Posted on: Friday, February 22, 2002

Divorced enjoy "Heal the Hearts" ball

By Tanya Bricking
Advertiser Staff Writer

Grown men wore their hearts on their sleeves.

Others drowned their sorrows.

Some boogied to tunes like "Don't Go Breaking My Heart."

And their divorce lawyer helped them find fun in Splitsville.

From Bradley Coates and Greg Frey, the family law attorneys who send out the "Happy Independence Day" greetings, came an invitation that promised there's no better cure for a broken heart than a good party.

More than 700 people showed up last weekend at the Ocean Club at Restaurant Row to find out. In the process, they proved that the divorce business casts a wide net – and that those who get divorced, or know someone who did, come from all walks of life.

The guest list included former clients of Coates & Frey, courthouse colleagues, marriage counselors and friends. Attendees were a who's who of Honolulu. There was Prosecutor Peter Carlisle, who showed off some dance moves, singer Henry Kapono and fire Capt. Richard Soo, to name a few.

The firm handled Soo's divorce, and he's been at all three "Heal the Hearts" balls.

"The thing that makes it so cool is you see all the (court people)," he said. "You get to see them when the playing field is level."

Coates & Frey office manager Kathy Yamauchi remembers when her boss, Bradley Coates, drew the party emblem on a cocktail napkin. He took the firm's logo, a heart, and drew a bandage over a crack in the heart.

Coates admits it was a marketing scheme, but he says it's also an excuse to have fun.

He'll mix business and pleasure again in April for a serious cause. The $20 advance tickets and $25 at the door go to Make-A-Wish Hawai'i. The April Foolish Party is April 5 aboard the Falls of Clyde at Pier 7.