Leinā‘ala Ley

Senior Associate Attorney Mid-Pacific Office

leinaley-800

Media Inquiries

Miranda Fox
Public Affairs and Communications Strategist
mfox@earthjustice.org

Bar Admissions

HI, CA (inactive)

Leināʻala Ley is a Senior Associate Attorney based in the Mid-Pacific Office.

Leinā started her legal career at the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (NHLC), a non-profit law firm dedicated to protecting Native Hawaiian land and water rights, sacred places, and traditional and customary practices. While at NHLC, Leinā represented Hawai‘i state prisoners incarcerated out-of-state in a class action lawsuit for reasonable accommodations of their religious practices. Leinā then spent four years in private practice successfully representing an array of clients involved in business, construction and real estate disputes in agency proceedings and before the state and federal courts.

Leinā was born and raised on the island of Kauaʻi, growing up in small communities still reliant on traditional practices and subsistence lifestyles. Leinā graduated from high school on O‘ahu, earned her bachelor’s degree from Brown University in Rhode Island, and obtained her law degree from the Berkeley School of Law in California (Boalt Hall). In 2011, Leinā moved home with the goal of using her law to degree to assist the people and places that make Hawai‘i unique.

In her free time, Leinā enjoys hiking, surfing, reading, and spending time with family and friends.

The Latest from Leinā‘ala Ley

January 2, 2024

In the News: E&E News

Climate in the Courts: Lawyers to watch in 2024

Climate lawyers are gearing up for another monumental year in 2024.
January 27, 2023

In the News: The Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Hawaii youth file lawsuit against state regarding emissions

"While other sectors have taken significant steps in the past few decades to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Hawaii Department of Transportation remains trapped in the past, doing business as usual and failing to take advantage of opportunities that are available now to provide Hawaii's residents with more and cleaner transportation options that can help mitigate climate harm."
November 5, 2022

In the News: Popular Science

Some climate activists aren’t suing over the future—they are taking aim at the present

“We don’t have to look to the future here. We can just look unfortunately to the present to see the kind of havoc that climate change is wreaking.”
December 20, 2021

In the News: The Garden Island

BLNR renews KIUC permit despite local opposition

“KIUC admits it has not used water from the two diversions for the past two and a half years, and will not be able to use water for the foreseeable future because it has not repaired the siphon and it does not have plans, currently, to contract for those repairs.”
June 30, 2021

In the News: Honolulu Star Advertiser

Earthjustice files intent to sue over harbor, airport lights harming imperiled seabirds on Maui, Lanai

“To save these birds from extinction, the department needs to implement similar measures immediately on Maui and Lanai. There’s no time to waste.”