OUR STORY
Kelli was a Deputy Prosecutor for the City and County of Honolulu from 2007-2015 before moving on to Corporation Counsel and a downtown Honolulu law firm. Crystal was a Deputy Public Defender for the State of Hawai‘i Honolulu office from 2004-2019 before opening a private legal practice. We used to to battle it out in court against each other. Then one day in early July 2019, after years of not seeing each other, we ran into each other in the crosswalk of Alakea Street just as the situation on Mauna Kea was escalating. Kelli was putting together a team of attorneys to represent the kupuna who may be arrested. Crystal said count me in. On July 17, 2019, 38 kupuna were arrested - and we were on the mauna to help. Between us, we represented 10 kupuna to the successful dismissal of their cases in the Hilo District Court. In doing so, we forged our joint commitment to representing our Hawaiian community, standing up for peaceful, nonviolent resistance when the kuleana calls for it and being a voice for the underrepresented in a legal system that so often misunderstands and works against them. In 2021, we made it official and formed Glendon & Ponce, a small firm of two wahine who fight for justice, no matter how big or small a case may be. We call that fateful day in July 2019 our origin story.
The Team
CRYSTAL K. GLENDON
Education
University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, William S. Richardson School of Law, J.D. (2003)
University of Hawai'i at Hilo, B.A. in English and Political Science (2000)
The Kamehameha Schools Kapālama (1996)
Admitted to Practice
State of Hawai‘i (2004)
United States District Court for the District of Hawai‘i (2004)
About
Crystal K. Glendon was born and raised in Hawai‘i, growing up on O‘ahu and the Big Island. She graduated from the Kamehameha Schools Kapālama in 1996 after boarding for 6 years. After graduation, Ms. Glendon returned to her home island to earn a bachelor's degree from the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo (English and Political Science). She graduated from the William S. Richardson School of Law in 2003, where she was a member of the University of Hawai‘i Law Review, Environmental Law Society and the renowned Ete Bowl team (wide receiver, offense).
Crystal clerked in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit for the Honorable Karen S.S. Ahh then in the Circuit Court of the Third Circuit for the Honorable Greg K. Nakamura. In 2004, Ms. Glendon accepted a position with the State of Hawai‘i Office of the Public Defender in Honolulu, where she served as a Deputy Public Defender for almost 15 years before opening up her solo practice with the Law Office of Crystal Glendon, LLLC in 2019. At the OPD, Crystal was a trial deputy in the District, Family and Circuit Courts, spending the last five years of her practice as a senior trial attorney handling Class A and B felony trials. She is experienced in all levels of criminal charges, from traffic and misdemeanors to Family Court juvenile and jury trial matters to complex felonies, including sexual assault, robbery and murder.
In 2019, Crystal and Kelli joined forces to represent kupuna who were arrested on Mauna Kea during a peaceful, nonviolent movement to stop further telescope development of the mauna. In 2020, they represented Punahou basketball star Shawna-Lei Kuehu in a lawsuit against her former coach and Punahou School (Shawna-Lei Kuehu v. Yuen, et al., 1CCV-20-0000662). After a successful outcome in 2021, they officially teamed up to form Glendon & Ponce, a Native Hawaiian wahine-run law firm that advocates for women and child victims of sexual assault and Native Hawaiian causes.
In 2020, Crystal was appointed by then Governor David Ige to served as a member of the Defender Council, the governing body of the State Office of the Public Defender. In 2023, she was selected to chair the Council. In 2021, she joined the Board of Directors of Paepae o He‘eia, a private non-profit organization dedicated to caring for He‘eia Fishpond located on the island of O‘ahu. Since 2024, she has served as the President of the Board. In 2023, she joined the Native Hawaiian Bar Association Board as a Director.
In addition to advocating for women and child victims of sexual assault and Native Hawaiian causes, Crystal practices in the areas of Personal Injury, State and Federal Criminal Defense, Family and District Court Restraining Orders, and Juvenile Criminal Defense.
KELLI K. LEE PONCE
Education
University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, William S. Richardson School of Law, J.D. (2006)
Loyola Marymount University, B.A. in Political Science (2003)
The Kamehameha Schools Kapālama (1999)
Admitted to Practice
State of Hawai‘i (2006)
United States District Court for the District of Hawai‘i (2006)
About
Kelli K. Lee Ponce was born and raised in Hawai‘i on O'ahu and the Big Island. She graduated from The Kamehameha Schools Kapālama in 1999. She then attained her bachelor's degree in Political Science from Loyola Marymount University in 2003. She graduated from the William S. Richardson School of Law in 2006, where she was a participant in the Native American Moot Court and the esteemed Ete Bowl (inside Linebacker, defense).
After graduating from law school, Kelli served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu from 2007-2015. There she handled all levels of criminal prosecution, from traffic and misdemeanors to Class A felonies. She was a member of the Sex Assault prosecution team until she left the office to join the City and County of Honolulu's Corporation Counsel. She served as a Deputy Corporation Counsel from 2015-2017, where she defended the City in countless civil lawsuits. In 2017, she joined Dentons US LLP in Honolulu, where she practiced complex civil litigation from 2017-2019. In 2019, after taking on cases for the kupuna of Mauna Kea, she left Dentons to pursue her passion for representing Native Hawaiians in cultural causes and women and children victims of sexual assault. She opened Maka‘ala Law, LLLC where she practiced personal injury and family law.
After joining forces with Crystal in 2019 to represent the kupuna arrested on Mauna Kea, they filed a 2020 lawsuit against a former basketball coach and Punahou School for crimes committed against a star basketball player while she was a student at Punahou (Shawna-Lei Kuehu v. Yuen, et al., 1CCV-20-0000662). After a successful outcome in 2021, they teamed up to form Glendon & Ponce, a Native Hawaiian wahine-run law firm that advocates for women and children victims of sexual assault and Native Hawaiian causes.
In 2023, Kelli joined the Native Hawaiian Bar Association as a Director.
In addition to advocating for women and children victims of sexual assault and Native Hawaiian causes, Kelli practices in the area of Personal Injury, Family Law, and Family and District Court Restraining Orders.