Resources and Research

Capacity Assessment

Visit our Capacity Assessment web page for consumer, lawyer, judicial and physician focused resources.

Dispute Resolution and Mediation

Join our Collaborate discussion list and read archived articles on Dispute Resolution and Mediation.

Elder Abuse

Information on Durable Power of Attorney, Undue Influence, Elder Abuse Fatality Review Teams and Elder Abuse Pocket and Desk Guides for Law Enforcement are just a few of the resources you will find on our Elder Abuse resource page.

Emeritus Pro Bono

Emeritus and pro bono practice rules ease some of the licensing burden for retired or inactive attorneys who agree to limit their practice to pro bono cases. The goal of the rules is to encourage pro bono work by attorneys who might otherwise be discouraged by the burden of maintaining a law license for their volunteer work.

Equal Access to Justice

Archived articles on Equal Assess to Justice

Ethics and Counseling Older Clients

Understanding the Four C’s of Elder Law Ethics

This consumer-friendly brochure explains the "Four C's" of elder law ethics-client identification, conflicts of interest, confidentiality, and competency. It helps family members understand the relationship between a lawyer and an older client.

Voting and Cognitive Impairments

The Commission on Law and Aging leads projects to identify, publicize, and catalyze policy and practice strategies nationwide that promote proper access to the polls by persons with cognitive impairments and protect against the fraudulent manipulation of the vote of this population.

The PRACTICAL Tool

The PRACTICAL Tool aims to help lawyers identify and implement decision-making options for persons with disabilities that are less restrictive than guardianship. “PRACTICAL” is an acronym for nine steps for lawyers to identify these options.

Guardianship and Supported Decision-Making

The Commission on Law and Aging has produced and collaborated on a wide variety of resources on Guardianship and Supported Decision-Making publications, policy, conferences and legislation.

Health Care Decision-Making

The Commission on Law and Aging has produced many Health Care Decision-Making resources for consumers and professionals in the form of books, brochures, legislative tracking charts and research.

International Rights of Older Persons

The Commission has a history of ongoing efforts to promote and strengthen the rights of older persons internationally.

Long-Term Services and Supports

Recent and Archived articles on Long Term Services and Supports

Projects and Centers

The National Center on Law and Elder Rights is a national support center for professionals in the fields of law and aging developed by the Administration on Aging. The Commission on Law and Aging subcontracts with The National Center on Law and Elder Rights (NCLER).

WINGS-Court Stakeholder Partnerships

State WINGS are ongoing court-stakeholder partnerships that drive changes affecting guardianship policy and practice. WINGS can galvanize change through “collective impact”– by coordinating actions of organizations with the same goals. WINGS bring stakeholders to the table for joint problem-solving and action–and to open doors to communication.

State Legal Services Corporation Providers

State Long Term Care Ombudsman

Health Care Decision Making

National Center on Elder Abuse: State-Specific Resources and Contacts

The goal of the NCEA is to improve the national response to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation by gathering, housing, disseminating, and stimulating innovative, validated methods of research, practice policy and education.

Area Agencies on Aging, Senior Legal Hotlines and Title 3B Legal Service Providers

National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys State Directory

Additional Resource Links for Specific Law and Aging Issues

End of life care Issues, other national law and aging resources, what to do if you think you've been scammed and many other resources.

Internship/Externship Program Details

The Commission has a long-standing internship and externship program for students with a public service/public interest focus. The ABA Commission has welcomed students from international law schools in Europe and the Middle East.

How to Apply

Read intern and extern testimonials

Learn why law students should be engaged in pro bono.

Visit the ABA Center for Pro Bono and learn five reasons to engage law students in Pro Bono.

Find law schools with elder law courses