Meet the people behind the Public First Law Center
President & Executive Director
As Executive Director, Brian seeks to enhance the public dialogue between government and the community through a better informed citizenry.
Instilled with a strong community service ethic at Punahou School, Brian led the Civil Liberties Union at Harvard University, specialized in Public Law at Cornell University, clerked for a federal district court in Connecticut, and served as the inaugural fellow for the National Center on Philanthropy and the Law at New York University. When he returned to Hawaii in 2011 after almost a decade in private practice as a complex commercial litigator with Hogan Lovells in New York, he was motivated by a sense of civic duty to serve the local community.
Brian joined the Department of the Corporation Counsel for the City and County of Honolulu, assigned primarily to advise the Department of Environmental Services. Building on that experience, Brian uses innovative advocacy and a spirit of healthy government collaboration to further the Public First’s mission.
Staff Attorney
Ben joined Public First as a staff attorney in 2023, inspired by its mission to promote a more open and transparent government.
Ben is a proud alumnus of Mid Pacific Institute (2006), University of Southern California (2010), and the Richardson School of Law (2013). Following law school, Ben clerked for the Honorable Dan Foley at the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals. He then joined the Ashford & Wriston law firm, where he developed a broad civil litigation practice. After several years in private practice, Ben entered the public sector first as a legislative research attorney for the Hawaii Senate, and then as a deputy with the Hawaii Department of the Attorney General, where he focused on consumer protection matters.
In addition to his legal experience, Ben brings with him a deep appreciation and optimism for the good government can do when guided by the informed participation of its people. It is a fundamental right of the people to be informed and involved in matters pertaining to their government. Ben is committed to protecting and promoting this right in ways big and small, and always with the aloha spirit.
Fellow
Dévi Chung is the seventh Fellow for Public First. Born and raised on Oahu, she received her B.A. in Journalism from the University of Colorado Boulder and her J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of law.
Dévi’s lifelong commitment to public interest and community service stems from her years of managing a small Hindu-Buddhist center. In law school, she served as president of the Student Bar Association, was a student attorney in the Community Economic Development Clinic, and worked as staff editor for the Denver Journal of International Law & Policy. She also served as a research assistant for Professor Joseph McKay. Her legal experience includes an internship with the Honorable Regina M. Rodriguez at the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, a summer position in Washington D.C. with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division in the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section, and a full-time externship at Rathod Mohamedbhai LLC, a civil rights, employment, and education law firm.
Dévi’s experience has taught her that law can be a powerful vehicle for positive change and is dedicated to using her skills to help build a better Hawaii for everyone.
The Public First Fellowship provides an individual with the opportunity to learn and practice legal advocacy in a mentored setting.
© 2018-2023 Public First Law Center®