Nicole Kalakau

Nicole Kalakau grew up in Waimanalo and is a graduate of The Kamehameha Schools, Kapialama Campus, where she excelled academically and athletically on a full softball scholarship from Hawaii Pacific University. She served as Student Athlete Advisory Committee President and earned multiple NCAA II Pacific West Conference honors. After earning her J.D. from Gonzaga University School of Law and completing an externship for U.S. District Court Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi, Nicole began her legal career as a deputy prosecutor in Honolulu. For five years she fought for domestic violence victims and gained substantial trial experience prosecuting crimes ranging from traffic offenses to violent felonies.

She left the prosecutor's office as team captain of the domestic violence felony division to join Leavitt, Yamane & Soldner in 2016. She has successfully handled serious injury and wrongful death cases involving motor vehicle collisions, pedestrian accidents, slip and fall incidents, dog bites, product defects, and medical negligence. She has served on the Board of Directors of Hawaii Women Lawyers since 2018 and the Community Kokua Foundation for Fire Safety since 2020.