
Education
J.D., University of Southern California
B.A., Highest Honors, History, Stanford University
Externships
Judge Stephen Reinhardt, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal
Admitted to Practice
State of California
State of Hawaiʻi
Sharla Manley
Of Counsel Attorney, Lāhui Services
Sharla Manley has over ten years of experience working on Native Hawaiian rights litigation and policy, including eight years as a staff attorney with NHLC. She was lead counsel on a landmark decision, Clarabal v. Department of Education of the State of Hawai‘i, 145 Haw. 69, 446 P.3d 986 (2019), wherein the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court addressed Hawaiian language rights for the first time and ruled that the state has a constitutional duty to provide reasonable access to a kula kaiapuni education in our public school system.
She has also litigated cases advancing medical malpractice claims involving the negligent handling of ‘iewe, prisoner rights to correspond in ‘olelo Hawai’i, and prisoner rights to engage in Native Hawaiian religious practices. Sharla advocated for Native Hawaiian water rights and the impact of military activities on cultural resources in Makua Valley as a policy analyst at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, prior to NHLC.
Sharla has also served for over eight years in private practice, including six years of litigating class actions on behalf of plaintiffs bringing construction defect claims and wage and hour claims in California and Hawai‘i.