The ʻohana of Kapiʻolani are proud to announce that Brandon Marc Higa has been honored as the 2024 Alumni of the Year by the William S. Richardson School of Law Alumni Association. This prestigious award recognizes Brandon Marc’s commitment to academic excellence and public service while earning his Doctor of Juridical Sciences (S.J.D.), the highest law degree attainable, making him one of fewer than five individuals among more than 4,000 UH Law graduates to achieve this distinction.
Brandon Marc credits the tremendous support of friends and colleagues at Kapi‘olani for helping him through law school—an arduous nine-year journey. Faculty members often shared invaluable words of encouragement, drawing from their own experiences balancing dissertations with family responsibilities. The KCC-GO team (Stanford Fichtman, Linda Duong, and Martin Holzgang) also played a vital role in supporting the campus and standing by Brandon Marc through thick and thin, fostering a sense of community that helped him persevere.
This fall, Brandon 
will continue his contributions to legal education as he co-teaches a continuing legal education session titled Baehr v. Lewin Revisited: Japan’s Same-Sex Marriage Cases and the Fight for Constitutional Protections of Marriage Equality alongside retired Associate Justice Steven H. Levinson and Justice Sabrina S. McKenna. The event will be open to the public, and registration is available online.
Kapi‘olani Community College is honored to celebrate Brandon Marc Higa’s accomplishments and looks forward to supporting his continued dedication to public higher education, law, and Kapi‘olani.