizations
•Hawaii State Bar Association – President, 2006; Director 1990-91, 1999-00, 2001-02, 2003-04
◦Solicitation & Advertising Committee – Co-Chair, 1995-2000
◦Strategic Planning Committee– Co-Chair, 2002-2003
◦Judicial Adminstration Committee, 2003
◦Bench – Bar Conference Moderator, 2002
◦Committee to Improve Lawyer Reputation – Chair, 2004
◦Task Force on Civil Case Management – 1994
◦World Jury Summit New York City – Delegate, 1999
•Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii – Founder; President, 1988-1992
•Hawaii Appleseed Center for Public Interest Law – Founder, 1994
•American Association of Justice (formerly known as Association of Trial Lawyers of America) – Governor, 1990- 2009
•Public Education/Public Interest Programs Committee Chair 1997- 04
•Life Member/Leaders’ Forum
•Wiedemann Wysocki Award of Excellence Recipient, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
•Public Justice (formerly known as Trial Lawyers for Public Justice) – Hawaii Chair, 2004; Hawaii Coordinator, 1998-1999, 2003-2004, Board of Governors, 2009
•HSBA Ikena Award for public education 1998
•Civil Justice Foundation – Member
•Civil Justice & Democracy – Member
•Founder – Peoples’ Law Schools© Hawaii, 1988
•Joint Legislative Commendation – Peoples’ Law School, 1998
•Roscoe Pound Foundation – Fellow
•Construction Specifications Institute – Honolulu Chapter – Board, 2001 – 2009; President-elect, 2009; Dinner Program Chair, 2003 – 2009
•American Institute of Architects – Associate Member
•Building Industry Association Hawaii – Member
•United States Green Building Council - Member
