Laie Lawyers

Danielle Nelisse has successfully handled hundreds of immigration cases for individuals and companies to obtain work visas and marriage green cards (including same sex marriage green cards) for foreign nationals who living throughout America. Danielle Nelisse is an experienced immigration attorney who was admitted in the District of Columbia in 1999 and practices exclusively 100% immigration law in all 50 American states and abroad.

Serving Hawaii as a civil litigator since 1980.

My practice is located on the East side of Hawaii Island, primarily in the areas of Estate Planning, Business Law and Real Estate transactions. We have a small office, and provide friendly, practical service. I was born and raised in Hilo, moved back home about 20 years ago to practice law, and I would not live anywhere else in the world.

David A. Jakeman, founding attorney of Beacon Immigration, has been interested in foreign cultures and languages since he was a young boy. That interest culminated in his decision to dedicate his legal career to immigration. In high school, David studied Spanish and German. After his graduation, he served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Mexico City and surrounding regions, where he grew to love the Mexican people and the Spanish language. After returning home from his mission he completed a Bachelor’s degree at Brigham Young University in Near Eastern Studies, graduating magna cum laude....

Joy Yanagida started Yanagida & Associates in 1991, specializing in business law, real estate disputes, and family law. She received her J.D. from the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley and her A.B. with distinction from Stanford University. She is admitted to practice law in Hawaii, the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She also is an inactive member of the California and District of Columbia bars. Before starting Yanagida & Associates, Ms. Yanagida served in these positions: ...

Jean-Claude Mademba-Sy is admitted to practice in Hawaii and the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. He earned his J.D. at the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii and his B.S. in industrial relations at the University of Montreal, Canada. Mr. Mademba-Sy has been the firm's business manager since 1995, bringing his business acumen and managerial experience to the firm's litigation projects. He is the architect of the firm's highly automated infrastructure. Before joining Yanagida & Associates, he was the manager of Philips Electronics' Financial Business Systems division in Toronto, the Director General Adjoint of...

Jeffrey Foster proudly represents Hawai‘i residents, their families, as well as visitors to our islands, who have suffered a serious injury or wrongful death due to a negligent, reckless or intentional act. Jeff represents clients in personal injury cases and insurance disputes on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and Hawai‘i Island. In addition to his Hawai‘i practice, Jeff is also licensed in Washington State, where he operated his practice in downtown Seattle for over 10 years prior to moving to Hawai‘i.