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https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/08/30/lawmakers-potential-role-lawyer-fire-victims-described-an-ethical-gray-area/

The lawsuits over the deadly Lahaina inferno are piling up and more are expected, and now a lawmaker’s participation in the legal challenges is raising eyebrows.

State Sen. Gilbert Keith-Agaran, a Maui lawmaker, was pictured on a flyer for a community discussion with members of his law firm. Agaran is a partner at Takatani Agaran Jorgensen & Wildman, which has partnered with Morgan & Morgan, a firm with offices in multiple states.

Given the high-profile nature of the lawsuits, and the potential implications of the wildfire for legislative discussions, questions are being raised over Agaran’s role in the flyer.

“There are some potential ethical issues,” said Randal Lee, a retired state Circuit Court judge who is now an assistant professor at Hawaii Pacific University. The flyer doesn’t have specific language associated with solicitation, but Lee said using Agaran’s picture could imply political support.

Subsequent flyers for meetings do not bear his picture.

Agaran is the vice chair of the powerful Senate Ways and Means Committee, which controls the budget and could be key in Lahaina rebuilding efforts.

If he ends up representing fire victims in a lawsuit, experts said that could put him in a position where he’d have to choose between constituents and clients.

“Lawmakers can sue the state, we’ve had plenty of legislators who sued the state in the past,” said Colin Moore, director and associate professor at the University of Hawaii’s Public Policy Center.

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