Leina-Mei S. Johnson is an Associate in the firm’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Construction Law, and Business & Commercial Law practice groups. Sunny is conversant in Japanese, elevating the service she provides in her legal practice.
Sunny earned her law degree from George Mason University (GMU) Antonin Scalia Law School in Arlington, Virginia. While there, she served as President of the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association and Senior Symposium Editor of the International Law Journal. She was also a Student Ambassador in the Admissions Office throughout her time at GMU, leading on-campus tours, working the Admissions Office front desk, meeting with prospective students, helping run Admissions events, and conducting outreach work.
Sunny was published in the GMU International Law Journal (ILJ) and won Best Student Comment for her article “Bring Uniformity to Heritable Human Genome Editing Laws.”
In 2022, she participated in the highly competitive GMU National Security Institute Summer Study Abroad Program in Padua, Italy with Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. Through a highly competitive application process, Sunny earned the opportunity to attend daily classes and openly engage with Justice Gorsuch.
While in law school, Sunny was a Summer Associate at Damon Key, where she worked closely with the partners and associates, developing strong connections and real-life legal experience. Prior to that, Sunny was a Judicial Extern at the Fairfax Circuit Court in Fairfax, Virginia. In this capacity, she shadowed several different sitting judges and law clerks, prepared bench memoranda, and observed trials and motion hearings.
As a Law Clerk at the Department of Commerce Commercial Law Development Program in Washington, D.C., Sunny worked with government attorneys in the Asia & Pacific regional team to create continued education programs and workshops focused on increasing public-private partnerships and commercial legal reforms in South Asia.
With the original intent of attending medical school, Sunny earned her Bachelor of Science degree at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, with a major in Biology and a minor in Art and Art History.
After graduation, Sunny used her art background to work in interior architecture, engaging in several commercial real estate projects. She built her portfolio working on several construction, design, and workplace services projects. While Sunny was working with architects and developers, she realized how much she enjoyed learning about the legal side of construction development, which inspired her to attend law school.
Born in Honolulu into a military family, Sunny and her family later relocated to Northern Virginia. Despite moving away from Hawaii, the family continued to have close ties to the islands. While growing up, Sunny spent summers in Japan with her mom’s side of the family, where she and her siblings attended Japanese school. Also, Sunny attended Japanese language school each Saturday in Washington, D.C., where she received a traditional Japanese education until the eighth grade.
When not advising clients, Sunny’s interests include cooking, traveling, art, interior design, and exploring new restaurants. She enjoys caring for animals and volunteers as a dog walker with the Hawaiian Humane Society.
Professional and Community Affiliations
- American Bar Association
- Hawaii State Bar Association
Bar Admissions
- State of Hawaii
- U.S. District Court (District of Hawaii)