NCLER: Free Webinar: Closing the Justice Gap for Older Adults Part Two: Representing Clients with a Range of Decisional Capabilities

Free Webinar: Closing the Justice Gap for Older Adults Part Two: Representing Clients with a Range of Decisional Capabilities 

When: Tuesday, April 18, 2023, from 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. P.T./2:00-3:15 p.m. E.T.

The second webinar in the Closing the Justice Gap for Older Adults training series will explore how legal aid advocates may represent older individuals experiencing legal issues that threaten their autonomy, even when their decisional abilities may be questioned by some. This training will explore the ethical considerations involved in outreach and referrals, and the elements of such attorney client relationships, including duty of loyalty to the client, determining client goals for representation and the elements of legal capacity. 

Individuals with cognitive impairments, such as dementia, are frequently met with barriers to request services for themselves. Ensuring that they are not turned away at the intake stage is an important step to make sure that older adults have access to representation in legal matters and court proceedings, particularly in matters that have a significant impact on their lives.

Presenters will share:

• An overview of how questions of decisional capabilities arise in legal aid cases;  
• How unconscious bias impacts determinations of eligibility for services;
• Promising practices for establishing an attorney-client relationship with older adults whose decisional abilities may be questioned by some; and
• Tips for improving office intake procedures to ensure that older adults are not turned away from representation without an opportunity to have their legal problem explored. 

Presenters:

• Introduction: Francis Nugent, Legal Services Corporation and Tovah Kasdin, Administration for Community Living
• Jim Berchtold, Justice in Aging
• Emily Miller, Michigan Advocacy Program (CVLAP)

Capacity for this session is limited to 3,000 participants, and all participants will have the option of accessing audio through the computer or by phone. Closed captioning will be available. Please be sure to log onto the webinar a few minutes early in order to secure your place for the live presentation on Zoom. If you would like to request ASL interpretation or have other accessibility related questions, please email ncler@acl.hhs.gov at least a week in advance.

This webinar will be recorded and available on our website shortly after the presentation. The recording and training materials will also be emailed to all registrants within a few days after the training. We are unable to offer CEU’s or other certifications. Thank you for understanding.

The webinar will take place on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. PT/2:00 p.m. ET. and will run for 75 minutes.

You do not need to register again if you
previously signed up for this training.

REGISTER HERE