The former chief attorney for the city is expected to join the University of Hawaii as general counsel.

UH President David Lassner is recommending the appointment of Carrie Okinaga as vice president for legal affairs and university general counsel. She currently is general counsel at First Hawaiian Bank and serves on the board for the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, a post she would step down from if hired by UH.

Okinaga served under three mayors from 2005 to 2011 as the City and County of Honolulu’s corporation counsel, where she was the chief in-house legal counsel for a 9,000-employee organization with a $1 billion budget.

Okinaga attended the UH-Manoa and earned a bachelor’s degree in government/public policy from Pomona College. She graduated from Stanford Law School.

“Our university serves such a critical, game-changing role in educating our youth, developing our workforce and increasing the number of high-quality jobs through innovation and research,” Okinaga said in a statement. “I am humbled by the opportunity to work with President Lassner and his team in their service to our university and community.”

The Board of Regents is scheduled to take up the appointment at its monthly meeting May 21. If approved, Okinaga would start in late June.

A university spokeswoman said the recommended annual salary for Okinaga is $235,008. She would replace Darolyn Lendio, who joined UH in 2006.

If approved, Okinaga would round out several top system appointments Lassner has made since taking office last summer, including appointing a new vice president for budget and finance (Kalbert Young) and vice president for academic affairs (Risa Dickson), and reinstating the position of vice president for administration (Jan Gouveia).