Scott C. Suzuki, J.D., M.P.H., has been in private practice since 2004, serving as the principal of the law firm of Scott C. Suzuki, Attorney at Law, LLC, since 2008. With a unique background in Gerontology and Public Health, Scott has dedicated his career to serving the needs of seniors, people with disabilities, caregivers and families in the State of Hawaii.
Scott’s private practice has four primary focuses:
1. Estate planning and administration. Through this focus, Scott commonly helps clients establish wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care directives. Scott also represents trustees and Personal Representatives in administering trusts and probate estates.
2. Elder Law. Through this focus, Scott implements innovative strategies of “preventative law” to help families avoid and navigate complexities often associated with aging. This work frequently entails long-term care planning, avoiding and/or developing Guardianship and Conservatorship proceedings for individuals with diminished capacity, and estate planning.
3. Special Needs Planning. Scott is Hawaii’s first and only member of the Special Needs Alliance, (www.specialneedsalliance.com), a national, non-profit organization consisting of some of the most credentialed public benefits and disability law attorneys in the country, committed to helping individuals with disabilities, their families, and the professionals who represent them. Scott strives to be one of the country’s top innovators in special needs planning. Commonly, services in this area relate to public benefit (e.g. Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income) eligibility planning, the development, drafting, and administering special needs trusts, and transition planning for all ages of life.
4. Catastrophic Injury Planning. Scott is one of the first and only practitioners in the State of Hawaii having a practice emphasis on catastrophic injury planning. Through this focus, Scott consults on personal injury matters involving complex estate, public benefit and special needs planning issues. Services range from assistance with mass-tort and class action matters, obtaining probate court approval of settlements for decedent’s estates, minors and persons with disabilities, Medicare Secondary Payer Act analysis, and settlement preservation strategies, including trust planning.
Scott’s career and educational highlights include:
· Juris Doctorate from the University of Hawaii (2004)
· Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree in Gerontology from the University of Hawaii (2004)
· Lecturer in Law at the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii (Trusts & Estates; 2022-2024)
· Assistant instructor of the Elder Law Clinic at the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii (2005-2025)
· Participating as an assistant attorney at the University of Hawaii Elder Law Program (UHELP) for approximately 20 years.
· Receiving professional awards including the Pro Bono Award from the Hawaii Access to Justice Commission, being named as a Fellow in the Hawaii State Bar Association Leadership Institute, being designated as a Super Lawyer, and a Lawyer of Distinction in Elder Law.
· Lecturing and writing, both locally and nationally, on the topics of elder law and special needs planning, including but not limited to:
o Tax, Estate & Financial Planning for the Elderly (Matthew Bender 2024 & 2025)
o Divorce and the Special Needs Family, The American College of Financial Services (2025)
o Long-Term Care in Hawaii, Hawaii Bar Journal, vol. 19, No. 13. (2015)
o Articles for the Special Needs Alliance (Connecting through Sports; Changing Attitudes Towards Guardianship; Making School Sports Accessible; Transferring Guardianship Across State Lines; Choosing an Attorney to Help With Special Needs Planning)
o Does Your Child Qualify for Supplemental Security Income? Parenting Special Needs Magazine, March/April 2018
o What are the things you need to know about special needs trusts? Sequence Media News
o National Business Institute seminars, including:
§ “Using Trusts in Medicaid and Disability Planning”, September 2018
§ “Trusts from A to Z”, August 2017
o Hawaii State Bar Association Continuing Education programs including:
§ Settlement Planning for Claimants with Special Circumstances (Catastrophic Injury, Age and Public Benefits), August 2020
§ Special Needs Planning: New Rules 2020, May 22, 2020
§ Special Needs Planning: 2023 Update
o Hawaii Access to Justice Conference
§ Preventing Fraud and Abuse of Older Persons – (Co-presenter, 2017)
§ Access to Justice in Elder Law and Special Needs Planning (2021)
§ Access to Justice in Elder Law and Special Needs Planning: Perspectives on Caregiving (Co-Presenter, 2022)
§ Elder Law, Special Needs, and Access to Justice (Co-Presenter, 2025)
o Special Needs Alliance
§ Preventative Law Armchair Chat (2023)
§ Best Practices for Trustees (Co-Presenter; 2023)
§ “So you Wanna Be a Trustee?” (Co-Presenter, 2020)
o Court-appointed Probate Special Counsel, Kalima v. Hawaii, Civil No. 99-4771-12 LWC, First Circuit, State of Hawaii
o Maui Wildfire Litigation – representing numerous estates and minors in on-going matters
Scott is also an active member of our community, participating in numerous charitable endeavors, including:
· Special Olympics Coach for the past ~24 years
· Hawaii State Bar Association Member
· University of Hawaii Elder Law Program
· Past President and past and present national board member of the Special Needs Alliance
· Former national Vice President for Family Voices
· Founding and current board member of Aloha Independent Living of Hawaii
· Board member of The Arc in Hawaii
· Member and past Magister of Phi Delta Phi Honorary Legal Fraternity
· Phi Beta Kappa
· Board of Directors of Hawaii Association for Justice
· Board of Directors of Fuller Lives HawaiiScott C. Suzuki graduated in the top tier of his class from the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii in 2004. Simultaneously, Scott graduated with a 4.0 grade point average from the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii with a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree in Gerontology. Scott has been in private practice since his graduation and currently is the principal of the estate planning firm of Scott C. Suzuki, Attorney-at-Law.
Scott continues to be active at the University of Hawaii through his services to the University of Hawaii Elder Law Program (UHELP), where Scott assists Professor James H. Pietsch with the Elder Law Clinic and with research about recent developments in elder law.
Scott is also an advocate for populations with special needs. Scott is the past President of the Special Needs Alliance (www.specialneedsalliance.com), a national, non-profit organization consisting of some of the most credentialed public benefits and disability law attorneys in the country, committed to helping individuals with disabilities, their families, and the professionals who represent them.
Scott’s legal practice is unique in that he provides specialized planning services for seniors, populations with special needs and the people in their lives. Through this practice, Scott has represented a wide variety of clients with a broad range of legal concerns. Most frequently, Scott assists people with estate planning, special needs trusts and planning, Long-Term Care/Medicaid and public benefit planning, guardianships, conservatorships, and probates.
Scott is frequent lecturer, locally and nationally, on the topics of elder law and special needs planning, and is the recipient of the Pro Bono Award from the Hawaii Access to Justice Commission, a Fellow in the Hawaii State Bar Association Leadership Institute, and a Rising Star from Super Lawyers.
In addition to being a Certified Special Olympics Coach for the past 17 years, Scott enjoys a number of community activities, including membership and affiliations in the following:
Hawaii State Bar Association
University of Hawaii Elder Law Program
Executive Office on Aging’s Alzheimers Disease and Related Dementia Task Force
Member by Invitation and past President of the Special Needs Alliance
Member and former Vice President for Family Voices
Aloha Independent Living of Hawaii Board
The Arc in Hawaii Board
Member of the Hawaii Estate Law Group
Hawaii FIDO Board Member
Phi Delta Phi Honorary Legal Fraternity
Phi Beta Kappa
Our office is able to assists with a variety of legal needs from Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Probate to Conservatorship, Settlement Plannning and Special Needs Planning.