Elder Law: A Growing Practice Specialty
Last spring, Student Lawyer magazine published an article on three rapidly growing areas of legal specialty. One of these was elder law. An excerpt from the article is below.
Exploring Growing Areas of Law
Vol. 41 No. 6
By
Fact #1: The population of Americans who are getting older and living longer is growing dramatically. As lawyers try to make sense of all the issues related to elder law, they need a keen sense of the broad policy issues, an up-to-date understanding of all the regulations of their state and the federal laws, and a patient understanding of the unique needs and desires of their client.
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Elder Law: Includes More Than You Might Think
Before James Barnes started law school, he got a valuable piece of advice from a respected large firm lawyer that stuck with him as he angled for good internships and tried to map out his future: “Learn how to work with people and solve their problems,” Barnes recalls.
The advice couldn’t be more relevant for the practice area Barnes concentrates in today. An elder law attorney at Burke & Casserly, P.C. in Albany, New York, Barnes, a shareholder at the firm, relies on his people skills as much as his legal skills to help families navigate a growing maze of estate, health care, financial, and other issues that are important to the fastest growing segment of the US population. He cannot do it with a dry understanding of regulatory schemes like Medicare, Medicaid, trusts and estates law alone, although he certainly must keep up to date on all relevant federal and state legislation. He has to develop a special relationship with the elderly client and family members caring for the client and patiently guide everyone toward an understanding of the legal realities and their best options.
“It takes a very special personality to be in elder law,” says JulieAnn Calareso, a shareholder at Burke & Casserly, who practices with Barnes. “You are not just sitting there and reading the rules of evidence. You are applying some very detailed rules in an emotional and crisis-filled situation.” This can get particularly tricky, Calareso explains, when you have family members who live in different states than the client (some states have different regulations, for example on Medicaid, which is a combined federal/state program), or who think that because their neighbor’s insurance policy covered a certain amount of home health care or nursing home care, that’s what their loved one will be entitled to.
And a side note–when the article came out, I posted a copy of it on my bulletin board. Coincidently, enrollment in my elder law class peaked at 52–considerably higher than normal enrollment of 28-30. Most of these students say they are interested in specializing in elder law.