Na Lan
Na Lan is a Director at Damon Key and brings to the firm a unique combination of capabilities and experience in the areas of condominium and community association law, immigration, business and real property transactions, and dispute resolution for Mandarin-speaking investors and business owners. Born and raised in China, she is fluent in both Mandarin Chinese and English.
Ms. Lan arrived in Hawaii as an international student in 2004. Inspired by a professor’s passion for law, she became fascinated by various trust and estate cases discussed in one of her classes. “I saw how successful individuals made mistakes and how lawyers were able to help to resolve those issues and prevent future disputes."
She earned her law degree from the University of Hawaii’s William S. Richardson School of Law, where she graduated cum laude. She was the Managing Editor of the Asia Pacific Law & Policy Journal, and also served as an intern for Judge Craig Nakamura of the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals. For three years, she was a legal research assistant on Chinese labor and employment law for Professor Ronald C. Brown. She received the CALI Excellence for the Future Award for the highest grades in Intellectual Property, Second Year Seminar, and Real Property II. She was also an Advocate for Public Interest Law Grantee while serving as a law clerk in the Hawaii Immigrants Justice Center, now merged as part of Legal Aid Society of Hawaii.
Prior to joining Damon Key, Ms. Lan provided legal services through her Honolulu-based law office, The Law Office of Na Lan, LLLC, which focused on business, employment and family-based immigration law. She also practiced condominium and business law as an associate at a boutique law firm in Honolulu.
Ms. Lan’s experience in civil litigation includes construction defects, insurance coverage, directors and officers (D&O) defense, condominium and community association litigation, covenant enforcement, creditor rights and foreclosure, landlord-tenant dispute resolution, arbitration, mediation, appellate practice, and LLC/partnership dispute resolution.
Her consulting and business transaction experience includes contract drafting and review, project documents amendment/restatement, legal opinions, covenant compliance and enforcement, ADA & FHA compliance for homeowners associations, contract drafting and lease review for LLCs, conveyance document drafting, and due diligence research. She is also experienced in debt collection, as well as judicial and non-judicial foreclosures.
Ms. Lan most values opportunities when she employs her lawyering skills to make a difference in someone’s life. Some particularly memorable cases include her helping a couple of local churches with very tight legal budgets to obtain and renew R1 visas for their pastors who were serving immigrants speaking foreign languages in our community, and advocating for a ten-year-old girl and her helpless mother in China to establish the little girl’s U.S. citizenship status after her father’s sudden death in Hawaii.
A member of the Hawaii Chapter of the Community Associations Institute (CAI) since 2013, Ms. Lan has held leadership roles as Chair and Vice Chair of the CAI Legislative Action Committee, Hawaii Chapter. She remains an active member of the Legislative Action Committee, testifying before the state legislature and lobbying on behalf of homeowners associations. In 2015, she received the Public Advocate of the Year Award from CAI. She was a 2016 HSBA Leadership Institute fellow and currently chairs the International Law Section of the HSBA.
She has presented at numerous local seminars and published articles in trade publications and newsletters, providing timely legislative updates and insights on condominium and community association law and related topics. On numerous occasions, she was a guest on ThinkTech Hawaii’s “Condo Insider” show, where she discussed foreclosure law, condominium statutes, association document requests, board fiduciary duty, and assistance animals in Hawaii. [Link here: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=na+lan+think+tech] She was also published in a top Hawaii business publication on the subject of Finding Common Ground to Reduce Condo Lawsuits.
She is a graduate of Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology in China, where she earned a B.S. in Atmospheric Science, with highest honors. She also earned her real estate license, and is a member of the Honolulu Board of Realtors. Ms. Lan is active in the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, serving on the Strategic Planning Committee, Business Development Committee and Program Committee for both the Chamber and the Chinatown Education and Vision Center.
Ms. Lan lives in Honolulu with her husband and two sons. When she’s not practicing law, she enjoys spending time with family. Some of her favorite pastimes include reading, swimming, hiking, cooking, and teaching her sons the Chinese language and culture.
Professional and Community Affiliations
• American Bar Association
• American Immigration Lawyers Association
• Hawaii State Bar Association
• National Association of Realtors
• Honolulu Board of Realtors
• Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii
• Community Associations Institute, Hawaii Chapter
• Supreme Court Committee on Court Interpreters and Language Access
• US-China Friendship Association, Honolulu Chapter
Publications/Speaker
• Article on “Tips for Property Managers Caught in the Middle”, November 2019 issue of Building Management Hawaii
• 2019 Speaker for Chinatown Community Foundation Training & Visioning Center workshop on “2019 Legislative Update for Hawaii Business and Property Owners”
• 2018 Co-Speaker at Hawaii International Real Estate Council in Mandarin on “Taxation and Immigration Issues for Chinese Buyers and Sellers of Real Estate in Hawaii”
• 2018 Speaker at Rotary Club of Kahului on “How do Employers deal with Medical Marijuana Issues in the Workplace?”
• 2018 Speaker at Chinatown Community Foundation Training & Visioning Center workshop on “2018 Legislative Update for Hawaii Business and Property Owners”
• 2018 Speaker at Chinatown Community Foundation Training & Visioning Center workshop on “I-9 Form: Employee Eligibility to Work” and “Legislative Update for business and real property owners”
• 2017 Speaker at Chinatown Community Foundation Training & Visioning Center workshop on “How to Prevent & Resolve Disputes When Doing Business in Hawaii”
• Article on “How do We balance the Medical Marijuana Users’ and Non-Smokers’ Interests in Condominium Buildings and Planned Communities?” for Community Associations Institute Hawaii Newsletter in 2018
• Article on 2018 Legislative Summary for “Lantern” -Newsletter of Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii
• Articles on legislature update for Community Associations Institute Hawaii Newsletter in 2018, 2017, 2015, 2014, and 2013
• University of Hawaii Alumni Magazine Spring 2016 “Face of New China” (interview & cover image)
• Article on new bankruptcy court ruling for Community Associations Institute Hawaii Newsletter 2016
• Guest Speaker on Condo Insider Show with Think Tech Hawaii, eight times respectively on foreclosure law, associations documents request, Board fiduciary duty and meeting requirements, assistance animals, a prime
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
