Overview
Jai Keep-Barnes is a partner in the firm’s litigation department. His areas of practice include complex commercial litigation, land use and real estate litigation, construction litigation, and construction contract drafting and negotiation.
Mr. Keep-Barnes co-chairs Lung Rose Voss Wagnild’s hiring committee and the firm’s summer associate program. He takes pride in mentoring the next generation of attorneys entering the legal profession.
Mr. Keep-Barnes is also active in the community and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Aloha Harvest, the largest food rescue and redistribution organization in the State of Hawaii.
Experience
Construction, Real Estate, and Commercial Litigation
- Represented major developers and landowners in multi-million-dollar disputes in both defending against and pursuing construction and design defect claims.
- Represented contractors in breach of contract and payment disputes, obtaining recovery under numerous contracts for projects across the State of Hawaii.
- Represented multiple subcontractors in a construction defect dispute involving a major hotel development.
- Represented local business owner and obtained full recovery in a dispute arising out of an insurance claim.
Insurance Defense
- Represented a military housing developer in a class action involving over four-thousand class members.
- Represented over thirteen individually named defendants in a condominium dispute through the conclusion of a multi-week jury trial.
- Represented a prominent private school in a wrongful death dispute.
- Represented multiple condominium associations and resolved all claims arising out of a dispute involving nonjudicial foreclosures.
- Represented prominent Hawaii news provider in successfully resolving a wrongful termination claim.
Contract Drafting and Negotiation
- Drafted and negotiated construction contracts for major commercial and residential development projects.
- Drafted and negotiated construction contracts for individual homeowners, condominium associations, general contractors, and subcontractors for new construction projects.
- Haseko Development, Inc.
- The Kobayashi Group
- Lanai Resorts, LLC
- Beachside Roofing, LLC
- Inclusionary Zoning as a Taking: A Critical Look at its Ability to Provide Affordable Housing, 49 Urban Lawyer 67 (2017)
Honors
- Best Lawyers Ones to Watch for Commercial Litigation, Construction Litigation, and Real Estate Litigation.
- Super Lawyers Rising Star for Construction Litigation.
- Hawaii Business Magazine Emerging Legal Stars