September 2006 #1. Lawyer Jocks.

Authorby Cynthia M. Johiro

Hawaii Bar Journal

2006.

September 2006 #1.

Lawyer Jocks

Hawaii State Bar JournalSeptember 2006Lawyer Jocks "Legal Jocks": Ice Hockey by Cynthia M. JohiroAt least all these people have their front teeth. Despite the fact that there is just one, substandard ice rink in Hawaii and they are locked out until the recreational skaters and students of the ice leave the rink, there are lawyers in Hawaii who eagerly gather to compete for "miracles on ice."

Some people just make wrong career choices. In 1987, the Hartford Whalers (now the Carolina Hurricanes) drafted Marc Rousseau of Cades Schutte, one of the highlights of his long career as an ice hockey jock. "Marc is too humble to mention it [but he] isn't `just a hockey player'," says Amy Chiang, Rousseau's colleague and fellow ice hockey enthusiast at Cades Schutte, "he's a REALLY REALLY REALLY GOOD hockey player." Said Damien Elefante, glumly, who also lawyers when he doesn't skate, "if you want a ringer, call Marc."

Of course, if you grow up in Vancouver, British Columbia, playing ice hockey is as natural as learning to walk. Rousseau started playing at age four "so your ankles and balance can adjust to being on skates without you really having to think about it." In fact, Rousseau's play has garnered so many awards that he can not remember them all but the one stand-out is winning the Centennial Cup (nka Royal Bank Cup) as a Penticton Knight in 1986 in the Canadian National Junior A championship. Rousseau also combined play and a college education at the University of Denver. More recently, Rousseau was on the winning division team at an Old Timer's Tournament in Las Vegas, playing for the Hawaiian Hockey Club.

Although Rousseau missed last season due to personal commitments and a busy work schedule, he hopes to make time for this fall's season to return to form. Local hockey league games are played in the late evenings, allowing legal jocks to put in a full day's work before chasing the puck.

Don't be fooled that still having all his teeth means the play in the local league is bush; Rousseau is a star left defense player and a terror on offense. Hard play is not without its price: Rousseau has suffered, at various times, knee, wrist, and facial injuries. The rewards of developing teamwork, individual skills, playing at a fast-pace, and getting superb exercise all make the injuries worth the price.

Damien Elefante, deputy attorney general, enjoys the outlet for his frustrations from hard hockey play. As a participant of the 2004 Old Timers Tournament in Las Vegas, Elefante stated that the Hawaii players did not receive much respect, but his team made it to the championship round.

Elefante reached hockey in a curious way. As a Hawaii boy, he rollerbladed regularly in college and then joined a roller hockey league. Once his fellow roller hockey enthusiasts recognized his talent, he was asked to import his blades to the ice. Elefante never hung up his skates after that, playing recreational leagues in Syracuse, New York while in law school. He continues his hockey fascination at the Ice Palace after attending to his legal duties.

Confirming that he also has all his teeth, Elefante admitted that he has sprained his ankle numerous times, bruised his forearms and thighs, and cut his nose pursuing the glory of ice hockey. However, all injuries are minor compared to the exercise and fun he receives as he plays right or left forward or center for his local team.

Ice hockey does labor under the general misconception that the sport is one big fight, complete with team-supplied weapons in the forms of wooden/fiberglass sticks, shoes with razorblades, and heavy rubber pucks. "Simply attending a game would dispel this narrow-minded viewpoint," according to Rousseau. League play resumes this fall with Hawaii's Wayne Gretzky at the Ice Palace, times and schedule to be announced. For further information, please see the Ice Palace website.

Tennis Athletes

by Suzanne Terada

Judge Kevin Chang

The Honorable Kevin S. C. Chang, Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court, District of Hawaii, started playing age group tennis at eleven years of age. He played for Punahou School at the junior varsity and varsity levels. One year, when Magistrate Judge Chang was on the Punahou varsity team, the team won the State Championship.

Magistrate Judge Chang continued to play in college at Occidental College for one year and at Lewis and Clark College for three years. When he returned home, he played league tennis at Level B for several years. He continues to play with his doubles partner from league tennis, Dennis Fong, in a competitive singles game every Saturday. They have contemplated purchasing stock in Advil and have also concluded that the aches and pains are surely not age- related but only due to the intensity of the competition.

Beverly Tom

Beatrice C. Tom, mother of attorney Beverly S. K. Tom, Kessner Duca Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga, was interviewed about her daughter's addiction to tennis. When Beverly Tom was nine years old, her working mother took all four of her children, Beverly, her sister and brothers, to John Puuloa at the City and County of Honolulu, Parks and Recreation so that they would learn to play tennis. As Mrs. Tom related, it kept them off the streets and they came home tired. Beverly played age bracket tournaments from the age of 9 years old until she graduated from high school. She started traveling to the mainland for tournaments from age 13 and also played high school tennis for Maryknoll High School. Mrs. Tom made crafts to sell at fund raisers and sold Huli Huli Chicken at the office. There were pot luck meals to make and every weekend was spent at the tennis courts. Beverly played at the collegiate level for a few years and participated in the Western Regionals.

After graduating from college, Beverly coached tennis at Punahou for five years before returning to school to obtain a masters degree in physical education at the University of Oregon. After obtaining her masters, she worked as an athletic trainer at Punahou School for approximately five years before attending Vermont Law School. After law school, she was hired by Kessner Duca and has never left. In her spare time, she continues to teach tennis to children as young as three years old.

The most famous of her siblings, now known as Carolyn Katayama, is a former women's tennis coach at Hawaii Pacific University and at the University of Hawaii.

The Triathlete Ohana

by Lane Hornfeck McKay

When interviewing lawyer triathletes for this article, a few facts became patently obvious. Triathletes are nuts. They live by goals and by achieving balance and harmony. An Ironman Triathlon, the ultimate of triathlons, is a race comprised of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile marathon run starting at sunrise and ending with a midnight time limit. As you might imagine, triathletes eat, sleep and live healthy, and they love the sport because of the support network, the "triathlete ohana" that permeates the sport.

Triathletes must obtain balance on a daily basis - balance in work, family, training, eating, everything. The grueling sport requires extreme dedication and necessitates that every serious triathlete be surrounded with supportive people who are like-minded and who spend most, if not all, of their spare time living a healthy lifestyle.

This article focuses on two Hawaii lawyer triathletes, but commends and applauds all triathletes, lawyer and non-lawyer, who walk the walk and talk the talk. My hat's off to you.

Wendy Miki

Wendy Miki is 44, has been doing triathlons for ten years, and looks like she is 24. Starting out as a CPA and tax accountant with KPMG, she decided to go to law school to understand the overlap of legal and tax issues for her trusts, estates, and elder law clients. Conveniently, and somewhat unlike litigation practice, her current estate planning and elder law practice at Sterling & Tucker gives her a sizeable amount of control over her schedule and enables her to train when she needs to, maybe with the exception of tax time and when she cannot obtain tax return filing extensions for her clients.

A local girl from Wahiawa, Miki completed her first Ironman - Ironman Canada - the day before her first day of law school in Seattle in...

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