DesJardins

The Maui News

Mimi DesJardins, a former judge and longtime attorney who ran a solo law practice for 20 years, was sworn in June 30 as first deputy corporation counsel for Maui County.

“We are fortunate to have Mimi serve in this new capacity,” Mayor Richard Bissen said in a news release Monday. “Her significant experience and accomplishments are an asset to the department and I look forward to her continuing contributions as part of our leadership team at our Department of Corporation Counsel.”

The Department of the Corporation Counsel, led by Corporation Counsel Victoria Takayesu, is responsible for the legal oversight of county operations. The department supports county government by providing legal advice and representation that promotes public interest and promotes the countywide strategic priorities.

DesJardins had served as a county deputy corporation counsel since 2018, after working as a legislative analyst in the Maui County Office of Council Services in 2017, according to the county.

Her experience goes back to 1991 when she served as a county deputy prosecuting attorney before becoming a state deputy public defender in the Maui office from 1991 to 1996. From 1997 to 2017, DesJardins had a solo law practice, concentrating in mediation, criminal defense, Child Protective Services cases, divorce and guardianship cases, and appellate work in criminal and Family Court cases.

Starting in 2006, DesJardins was a per diem judge in 2nd Circuit Family Court through 2009 and in 2nd Circuit District Court through 2012. She served as a judge in Family Court from 2012 to 2013.

From 2014 to 2017, she also was a lecturer at the University of Hawai’i Maui College, where she taught various classes in the Administration of Justice Department.

DesJardins earned a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Md., and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Puget Sound School of Law in Tacoma, Wash.

Sonya Toma, who had served as first deputy corporation counsel since January, has joined the county Office of the Prosecuting Attorney as a deputy prosecuting attorney.