Clint K. Hamada is an Associate in the firm’s Appeals, Business & Commercial Law, Land Use & Eminent Domain, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, and Wills, Trusts & Estates practice groups. He earned his law degree magna cum laude from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, William S. Richardson School of Law. His honors include receiving CALI Awards for Excellence for highest grades in Lawyering Fundamentals I and Legal Research. He was an oralist in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court, as well as a Teaching Assistant for Lawyering Fundamentals and a Research Assistant for Legal Research.
Prior to joining Damon Key, Clint served as a Judicial Extern to Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald of the Supreme Court of Hawaii. While there, he drafted memos analyzing whether to accept or reject applications for writs of certiorari. He also assisted with drafting and editing majority and dissenting opinions. Clint created comprehensive binders used by the chief justice during oral arguments, containing relevant cases, statutes, rules, transcripts, and the record on appeal.
As a Law Clerk and also a volunteer with Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, Clint assisted with a myriad of projects. He helped implement the Community Navigators Project to facilitate meaningful public access to civil legal needs through community leaders. He created and presented seminars for identity theft prevention and conducted I-765 Employment Authorization Document clinics. Clint also coordinated “Providing Refuge – A Legal Training” to highlight local housing laws’ intersection with domestic violence, disability rights, and language access.
Previously, Clint was a Player Participation Analyst with Pro Football Focus in Los Angeles. As an analyst, he recorded near real-time advanced statistics, play type, play formations, player positioning, and player roles for NFL and collegiate games. He identified statistical trends and composed news-ticker articles and infographics.
Clint earned his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy Politics & Law from the University of Southern California, where he was a co-founder of Helping Hands Tutoring U.S.C.
He was born and raised in Hawaii and graduated from Iolani School. Freshly graduated from high school, Clint became an intern in the office of Hawaii’s then U.S. House Representative Mazie K. Hirono, where he created extensive Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation portfolios containing summaries of international leaders, focal issues, and lectures.
Clint’s father is an attorney, so the idea of possibly becoming an attorney one day was with him from an early age. During the summer prior to entering high school, he took a condensed course called “Europe and the Modern World,” which covered about a thousand years of European history in only eight weeks. “The course put into perspective the development of many of the rights that we find ‘fundamental’ to our everyday lives, yet often take for granted, such as habeas corpus,” said Clint. “It gave the law a new meaning to me.”
Clint loves interacting with clients and developing solutions to their problems that might not have been readily apparent. “I become heavily invested in everything I undertake, and as a result, I become personally invested in my clients. Success for them is success for me,” he added.
Clint currently lives in Honolulu. In his spare time, he enjoys pushing himself physically as a weightlifting and exercise enthusiast. Clint also has a passion for football, as evidenced by his former employment with Pro Football Focus.
Professional and Community Affiliation
- American Bar Association
- Construction Law Forum
- Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section
- Young Lawyers Division
- Hawaii State Bar Association
- Litigation Section
- Real Property & Financial Services Section
- Access to Justice Room (Honolulu District Court), Volunteer
Bar Admission
- State of Hawaii
- U.S. District Court (District of Hawaii)