John F. Lezak (1943-2024)

In Memoriam

Sadly, our longtime partner, John F. Lezak passed away in February, 2024.  He is greatly missed by his friends and colleagues at Kobayashi Sugita & Goda.

John F. Lezak joined Kobayashi Sugita & Goda as a partner in 1996.  Mr. Lezak’s practice focused on the representation of lenders in real estate lending and workouts and the representations of other clients with respect to real estate acquisitions, sales, and development, real estate lending, commercial leasing, and business formation and reorganization. He also represented owners in lease-to-fee conversions.

Prior to joining KSG, He was a founding partner at Bays, Deaver, Hiatt, Kawachika and Lezak from 1986 - 1996; was a senior partner in the real estate section at Carlsmith from 1975 - 1986, and Padgett, Greeley, Marumoto & Akinaka from 1970 -1975.

After graduating from Harvard law school, Mr. Lezak practiced briefly in New York following his admission to the New York bar in 1969, then moved to Hawaii in 1970.

Mr. Lezak was widely acknowledged as a top lawyer in Hawaii, having received the highest "AV" rating from Martindale-Hubbell, as well as having been recognized by Best Lawyers in the Practice Areas Business Organizations (incl. LLC and Partnerships) and Corporate Law. Additionally, he served as a member of several panels, including the Ideas Exchange, Commercial Real Estate Leasing in Hawaii, Basic Real Estate Law in Hawaii and Advanced Conference on Commercial Real Estate.