NCJ Number
92894
Date Published
1983
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Federal funds should be offered to law schools throughout the Nation to implement clinical programs of legal services for the elderly similar to Drake University's so as to better meet the elderly's need for legal services, increase pro bono representation by the private bar, improve legal education, and increase the competency of lawyers, particularly in the courtroom.
Abstract
The Senior Citizens Legal Services Program (SCLS) is an advanced-level clinical course of the Drake University Law School which provides quality legal services to the elderly citizens in the eight-county area of Central Iowa. The law students who staff the program are advanced-level students who have distinguished themselves in the Basic Client Representation and Litigation Program. The principal educational objectives of the SCLS program are (1) to develop skills in all aspects of client representation and litigation, (2) to inculcate the pro bono component of a lawyer's professional responsibility, (3) to instill in the students a heightened sense of self-esteem based in professional abilities and performance, and (4) to educate students in the developing substantive area of law and the elderly. Typical legal problems encountered by the elderly and addressed by the students are entitlement aspects of Social Security, medicare, and medicaid; real estate problems; areas of consumer law; landlord-tenant disputes; income tax problems; and simple misdemeanors. The program is jointly funded by the Area Agency on Aging and Polk County, but additional outside funding is required for the program to continue.