Print This Article
Scott Solkoff and Jerome Solkoff co-authoring West’s Florida Elder Law Practice Guide
Thomson West Publishing Group, the world’s largest legal publisher, announced in December 2007 that Scott Solkoff will be joining his father, Jerome Ira Solkoff, in co-authoring “Florida Elder Law Practice Guide.” The 2007-2008 edition is now over 1300 pages in 2 volumes and is the leading and bestselling text on the subject. Though intended for attorneys, the book may be purchased by non-attorneys as well. It is available at www.thomsonwest.com and then searching for “Solkoff”. Read Scott Solkoff’s updated biography, appearing in the new edition, below:
Scott M. Solkoff, Esquire
Scott M. Solkoff is in the private practice of Elder Law with the Florida firm of Solkoff Legal, P.A., five attorneys with three offices in Delray Beach, Deerfield Beach and Boynton Beach as well as an un-staffed satellite office in Aventura. Mr. 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.
Mr. Solkoff has served as Chair of The Florida Bar’s Elder Law Section, making he and his co-author father, the first parent and child to both lead the organization. The Solkoff family has both derived and contributed creativity and benefit to the now 1800- member organization of Florida’s Elder Law Attorneys 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 Floridians as a 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 Section Chair 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 Mr. Solkoff to a meeting at which prosecutions 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, one of the best known lobbyists in Tallahassee, 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 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 invitational American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). Mr. Solkoff is an ACTEC Fellow, a distinction which allows him to cavort with the very brightest legal minds and therefore gain good material for this book.
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 is co-author of The Florida Bar’s volume on Guardianship and now co-authors, with his father, this text 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 in 1994, having first earned his bachelor’s degree in Religion and studying criminology and law at the University of Florida. After law school, Mr. Solkoff briefly prosecuted drunk drivers and batterers for the Hillsborough County State Attorneys Office and then worked at a commercial litigation firm in Tampa until making his father an offer he probably should have refused and becoming an Elder Law attorney and student of his father’s. Mr. Solkoff lives in the idyllic (by South Florida standards) town of Wellington, in Palm Beach County, with his wife of 11 years, Lauren, and what the author refers to as his world-changing children, Jacob and Lola.
- Scott Solkoff speaks at 2009 Alzheimer's Educational Conference ( )
- Contact ( )
- Our Services ( )
- Special Needs Trusts and Settlement Protection for Trial Lawyers ( )
- How to Become a Client of Solkoff Legal, P.A. ( )
