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Law Students and Lawyers

Don’t pick a firm. Choose a future.

Every newly hired associate is considered to be eligible for partnership. In fact, nearly 70% of our partners and senior counsel joined the firm as first-year associates or summer associates and have spent their entire careers at Cades Schutte. The partners recognize their responsibility to prepare each associate to stand for admission to the partnership. Such election is based upon the associate’s demonstrated competence, ability to work without direct supervision, to cooperate with colleagues, to secure the confidence of clients, and to advance the practice and reputation of the firm.

The firm’s compensation program for partners is based not on their seniority but rather on their respective capacities to secure the satisfaction of the firm’s clientele, and to increase demand for its professional services, in performing challenging assignments.

Summer Associate Program

We invest heavily in our Summer Associate Program because it’s our primary source of recruiting new attorneys.  The vast majority of  Cades Schutte attorneys started here as summer associates. Our commitment to the Cades Schutte Summer Associate Program reflects our philosophy of growing our attorneys “from the ground up.”  We see each Summer Associate not just as a potential associate, but a partner in the making.  That’s why we recruit law students who demonstrate that unique balance of excellence, commitment, and integrity that we expect of our partners.

Work Assignments

The Cades Schutte Summer Associate Program is designed to expose Summer Associates to our broad range of practice areas.  If a Summer Associate expresses interest in a particular area of law, we make every effort to provide work assignments in that area as well as opportunities to observe the daily practice of attorneys who practice in the area.

Typical work assignments involve legal research, drafting memoranda, pleadings, motions, and transactional documents.  We also enrich the summer experience with out-of-office opportunities, such as participation in or observation of hearings, depositions, client conferences, and closings.

Social Activities

Work assignments are one way to experience what it’s like to be a Cades Schutte attorney, and for us to learn about you. The ability to do excellent work is not the only thing we look for. We want to know who you are and for you to know us. Our Summer Associates participate in a wide variety of activities, such as scheduled lunches, volunteer activities, cocktail parties, and golf events, throughout the Summer to provide opportunities to decide if we’re the right workplace for you.

Interview Schedule

Cades Schutte conducts on-campus interviews in Hawai‘i and at several law schools on the U.S. mainland each fall for Summer Associate positions. In addition, Cades Schutte holds interviews in select cities and in our Honolulu office.

Lateral Attorneys

At Cades Schutte, our focus is on strategic growth by recruiting top legal talent. As the largest full-service law firm in Hawai‘i, we enthusiastically embrace the opportunity to enhance our existing capabilities, providing comprehensive solutions for both our established and new clients as a reliable one-stop-shop.

Our newest team members find multiple avenues for integration with attorneys and staff at the firm. Lateral attorneys are encouraged to leverage the firm’s diverse resources to promote and elevate their practice, including Cades Schutte’s client newsletter, ke kumu, participating in in-house CLE seminars presented to clients, contributing to firm-sponsored fundraisers and volunteer activities, and fostering connections through professional organizations and non-profit boards.

Join us in not only building a rewarding legal career but also contributing to the vibrant and collaborative community at Cades Schutte.

Recruiting Contact

For information about our recruiting schedule or current hiring needs, please contact our Recruiting Coordinator, Chelsey Hisamoto.  Interested candidates should submit a cover letter, current resume, transcript, references, and a writing sample to:

Chelsey Hisamoto
Recruiting Coordinator
Cades Schutte LLP
Cades Schutte Building
1000 Bishop Street, Suite 1200
Honolulu, HI 96813
recruiting@cades.com

Team Spotlight

Ellen AshfordEllen Ashford

Ellen R. Ashford

Associate

The learning curve is steep and rewarding because associates are trusted with real legal work from the very beginning.

Ellen Ashford
Pohai Nuuhiwa CampbellPohai Nuuhiwa Campbell

Pōhai Nu‘uhiwa Campbell

Associate

In our practice area of trust and estate law, I greatly appreciate having the opportunity to participate in meetings to build enduring relationships with clients, as well as nurture my practice in complex matters with institutional clients.

Pohai Nuuhiwa Campbell
Davis PrendergastDavis Prendergast

W. Davis Prendergast

Associate

The partners make it a priority to help young associates find work in the areas of law they want to explore.

Davis Prendergast