James J. Bickerton Esq.

Jim Bickerton has been practicing law in Hawai‘i for more than 40 years and is the founding partner of Bickerton Law Group. Jim is widely regarded as one of the best trial attorneys in Honolulu, and has been continuously listed as one of the “Best Lawyers in America” and “Hawai‘i’s A+ Attorneys” since 1993. Jim has been lead counsel in numerous jury trials in Honolulu, Kona, Maui, and Hawai‘i Federal Court, and has obtained multiple seven-figure jury verdicts, as well as major class action settlements.

Jim represents a wide range of clients in serious personal injury and wrongful death matters, consumer class actions, commercial, real estate, and bankruptcy litigation, professional liability of attorneys, accountants and real estate brokers, medical malpractice, and First Amendment and defamation issues.

In addition to the hundreds of individual clients Jim has successfully represented over the years, his client list has included such notables as Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi, Governor Ben Cayetano, UH Basketball Coach Gib Arnold, and Princess Abigail Kawananakoa, The New Yorker magazine, the NCAA, USA Today, The Hawai‘i State Campaign Spending Commission, Simon & Schuster and several past presidents of the Hawai‘i State Bar Association.

In addition to his trial practice, Jim is a past Director of the Hawai‘i State Bar Association, past Governor of the Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii, a member of the Hawaii Chief Justice’s Committee on the Adoption of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, chaired the Hawai‘i State Bar Association’s Special Committee on Appellate Issues, and served as Vice Chair of the Judicial Selection Commission 2014-2015. Jim is also well-known in the community for his extensive pro bono representation on behalf of many of the most significant environmental, free speech, and community causes over the past two decades, including Save Sunset Beach, Kaimana Beach Coalition, Save the Star-Bulletin and others. Jim has been recognized by the Hawai‘i Supreme Court for his pro bono work in the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation.

Jim was born in England and lived in Africa, the Caribbean, South America, and Europe before moving to Hawai‘i as a teenager in 1972. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in Honolulu and the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1978, where received a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with distinction. Jim received his law degree from the U.C.L.A. School of law in 1981. When he is not working, Jim enjoys spending time with his family and still enjoys the challenge of big wave surfing and tow-surfing on Oahu’s North Shore as shown in this video.

In the News

• ‘This was an orchestrated effort’: Devin Nunes sues Twitter, ‘Devin Nunes’ cow’ for defamation, The Washington Post
• Devin Nunes Sues Twitter, His “Mom,” for $250 Million, Vanity Fair
• Clarence Thomas gets his wish: Nunes sues Twitter, satire accounts for $250 million, HotAir