Robert Chapman, the former managing partner of a major Honolulu law firm who was indicted in June on charges stemming from a fraudulent probate case, has now been sued by a former associate attorney who says he defrauded and defamed her while carrying out the probate fraud.

The complaint filed on behalf of Allison Yee, an associate attorney of the law firm then known as Clay Chapman Iwamura Pulice & Nervell, where where Chapman was her boss and supervising attorney until he resigned from the practice of law in lieu of discipline at the end of 2022.

Yee’s lawsuit alleges Chapman came to her in October 2018 and requested that she sign an application for informal probate of the will of Robert James Boulette, a 77-year-old Honolulu man who had died two years earlier. Chapman, her boss, made the request although Yee did not usually work on probate cases.

Yee asked to see the case file, which included the draft application Chapman had prepared, as well as what appeared to be Boulette’s will and a single supplement, or codicil. After checking the information in the application against the will itself, Yee signed the application, which was filed in court on October 24, 2018, initiating the probate of Boulette’s estate. The application designated Chapman to be appointed as Boulette’s personal representative.

The application was rejected by the court in December 2018 due to “irregularities” found in the will. However, Yee says she was not informed of the denial.

Although the application had been denied by the court, Chapman then took Yee’s name and Hawaii State Bar Association credentials, without her knowledge, and used them to create fraudulent Letters of Administration that allowed him to take control of property belonging to Boulette’s estate, including a Nuuanu condominium, and convert the property and cash to his own use.

The complaint claims Yee did not know about Chapman’s “fraudulent conduct,” including the forged changes to the will, or Chapman’s creation and use of fraudulent letters of administration, until she was interviewed by an investigator from the Attorney General’s office in November 2023.

The lawsuit alleges Yee was damaged in several ways, and seeks “general, special, and punitive damages against Defendants in an amount to be proven at trial.”

Chapman committed civil fraud when he made “false representations” to obtain Yee’s signature on the probate application when he “knew that some of the material information contained therein was false.”

Further, the complaint charges “Chapman defamed or put Plaintiff in a false light
when he caused her to sign The Application, which was prepared by him; and The Application was based upon The Alleged Will, which Defendant Chapman knew to be fraudulent and manipulated.”

Finally, as a result of Chapman’s “intentional, reckless and outrageous” behavior, Yee has suffered extreme emotional distress.

In a declaration filed in court this week, attorneys Jim Bickerton and Tyler Mincavage said they expect the probable jury award “would likely be in excess of $150,000.00.”

Meanwhile, Chapman’s criminal trial, originally set to begin later this month, has been postponed until later this year to allow ongoing plea negotiations to continue.

Court minutes show prosecutors affirmed that a plea offer had been sent and that plea negotiations “are still ongoing.”

Chapman surrendered his law license at the end of 2022 after an investigation of a different case by the Attorney General found he “wrongfully attempted to lay claim to approximately $2,000,000.00 in abandoned property” by falsely claiming to represent the owner, who had been a former client years previously.

Chapman’s name was quickly dropped by his former law firm, which is now known as Clay Iwamura Pulice & Nervell.

Also see:

Fraud allegations lead to resignation of prominent business attorney, iLind.net, December 29, 2022

Two cases of legal fraud linked to prominent firm, iLind.net, April 28, 2023

Former Honolulu attorney indicted in alleged $750K probate fraud, iLind.net, June 21, 2025