Remillard Barbour & Yu

Why is having a good banking relationship so important to your business?

Personal injury law is different because our work is entirely contingency-based. When we take on a client, we don’t ask them to pay us upfront. We advance the costs of the case, whether that means hiring medical experts, obtaining investigation reports or paying for depositions. A case can take two or three years before we see any part of our fee from a settlement, so our income can fluctuate, and we may go months without receiving payment.

Having a banker who understands our business and can help us find solutions when we need them is essential. Hawaii National Bank has provided us with a line of credit that allows us to invest in our cases, pursue larger matters and take on more clients. As the firm has grown, that support has helped us hire additional attorneys and staff and continue serving our community.

It was also especially important during COVID, when trials were paused and cases weren’t settling as they normally would. We still had staff to support and a business to keep running, so having access to funding helped us stay afloat and be ready to serve clients when the courts reopened. Ultimately, our relationship with Hawaii National Bank has helped a small firm like ours take on complex cases and stand up to large corporations and insurance companies on behalf of our clients.

What does being a woman entrepreneur mean to you?

To me, being a woman entrepreneur means I have the privilege of serving as a role model to young women and girls. It also means I have a responsibility to ensure that women are seen and heard in my profession.

I want to make things easier for the women who come into litigation and business after me. I’m grateful to the women who helped make this possible for me, and I want to pay that forward by helping ensure women in the legal field are heard, respected and empowered.

What advice would you give women entering a male-dominated field?

Work hard at both your craft and your business skills. People often say that to succeed as a lawyer, you have to be a good lawyer. That’s important, but learning how to run a business and pursuing opportunities in the community to grow your practice are just as important.

I’ve also learned that women sometimes have to find their own path. I’ve tried to follow the examples of male litigators, but that doesn’t always translate into the same success for women in front of a jury. Finding female mentors and seeing other women in action has been incredibly valuable to me. There are resources and people in our community who want to support women, and we can help each other grow.

What excites you about the future of the firm?

I’m excited to continue serving the community and taking on larger cases. I’m also interested in using AI to help us run the firm more efficiently, especially with some of the routine administrative tasks that can slow our staff down. That would allow us to focus more time on what we enjoy most: litigating and advocating for our clients.

Ultimately, I want our firm to continue helping people through some of the hardest times in their lives. My hope is that someone comes to us when they’re at their lowest, and we’re able to give them hope and a way to move forward.