Joanne L. Grimes | Attorney

Joanne Lo Grimes is a partner in the firm's Honolulu office and is the firm's Managing Partner.

Ms. Grimes has a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance, a Master's degree in International Management and is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP^®). Ms. Grimes' business management and operations background enhance the legal advice she provides to her clients, offering broad perspectives for creative solutions. Ms. Grimes recently was selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2010 in the fields of Employee Benefits Law and Non-Profit/Charities Law.

Representative Matters

Represent and Advise Trustees and Fiduciaries. Ms. Grimes represents and advises trustees in connection with the administration of their trusts and the assets under their management.

Public Sector Trusts. For over a decade, Ms. Grimes has served as legal counsel to a government retirement fund with approximately 20,000 participants and retirees. Her work involves advice and representation in connection with the government's defined benefit plan, defined contribution retirement system, deferred compensation plan, and welfare benefit plans. Ms. Grimes has advised in the areas of early retirement incentive programs; domestic relations orders; disability claims; administrative rule-making and appeals; procurement of investment management, actuarial, custodial, and third party administrative service providers; and has represented the plans in administrative appeals and litigation by plan participants.

Private Trusts. For over a decade, Ms. Grimes has represented and advised trustees of large private trusts in Hawaii in trust administration, trust accounting, and management of trust assets, particularly diversification and prudent investment policies; planning for termination and distribution of assets (pro rata and non-pro rata).

Charitable Trusts. Ms. Grimes provides advice to trustees of a large charitable trust on the Big Island of Hawaii in the administration and management of trust assets held for the benefit of charitable beneficiary organizations supporting health care, educational, and charitable purposes in the Kamuela area.

Represent and Advise Employers. Ms. Grimes advises employers on employment related matters, including, employee benefits, handbooks, equal employment opportunity issues, wage and hour compliance, confidentiality and non-competition agreements, work-for-hire arrangements, trade secret and trademark protection and trade symbol registration.

Prior Work Experience

Before becoming a lawyer, Ms. Grimes worked in the financial industry, obtaining a registered representative license while employed by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith in New York City. Ms. Grimes then worked as Assistant Operations Manager for a Merrill Lynch-Sun Hung Kai (Overseas Securities) joint venture in Hong Kong, and then as Operations Manager for Merrill Lynch International & Co.'s Asia/Pacific Institutional Office in Hong Kong.

During law school, Ms. Grimes externed as a student law clerk to the Administrative Judge for the First Circuit, State of Hawaii, whose calendar included motions and probate proceedings. After law school, Ms. Grimes worked as judicial law clerk to the Honorable Ronald T.Y. Moon, Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court.

Distinctions

• Rhoda Lewis Award for Public Service
• Certified Financial Planner^®
• Highest "AV" Professional Rating, Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory
• Selected by attorney peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2010 in the fields of Employee Benefits Law and Non-Profit/Charities Law.

Affiliations

• Financial Planning Association (Member)
• Hawaii Justice Foundation (Director and former Secretary)
• Hawaii Women Lawyers (President and Director)
• Hawaii Women's Legal Foundation (Director)
• Hawaii State Bar Association (Member)
• Guam Bar Association (Member)