Time Line

1966

• Chief Justice William S. Richardson spearheads drive to start a law school

1971

• State Legislature passes law to create a School of Law at the University of Hawai‘i

1972

• David A. Hood appointed first Dean and Director of Legal Education for State of Hawai‘i

1973

• School opens in un-air-conditioned wooden buildings in the Quarry
• Entering class of 53 students pay $85 per semester as residents and $340 as non-residents

1974

• American Bar Association grants provisional approval
• Pre-Admission program begins

1976

• First class graduates
• Jerome Dupont appointed Acting Dean

1977

• Cliff Thompson appointed Dean
• University of Hawai‘i School of Law Alumni Association founded (Articles of Incorporation of "University of Hawai‘i School of Law Alumni Association" are filed with the State.)
  

  

1978

• First Ete Bowl, annual flag-football game between female law students and alumnae

1979

• University of Hawaiʻi Law Review created

1980

• Marvin J. Anderson appointed Interim Dean, Assistant to the Chancellor of the University
• State Legislature appropriates $10 million for a new law school complex
  

  

1981

• Richard S. Miller appointed Dean
  

   

1982

• American Bar Association fully accredits law school
• Friends of the William S. Richardson School of Law created
• School sends first team to National Moot Court Competition

1983

• Law Library building opened
  

  

• School name changed to William S. Richardson School of Law
• Alumni Association renamed the William S. Richarson School of Law Alumni Association (WSRLAA)
• School moves into new building at 2515 Dole Street
• Pacific and Asian Legal Studies (PALS) program approved 
• Wallace S. Fujiyama Distinguished Visiting Professorship established 
• U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan speaks at tenth anniversary celebration 
  

  

1984

• U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun delivers graduation address

1985

• Jeremy T. Harrison appointed Dean
• School begins three-year exchange of faculty with Hiroshima University
• Student Bar Association formed
  

  

• Charter Agreement executed under which University of Hawai‘i recognizes the William S. Richarson School of Law Alumni Association as the Law School's official alumni association

1987

• Jurists-in-Residence program inaugurated with U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Myron H. Bright; DFS Hawai‘i sponsors the first 6 programs
• Former Governor of Massachusetts, and Democratic presidential nominee, Michael Dukakis visits the Law School

1989

• School elected to full membership in the Association of American Law Schools
• Wayne C. Metcalf ’78 receives the University of Hawai‘i Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award

1990

• George M. Johnson Visiting Professorship established

1991

• University of Hawai‘i Elder Law Program (UHELP) established through the joint efforts of the Law School, Legal Aid Society of Hawai‘i and the City and County of Honolulu Elderly Affairs Division

1992

• U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron White and Judge Myron Bright, Jurists-in-Residence, visit the Law School
• School adopts graduation requirement of 60 hours of pro bono service by each student
• Certificate in Environmental Law established

1993

• School's Jessup International Moot Court Competition Team wins first prize in the United States and second in the world
• Kent M. Keith, Ph.D. ’77 receives the University of Hawai‘i Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award.

1994

• U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and Judge Myron Bright, Jurists-in-Residence, visit the Law School
  

  

1995

• Dr. Lawrence C. Foster appointed Dean
• Professor David Callies appointed inaugural Benjamin A. Kudo Chair of Law
• Pacific-Asian Legal Studies Certificate established
• Chief Justice Richardson receives the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Hawai‘i Alumni Association

1996

• U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy and Judge Myron Bright, Jurists-in-Residence, visit the Law School
• First Alumni Association Annual Dinner and 20th reunion of class of 1976
• Inaugural Hawai‘i Summer Session co-sponsored by the Law School and the University of Mississippi School of Law

1998

• U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Judge Myron Bright, Jurists-in-Residence, visit the Law School
• Celebration of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Law School's Founding at Ala Moana Hotel attended by over 400 attendees
• Judy Weightman '81 receives the Alumni Association's first Outstanding Alumni Award; She passes away the same year
• Davis Levin Livingston Grande and UH Mānoa sponsor Distinguished Lecture Series featuring Professors Lani Guinier and Gerald Torres
  

  

1999

• Law School teams finish 1st and 3rd in National Native American Moot Court Competition
• Web-based Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal (APLPJ) founded
• Dr. Terry T. Shintani ’79 receives the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Hawai‘i Alumni Association

2000/01

• U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Judge Myron Bright, Jurists-in-Residence, visit the Law School; Case Lombardi & Pettit takes over sponsorship of the Program

2001

• Jack S. Fritz ’79 receives the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Hawai‘i Alumni Association

2002

• Law Students'  Pledge, written by late Professor Chris K. Iijima, formally adopted by the Faculty
• Justice Kennedy and Judge Bright return as Jurists-in-Residence
• First Annual Student Bar Association End-of-the Summer Bash honors Dean Foster
  

  

• Gifford/Starn O'Toole Marcus & Fisher Distinguished Lectureship in Real Property established

2003

• International Environmental Moot Court Team finishes first in U.S., second in the world
• Aviam Soifer appointed Dean
• LL.M. Program for International Students inaugurated in the fall 
• Law School celebrates its Thirtieth Anniversary and honors Dean Foster at the Hilton Hawaiian Village with over 700 attendees. School has 20 full-time faculty, 2000 alumni and over 300 students. The entering class of 105 students pay $5400 per semester as residents and $9,252 as non-residents.
• Annual Patsy T. Mink Fellowship launched
• Chief Justice Richardson receives a Lifetime Achievement Award from University of Hawai‘i Founders Alumni Association

2004

• First All Class Reunion at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider
• First Annual Graduating Class Dinner Hosted by Law School Alumni Association
• U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her husband Martin Ginsburg, and Judge Myron Bright, Jurists-in-Residence, visit the Law School
• Inaugural Stew Day, during which faculty honor the "stew-dents" by serving the student body hot stew lunches and dessert
• Launch-a-Lawyer program launched
• Beatrice K. Dawson ’81 receives the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Hawai‘i Alumni Association
• The United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit begins to sit regularly at the Law School.

2005

• Inaugural Galiher Ono Lecture features Paul Brest
• Native American Moot Court team wins second place for best brief
• Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law established
• Inaugural January Term (J-Term) Program established
• The Pre-Admissions Program celebrates its 30th anniversary at Kalama Beach Park with 180 attendees
• The Law School entered into a partnership with the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the First Circuit Family Court to look at ways to improve services to children and families in the child welfare system
• Beloved Director of the Pre-Admissions Program Chris Iijima passes away
• Hawai‘i Innocence Project established
• Thomas K. Kaulukukui, Jr. '77 receives the Outstanding Alumni Award from the Alumni Association

2006

• U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy and his wife Mary Davis Kennedy, and Judge Myron H. Bright, Jurists-in-Residence, visit the Law School
• Environmental Law Program receives ABA Award for Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law & Policy
• Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law receives $1.2 million in federal funding
• Preadmissions Program renamed the Ulu Lehua Program
• Law School assumes management of Hawai‘i Summer Session; Hawai‘i Summer Session renamed Hawai‘i Summer Law Program
• Hon. Thomas K. Kaulukukui, Jr. ‘77 and Patricia Y. Lee, Ph.D. ’79 receive Distinguished Alumni Awards from the University of Hawai‘i Alumni Association
  

  

• Jackie Mahi Erickson'77 receives the Outstanding Alumni Award from the Alumni Association

2007

• Inaugural Bright Jurists-in-Residence Program launched with visit by the President Emeritus of the Supreme Court of Israel, Aharon Barak, and his wife, Judge Elika Barak
• Native American Moot Court team finished in first place in the U.S.
• Inaugural Dan & Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair for Democratic Ideals launched with the appointment of Dr. John Hope Franklin
• Head of State of Independent Samoa, Tui Atua Tupuo Tamasese, visits the Law School for the first time
  

  

• First Students Graduate with Pacific Asian Legal Studies Certificates with a Specialty in Native Hawaiian Law
• Gary O. Galiher '77 receives the Outstanding Alumni Award from the Alumni Association

2008

• Jurists-in-Residence U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer and his wife Dr. Joanna Breyer, and Judge Myron H. Bright visit the Law School
• Inaugural Part-Time JD Program launched
• 35th Anniversary Homecoming Celebration honoring our founders, CJ Richardson, retired and Governor
  John A. Burns, and Wallace Fujiyama, in memoriam, at the Andrews Amphitheater
• Professor Jon Van Dyke appointed inaugural Carlsmith Ball Faculty Scholar
• Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law renamed Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law
• Sabrina S. McKenna '82 receives the Outstanding Alumni Award from the Alumni Association

2009

• Sabrina S. McKenna '82 receives the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Hawai‘i Alumni Association
  

  

• Richard Parsons, chairman of the board of Citigroup and economic adviser to President Obama, visits the Law School as the
  Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals
• David Callies receives the Board of Regents' Excellence in Teaching Award
• Jon Van Dyke receives the Regents' Medal for Excellence in Research