Grande Law Offices was founded by Thomas Grande to litigate cases of importance to the public interest.
Grande Law Offices partners each of its cases with prominent law firms in Hawai’i and across the United States. This unique approach to public interest litigation brings tremendous resources in multi-party group or class actions and in false claims act (qui tam) cases.
Thomas Grande has been a lifelong public interest advocate for open government, voting rights, the environment, Native Hawaiian rights, and consumer rights.
Thomas Grande has been listed in Best Lawyers in America and as one of Hawai’i’s A+ Attorneys. He has been rated as AV Preeminent and a Hawai’i Super Lawyer by his peers.
National Recognition
Mr. Grande has achieved national recognition in his primary fields of practice — class action and qui tam law — and has taught and lectured extensively throughout his career. He was recently named National Trial Lawyer of the Year by Public Justice for his work on the Kalima v Hawai’i lawsuit.
Class Action Cases
Mr. Grande is past co-chairperson of the American Bar Association Subcommittee on State Class Actions and is Editor in Chief Emeritus of the ABA Survey of State Class Action Law, the first publication to summarize each state’s class action rule and case law. He is a two-time Hawaii Trial Lawyer of the Year for Class Actions/Mass Torts.
Mr. Grande’s class action cases have recovered tens of millions of dollars for consumers, including settlements with Bergen industries for drug recycling ($4.8 million), Allstate Insurance for improper use of credit scores to set insurance rates ($2.26 million), State Farm Insurance for improper use of credit scores to set insurance rates ($1.2 million) and Hilton Hotels for failing to disclose mold contamination to its guests ($1.8 million).
Qui Tam – False Claims Act – Whistleblower Cases
Mr. Grande is co-founder and past co-chair of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (now American Association for Justice) Qui Tam Litigation Group. Mr. Grande has obtained the highest ($75 million) Medicare fraud settlement in Hawaii and and the first settlement under the Hawaii False Claims Act.
Mr. Grande’s false claims act settlements include a $2.5 million settlement with Queens Hospital for improper billing the government for physician services performed by residents, $2.3 million settlement with Kaiser Hospitals for using unlicensed physical therapists in California and Hawaii and a $1.2 million settlement with Shinwha Electronics for falsifying fire inspection safety records at military bases in Korea, which was the first case settled under the federal false claims act against a foreign company for false billings on a foreign military base.
A Commitment to Service in the Public Interest
Mr. Grande has a lifelong commitment to work in the public interest. He worked as a VISTA volunteer in his hometown of Waimanalo in the 1970s, creating the first public access local news program in Hawai’i. He later became executive director of Common Cause/Hawai’i, working on public interest legislation to guarantee government accountability and openness, including the Hawai’i public records law; campaign finance laws and lobby disclosure laws at the state level and passing the right to initiative at the county level. He was the plaintiff in a lawsuit to enforce the 1978 constitutional amendment requiring open legislative meetings.
Pro Bono Achievements
After graduation from law school, Mr. Grande continue his public interest work and has represented organizations in pro-bono litigation cases in environmental, voting rights and consumer law. Mr. Grande helped create a “gap group” access to justice program to serve low-income individuals who do not meet Legal Aid criteria. He is the co-founder and organizer of Children with Lawyers, a program which has established a pro-bono volunteer lawyer base for work with the Na Keiki (Children’s) Law Center in Honolulu. He is a two-time honoree and recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Legal Services Award from Hawai’i Lawyers Care. One of his cases resulted in a $2.3 million cy pres award to the University of Hawai’i, which was used to fund legal and medical geriatric programs at the William S. Richardson School of Law and the John Burns School of Medicine.
Pro Bono Legislative Achievements
Since 2000, Mr. Grande has drafted and helped secure passage of the Hawai’i False Claims Act, the Hawai’i County False Claims Act, the Hawai’i Elder Justice Act, amendments to the Hawai’i Unfair and Deceptive Practices Act to allow indirect purchaser consumer class actions and unfair competition claims for small businesses, and legislation to prevent double taxation of whistleblower and employment discrimination plaintiffs.
Contact Information
Grande Law Offices
41-859 Kalaniana’ole Highway #271
Waimanalo, HI 96795
Telephone: (808) 271-7500
Facsimile: (888) 722-5575
Email Us – Click Here
http://www.grandelawoffices.com
Curriculum Vitae/Resume
Born Providence, Rhode Island, December 27, 1952
Hawai’i resident since 1976
Bar Admissions
1985 Hawaii Supreme Court
1985 U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii
1986 U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Education
University of Hawaii, William S. Richardson School of Law (J.D. 1985)
• Who’s Who in American Law Schools
• Law Review (Academic Selection)
• Susan McKay Memorial Moot Court Award
• National Moot Court Team (2 year selection)
• American Inns of Court
• Law Clerk, The Honorable Edward C. King, Chief Justice, Federated States of Micronesia Supreme Court
Undergraduate Education
Lycee Presles, Vichy, France
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Bates College (B.A., Government, 1976)
Intern, U.S. Senator Edmund Muskie
Thesis: “A Power Analysis of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee”
Books
Grande, Thomas and Wheeler, Anne, Founding Editors, Survey of State Class Action Law (American Bar Association, 1999 – 2000)
Grande, Thomas, Editor-in-Chief, Survey of State Class Action Law, (American Bar Association; Newberg on Class Actions; Consumer Class Actions, 2001-2005)
Grande, Thomas, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, Survey of State Class Action Law, (American Bar Association; Newberg on Class Actions; Consumer Class Actions, 2005-2021)
Grande, Thomas, Contributing Editor, Consumer Class Actions (National Consumer Law Center, 3rd Ed. – 9th Ed.)
Grande, Thomas, Contributing Author, Unfair & Deceptive Acts & Practices (National Consumer Law Center, 4th Ed. – 9th Ed.)
Grande, Thomas and Bronster, Margery, Litigating the Class Action Lawsuit in Hawaii (Hawaii State Bar Association 2000)
Articles
“Innovative Class Action Technique – The Use of Rule 23(b)(2) in Consumer Class Actions”, 14 Loyola Consumer Law Review 251 (2002)
“Taking Evidence”, Second Annual Conference for Qui Tam Relators Counsel, Taxpayers Against Fraud, Washington, D.C. (2002)
“Coordinated State Court Class Actions: The New Paradigm” published in the Consumer Advocate in June 2000.
“The Federal False Claims Act” published in the Consumer Advocate in December 2000.
“Class Action Benefits Consumers”, TRIAL Magazine page 24 (April 1997).
“The Hawaii False Claims Act”, Hawaii Bar Journal (Spring 2001)
“Class Actions in State Courts – A Tool for the Trial Advocate”, 23 American Journal Trial Advocacy 491 (2000)
“Class Actions and Other Multiparty Litigation in a Nutshell”, (Book Review), Association of Trial Lawyers of America: TRIAL (2000)
“The False Claims Act: A Consumer’s Tool to Combat Fraud Against the Government”, 11 Loyola Consumer Law Review, 129 (2000)
“Hawaii Supreme Court Recognizes Economic Loss Doctrine for Design Professionals”, CONSTRUCT (1998), State Survey of Risk of Loss Provisions, American Bar Association
“Preparing for a Construction Defect Claim”, Foundations, Spring, 1996
Note; “Midkiff v. Tom: The Constitutionality of Hawaii’s Land Reform Act”, 6 University of Hawaii Law Review 561 (1984)
Addendum; “Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff, – The Hawaii Land Reform Act is Constitutional”, 6 University of Hawaii Law Review 601 (1984)
Professional Associations
• National Association of Consumer Advocates
• National Consumer Law Center
• Public Justice
• Association of Trial Lawyers of America
• Co-Chair & Co-Founder, ATLA Qui Tam Litigation Group
• The Consumers Lawyers of Hawaii; Board Member; Parliamentarian; Secretary
• Taxpayers Against Fraud (Attorney Network)
• Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (Hawaii representative)
• American Bar Association; Co-Chair, ABA Subcommittee on State Class Actions
• Hawaii State Bar Association; Chair, Lawyer Referral Committee
• National Judicature Society
• American Health Lawyers Association
• National Employment Lawyers Association, Whistleblower’s Committee
• American Inns of Court
• American Judicature Society
Honorary Associations
• Best Lawyers
• Best Law Firms
• SuperLawyers
• Who’s Who in America
• Who’s Who in American Law
• Strathmore’s Who’s Who
• Leaders of Hawai’i
• The International Directory of Distinguished Leadership
• The Supreme Court Historical Society
Lecture & Teaching
Speaker, “Medicare Fraud – What Coders Should Know to Protect Themselves”, American Academy of Professional Coders – Hawaii Chapter, Annual Convention (2006)
Speaker, “Medicare Fraud – What Coders Should Know to Protect Themselves”, American Academy of Professional Coders – Hawaii Chapter, Annual Convention (2005)
Organizer, “The Federal False Claims Act: An Innovative Cause of Action for Employment, Nursing Home and HMO Litigation”, Association of Trial Lawyers of America Annual Convention, Atlanta, Georgia (July 21, 2002)
Speaker, “False Claims Act Litigation in HMO Cases,” Association of Trial Lawyers of America Annual Convention, Atlanta, Georgia (July 21, 2002)
Panelist, “Ethical Issues in Qui Tam Practice, Second Annual Conference for Qui Tam Relators” Counsel, Taxpayers Against Fraud, Washington, D.C. (May 2-3, 2002)
Organizer and co-presenter, “Litigating the Class Action Lawsuit in Hawaii”, National Business Institute, Honolulu, Hawaii (April 2001)
Organizer & Moderator, “Medicare Fraud: What Nurses Should Know,” Hawaii Nurses Association, Honolulu, Hawaii (November 30, 2001)
Organizer & Moderator, “The Federal False Claims Act: Myths & Truths”, Association of Trial Lawyers of America Annual Convention, Montreal, Canada (July 16, 2001)
Speaker, “Rule 23(b)(2) in Class Action Litigation”, National Consumer Law Center & National Association of Consumer Advocates, Consumer Class Action Symposium, Baltimore, Maryland (October 26-29, 2001)
Speaker, “Overview of the Hawaii False Claims Act”, Hawaii State Bar Association Annual Convention, Honolulu, Hawaii (November 30, 2000)
Speaker, “Innovative Causes of Actions for Consumer Lawyers”, National Consumer Law Center & National Association of Consumer Advocates, 9th Annual Consumer Rights Litigation Conference, Denver, Colorado (October 27-29, 2000)
Speaker, “Coordinated State Class Actions”, National Consumer Law Center & National Association of Consumer Advocates, Consumer Class Action Symposium, Chicago, Illinois (June 2000)