Ethics Forum - SOLD OUT!
"Ethical Issues We Face in Working With Clients With Diminished Capacity"
Presented by The Philadelphia Estate Planning Council and the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals
Date/Time:
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
8:30 - 9:00 a.m. Registration/Breakfast
9:00 - 11:00 a.m. Program
Location:
BNY Mellon
1735 Market Street
8th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Please allow extra time to go through security.
Description:
This event is sold out. If you'd like to be placed on the waiting list, please email staff@philaepc.org.
How do lawyers and other non-clinicians recognize and address diminished capacity in providing professional services to individuals? Some might argue that without training in mental disorders of aging and methods of formal capacity evaluation, you should not be making determinations about capacity at all. Yet lawyers and other professionals unavoidably face situations in which they must at least screen for capacity, either in connection with representing the individual in transactional work, or in the context of a guardianship action or other litigation, or serving as a guardian. A preliminary assessment of capacity is either done by the seat of your pants or with some objective grounding.
This segment of the program will explain the legal professional’s role in identifying and responding to diminished client capacity from a legal and ethical perspective. Because lawyers unavoidably exercise considerable judgment and discretion in their role, simplistic rules are virtually non-existent, and a systematic process of observation and interaction is more important ethically and practically. The session will provide practitioners with a tool for systematically observing “red flags” of incapacity and for making a preliminary assessment of capacity and the need for clinical consultation or referral. Key tips for effectively working with mental health professionals will also be covered. Session content draws upon the publication: Assessment of Older Adults With Diminished Capacity: A Handbook for Lawyers by the ABA Commission on Law and Aging and the American Psychological Association (available online).
Speakers:
Michele M. Mathes, JD
Director of Research Programs
Center for Advocacy for the Rights & Interests of the Elderly
Michele Mathes is the Director of Education and Director of Research Programs at the Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly in Philadelphia. She received her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and holds a Certificate in Bioethics and the Medical Humanities from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons/Montefiore Medical Center. Ms. Mathes is an Associate Fellow of the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics and serves as adjunct faculty at Drexel University College of Medicine, St. Joseph’s University, and Bryn Mawr Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research.. She has published and presented regionally and nationally on issues of ethics in health care, particularly long term care, and elder mediation. Her publications include “Commitment, Relationship, Voice: Cornerstones for an Ethics of Long Term Care” (with JoAnne Reifsnyder, PhD and Maureen Gibney, DPsych) Ethics, Law and Aging Review, Vol. 10 (2004) and “Compliance with Advance Directives: Wrongful Living and Tort Law Incentives” Journal of Legal Medicine, 29:2, 133-178 (2008) (with Holly Fernandez Lynch, JD, MBE and Nadia Sawicki, JD, MBE). Ms. Mathes is the recipient of a Philadelphia City Hall Citation for her work with homeless Philadelphians.
Charles P. Sabatino, JD
Director
ABA Commission on Law and Aging
Charles P. Sabatino, JD, is the Director of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Law and Aging, in Washington, D.C., where since 1984, he has been responsible for the ABA Commission’s research, project development, consultation, and education in areas of health law, long term care, guardianship and capacity issues, surrogate decision making, legal services delivery for the elderly, and professional ethics. He has written and spoken extensively on capacity issues, surrogate decision-making, and advance care planning. Mr. Sabatino is also a part time adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center where he has taught Law and Aging since 1987. He is a former president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and current chair of public policy. He received his A.B. from Cornell University and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and is a member of the Virginia and D.C. bars.
Registration Information:
Deadline: Friday, April 23, 2010
Registration Fee:
$40 per person - includes continuing education credits
Contact Information:
Name: Denise Downing, CMP
Email: staff@philaepc.org
Phone: 856-234-0330
Fax: 856-727-9504
Other Information:
Two credits will be offered for CLE (Ethics), CFP, PA Insurance, PACE, CTFA and CPA.