1976
              
            
            
              
                1977
              
            
            
              
                1978
              
            
            
              
                1979
              
            
            
              
                1980
              
            
            
              The San Francisco, California, branch
            
            
              office opened.
            
            
              The Honolulu, Hawaii, branch office opened.
            
            
              The firm had more than eighty staff members
            
            
              and annual billings approached $5 million.
            
            
              Jimmy Carter was elected thirty-ninth
            
            
              president of the United States.
            
            
              The U.S. Senate approved the Panama
            
            
              Canal treaty, voting to turn the canal over
            
            
              to Panama by 2000.
            
            
              At Camp David, President Carter
            
            
              brokered a peace agreement between
            
            
              leaders of Israel and Egypt.
            
            
              Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime
            
            
              Minister of the United Kingdom.
            
            
              Iranian students seized the American embassy
            
            
              in Tehran. Fifty-three diplomats were held
            
            
              hostage until January 20, 1981.
            
            
              Ronald Reagan was elected fortieth
            
            
              president of the United States.