Corianne W. Lau

Stockholder/Director

Phone: (808) 524-1800
Fax: (808) 524-4591
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Corianne Lau's practice is concentrated in the areas of government contracts, employment law, commercial litigation, and defense of personal injury and products liability cases. She has represented government contractors in procurement matters, including protests, claims and disputes, debarment actions, administrative hearings and appeals. 

Lau's employment law and litigation practice includes advising and defending employers on equal employment opportunity matters such as harassment, discrimination and retaliation, human resources issues such as proprietary rights and wage and hour disputes, and claims of wrongful termination. She wrote the Hawai`i chapter in DRI's 2006 publication, Employment Law: A State-by-State Compendium.

She is a member of the National Contract Management Association, the Employment Law Committee of DRI (formerly Defense Research Institute) and the Society for Human Resource Management. She is the former Co-Chair of the Hawaii State Bar Association's Continuing Legal Education Committee and a past director of the Bar. Lau is a past President of Hawaii Women Lawyers and of the Hawaii Women's Legal Foundation. Lau serves on the Board of Governors of the East-West Center, and the Boards of Directors of the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii and the YWCA of Oahu. She is a former Executive Director of the Hawaii Institute for Continuing Legal Education.

Practice Areas

Government Contracts
Employment Law
Commercial Litigation

Government Contracts (federal, state, and city government contracts)

• Solicitation evaluation and bid or proposal preparation issues
• Protests against solicitation and award
• Contract performance issues
• Claims and disputes

Employment Law

• Equal employment opportunity (discrimination, harassment, and retaliation issues), including EEOC and HCRC investigations, mediation, arbitration, and litigation
• Wrongful termination
• Wage and hour
• Personnel management and training (handbooks, employment contracts, independent contract agreements, severance agreements, job descriptions., development and maintenance of HR systems, and management training)
• Safety and health (OSHA, workplace violence, substance abuse)
• Proprietary rights (restrictive covenants, confidentiality, and non-compete agreements)
• Workplace privacy
• Litigation, arbitration, mediation, administrative hearings

Personal Injury and Products Liability Defense

• Litigation
• Alternative dispute resolution: CAAP arbitration, mediation

Admitted to Practice

• Hawai`i
• U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai`i
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Affiliations

• Hawai`i State Bar Association
  • Director (1999-2000, 2002-2006)
  • Former co-chair, Continuing Legal Education Committee
• Legal Aid Society of Hawaii
  • Director (2009-present)
• Hawai`i Women Lawyers
  • Past President (1993); Member (1985-present)
• Hawai`i Women's Legal Foundation
  • Past President (2000); Director (1989-2001)
• Society of Human Resources Management
  • Member, Employment Law Group
• DRI (Defense Research Institute)
  • Member, Employment Law and Product Liability Committees
• East-West Center
  • Board of Governors
• YWCA of Oahu
  • Board of Directors

Awards & Recognition

• Best Lawyers in America®
  • Labor and Employment Law (2011-present)
  • Arbitration (2012-present)
• Martindale-Hubbell BV rating (2000-present)

Education

• Lewis and Clark Law School, fka Northwestern School of Law (J.D. 1984)
• Lewis and Clark College (B.A. 1975)

Publications

• Hawai`i chapter, "DRI Employment and Labor Law Committee Legislative Update - New Laws for 2012"
• "The Hawai`i Procurement Code Encourages Government Purchases of Local Products," Pacific Business News, September 23, 2011
• "T­he Hawai`i Procurement Code and the Public Interest," Hawaii Bar Journal, June 2011
• "Are Your Former Employees Competing Against You?," SHRM Hawaii Human Resource Guide (2010)
• "New Government Contractor Ethics Requirements: A New Program to Implement Old Obligations," Hawaii Business, April 2008
• Contributing Author, The Pacific Employer
• "Avoid Pre-employment Interview Pitfalls," Pacific Business News (1998)
• "Labor Rights: Apprenticeships," Women and Employment, Our Rights, Our Lives (1996) Publisher: Hawai`i Women Lawyers
• Contributing author, The Price of Paradise, Volume II (1993) Publisher: Mutual Publishing Co.