Barry has been lead counsel on over $10 Billion in development, acquisitions, sales, and/or financings involving many of the most well-known hotel, resort and residential projects in Hawaii.  This has included more than $2 Billion in mortgage and/or mezzanine construction financing and what was, at the time of its making, the largest single asset residential construction loan West of the Mississippi.  During the Great Recession, Barry was principal debt, restructure and/or litigation counsel on over $1.5 Billion in assets and, separately, devised a “first-of-its-kind” $400,000,000 CMBS debt restructure that preserved employment and led to the successful development of a renowned residential and resort development.  This structure was later used by mainland counsel on other projects.  In addition to this work as lead counsel in real estate, real estate finance and structured finance, Barry has been local counsel for lenders, borrowers, and buyers seeking local expertise in diligence, structure and closing on dozens of projects exceeding $5 Billion in value. 

 

Barry’s corporate work has included effectuating a tax efficient sale of a well-known local company to a Fortune 250 acquirer, structure work in connection with acquisition and financing, and representation that led to the publication of one of the first appellate decisions applying Chapter 15 of the US Bankruptcy Code and a featured article in the American Bankruptcy Institute.  Barry was recognized (in 2022) as Hawaii Corporate Lawyer of the Year. 

 

In litigation, Barry has been lead plaintiff’s counsel in the recovery of over $100 M in awards, settlements or judgments and, early in his career, maintained a perfect record in the defense of personal injury and property damage claims in Hawaii’s Court Annexed Arbitration Program.  Barry’s work included helping to establish Ninth Circuit precedent regarding protections due to unionized blue-collar workers under the Labor Management Relations Act.

 

Barry has been recognized as a Hawaii Super Lawyer ™ every year since its inception and selected as one of Hawaii’s Best Lawyers in each of securitization and structured finance law, real estate law, land use and zoning law, corporate law, and commercial litigation. Additionally, Barry is recognized by Chambers and Partners highest ranking, Band 1, in real estate.

 

Barry earned a B.A. in Economics, with College Honors, from the University of Cincinnati in 1988. In addition to his academic work, he served as an infantry soldier in the U.S. Army and Army National Guard, was elected as the Student Body President, appointed as a Student Trustee on the University Board of Trustees, and received both the Citicorp Scholarship and the Edwin Frank Prize in Finance. Barry was a semi-professional bicycle racer and raced throughout the U.S. and Europe before attending graduate school and then law school where he graduated, cum laude, from Cornell Law School.

 

Education

J.D., Cornell Law School, 1992 
Cornell International Law Journal

 

Graduate study, Economics and Finance, University of Cincinnati, 1988-1989

 

B.A., Economics with College Honors, University of Cincinnati, 1988 
Citicorp Scholar in Finance; Edwin Frank Scholarship Winner
Student Body President; Student Trustee; Student Body Vice President

 

Admissions & Courts
Hawaii (all state and federal courts)

U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

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Memberships

Hawaii State Bar Association

 

Legal Publications

Stranger in Paradise? The Role of a Foreign Bankruptcy Trustee in Chapter 15, American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, April 2008 (co-author) 27-APR AMBKRIJ 26