GILBERT AND SMITH - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• President
• Principal
• Senior Counsel

Elbridge W. Smith is the President and principal attorney of Smith Himmelmann. He has been representing federal employees for over 35 years. He is a 1970 graduate of Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, and received his law degree from the University of Hawaii, Richardson School of Law in 1977. He is admitted to practice by the Hawaii Supreme Court, the United States District Court of Hawaii, the Federal and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeal, and Court of International Trade (U.S. Customs). He is a member of the Hawaii, American, Federal, and Federal Circuit Bar Associations. He is the President of the Hawaii Chapter, National Employment Lawyers Association, the only professional organization of lawyers (3,000+ nationwide) who specialize in representing individual employees. Prior to and during law school, he was employed as an Immigration Inspector (INS, Dept of Justice) and then as a Customs Inspector (Dept of Treasury) in Honolulu, Hawaii (now both agencies are combined as Customs and Border Protection, Dept of Homeland Security). He became active as a steward, local director and national officer with the then Customs union NCSA and later with the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). He has been in private practice since 1977, with firms concentrating on civil rights and employment interests litigation. He primarily represents individual civilian Federal employees in adverse action appeals, in discrimination complaints, and other employee matters before the MSPB, EEOC and in Federal court, but has also practiced before the FLRA, NLRB, OWCP, SSA, and has represented various federal and private sector unions such as NTEU, AFGE, Metal Trades Council, Federal Firefighters, IBEW, SEIU, the Hawaii Nurses Association, Hawaii Teamsters, Hotel Workers and UPW. He has appeared on local and national panels on federal employee practice and procedure for the National Employment Lawyers Association and the Federal Circuit Bar Association (and for two years was its MSPB section co-chair). He has presented on federal employee appeal rights at local seminars and meetings, guest lectured at Kapiolani Community College and University of Hawaii in law and legal assistants program courses, and has been an invited guest on the "You and the Law" public-access TV series several times. He authored a short article on Federal Employee Termination Appeals for the 1997 and 2000 Hawaii Women's Lawyers series, "Our Rights, Our Lives, A Guide To Women's Legal Rights In Hawaii" and a more substantive article on Federal employee appeal rights was published in the HAWAII BAR JOURNAL, Vol. I, No. 13 (1998). Over the past 35 years, He has been awarded, or otherwise paid via settlement, attorneys fees at then current rates many times by Federal and State agencies in Title VII or other Section 1988 (Federal court and administrative) cases, in MSPB and EEOC cases, and under the Equal Access to Justice Act and has been responsible for expanding the definition and/or coverage of attorney fees and expenses on occasions. See, e.g., Shimotsukasa v USPS, 18 M.S.P.R. 679 (1998); Michelson v. Cheney, Sec'y of Defense, EEOC Appeal No. 01913684 (1993); Colon v. Dept. of Navy, 58 M.S.P.R. 190 (1993); Batey v. DMA, 92-3570 (Fed. Cir., 1993) (1993 W.L. 500301) [subsequent fee petition granted]; and Russell v. Dept. of Navy, 43 M.S.P.R. 157 (1989). Mr. Smith has also been named as one of Hawaii's Top Lawyers by Honolulu Magazine from 2010-2014, and is recognized by Martindale-Hubbell as a Super-Lawyer with the highest AV Preeminent peer rating (5/5.0). Mr. Smith participates in numerous community and service activities. He serves on the Board of Directors of Windward PONY Youth Baseball League, as governor of the Hawaii State Society of Mayflower Descendants, and as Registrar and Treasurer of the Hawaii Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR).

Job Titles:

• Attorney
• Senior Associate

Elbridge Z. Smith joined SMITH HIMMELMANN in 2013. He is a 2007 graduate of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, with a BA in Psychology. He is a 2013 graduate of New England Law|Boston, where he graduated on the Dean's List, and participated in numerous Mediation and Negotiation competitions. He is admitted to practice by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, the Hawaii Supreme Court, and the United States Disctrict Court of Hawaii. He is a member of the National Employment Lawyers' Association (NELA). He has secured numerous favorable judgments and resolutions at the EEOC, MSBP, and United States District Court. In his free time, Elbridge enjoys spending time with his wife Jill and their dog Tessie, as well as golfing and hiking.

Job Titles:

• Legal Assistant
• Legal / Assistant Paralegal

Marcelle L. Arakaki, Legal Assistant, has been employed at our firm for over twenty-eight years. She has an AA degree in the legal support field. She has worked in the legal field since 1974. She knew from a young age that she wanted to work in the legal field - citing Della Street as her inspiration. Born and raised in Maunawili, Hawaii, she now resides on the Leeward Coast of Oahu with her husband and two sons. When she is not at work, Marcelle enjoys volunteer work with the Hawaii Bicycling League, providing support every year at the Century Bike Ride since around 1985. Marcelle also enjoys spending weekends volunteering as a United States Swimming official, supporting her husband's swim team and supporting the numerous swimming programs in Hawaii, including the age group swimming programs, high school swimming, masters swimming, Special Olympics and open water swimming

Job Titles:

• Counsel

Perry Ann Howell has practiced federal personnel and employment law since 2005. She is a 1999 graduate of the University of South Carolina-Columbia, where she played on the women's soccer team and was a member of the Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity. She is a 2005 graduate of Seattle University School of Law, with a focus on Labor & Employment Law. She is licensed to practice in Virginia, before administrative agencies, and Federal Court. Prior to joining SMITH HIMMELMANN, Perry Ann clerked for an EEOC Judge, and was an Associate Attorney at law firms in Washington D.C. In her free time, Perry Ann enjoys spending time with her family, and has recently begun coaching her son's youth soccer team.