Lawyers group pulls surfing contest sponsorship for fear of being sued

The nation’s lawyers apparently have no fear of sharks — unless they’re the kind that file lawsuits.

About 40 lawyers signed up for the National Lawyers on Longboards Surfing Contest scheduled during the Aug. 3-8 American Bar Association convention in Honolulu. However, the ABA pulled out of sponsoring the surfing competition. The event organizer said the lawyers were afraid of being sued.

“It’s really funny — the ABA won’t officially sponsor it for liability reasons,” said Lea Hong, a Honolulu environmental lawyer and surfer, shortly before the event.

Hong was planning to go ahead with the contest and a luau on the convention’s last day.

She said the ABA overreacted.

“They were freaked out about the liability issue related to a surf contest, even though we had liability insurance and everything,” Hong said.

Hong hoped to register 60 surfing lawyers. About 10,700 lawyers were in Honolulu for the ABA conference.

Organizers of the surfing event required that all participants sign a liability waiver, and lifeguards were on duty in case anyone got in trouble, Hong said.

“Lawyers have a reputation for going out and having fun and staying active, but you don’t think about lawyers going out there and surfing very often,” said Richard Hamar, a Beverly Hills litigator who helped found the 250-member Association of Surfing Lawyers, which had about eight of its members participate in the Honolulu event.

ABA Spokesman Dave Jaffe said he couldn’t immediately comment.

Knowing lawyers, Hong said she made sure the rules of the contest are loophole-free, and the judges will be unassailable.

“Lawyers are always going to complain about the rules — I’ve thought a lot about this,” said Hong, a partner with Alston Hunt Floyd and Ing.

In place of the ABA, the Hawaii State Bar Association and legal publisher LexisNexis stepped up to sponsor the event.

Topics Lawsuits