Passing of Patricia Mau-Shimizu, Executive Director of the Hawai‘i State Bar Association

The Hawaiʻi State Bar Association shared news this week of the passing of Executive Director, Patricia Mau-Shimizu.

“We are truly at a loss to express the depth of our sorrow at Pat’s unexpected passing, but we all benefited from her wisdom and generous spirit,” HSBA leaders said in a letter to their membership.

Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald said he was also heartbroken to learn of Mau-Shimizu’s passing.

“Pat was truly one-of-a-kind. She was a widely-respected leader who used her vast knowledge of state government and countless friendships to bring people together for the common good,” said Recktenwald.

According to Justice officials, Mau-Shimizu most recently organized volunteer legal assistance hotlines to support people on Maui, along with a drive to collect food and other donations from attorneys.

“She worked hard on behalf of Hawai‘i’s attorneys, enthusiastically supporting programs that developed a new generation of bar leaders. And, she tirelessly supported a strong and effective judiciary,” said Recktenwald.

According to HSBA leadership, Mau-Shimizu joined the organization as its executive director in December 2011. Before joining the HSBA, she was with the State House of Representatives for nearly three decades and served as its Chief Clerk from 1993.

“Pat was a tough and clearheaded strategist able to see several steps ahead,” according the HSBA letter, which notes Mau-Shimizu was no stranger to hard work. The letter was drafted by HSBA President Rhonda L. Griswold, President-Elect Jesse K. Souki, and Vice President Mark M. Murakami.

“About her work at the legislature, she told a Honolulu Star-Advertiser reporter that her office would stay until 3 a.m. to meet midnight deadlines. This was at a time when bills were printed and collated, and many steps were not automated. She built strong working relationships with the speakers she worked under,” the list of which included Henry Peters, Richard Kawakami, Danny Kihano, Joe Souki, and Calvin Say.

HSBA leadership noted that Mau-Shimizu’s knowledge of the legislative process and its members proved invaluable when she decided to lend her talents to HSBA.

“Pat brought her sense of work ethic and organizational ability to the HSBA, where she served under 12 presidents. Her work included organizing and supporting HSBA judicial evaluations and creating the Hawai‘i State Bar Foundation, which supports organizations such as Legal Aid and other legal support programs. Pat strongly believed in building organizational capacity and empowering the next generation. She was among the leaders who advocated for the HSBA Leadership Institute Program which produces HSBA leaders currently serving in various leadership capacities,” HSBA leaders wrote.

In 2009, Pat received a kidney transplant at Hawai‘i Medical Center East in Liliha, according to her colleagues.

“Under threat of closing, Pat advocated for preserving transplant services and testified before the legislature to support funding a replacement transplant center on Oʻahu. She told a Honolulu Star-Advertiser reporter that waiting for a transplant, ‘I didn’t know if I was going to be able to see my daughter graduate from college, or law school.’ It was important to Pat that others have the opportunity she had to visit a center on Oʻahu,” HSBA leaders wrote, noting that this came at a time when approximately 400 people were waiting for a kidney transplant.

“Pat was a friend, a colleague, and one of us,” they wrote. “Her work ethic, guidance, and smile will be sorely missed, but her legacy will endure.”

Mau-Shimizu earned a law degree from Golden Gate University School of Law and has been an active member of the HSBA since Oct. 2, 1979.

Recktenwald extended condolences saying, “She was a trusted mentor and friend to many people across the state, all of whom benefited from the wisdom that came with her years of experience at the state capitol and at HSBA. I deeply valued her friendship and her wise, common-sense advice. She will be greatly missed, and on behalf of the judiciary, our thoughts and aloha go out to her daughter Melissa Shimizu, her parents Herbert Gahn Ki Mau and Leilani Yuen Mau, and her brother Marvin Mau.”