Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 18, Number 6, 1 June 2001 — PĀʻOIHANA [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PĀʻOIHANA

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Recent OHA loan recipient starts her own legal practice

by Caitriona Kearns In April, Katherine Puana Kealoha left her job as district attorney in the prosecutor's office to start her own legal practice. This orchestrated move resulted in Kealoha already picking up fourteen clients, whieh include a few court-appointed cases from the family court for juveniles. Her new office is in the Queen Emma Building, downtown Honolulu, a short walk to the courthouse. Kealoha's practice is in contract, environmental, family and criminal law. It has been just seven months since Kealoha made her initial eall to the Ofīice of Hawaiian Affairs requesting information about a Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan, and in May she received a eheek for $25,000 to help start her business. The process has been unusually fast

and efficient for Kealoha. She credits the direction she got from her loan officer, Dean Oshiro. "Dean was very helpful and persistent. He initially laid out everything that I needed. All I had to do was just lis-

ten to what he told me," Kealoha said. Developing a business plan with Jim Mo'ikeha from Alu Like also helped Kealoha work through the

process. "Jim was great. We had to write four different business plans. I was the first attorney that he had worked with so our numbers were off," Kealoha explained. "Initially it was a problem because we didn't have mueh information. Then Jim helped me research on the Internet, and suggested we talk to a number of bar associations: the American Bar Association, Hawai'i Women's Lawyers Association, Hawaiian Bar Association and Native Hawaiian Bar Association. I got as mueh information as I could and it helped me prepare the final draft of my business plan." Kealoha gathered her business plan, tax returns, pay stubs, and all her husband's information and set out to apply for a business loan. Many banks rejected her loan application mostly because she had not yet been in business for two years. Onee her practice is established she

will easily qualify for conventional financing. In the meantime, a loan from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is helping to get her started. The loan has allowed Kealoha the freedom to focus on her practice and not have to worry about financing all the extraneous expenses of a new business, things like stationery and computer systems. "1 ean imagine how stressed out I would have been without a start-up loan," Kealoha said. "I've been able to focus on my cases and new clients because I've had that buffer." Kealoha shares her office suite with two other attorneys, one she previously worked with at the prosecutor's office. They share resources such as an extensive legal library and advice on billing, work Kealoha had never encountered before as a state employee. The See OHA LOAN on page 14

Attorney Katherine Puana Kealoha

OHA LOAN from page 1 1

transition in developing her practice suits Kealoha. "It is so different having my own timeline, being able to work when I want to, and having the discretion to piek the kind of cases I want," Kealoha said. Kealoha's goal is to bring in associates, staff and ultimately find a specialized area in law that captures her interest. For more information about OHA's loan fund, eall 5941924. For Katherine Puana Kealoha, eall 523-1120. ■