DCSIMG

Elder and Health Law Clinic

Goal of Clinic

Elder law (including health issues for the elderly) is one of the country's growing areas of legal specialization. It requires a command of complicated substantive state and federal law, as well as a high level of ethical competence. Many cases involve an interdisciplinary approach to lawyering. Goals include providing students the opportunity to represent elders in court and on transactional matters concerning planning for death, incapacity and a variety of other issues. The Elder Law and Health Clinic represents an opportunity to define your legal identity. The issues presented challenge your own view of aging in our society and will demonstrate how your counsel and advocacy will have a beneficial impact on the elders of our community.

Priority cases include:

  • Nursing Home Residents' Rights
  • Alternatives to Conservatorships
  • Social Security, Supplemental Security Income and other Income Security Issues
  • Medicare, Medi-Cal, In-Home Supportive Services and other Health Access Issues
  • Elder Abuse — Financial, Emotional and Physical
  • Substitute Decision-Making Issues such as Powers of Attorney, Advance Health Care Directives and Physician's Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment
  • Debtor-Creditor, Consumer Protection
  • Wills and Trusts

Structure of Clinic

This Clinic consists of a two (2)-unit, honors/pass/fail course and a one-unit, graded seminar, for a total of three (3) credits. The Clinic requires a 100-hour commitment.

Prerequisites for Enrollment

A written application is required for this Clinic.

Concurrent or prior enrollment in the Elder Law and Social Policy course, or equivalent course work or experience is required. In addition, a student must be enrolled in, or have successfully completed, Evidence and Civil Procedure in order to meet the California State Bar certification requirements. The Clinic is limited to six students for the Fall 2012 semester and 10 students for the Spring 2013 semester.

Instructor

Melissa Brown, an attorney with 28 years of private practice and the co-author of "Advising the Elderly and Disabled Client," is the supervising attorney.

Why This Clinic Is Valuable

Representing elderly clients is worthwhile and gratifying. The cases challenge not just legal skills, but counseling and negotiation. Court appearances allow real life experience and interaction with attorneys, judges and witnesses. Many of the cases call upon the student attorney to question his or her own values about quality of life, fairness and the wisdom and practicality of alternative dispute resolution methods to settle disputes.

Download the clinic's information sheet.