Elder abuse and lawyers’ ethical responsibilities: Incorporating screening into practice

Ries, NM

Elder abuse and lawyers’ ethical responsibilities: Incorporating screening into practice

Ries, NM

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Legal Ethics, 2018, 21 (1), pp. 23 - 45
Issue Date:: 2018-01-02

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Ries, NM https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5264-6722	en_US
dc.date.available	2020-05-25T19:12:21Z
dc.date.issued	2018-01-02	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Legal Ethics, 2018, 21 (1), pp. 23 - 45	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1460-728X	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/128109
dc.description.abstract	© 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Elder abuse is a serious and under-detected problem. Law reform agencies and legal profession regulatory authorities have called for action to ensure that lawyers meet their ethical obligations to older clients, including identifying and acting on risk factors for abuse. Screening tools to detect situations of elder abuse exist, but they are targeted mainly at health and social care practitioners. Drawing on international literature, this article identifies and discusses screening tools that could be adapted for use by legal professionals. Three general categories of screening are relevant for lawyers who serve older clients: (1) elder abuse screening tools that cover all domains of abuse or target specific behaviours, such as financial exploitation; (2) screening for decision-making capacity, especially taking account of the impact of abuse or neglect on capacity; and (3) screening to probe the suitability of a person to act in a formal decision-making role for an older person. The article emphasises the importance of implementing screening processes and follow-up actions in a manner that fosters a therapeutic relationship between the older client and the lawyer. It concludes with recommendations for further research in this important area.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Legal Ethics	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1080/1460728x.2018.1502965	en_US
dc.title	Elder abuse and lawyers’ ethical responsibilities: Incorporating screening into practice	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	21	en_US
utslib.for	1801 Law	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Law
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - HJ - Health Justice
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.issue	1	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	21	en_US

Abstract:

© 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Elder abuse is a serious and under-detected problem. Law reform agencies and legal profession regulatory authorities have called for action to ensure that lawyers meet their ethical obligations to older clients, including identifying and acting on risk factors for abuse. Screening tools to detect situations of elder abuse exist, but they are targeted mainly at health and social care practitioners. Drawing on international literature, this article identifies and discusses screening tools that could be adapted for use by legal professionals. Three general categories of screening are relevant for lawyers who serve older clients: (1) elder abuse screening tools that cover all domains of abuse or target specific behaviours, such as financial exploitation; (2) screening for decision-making capacity, especially taking account of the impact of abuse or neglect on capacity; and (3) screening to probe the suitability of a person to act in a formal decision-making role for an older person. The article emphasises the importance of implementing screening processes and follow-up actions in a manner that fosters a therapeutic relationship between the older client and the lawyer. It concludes with recommendations for further research in this important area.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/128109