AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly (LCE) has created a series of adopt a project initiatives to provide community service opportunities for the legal and non-legal staff of large law firms. An example of a project from this initiative is "adopt a nursing home", whereby a law firm agrees to select a nursing home, the residents of which they will serve by augmenting the Long-term care Ombudsman Program (run by LCE in DC). Both lawyers and non-lawyers are trained and certified by the ombudsman staff in the duties of a volunteer ombudsman monitoring the quality of care in long –term care facilities and, where appropriate, providing representation in discharge and transfer hearings. Other "adopt a program" initiatives include "adopt the money management program" in which personnel from the law firm are trained to assist clients who are having difficulty managing their financial affairs. There is also "adopt the home visit program" whereby attorneys help in making home visits to clients and non-attorneys who are notaries serve the program by notarizing documents as needed. Finally, there is the "bulk wills project" for senior citizens whereby a firm commits to taking a significant number of wills each year.
Contact Information
Jan May AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly 601 E Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20049 Phone: (202) 434-2164 Fax: (202) 434-6464 Email: jmay@aarp.org
LSC:
America's Partner for Equal Justice 