▪ Careers in Property Law

I was at the University of Hawaii Law School today for an informal discussion with students about opportunities to practice property-related law.  There are many, and Hawaii has always been a hotbed of cutting edge issues in land use, regulatory takings, and eminent domain law. 

For example, the current Kelo-eque nearly-anything-goes approach to “public use” questions had its beginning in HawaiiHous. Auth. v. Midkiff, 467 U.S. 229 (1984), the case challenging Hawaii’s Land Reform Act.  The “property rights” revolution arguably began with  Kaiser Aetna v. United States, 444 U.S. 164 (1979), which involved Oahu’s Kuapa Pond, and issues of uncompensated public access.  In 2005, the Supreme Court analyzed Hawaii’s gas station rent control statute under the Takings and Due Process Clauses in Lingle v. Chevron, U.S.A. Inc., 544 U.S. 528 (2005). Undoubtedly, there will be more.

Also, here are some of the resources I mentioned (and a couple I forgot):

• Pacific Legal Foundation
• Land Use Research Foundation (LURF) Hawaii
• Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
• ABA Section on State & Local Government
• ABA Section of Litigation (Committee on Condemnation, Zoning & Land Use)

If you have any questions, email me.