LAW 784 - Elder Law Clinic

The Elder Law Clinic will help second- and third-year students to understand the substantive legal issues affecting the elderly. The experience will also help to improve the students’ interviewing, counseling, research, writing and advocacy skills as they advance their client’s interests. Students will gain an appreciation of the potential for abuse of the elderly in today’s society, and identify and manage professional ethical issues encountered by attorneys representing this population. They will hone the acquired knowledge and skills by presenting public seminars on issues important to the elderly community. Students in the ELC will provide assistance and advocacy in matters involving competency, nursing home issues, and Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and other public benefit programs, including non-service related pension and related benefits from the VA. Under the supervision of the ELC’s managing attorney, the free legal services will provide will also include the drafting of powers of attorney, advance medical directives and living wills, simple estate planning, creation of guardianships and conservatorships, and estate recovery issues. These activities will engage ELC students in the factual and legal investigation required of an attorney, and will teach the students client relation skills required to serve the elderly population. Preparing the documents required in the practice of elder law and advocating for their clients will also allow students experience in navigating the often complicated family relationships that are impacted when achieving the elderly client’s goals. Students will also gain skills in working with state and local agencies on elder law issues, and in preparing themselves and their clients for legal and administrative hearings. The clinic will be a one-semester, 3 credit graded course. Students will be graded on the quality of their work in educating the elderly, representing clients and handling cases, their ability to work collaboratively with other students in the clinic, and their written case studies and plans. Students will be required to attend regular class sessions, and to work on clinic cases and assist clinic operations for 8 hours each week, including case rounds and meetings with the supervising attorney. There will be a mandatory 6-hour session either the first Friday or first Saturday of the semester, depending on what works best for students and instructor at the time.