[co-author: Namrata Kang]

On December 8, Gov. David Ige announced the appointment of Holly T.M. Shikada as the next attorney general of Hawaii, subject to Senate confirmation. Shikada has served as the first deputy attorney general since March 2021 and has 30 years of experience within the Department of the Attorney General.

Shikada will succeed Clare Connors, who left the post on December 10. In a statement, Shikada thanked Ige for entrusting her with the opportunity: “It is my honor to continue my service to the State of Hawaiʻi as the attorney general … I have the pleasure of working with some of the best and brightest attorneys in the state and look forward to championing their efforts to make Hawaiʻi a better place.”

Shikada’s prior experience, which Ige believes will allow her to step into the role “without missing a beat,” includes serving as the supervising deputy attorney general for the Education Division for 18 years, leading a unit focusing on compliance with a class-action settlement known as the Felix Consent Decree, and serving in the department’s Family Law Division. Additionally, Shikada brings prior legal private experience, along with a law degree from the William S. Richardson School of Law. She also earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from University of Hawaii, Manoa.