Office of the Disciplinary Counsel v. Kealoha

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Electronically Filed Supreme Court SCPR-20-0000117 13-MAR-2020 08:06 AM SCPR-20-0000117 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I OFFICE OF DISCIPLINARY COUNSEL, Petitioner, vs. KATHERINE PUANA KEALOHA (HI Bar #6691), Respondent. ORIGINAL PROCEEDING (ODC Case Nos. 17-O-026 and 19-0065) ORDER ALLOWING RESIGNATION IN LIEU OF DISCIPLINE (BY: Recktenwald, C.J., Nakayama, McKenna, Pollack, and Wilson, JJ.) Upon consideration of the petition submitted by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC), with the approval of the Disciplinary Board of the Hawai#i Supreme Court, for an order granting the request of attorney Katherine P. Kealoha to resign from the practice of law in lieu of discipline, and the affidavit attached in support thereof, we find Respondent Kealoha’s affidavit meets the requirements of Rule 2.14(a) of the Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of Hawai#i (RSCH), and find Respondent Kealoha avers and admits to misconduct that we conclude represents serious violations of Rules 8.4(b) and 8.4(c) of the Hawai#i Rules of Professional Conduct (2014). this misconduct justifies granting the petition. We conclude Therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition to resign in lieu of discipline is granted. The resignation shall become effective 30 days after the date of this order, pursuant to RSCH Rules 2.14(d) and 2.16(c). IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of this court shall remove Katherine P. Kealoha’s name from the role of attorneys licensed to practice law in this jurisdiction and, within thirty days after entry of this order, Respondent Kealoha, through her attorney or with the assistance of ODC, shall submit to the Clerk the original certificate evidencing her license to practice law in this jurisdiction or an affidavit establishing good cause for her failure to do so. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Respondent Kealoha shall comply with the requirements of RSCH Rule 2.16 governing disbarred attorneys, the Disciplinary Board shall provide notice of the disbarment as required by RSCH Rule 2.16(e), and the Clerk shall provide notice to all state judges, pursuant to RSCH Rule 2.16(f). IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Respondent Kealoha shall bear any costs that may have been incurred during the course of ODC’s investigation and any preliminary disciplinary proceedings, 2 upon the timely submission by ODC of a verified bill of costs, as authorized by RSCH Rule 2.3(c). DATED: Honolulu, Hawai#i, March 13, 2020. /s/ Mark E. Recktenwald /s/ Sabrina S. McKenna /s/ Richard W. Pollack /s/ Michael D. Wilson /s/ Katherine G. Leonard 3

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