Prior to entering private practice in 1972, Brook Hart was the Chief Public Defender for the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii from 1970 to 1972, responsible for the criminal defense of indigent persons in all of Hawaii's state and federal courts. In 1971, he was honored to receive the Reginald Heber Smith Award from the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, as the “Outstanding Public Defender in the Nation.” Before his service as Chief Public Defender for Hawaii, in 1966-1967 he was a law clerk to the Honorable Martin Pence, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii.

Here are Brook Hart's “baker's dozen” rules for the successful practice of law:

1. Always be 100% truthful with clients, courts, juries, and opposing counsel.
2. Keep all promises and commitments.
3. Do not procrastinate.
4. Return telephone calls from clients (and everyone else) promptly.
5. Always visit the scene(s) of the alleged offense(s).
6. Always carefully research the applicable law.
7. Stay physically fit.
8. Maintain an appropriate professional relationship with clients.
9. Avoid undesirable personal habits.
10. Pay attention to family, and fairly acknowledge others who help you.
11. Listen carefully to clients.
12. Revere the court reporter.
13. Retain a sense of humor.

Brook Hart earned his law degree at Columbia University Law School and his Bachelor of Arts degree at Johns Hopkins University. He is admitted to practice law in all of the state courts in Hawaii, New York and California, as well as the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii; the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; and the United States Supreme Court.  

Brook Hart's professional memberships include: the Hawaii State Bar Association; the State Bar of California; the American Judicature Society; the American Board of Criminal Lawyers; the National Legal Aid and Defender Association; the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; the Hawaii Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; the American Inns of Court IV, Hawaii (Bencher); and the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice.  

Brook Hart's professional activities have included service on: the Committee on Implementation of the Federal Criminal Justice Act Plan for the District of Hawaii, 1980 (Coordinator); the Commission to Select the Federal Public Defender for the District of Hawaii, 1981-1983, 1994; the Hawaii Supreme Court, Judicial Council of Hawaii Committee on Penal Code Revision and Reform, 1983-1985; the Hawaii State Judicial Conference, 1986-1988, 2002; the Hawaii Supreme Court Permanent Committee on Rules of Penal Procedure and Circuit Court Criminal Rules, 1984 to the present; the Hawaii Supreme Court Permanent Committee on Pattern Criminal Jury Instructions, 1993-1996; the Task Force on Criminal Charging Procedures Pursuant to Act 190, Session Laws of Hawaii, 2003; and the Task Force on Sex Offender Registration Pursuant to Act 59, Session Laws of Hawaii, 2004. 

Brook Hart has been listed in the national reference book “The Best Lawyers in America” every year since 1983, and he has also been listed in Honolulu Magazine's “Hawaii's A+ Attorneys” in 1993, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007. Additionally, Mr. Hart is listed in the national reference books “Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers” and “Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory,” and he holds the best available Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating -- AV -- which signifies “that a lawyer has reached the height of professional excellence” and “is recognized for the highest levels of skill and integrity.” Since 1995, he has frequently appeared as a Guest Commentator on “Court TV.”

Brook Hart has authored or co-authored numerous professional publications, including:

• “Hawaii's New Public Defender Legislation: A Study in Legislative Overkill,” 8 Hawaii Bar Journal 53 (1971) (co-authored with James Blanchfield, Esq.).
• “Preliminary Hearings,” in the Public Defender Sourcebook, Chapter 5 (PLI-ABA, 1976).
• “Report and Guidelines for the Defense of Eligible Persons” (co-authored as a Commissioner of the National Study Commission on Defense Services, NLADA-LEAA, 1975-1976).
• “Profiles in Privacy: Airport Travelers, Drug Enforcement Agents and Detector Dogs,” 3 Criminal Law Review 35 (1981) (co-authored with Lila B. LeDuc, Esq.).
• “Plain Nonsense: Misrepresentations and Omissions in [Peter] Carlisle's and [Mark] Bennett's Article, Plain Error?,” 2 Hawaii Bar Journal 32 (December 1998) (co-authored with Earle A. Partington, Esq., and Samuel P. King, Jr., Esq.).
• “The Hawaii Supreme Court's Criminal Law Decisions 1997-1998: Fair Use of the Doctrine of Plain Error?,” II Hawaii Bar Journal 49 (No. 13, 1998).

Mr. Hart has also been featured in “Champion Profile,” 16 The Champion 51 (NACDL July 1992). From time to time, Mr. Hart writes essays on legal matters of public interest for Hawaii newspapers.

To assist in the continuing education of the legal profession, Mr. Hart has frequently served since 1981 as a speaker at the Advanced Criminal Law Seminars in Aspen, Colorado; a speaker at the NACDL Aspen CLE Seminar in Aspen, Colorado (2000); a faculty member at the ABA-LEI National Continuing Legal Education Conference in Vail, Colorado (2001); and a faculty member for Lorman Legal Education Seminars in Honolulu, Hawaii (2002 and 2003).

Additionally, he has taught at the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (1987), the Hawaii Institute of Continuing Legal Education (1988), and the Hawaii Public Defender Advocacy Institute, each year from 1993 to the present. Since 2005, Mr. Hart has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Hawaii's William S. Richardson School of Law, where he team teaches a seminar regarding the California-Hawaii Innocence Project. 

Law Offices of Brook Hart
333 Queen Street
Suite 610
Honolulu, HI 96813

Phone: (808) 526-0811
Fax: (808) 531-2677
E-Mail: hartlaw@hawaii.rr.com
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