Hawaii Supreme Court Suspends Steven D. Strauss from Law Practice

SCAD-25-0000841 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAIʻI OFFICE OF DISCIPLINARY COUNSEL, Petitioner, vs. STEVEN D. STRAUSS (BAR NO. 5242), Respondent. ORIGINAL PROCEEDING (ODC Case Nos. 25-0075 & 25-0195) ORDER OF SUSPENSION (By: McKenna, Acting C.J., Eddins, Ginoza, and Devens, JJ., and Intermediate Court of Appeals Associate Judge Leonard, assigned by reason of vacancy) Upon consideration of the Office of Disciplinary Counsel’s (ODC) November 25, 2025 petition for the immediate suspension of Respondent Steven D. Strauss (Respondent) from the practice of law pursuant to Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of Hawaiʻi (RSCH) Rule 2.12A (Petition); the court’s December 16, 2025 order to show cause; and the record, it appears that: (1) In its Petition, ODC asked this court to enter an order directing Respondent Strauss to show cause as to why he should not be immediately suspended from the practice of law Electronically FiledSupreme CourtSCAD-25-000084119-FEB-202609:38 AMDkt. 13 OSUSI do hereby certify that the foregoing is a full, true and correct copy of the official court record of the Courts of the State of Hawaii.Dated at: Honolulu, Hawaii 19-FEB-2026, /s/ Elizabeth Zack, Clerk of the Supreme Court, State of Hawai`i

based on his failure to cooperate in ODC’s disciplinary investigations. ODC further requested that this court suspend Respondent Strauss from the practice of law pursuant to RSCH Rule 2.12A if Respondent Strauss failed to file a response or if this court found Respondent Strauss’s response unsatisfactory. (2) On December 16, 2025, this court entered an order directing Respondent Strauss to show cause, within ten days after service of the order, as to why Respondent should not be immediately suspended from the practice of law pursuant to RSCH Rule 2.12A based on his failure to cooperate with ODC’s investigations in ODC Case Nos. 25-0075 and 25-0195. The court also cautioned Respondent Strauss that failure to show cause may result in this court immediately suspending Respondent Strauss from the practice of law and assigning costs against him. (3) On January 9, 2026, ODC filed notice that this court’s December 16, 2025 order to show cause was served on Respondent Strauss on December 29, 2025, and thus the deadline for Respondent Strauss to respond was January 8, 2026. (4) Respondent Strauss failed to file any response to the court’s December 16, 2025 order to show cause. (5) The court finds that Respondent Strauss has failed to cooperate with ODC’s pending disciplinary investigations by failing to submit written responses to pending allegations of misconduct against him in ODC Case Nos. 25-0075 and 25-0195, and failing to respond to a subpoena duces tecum in connection with ODC’s investigation in ODC Case No. 25-0075. Therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Petition is granted as follows: 1. Respondent Steven D. Strauss is suspended from the practice of law pursuant to RSCH Rule 2.12A, effective immediately and until further order of this court.

1. This order imposing suspension upon Respondent Strauss shall constitute a suspension for the purposes of RSCH Rule 2.16, although the suspension is immediate under RSCH Rule 2.12A. Respondent Steven D. Strauss is granted twenty (20) days from the date of this order to comply with the duties imposed upon him by RSCH Rule 2.16 and to file with this court the affidavit required by RSCH Rule 2.16(d). 3. The Clerk shall distribute a copy of this order to all judges, pursuant to RSCH Rule 2.16(f). Distribution may be by electronic mail. DATED: Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, February 19, 2026. /s/ Sabrina S. McKenna /s/ Todd W. Eddins /s/ Lisa M. Ginoza /s/ Vladimir P. Devens /s/ Katherine G. Leonard