Mr. Banks has been with the firm since 1986. He is a partner in the Corporate Department and chair of both the Corporate Department and the Employment Law and Labor Relations Group. Mr. Banks' corporate practice includes mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and securities law compliance. Mr. Banks employment law practice focuses on preventative counseling, strategic planning, legal compliance, labor and employment issues in M&A transactions, reductions in force, and assisting clients with drafting employment-related agreements, manuals, policies and procedures.
Mr. Banks was selected by his peers to be included in Best Lawyers in America for the past seven years. He has been listed in Honolulu Magazine's "Best Lawyers in Hawaii" for the same period. Mr. Banks has also been featured in Chambers USA, "America's Leading Business Lawyers" in the State of Hawaii since 2003. He has a Martindale-Hubbell's Peer Review rating of AV (highest level of professional excellence for attorneys admitted to the bar for 10 years or more).
Mr. Banks' client base includes hotel owners, hotel managers and interval ownership programs, a large professional employer organization, regional healthcare organizations, national restaurant chains and local restaurants, a regional airline, construction companies and contractors, a cogeneration facility, national and local retailers, technology product and service providers, venture capital firms, and investment advisors.
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REPRESENTATIVE ENGAGEMENTS
Recent M & A Transactions
- Corporate counsel representing construction company in sale of assets to international buyer.
- Local counsel representing buyer in hospital acquisition.
- Corporate and labor counsel representing buyer in community hospital acquisition.
- Corporate counsel for local biotechnology firm in joint venture.
- Corporate counsel for merger of two prominent local public relations/advertising firms.
- Co-counsel for sale of production facility and related assets by international food company.
- Counsel for sale of local publication/media business to national media company.
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Recent Securities Transactions
- Local counsel representing energy company borrower in $500,000,000 refinancing transaction.
- Co-counsel for wind power venture in multimillion dollar private offering.
- Counsel for major investor in multimillion dollar private offering of membership interests in seawater air conditioning venture.
- Co-counsel for a healthcare technology product and service provider in multimillion dollar private offering.
- Counsel for assisted living developer in two multimillion dollar private offerings.
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Recent Labor and Employment Matters
- Local counsel representing buyer in Kauai hotel resort purchase in past several years.
- Local counsel representing buyer in Kona coast resort property purchase in past several years.
- Local counsel representing seller in sale of Kapalua Maui resort property
- Local counsel representing buyers in several Waikiki resort property purchases.
- Counsel representing golf course operator in collective bargaining negotiations.
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Significant Reported Cases
- Co-Counsel for employer in SCI Management Corp. v. Sims, 101 Hawaii 438, 71 P.3d 389 (2003). The Hawaii Supreme Court held the employer was improperly denied its constitutional right to a jury trial. The Court held that an employer who appeals a final order of the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission pursuant to HRS ยง 368-16, is entitled to a jury trial on any claims that form the basis of an award of common law damages.
- Co-Counsel in for successful bidder in Okada Trucking v. Board of Water Supply, 97 Hawaii 450, 40 P.3d. 703 (2002). The Hawaii Supreme Court held that general contractors were not permitted to perform any work that required a specialty license unless the general contractor itself held the appropriate specialty license.
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EDUCATION
- LL.M. Corporate Finance/Securities Regulation (1986), Harvard University
- M.A. Law & Economics (1983), University of Miami
- LL.B. (1983), University of New Brunswick
- B.B.A. (1980), University of New Brunswick, with highest honors
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ADMISSIONS
- Hawaii State Bar (1989)
- United States District Court for the District of Hawaii (1989)
- New Brunswick Bar (1983)
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PUBLICATIONS
- "Exempt Offerings of Securities in Hawaii - An Overview for Start-Up Companies and Small Business," Vol. VII, No. 13, Hawaii Bar Journal (2003)
- "Hawaii's Response to Regulation D," Vol. XXIII, No. 1, Hawaii Bar Journal 1 (1991)
- "Voting Rights of Limited Partners Under Hawaii's Uniform Limited Partnership Acts." Vol. XL, No. 1, Hawaii Bar Journal 7 (1989)
- The Hawaii Employment Law Letter (Editor in Chief, Regular Feature Writer)
- ABA Annual Supplement on Fair Labor Standards Act and Family Medical Leave Act (Contributing Editor)
- BNA Treatise on State Wage and Hour Laws (Contributing Editor)
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MEMBERSHIPS
- Hawaii State Bar Association (Business Law, Labor and Employment Law Sections)
- American Bar Association (Business Law, Labor and Employment Law Sections)
- ABA Committee on Federal Standards Legislation (FMLA, FLSA and WARN Act Subcommittees)
- Member liaison for National Employers Counsel Network, a national group of top-level management labor and employment law firms with representation in all 50 states - plus Washington D.C. and Canada.
- Member of Management Labor & Employment Roundtable, a national organization of preeminent management labor and employment lawyers.
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