Carlsmith Ball LLP Attorneys at Law

In 1977 the Kailua-Kona and Guam offices were opened; new offices in Maui (1983), Los Angeles (1985), Saipan (1986), Washington, D. C., (1990) and Mexico City (1991) positioned Carlsmith attorneys to better serve its Pacific clients. The Kapolei office was added in 1993 to respond to the needs of that new community.

The 1983 Guam merger with Ferenz and Williams, a firm operating there since the 1950s, and the addition of the Saipan office were part of the Carlsmith strategy to expand services into the Pacific. The strong Guam and Saipan offices, dominant firms in their geographic areas, are able to use the specialized services of Hawaii, California and D. C. based Carlsmith lawyers to augment their legal services to Micronesian and Pacific island clients.

The 1988 merger with the Los Angeles firm headed by attorney Duane Zobrist added a vital group of Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking lawyers with a solid Latin American practice and led to the opening of the Mexico City office. One of only three American law firms licensed to practice in Mexico, Carlsmith Ball LLP is differentiated among United States firms by its expertise in Latin American law.

The 1990 merger with the Los Angeles and Long Beach firm of Ball Hunt Hart Brown & Baerwitz added partner Joseph Ball, respected trial lawyer who had been special counsel to the Warren Commission and a former head of both the American College of Trial Lawyers and the California Bar.

Though "third generation lawyers" Case, Wichman, Donn W. Carlsmith, James W. Boyle all practiced law until late 1998, the firm is now in the hands of the "fourth generation," led by Chairman Tom Van Winkle. Now, 142 years after its modest beginnings, Carlsmith Ball, oldest and largest law firm in the state, enthusiastically continues to serve Hawaii and its far-flung interests.

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