Mimi DesJardins sworn in as First Deputy Corporation Counsel

Mimi DesJardins was sworn in June 30 as First Deputy Corporation Council for the County of Maui.

The Department of the Corporation Counsel, led by Corporation Counsel Victoria Takayesu, is responsible for the legal oversight of county operations. The department supports county government by providing legal advice and representation that promotes public interest and promotes the countywide strategic priorities.

“We are fortunate to have Mimi serve in this new capacity. Her significant of experience and accomplishments are an asset to the department and I look forward to her continuing contributions as part of our leadership team at our Department of Corporation Counsel,” said Mayor Richard Bissen in a news release.

DesJardins had served as a County of Maui Deputy Corporation Counsel since 2018, after working as a Legislative Analyst in the Maui County Office of Council Services in 2017. 

From 2014 to 2017, she was a Lecturer at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College, where she taught various classes in the Administration of Justice Department.

She served as a Judge in the District Family Court of the Second Circuit from 2012 to 2013. From 1997 to 2017, DesJardins had a solo law practice, concentrating in mediation, criminal defense, Child Protective Services cases, divorce and guardianship cases, and appellate work in criminal and family court cases. Starting in 2006, she was a per diem Judge in Family Court of the Second Circuit through 2009 and in District Court of the Second Circuit through 2012.

Her experience also includes serving as a County of Maui Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in 1991 and as a State of Hawaiʻi Deputy Public Defender in the Maui office from 1991 to 1996.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Md., and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Puget Sound School of Law in Tacoma, Wash.

Sonya Toma, who had served as First Deputy Corporation Counsel since January, has joined the team at the County of Maui Office of the Prosecuting Attorney as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney.