Scott M. Solkoff, Esq.
Print This Page
Scott M. Solkoff is founder of Solkoff Legal, P.A., a unique law firm solely dedicated to helping the elderly, the disabled, their caregivers and their families. Scott’s character along with his successes and contributions to the substance and practice of Elder Law have led to a national reputation for excellence and leadership.
He has received an A/V rating from Martindale Hubbell, the highest rating bestowed upon an attorney by the most highly regarded rating service. He has also been named among “Florida’s Top Attorneys” and “The Top of the Bar” by national rating services.
Scott Solkoff has been an active member of the state and national elder and disability law community having placed considerable energy and time into creating a stronger, more cohesive Elder Law bar and advocating for sound public policy for Florida’s elderly and disabled.
Scott has served as Chair of The Florida Bar’s Elder Law Section, making he and his father, Jerome Ira Solkoff, the first parent and child to have led the organization. The Solkoffs have provided ledaership to The Florida Bar’s Elder Law Section (now with about 1700 members) since its co-founding by Jerome in 1982. Prior to serving as Section Chair in 2004-2005, Scott Solkoff had started his service as Committee Chair for the Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation Committee in 1994 serving two years in that role. During his service in this role, Mr. Solkoff wrote and then created a guide on “Florida’s Durable Power of Attorney” in connection with the Elder Law Section and the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of The Florida Bar. This manual remains available to consumers as a free publication of The Florida Bar. After serving as Committee Chair, Mr. Solkoff then Co-Chaired the 1996 Elder Law Section Retreat and focused the program on the growing multidisciplinary nature of the Elder Law practice. Mr. Solkoff was then elected to the Executive Committee of the Section and twice served as Secretary, then as Substantive Chair in charge of all substantive committees, then as Administrative Chair, in charge of administrative programs, then as Chair-Elect and ultimately as Chair for the 2004-2005 term.
Mr. Solkoff’s tenure as Chair of The Florida Bar’s Elder Law Section was marked by attacks on the profession of Elder Law by Florida’s government when, for the first time, legislation was introduced to stop Elder Law Attorneys from assisting clients to protect assets against the otherwise catastrophic costs of long-term care and when the Florida Attorney General summoned the President of The Florida Bar and Scott Solkoff as Section Chair to a meeting at which prosecutions of other attorneys were threatened. Mr. Solkoff created a “Joint Public Policy Task Force” in coordination with The Florida Bar’s Elder Law Section and the Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys and asked for and received support from the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. The legislation was defeated. The Attorney General meeting was turned into a cooperative effort to create better policy. The Task Force now remains an integral component of advocacy for Florida’s elderly and disabled. The Task Force retains one public policy advisor, a lobbyist, an administrative law attorney and a public relations specialist in addition to a team of tireless volunteers who meet at least once each week
Mr. Solkoff has served as President of the Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys and, during his tenure in 2001, unveiled his creation, “The Elder Concert,” now the most successful statewide program run by Elder Law Attorneys. The Elder Concert is a one-day multidisciplinary gathering, now repeated annually one day in Fort Lauderdale and the next in Tampa, of elder care professionals. Now serving as the program’s Chair Emeritus, Mr. Solkoff guides the program’s mission of bringing together the community of Florida’s elder care professionals for camaraderie, information and issue sharing, effective adult learning and the creation of shared goals.
Mr. Solkoff has also actively served on the Board of Directors of certain not-for-profits which advance the betterment of Florida’s elderly, disabled, their caregivers and their families. He has served or still serves as a Director of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the Florida State Guardianship Association, The Center for Special Needs Trust Administration, the Northeast Focal Point’s Alzheimer’s Day Care Center, Alpert Jewish Family and Children’s Services, Prosperity Life Planning and the Florida Council on Aging (FCOA).
In addition to the Elder Concert, Mr. Solkoff also originated, and then Co-Chaired and presented at a program, done only once in 2005, called “Getting Back to Your Nature.” This program brought attorneys from across the State to the Yosemite National Park for a three-day program of conscious lawyering, developing mindfulness and “directed passion” in one’s life as an Elder Law Attorney. The experience remains among the highest rated Elder Law events in Florida.
Mr. Solkoff is a Florida Bar Board Certified Elder Law Attorney, a distinction he encourages to each reader of this book who dedicates himself or herself to excellence in the practice of Elder Law.
Mr. Solkoff is also among the youngest attorneys ever inducted to the prestigious American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). Mr. Solkoff is an ACTEC Fellow, a distinction bestowed upon only a handful of Elder Law Attorneys nationally and only several in Florida.
Mr. Solkoff’s writings on law and public policy have thrice appeared in Harry Margolis’ seminal publication, The Elder Law Report; as well as in Marquette University’s journal, The Elder Law Advisor; the law review he formerly edited, Nova Law Review and in numerous publications of The Florida Bar including its Journal and of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Mr. Solkoff’s work has been covered and he has been quoted in the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger’s Magazine, National Public Radio and every major Florida newspaper. He has co-authored The Florida Bar’s volume on Guardianship. Scott now co-authors with his father, starting with the 2008 edition, West’s Florida Elder Law Practice Guide, “the book” on the practice of Elder Law in Florida.
Studying under a Goodwin Fellowship, Mr. Solkoff earned his Juris Doctorate degree with honors, cum laude, from Nova Southeastern University, having first earned his bachelor’s degree in Religion and studying criminology and law at the University of Florida. During law school, Scott was specially admitted by Florida’s Supreme Court, on the basis of grades, to prosecute drunk drivers and batterers for the Hillsborough County State Attorneys Office. After being admitted to the Bar, Scott joined the Tampa, Florida firm with whom he clerked during his last summer, Alpert, Josey, Grilli & Hughes, P.A., handling commercial litigation.
Though well compensated in commerial litigation, Scott had but one human being client and began to question the meaning in his career. Wanting to be a people-lawyer, Scott joined his father’s Elder Law practice and then, after 4 years, developed his own firm after a move to Palm Beach County. Solkoff Legal, P.A. is now among the leading Elder Law firms in the United States not just by size but by innovation and reputation.
Mr. Solkoff lives in the idyllic (by South Florida standards) town of Wellington, in Palm Beach County, with Lauren Solkoff, his wife since 1996, and their world-changing children, Jacob and Lola.
