James' Bio

James A. Honda possesses experience as a law firm associate, private practitioner and General Counsel of publicly traded multinational corporations. While acting as commercial counsel, James tended to diverse legal matters, such as commercial leases, subleases, novations, sales representative agreements, distributorship  agreements, consignment agreements, OEM agreements, government contracts, employment agreements (specialized offers / independent contractor agreements, staffing agency agreements, at-will offer letters) and AIA construction agreements for the building of 20+acre manufacturing campuses with H2 rooms. He also played an integral role in new product launches into the U.S. market, working with government agencies, insurance brokers, sales personnel and retail stores. Externally, James has successfully represented the interests of employers at the EEOC, Texas Workforce Commission, California Civil Rights Commission, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the New York State Department of Labor and the Illinois and Georgia Departments of Labor. 

James has also designed comprehensive compliance programs that incorporate the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. James also has significant experience with environmental law (CERCLA/TSCA), insurance law and privacy law and cybersecurity matters.

James incorporated nonprofit law into his practice in 2009. He is well-versed in state non-profit and federal 501(c)(3) formation and donor agreement drafting, including charitable remainder trusts and agreements that include IRS-specified appraisal procedures of tangible property value to ensure appropriate tax treatment. James also focuses on compliance issues that nonprofits face. For instance, he advises about international activities compliance vis a vis OFAC and fundraising activities in the context of U.S. Code § 513, and the potential utilization of an equivalency determination or expenditure responsibility agreement to enable financial support of a non-US entity in the absence of an IRS Determination Letter. James serves as the Vice Chair of the Hawaii State Bar Association's Animal Law Committee.