C. Michael Heihre
Cades Schutte LLP

Experience
Michael is a partner in the Firm’s Litigation Department and chair of its Commercial and Real Estate Litigation, Arbitration, and Mediation practice group.  He has extensive experience as a trial lawyer, arbitrator, and mediator in the resolution of complex business, commercial, construction, contract, financial, intellectual property, product liability, real estate, and trade practices disputes.  He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Malaysia Branch) and holds a Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration issued by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.  He is a panel member of the American Arbitration Association (real estate and general business), a panel member of Dispute Prevention & Resolution, Inc. (Honolulu, Hawai‘i) (commercial/business, construction/design, intellectual property, real property, partnership/corporate law, general civil, and banking/finance), a member of the panel of arbitrators of the Kuala Lumpur Regional Arbitration Centre, a member of the panel of mediators of the Kuala Lumpur Regional Arbitration Centre, and serves as an arbitrator in the State of Hawai‘i Court Annexed Arbitration Program.

Reviews:

•  Benchmark Litigation (2009-2011).
  • Commercial Litigation.
•  Best Lawyers® 2010 Honolulu Construction Lawyer of the Year.
•  The Best Lawyers in America® (1995-2011).
  •   Commercial Litigation.
  •   Construction Law.
  •   Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law.
  •   Real Estate Law.
•  Chambers USA,™ America’s Leading Business Lawyers (2007-2010).
  •   Litigation: General Commercial (Band 1).
•  Honolulu Magazine’s Best Lawyers in Hawaii (1997-2010).
•  Martindale-Hubbell, AV Preeminent 5.0 out of 5.
•  Super Lawyers, Corporate Counsel Edition (2008-2010).
  •   Business Litigation.
  •   Alternative Dispute Resolutions.
  •   Construction Litigation.

Representative Engagements

Court Annexed Arbitration Program

•  Arbitrator in more than 30 arbitrations in the Court Annexed Arbitration Program and the Pilot Project for Arbitration of Contract Cases (First Circuit Court, State of Hawai‘i) involving tort and contract claims.

Commercial and Business Litigation, Arbitration, and Mediation

•  Arbitrator and mediator in commercial and business arbitrations and mediations in contract; finance; intellectual property; investment; personal injury and property damages; tort, and trade practices law.
•  Lead counsel in state and federal court litigation involving antitrust; trade practices; contract and tort claims; environmental laws; mergers and acquisitions of businesses; shareholder and derivative actions; franchises; hotel management agreements and related fiduciary duty issues; intellectual property; officers and directors; product liability; professional corporations; real estate transactions; real estate finance and development; and real estate partnerships and limited liability companies.
•  Lead counsel in state and federal court litigation involving insurance coverage for personal injuries, property damages, and business losses.
•  Lead counsel in state and federal litigation pertaining to land use development rights, and lease disputes.
•  Lead counsel in state court litigation and mediations pertaining to securities laws issues, and employee benefits.
•  Lead counsel in federal court litigation related to the design, financing, and development of alternative energy facilities.
•  Lead counsel in state court, federal court, and mediation proceedings pertaining to product liability actions.

Class Action Litigation

•  Lead counsel in state court class action insurance matters.
•  Lead counsel in state court class actions involving the sale and distribution of food products and vitamin supplements.
•  Lead counsel in putative federal court class action predicated on alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
•  Lead counsel in state court class action involving the sale of luxury automobiles.

Construction Real Estate Litigation, Arbitration, and Mediation

• Arbitrator and mediator in the resolution of disputes pertaining to residential, offices, hotels, resorts, industrial, and commercial properties.
•  Lead counsel for developers, contractors, lenders, and owners in federal and state court proceedings involving the design, development, financing, construction of residential, offices, hotels, resorts, industrial, and commercial properties.

Private Property, Government Regulation, and Takings (Government Acquisitions) Litigation 

•  Lead counsel in state and federal court actions involving governmental ordinances and statutes pertaining to zoning by initiative and referendum; rent control; eminent domain (compulsory acquisition); just compensation; public use; regulatory takings (uncompensated government compulsory acquisition); and state historic preservation laws.
•  Lead counsel in federal and state court actions involving development of real property and damages; development of common interest communities and applicable covenants, conditions, and restrictions; and time share developments.
•  Lead counsel in arbitrations on the fair market value of property, calculation of fair market rent, and use restrictions for leasehold government property.
•  Lead counsel in state and federal court quiet title actions (resolution of disputes over title of property and boundaries).
•  Lead counsel in real estate valuation arbitrations for residential, commercial, industrial, resort, and golf course properties and state court litigation involving leasehold and permits for use of property interests including submerged properties.
•  Pro bono lead counsel in land use, zoning, evictions, and native Hawaiian rights cases in federal and state courts.

Memberships

•  American Arbitration Association, Panel Member for Real Estate and General Business.
•  American Bar Association.
•  Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Fellow.
•  Dispute Prevention & Resolution, Inc., Panel of Neutrals (Commercial/Business, Construction/Design, Estates/Probate/Trusts, Intellectual Property, Real Property, Partnership/Corporate Law, General Civil, and Banking/Finance).
•  Federal Court Bar Association.
•  Hawai’i State Bar Association.
•  International Bar Association.
•  Inter-Pacific Bar Association.
•  Kuala Lumpur Regional Arbitration Centre:  Member, Panel of Arbitrators.
•  Kuala Lumpur Regional Arbitration Centre:  Member, Panel of Mediators.

Past Memberships:

•  State of Hawai’i Judicial Selection Commission (1989-1995).
•  Adjunct Professor of Law, Native Hawaiian Rights, University of Hawai’i School of Law (1977-1982).

Admissions

•  State of Hawai’i Courts.
•  United States District Court for the District of Hawai’i.
•  United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
•  United States Supreme Court.

Education

•  University of Hawai’i, B.A. Liberal Studies with Highest Honors.
•  Georgetown University Law Center, Juris Doctor.
•  Diploma, International Commercial Arbitration, The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (2009).
•  Pepperdine University School of Law, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Advanced Mediation Skills, (21 hours of training, September 24-26, 2009).
•  Pepperdine University School of Law, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Mediating the Litigated Case (42 hours of training, September 23-28, 2010).