Gary Galiher was a hard-charging lawyer who dedicated much of his Honolulu law practice to those who got a raw deal in life, many of them victims of negligent corporations.
“He was a crusader and he wasn’t afraid to go after the heavyweights,” law partner Ilana Waxman said Wednesday.
Galiher, who died Wednesday at age 70 in a helicopter crash on Molokai, scored millions of dollars for his clients over the years, making a name for himself in some high-profile cases involving those who suffered from the effects of such things as asbestos and tobacco.
Fresh out of law school, the young attorney brought Hawaii’s first asbestos-related mesothelioma case to court in 1982. He represented the estate of Tristan Nobriga against Raybestos Manhattan, establishing landmark case law at the Hawaii Supreme Court.
In the 1990s, Galiher was appointed as a special attorney general leading a team of lawyers representing the state’s suit against the major tobacco companies, including Phillip Morris and Brown &Williamson. The litigation resulted in a $1.38 billion settlement for the state.
“It wasn’t just about getting his name out there. It was about helping the people,” his youngest daughter, Mari Galiher, said with emotion in her voice. “My dad was an incredible, passionate man.”
The daughter, the youngest of six adult siblings and the only one still living in Hawaii, said the family is in the process of traveling to Hawaii.
“We’re in shock,” she said. “We’re grieving the loss of an amazing man and huge role model.”
Galiher even contributed some of his earnings from the tobacco lawsuit to local anti-tobacco programs.
Born in 1946, Galiher graduated from UCLA and soon struck out for Hawaii. As a big-wave surfer, he made his home on the North Shore.
At first, he made a living as a carpenter, commercial diver and dive shop tour boat captain before becoming a special education teacher at Haleiwa Elementary School.
After four years of teaching he decided to study law, graduating from the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law in 1977.
His first job was with a prominent Honolulu law firm. But when that firm wouldn’t support his efforts to represent a retired Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard electrician with asbestos-caused mesothelioma, he formed his own firm in 1978.
“He wasn’t a year out of law school, but he was going up against some big corporations,” Waxman said.
Over the years Galiher tried at least 50 cases to verdict and settled many more, according to the firm’s website.
“He had a very, very creative mind. He was strategic thinker,” Waxman said. “He was what you would expect of a big-wave surfer. He wasn’t afraid of anything. And he would fight to the death for what he believed in.”
The divorced senior partner of Galiher DeRobertis Waxman maintained a busy schedule, and the firm continues to represent similar kinds of cases.
“To the very end he was very hands-on,” Waxman said. “He was 70, and he was still going to clients’ homes to meet them.”
Law partner Richard DeRobertis said Galiher told him he would never retire.
“He told me that a million times,” said DeRobertis, who worked alongside Galiher for more than 30 years. “He told me he would do this until the day they threw dirt in his face.”
Galiher was a pilot, too, and that came in handy after he bought a house on Molokai.
Mari Galiher said her dad told her that when he first moved to Hawaii, he fell in love with Molokai and he knew he wanted to live there. She said the rural island brought him “serenity.”
Galiher also generously supported local Molokai programs, such as the Kilohana Surf Reader program at Kilohana Elementary School, where students could win a surfboard, bodyboard or camping equipment for reading books.
Mike Buck of KHNR 690 AM recorded a show with Galiher on Tuesday, hours before Galiher departed for Molokai.
The show was for “The Galiher Law Hour,” which airs
1 p.m. Saturday afternoons and 6 a.m. Sundays. Buck and Galiher, longtime friends, started the radio show about two years ago, discussing various topics such as asbestos and elder abuse.
The final show was about head-related injuries involving young soccer, football and wrestling athletes. Buck said they finished recording at about 2 p.m.
Buck knew Galiher for some 40 years, having first met at Skin Diving Hawaii, where Galiher worked and gave tourists scuba diving lessons. Buck was teaching scuba diving at Punahou School and used to take his diving tanks to the store.
Buck described Galiher as an avid waterman who loved fishing, surfing and boating, and whose passion for water-related sports may have prompted him to acquire property on Molokai.
Galiher was “rough and gruff” but had “a heart of gold,” he said, adding that he was generous and down to earth.
He is also survived by son Jess Galiher; and daughters Sarah Jean Galiher and Katie Galiher of Seattle, and Mika Galiher and Kristen Unten of California. Services are pending.
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Star-Advertiser reporter Rosemarie Bernardo contributed to this report.
