Chief Justice Receives Spirit of Justice Award

From left: Maui Immigration Law, LLC, founding attorney Kevin Block, Hawaii Justice Foundation (HFJ) Executive Director Robert J. LeClair, Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald, University of Hawaiʻi William S. Richardson School of Lawʻs former Dean Aviam Soifer, and HJF President William S. Hunt at the Foundation’s 2024 Annual Meeting in the Supreme Court courtroom.

Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald received the Spirit of Justice Award from the Hawaii Justice Foundation (HJF) at the organization’s annual meeting on October 29. This is the second time the chief justice has been given this award. Also receiving Spirit of Justice Awards were Maui Immigration Law, LLC, founding attorney Kevin Block and University of Hawaiʻi William S. Richardson School of Law’s former Dean Aviam Soifer.

When introducing the three recipients, HJF President William S. Hunt emphasized that, “The Spirit of Justice is the Foundation’s most prestigious award. It is given annually to individuals who have shown consistent and meaningful contributions to access to civil justice for Hawaiʻi’s people. Those receiving this award have demonstrated a true commitment to the ideals and implementation of justice.”

“We selected Chief Justice Recktenwald to receive the Spirit of Justice in 2017 because of his leadership in bringing access to justice to prominence in Hawaiʻi,” said HJF Executive Director Robert J. LeClair. “We honored him with the award again this year because he is certainly one of our country’s leaders in access to justice. Chief Justice Recktenwald is by far the most committed chief justice with whom HJF has the privilege to work on various access to justice projects.”

The HJF is an independent, tax-exempt grantmaking organization whose sole purpose is to achieve justice for Hawaiʻi’s people. The Foundation was established in 1969 as a vehicle for philanthropic law-related projects in Hawaiʻi. Its membership is made up of lawyers, lay advocates, social scientists, judges, volunteer mediators and arbitrators, paralegals, notaries public, guardians ad litem, social workers, court clerks, court reporters, and others who believe in reasoned problem solving and the rule of law.

For more information on the HJF, visit:

https://www.hawaiijustice.org/