Meet the Attorneys of Leavitt Yamane & Soldner – A Honolulu Law Firm with 68 Years of Experience

James T. Leavitt, Jr.

The firm's founder, James T. Leavitt, has devoted his practice to personal injury claims. The firm gained a reputation for its commitment to intense case preparation and its willingness to bring difficult cases to successful conclusions.

Jim Leavitt, a Board Certified Specialist in Civil Trial Advocacy, is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of Michigan Law School. Following law school, Mr. Leavitt was an officer in the United States Marine Corps. He was a JAG Officer (Judge Advocate General) and did Court Martial work at Camp Pendleton, California and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He graduated first in his class at the Naval Justice School in Newport Rhode Island, and was the recipient of the Naval Justice Award. While stationed at Pearl Harbor, he was certified as a Military Judge. Following his service in the Marines, he had a brief stint with the Public Defenders Office in Honolulu, and, in the early 70's, was a founding partner of the law firm of Hart, Sherwood, Leavitt, Blanchfield & Hall. That law firm "set up shop" in the historic Dillingham Transportation Building and Mr. Leavitt's office has remained there for over 30 years.

For the last 15 years, Mr. Leavitt has practiced exclusively as an attorney for persons injured by the negligence of others and has been rated "AV" with Martindale-Hubbell, the premier lawyer-rating service. "AV" is the highest rating for legal ability and ethics.

He is a member of American Association for Justice (AAJ). He is a also past President of the Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii, the local AAJ affiliate. Within AAJ, he is a member of the Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Section, the Motor Vehicle Collision, Highway and Premises Liability Section and the Insurance Law Section.

Mr. Leavitt is also a member of the Automotive Information Exchange Group (AIEG), an association of attorneys throughout America who focus on injuries caused by automobile defects, such as rollover accidents, tire separations, seat belt defects, vehicle fires, etc. (sometimes known as "crashworthiness" issues).

Mr. Leavitt is Board Certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy in Civil Trial Advocacy. Mr. Leavitt received a Certificate of Specialization in Civil Trial Advocacy from the Hawaii Supreme court. The Supreme Court of Hawaii grants Hawaii certification only to lawyers in good standing who have successfully completed a specialty program accredited by the American Bar Association.

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John D. Yamane

John was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He grew up on a pineapple plantation on Lanai, attending Lanai High and Elementary School while his father worked for the Dole Pineapple Company as a Horticulturist. John returned to Honolulu and attended Stevenson Intermediate and Punahou High School, graduating in 1971.

He attended the University of Hawaii for two years before transferring to the University of Washington where he received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1975. He went on to attend the University of Washington Law School and received his law degree in 1978. After graduating from law school, John worked as a law clerk for Judge Liem Tuai of the Superior Court in Seattle. However, John missed Hawaii and its people and wanted to return to serve the community.

In 1980 John was hired as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu. In two years he worked his way from traffic and juvenile court up to felony trials, including murder cases.

In 1981 John joined James Leavitt in private practice concentrating in the area of personal injury law. He has successfully tried personal injury cases to verdict and has over 22 years of extensive experience in trial practice.

John is a member of the Hawaii State Bar Association, the Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii and the American Association for Justice. For the last 20 years he has concentrated on protecting the rights of individuals in Hawaii.

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Woody Soldner

For over 22 years, Woody Soldner has been committed to obtaining maximum compensation for Hawaii's injured.

Mr. Soldner obtained a finance degree from the Kansas State University in 1982. Upon graduation from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1985, Mr. Soldner joined Jim Leavitt and John Yamane in their law practice, which has been known as Leavitt, Yamane & Soldner since 1991.

Mr. Soldner's practice has particularly emphasized cases involving spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, burns, automobile and pedestrian accidents, paramedic malpractice, hospital malpractice and crashworthiness/defective product claims against vehicle manufacturers. Mr. Soldner's past cases in which the verdict or settlement was in excess of $1 Million dollars include:

• $7,775,000 burn injuries
• $6,950,000 spinal cord injury from paramedic malpractice
• $3,600,000 spinal cord injury from vehicular injury
• $3,500,000 spinal cord injury
• $2,750,000 wrongful death
• $2,100,000 mild traumatic brain injury
• $1,997,000 worsening of brain injury from paramedic malpractice
• $1,600,000 brain injury to pedestrian
• $1,000,000 foot injury from construction site accident
• $1,000,000 for orthopedic injuries to elderly pedestrian

Mr. Soldner is a member of the American Association for Justice. He is on the Board of Directors and is the past President of the Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii ( Hawaii’s trial lawyer’s organization.) Mr. Soldner is also a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

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