Fifteen years ago, the Hawai‘i State Bar Association created the Senior Counsel Division (SCD). Its members are Hawai‘i attorneys who are 50 years of age or older (which is over half the Hawai‘i State Bar), and number in the thousands.
The OWLs (older, wiser lawyers) who make up the SCD are the most experienced and knowledgeable attorneys in the state. We have a responsibility to share this expertise with others in our profession and with the kupuna in our island home. Therefore, the purpose of SCD is to help older lawyers practicing in Hawai‘i and our kūpuna in the community, as well.
This help has ranged from providing legal information to the public to participating in community service projects.
For example, SCD has organized and recruited volunteers to help the Hawai‘i Foodbank with its Senior Food Box Packing Program—a critical service for low-income seniors. Thousands of boxes have been packed for seniors on O‘ahu and the neighboring islands.
SCD has also hosted legal clinics and staffed ask-a-lawyer type information tables at various senior fairs and events around the state. SCD has appeared at the Palolo Learning Center and the Hawai‘i Agricultural Conference at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. Recently, SCD joined Generations Magazine and over 20 other senior service providers at Windward Mall for the Generations Senior Fair in February.
One of SCD’s major activities is its monthly Coffee Hours. During these events, experts from various sectors of senior interests share valuable knowledge and experiences in their respective fields of expertise. The topics that have been addressed in past Coffee Hours have included Blue Zone diet cooking, treating Alzheimer’s, asset protection planning, Medicare and how missing deadlines can drain your savings, financial elder abuse, economics of aging in Hawai‘i, preventing
cognitive decline, and senior residential living facilities and when to place a loved one there.
This year, topics will include condominium law, HOAs and rights of residents; Social Security; Grey Divorce (issues surrounding divorcing later in life); Honolulu Prosecutor’s efforts to keep our island safe and caregiving mediation.
These presentations are open to the public and can be attended either in person at our offices in downtown Honolulu, or can be watched live on Zoom (call or email for a link). Past shows are also available on YouTube.
HAWAI‘I STATE BAR ASSOCIATION
Senior Counsel Division
Alakea Corporate Tower, 1100 Alakea St., Ste. 1000
Honolulu, HI 96813
808-537-1868 | SCD@HSBA.org | HSBA.org
