What We Can Do

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, ALLLC, 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 Hawaii

Nicole C. Edwards-Masuda  is a Partner at the office of Scott C. Suzuki, Attorney at Law, ALLLC, LLC,

where she focuses her practice on estate planning, probate, trust administration, and

adult guardianship and conservatorship matters. 

A proud graduate of ‘Iolani School,

Nicole was born and raised on Oʻahu, and is now raising her own family on the

Windward side. 

She has a particular focus on long-term care planning and planning for

individuals with disabilities and catastrophic injuries.

Before joining the firm in 2018, Nicole held leadership roles in nonprofit legal

organizations in both Hawaiʻi and California. She served as an Advocate and

Supervising Attorney with the Medical-Legal Partnership of Hawaiʻi, working alongside

healthcare providers to deliver integrated legal services to underserved families in our

community.  As Managing Attorney and Helpline Supervisor at the Domestic Violence

Action Center in Honolulu, she led a team of attorneys and paralegals representing

survivors in domestic abuse restraining order, divorce, and paternity matters. These

experiences strengthened her commitment to client-centered advocacy and reinforced

her belief that thoughtful legal guidance can meaningfully assist families and

communities throughout Hawaiʻi.

Nicole earned her Juris Doctor from Golden Gate University School of Law, where she

was a Public Interest Scholar, member of the Honors Lawyering Program, Associate

Editor of the Environmental Law Journal, and recipient of multiple academic honors,

including Witkin and CALI Awards. She was also recognized by the National

Association of Women Lawyers as an Outstanding Student. She received her Bachelor

of Arts in Women’s Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Publications:

Nicole is a co-author of:

 Creating the “Bad Mother”: How the U.S. Approach to Pregnancy in Prisons

Violates the Right to be a Mother, 18 UCLA Women’s Law Journal 1 (2010).

 Hawaiʻi Divorce Manual, § 15 (9th ed., Vol. I, 2015).

Professional & Community Involvement:

Nicole is admitted to practice in Hawaiʻi and is an inactive member of the State Bar of

California. She regularly volunteers with the Hawaii Online Pro Bono program through

Volunteer Legal Services Hawaiʻi. She also currently serves as Board Secretary for The

Embodiment Institute and as Board Treasurer for the Nuʻuanu Elementary School

ʻAikane O Nuʻuanu parent teacher organization.

Outside the Office

Outside of her legal practice, Nicole values time with her family and can be found

getting dirty outside with her kids, ducks, chickens, fish, a red-footed tortoise named,

Popcorn Gaston Ladybird and her silly doodle dog, Bruce.

Lauren E. Carson is an associate at Scott C. Suzuki, Attorney at Law, ALLLC, LLC. She earned her B.A. in English from Dartmouth College and her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Hawaii, William S. Richardson School of Law.

While attending law school, Lauren provided research assistance to Professor Richard C. Chen and served as a two-year teaching assistant for Contract Law. 

She received CALI excellence for the future awards (awarded to the highest grade-earner) in nine courses: Contracts, Legal Research, Cannabis Law, Criminal Procedure, Contract Drafting, Extended Bar Review I, Extended Bar Review II, Business Associations, and Federal Income Taxation.

Beyond her professional work, Lauren volunteers for the Surfrider Foundation on Oahu’s Blue Water Task Force, which tests water quality around the island. 

She likes surfing town and spending time in California with her family.