The Legal Aid Society of Hawai‘i (“Legal Aid”) has selected David Kauila Kopper as its new Executive Director, effective June 13, 2023.
Kopper will succeed Legal Aid’s long-time Executive Director Nalani Fujimori Kaina, who served the organization in a variety of roles for 24 years and has now joined Kamehameha Schools as its General Counsel and Vice President.
Originally from Hilo, Kopper, who comes to Legal Aid as the former Director of Litigation at Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (NHLC). brings decades of experience with Hawaiʻi’s courts and administrative bodies. At NHLC he held roles that included: intake staff, staff attorney, and interim executive director.
He also served as panel speaker and presenter at a wide range of trainings, conferences and radio shows, most recently for the Harvard Law Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA), National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) and Hawai‘i Access to Justice Commission. A United Way Agency Legal Services Corporation www.legalaidhawaii.org.
Kopper received his degrees from William S. Richardson School of Law (J.D. magna cum laude, 2010) and from Arizona State University (magna cum laude, 2006). He is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama.
In a press release Kopper said, “I have always gravitated towards organizations that serve and empower communities, ʻohana, and people in need. And I deeply admire those rare breed of advocates who unselfishly dedicate themselves to that mission. I am honored to serve as the next Executive Director of our state’s oldest and largest nonprofit legal services provider and embrace wholeheartedly the kuleana entrusted to me: to carry forward LASH’s 70-year legacy of advancing justice and fairness all across our pae ʻāina.”
Photo credit: Legal Aid Society of Hawaiʻi
