Mayor names Honolulu’s top attorneys

Mayor Rick Blangiardi is pleased to announce Dana Viola and Krishna Jayaram have been selected to lead the City and County of Honolulu’s Corporation Counsel (COR), which serves as the chief legal advisor to the Mayor, City Council, City agencies and all officers and employees of the City.

Viola is currently serving as the first deputy in the State Department of the Attorney General where her primary responsibilities were to manage the department’s operations, including policy development and providing strategic guidance to State leadership. She will be returning to the City as Corporation Counsel, having previously served in COR from 2010-2018.

Viola earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Hawaii and her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where she was associate editor of the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly.

Jayaram is also returning to the City as First Deputy, having previously worked in COR from 2010-2017, where he was assigned to the Counseling and Drafting Division. He is currently serving as the special assistant to the attorney general where he has played an integral role in the COVID-19 pandemic providing guidance to the Safe Travels program. He also performs the public information officer and legislative coordinator duties for the department.

Jayaram has experience working in the city attorney offices in New York City and San Diego. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Yale University and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was the co-founder of the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center, a nonprofit organization working towards equal access to justice for Asian Pacific Americans.

“The versatile talents of Dana and Krishna combined with their knowledge and experience in leading the City’s outstanding Corporation Counsel team brings us to a whole new level of excellence,” said Mayor Rick Blangiardi. “We are most fortunate and very grateful they have accepted these challenging leadership roles and I could not be more pleased to welcome them to our team.”

“As an attorney, I am excited to welcome both Dana and Krishna to our City’s leadership team,” said Managing Director Mike Formby. “I do want to personally thank the current leadership of Corporation Counsel, Paul S. Aoki and Duane Pang. Paul and Duane are exceptional attorneys who stepped up when asked to lead Corporation Counsel through the transition in administrations. I look forward to our continued work together as well.  

Viola and Jayaram’s first day as the City’s top attorneys begins Monday, April 5, 2021.