Ethics and Elder Law
Teresa Stanton Collett
Professor of Law, University of St. Thomas School of Law, Minneapolis, MN
Oct. 2004
The following list is
not a comprehensive bibliography of all writing on professional ethics and
elder law, but merely a selection of writings that may be helpful as a starting
point for any research in this area.
ABA, Annotated Model Rules of Professional Conduct
(5th ed., American Bar Association (NBN) 2004).
ABA/BNA, Lawyer's Manual on Professional Conduct (Bureau of National Affairs),
http://www.bna.com/products/lit/mopc.htm#formatslink.
ACTEC, ACTEC
Commentaries on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct (3rd ed.,
ACTEC 1999).
ALI, Restatement (Third) of Law Governing Lawyers (ALI 2000).
Ronald
D. Rotunda, Rotunda's Professional Responsibility: Student Guide, 2002-2003
(2nd ed., West Publishing Co. 2002).
Geoffrey C. Hazard & W. William Hodes, The Law of
Lawyering (3rd ed., Aspen Publishers 2000) (loose-leaf format
updated annually).
Ronald E. Mallen & Jeffrey M. Smith, Legal
Malpractice (5th ed., West Publishing Co. 2000).
Thomas Shaffer & Robert Cochran, Lawyers, Clients
and Moral Responsibility (West Publishing Co. 1994).
Charles Wolfram, Modern Legal Ethics (West
Publishing Co. 1986).
Lawrence A. Frolik & Richard L. Kaplan, Elder Law
in a Nutshell (3d ed., West Publishing Co. 2002).
Joan M. Krauskopf, Allan D. Bogutz et al., Elderlaw: Advocacy for the Aging (2nd
ed., West Publishing Co. 1993).
Louis A. Mezzullo et al., Advising the Elderly Client (Clark Boardman Callaghan (West
Publishing Co. 1992) (updated annually).
Symposium, Wingspan--The Second National
Guardianship Conference,
31 Stetson L. Rev. 573 (2002)
Symposium, Joint Conference on Legal/Ethical Issues in
the Progression of Dementia, 35
Symposium, “Should the Family be Represented as an
Entity?” Reexamining the Family Values
of Legal Ethics, 22
Symposium, Legal Issues of the Elderly and Access to
Justice, 32 Wake Forest L. Rev. No. 2 (1997)
Symposium, The Lawyer's Duties and Liabilities to
Third Parties, 37 S. Tex. L. Rev. No. 4 (1996)
Symposium, Ethical Issues in Representing Older
Clients, 62 Fordham L. Rev. No. 5 (1994)
ABA Special Committee on Professional
Responsibility, Comments and Recommendations on the Lawyer's Duties in
Representing Husband and Wife, 28 Real Prop., Prob. & Trust J. 765
(1994)
ABA Special Committee on Professional
Responsibility, Preparation of Wills and Trusts that Name Drafting Lawyer as
Fiduciary, 28 Real Prop., Prob. & Trust J. 803 (1994)
ABA Special Committee on Professional
Responsibility, Counseling the Fiduciary, 28 Real Prop., Prob. & Trust
J. 825 (1994)
William E. Adams & Rebecca C. Morgan,
Representing the Client Who is Older in the Law Office and in the Courtroom,
2 Elder L.J. 1 (1994)
Jacqueline Allee, Representing Older
Persons: Ethical Dilemmas, 2 Prob. & Prop. 36 (Jan./Feb. 1988)
Joseph Allegretti, The Role
of a Lawyer’s Morals and Religion when Counseling Clients in Bioethics, 30
Fordham Urb. L.J. 9 (2002)
Ray Ryden Anderson & Walter W. Steele,
Jr., Fiduciary Duty, Tort and Contract: A Primer on the Legal Malpractice
Puzzle, 47 SMU L. Rev. 235 (1994)
Alison Barnes, An
Assessment of Medicaid Planning, 3 Hous. J. Health L. & Policy 265
(2003)
Patricia M. Batt, The
Family Unit as Client: A Means to Address the Ethical Dilemmas Confronting Elder Law Attorneys, 6 Geo. J. Leg. Ethics 319, 341
(1992)
Martin Begleiter, The Gambler Breaks Even: Legal
Malpractice In Complicated Estate Planning Cases, 20 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 277
(2003)
Martin Begleiter, First Let’s Sue All the Lawyers – What We’ll Get: Damages for Estate Planning Malpractice,
51 Hastings L.J. 325 (2000)
Martin
Begleiter, Estate Planning in the
Nineties: Friday the Thirteen, Chapter 14: Jason Goes to Washington – Part 2,
47 DePaul L. Rev. 1 (1997)
Martin
Begleiter, Estate Planning in the Nineties:
Friday the Thirteen, Chapter 14: Jason Goes to
Martin Begleiter, Article II of the Uniform Probate Code and Malpractice Revolution,
59 Tenn. L. Rev. 101 (1991)
Martin Begleiter, Attorney Malpractice in
Estate Planning -- You've Got to Know When to Hold Up, Know When to Fold Up,
38 U. Kan. L. Rev. 193 (1990)
Sissela Bok, Lying to Enemies: Lawyer's
Moral Choice, N.Y. St. Bus. J. 552 (Nov. 1980)
Ralph M. Cagle, The Legal Ethics of Elder
Law Practice: Five Key Issues. 64 Wis. Law. 38 (Aug. 1991)
Teresa S. Collett, Disclosure, Discretion,
Deception: The Estate Planner's Ethical Dilemma from a Unilateral Confidence,
28 Real Prop., Prob. & Trust J. 683 (1993)
Teresa S. Collett, And the Two Shall
Become As One ... Until the Lawyers Are Done, 7 Notre Dame J.L. Ethics
& Pub. Policy 101 (1993)
[A current bibliography of writings by Teresa Collett is available at the St. Thomas
University School of Law at http://courseweb.stthomas.edu/tscollett/index.htm ]
Counseling Older Clients, 64 Wis. L.
Rev. 26 (August 1991)
Aimee Danielson, Case Comment, A. v. B. v. Hill Wallack: Disclosure of Illegitimate Children in Estate
Planning, 15 Quinnipiac Prob. L.J. 335 (2001).
Maria M. das Neves, Note, The Role of
Counsel in Guardianship Proceedings of the Elderly, 4 Geo. J. Leg. Ethics
855 (1990-91)
Joseph W. de Furia, Jr., Testamentary
Gifts From Client to the Attorney-Draftsman: From Probate Presumption to
Ethical Prohibition, 66 Neb. L. Rev. 695 (1987)
Developments in the Law -- Lawyers'
Responsibilities and Lawyers' Responses, 197 Harv. L. Rev.
1547 (1994)
Joel Dobris, Ethical Problems for Lawyers
Upon Trust Terminations: Conflicts of Interest, 38 U. Miami L. Rev. 1
(1983)
Stephen Doherty, Comment Joint
Representation Conflicts of Interest: Toward a More Balanced Approach, 65
Temp. L. Rev. 561 (1992)
John E. Donaldson, Ethical Consideratins
of Representing the Elderly, 130 Trusts and Estates 18 (1991)
John S. Dzienkowski, Lawyers as
Intermediaries: The Representation of Multiple Clients in the Model Legal
Profession, 1992 U. Ill. L. Rev. 741
John S. Dzienkowski, Positional Conflicts
of Interest, 71 Tex. L. Rev. 457 (1993)
Howard B. Eisenberg, Durable Power of
Attorney v. Living Will: Counseling Older Clients, 79 Ill. Bus. J. 384
(1991)
Richard A. Epstein, The Legal Regulation
of Lawyers' Conflicts of Interest, 60 Fordham L. Rev. 579 (1992)
Robert B. Fleming, & Rebecca C. Morgan, Lawyers' Ethical Dilemmas: A "
Frederick R. Franke, Jr., Perfect
Ambiguity: The Role of the Attorney in Maryland Guardianships, 7 Md. J.
Contemp. Leg. Issues 223 (1995-96)
Lawrence A. Frolik, Plenary Guardianship:
An Analysis, a Critique and a Proposal for Reform, 23 Ariz. L. Rev. 599,
633-37 (1981)
Lawrence A. Frolik, The Biological Roots of
the Undue Influence Doctrine: What's Love Got To Do With It?, 57 U. Pitt.
L. Rev. 841 (1996)
Paula Galowitz, Collaboration
Between Lawyers and Social Workers:
Re-examining the Nature and Potential of the Relationship, 67
Fordham L. Rev. 2123 (1999)
Michael Gilfix, Representing the Elderly
Client: Problems and Solutions for Attorneys, 30 Trial 80 (Nov. 1994)
Myra Gerson Gilfix, Client Health Care
Decisionmaking: The Role of the Elder Law Attorney, PLI Order No. D4-5249
(Jan.-Apr. 1994)
Theresa Glennon, Lawyers and Caring:
Building a Ethic of Care into Professional Responsibility, 43 Hastings L.J.
1175, 1178-85 (1992)
Vicki Gottlich, The Role of the Attorney
for the Defendant in Adult Guardianship Cases: An Advocate's Perspective, 7
Md. J. Contemp. Leg. Issues 191 (1995-96)
Kimberly A. Gough, The Conflict Between
Confidentiality and Disclosure When a Client Announce Suicidal Intentions: A
Proposed Amendment to the Model Ethics Codes, 40 Wayne L. Rev. 1629 (1994)
Geoffrey Hazard, Triangular Relationships:
An Exploratory Analysis, 1 Geo. J. Leg. Ethics 15 (1987)
Geoffrey Hazard, Conflicts of Interest in
Estate Planning for Husband and Wife, 20 Prob. Law. (Joseph Trachtman
Lecture) (1994)
Stanley S. Herr, Representation of Clients
with Disabilities: Issues of Ethics and Control, 17 N.Y.U. Rev. L. &
Soc. Change 609 (1989/1990)
A. Frank Johns, Older
Clients with Diminishing Capacity and Their Advance Directives, 39 Real
Prop., Prob. & Trust J. 107 (2004)
A. Frank Johns, Legal
Ethics Applied to Initial Client-Lawyer Engagements in Which Lawyers Develop
special Needs Pooled Trusts, 29 Wm. Mitchell L. Rev. 47 (2002)
A. Frank Johns, Three
Rights Make Strong Advocacy for the Elderly in Guardianship: Right to Counsel,
Right to Plan, and Right to Die. 45 San Diego L. Rev. 492 (2000)
A. Frank Johns, Fickett's
Thicket: The Lawyer's Expanding Fiduciary and Ethical Boundaries When Serving
Older Americans of Moderate Wealth, 32
Gerald P. Johnston, Legal Malpractice in
Estate Planning -- Perilous Times Ahead for the Practitioner, 67 Iowa L.
Rev. 629 (1982)
Gerald P. Johnston, An Ethical Analysis of
Common Estate Planning Practices -- Is Good Business Bad Ethics?, 45 Ohio
St. L.J. 57 (1984)
Naomi Karp & Erica Wood, Incapacitated
and Alone: Healthcare Decision Making
for Unbefriended Older People, 31-SPG Hum. Rts. 20 (2004)
Judith Kilpatrick, Note, Ethical
Issues in Representing Clients with Diminished Capacities, 2003 Ark. L.
Notes 57 (2003)
Nancy J. Knauer, Defining
Capacity: Balancing the Competing Interests of Autonomy and Need, 12 Temp.
Pol. & Civ. Rights L. Rev. 321 (2003)
Peggy Sheahan Knee, Preventive Lawyering
for Elder Law Attorneys: How to Please the Client Yet Stay On the Ethical High
Road, 164-Oct. N.J. Law. 11 (Oct. 1994)
Clifton B. Kruse, Jr., Contracts to Devise
or Gift Property in Exchange for Lifetime Home Care -- Latent and Insidious
Abuse of Older Persons, 12 Prob. L.J. 1 (1994)
Clifton B. Kruse, Jr., The Elder Law
Attorney: Working with Grief, 3 Elder L.J. 99 (1995)
Clifton B. Kruse, Jr., The Elder Law
Practitioner: Working with Grief, 23 Colo. Law. 2111 (1994)
Clifton B. Kruse, Jr., Ethical Obligations
of Petitioners' Counsel in Guardianship and Conservatorship Cases, 24 Colo.
Law. 2565 (1995)
Elizabeth Laffitte, Model Rule 1.14: The Well-Intended Rule Still Leaves Some Questions,
17 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 313 (2004)
Ronald Link, et al., Developments
Regarding the Professional Responsibility of the Esate Planning Lawyer: The
Effect of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, 22 Real Prop., Prob.
& Trust J. 1 (1987)
Ronald Link, et al., Developments
Regarding the Professional Responsibility of the Esate Administration Lawyer:
The Effect of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, 26 Real Prop., Prob.
& Trust J. 1 (1991)
John Leubsdorf, Legal Malpractice and
Professional Malpractice, 48 Rutgers L. Rev. 101 (1995)
Suzanne J. Levitt & Rebecca J. O'Neill, A
Call for a Functional Multidisciplinary Approach to Intervention in Cases of
Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation: One Legal Clinic's Experience, 5
Elder L.J. 195 (1997)
Terrie Lewis,
Terrie
Lewis, Pain Management for the Elderly,
29 Wm. Mitchell L. Rev. 223
(2002).
Patrick E. Longan, Middle-Class
Lawyering in the Age of Alzheimer's: The Lawyer's Duties in Representing a
Fiduciary. 70 Fordham L. Rev. 901 (2001).
Ray D. Madoff, Unmasking Undue Influence,
81 Minn. L. Rev. 571 (1997)
William G. McGovern, Jr., Undue Influence
and Professional Responsibility, 28 Real Prop., Prob. & Trust J. 643
(1994)
Kevin McMunigal, Rethinking Attorney
Conflict of Interest Doctrine, 5 Geo. J. Leg. Ethics 823 (1992)
Mary Helen McNeal, Redefining
Attorney-Client Roles: Unbundling and Moderate-Income Elderly Clients, 32
Paula A. Monopoli, Fiduciary
Duty: New Ethical Paradigm for Lawyer/Fiduciaries, 67 Mo. L. Rev. 309
(2002)
Nancy J. Moore, Conflicts of Interest in the
Simultaneous Representation of Multiple Clients: A Proposed Solution to the
Current Confusion and Controversy, 61 Tex. L. Rev. 211 (1982)
Nancy J. Moore, Expanding Duties of
Attorneys to "Non-Clients": Reconceptualizing the Attorney-Client
Relationship in Entity Representation and Other Inherently Ambiguous Situations,
45 S.C. L. Rev. 659
Shelby Moore & Jeanette Schaefer, Remembering the Forgotten Ones: Protecting the Elderly from Financial
Abuse, 41 San Diego L. Rev. 505 (2004)
Rebecca C. Morgan, Who Is
the Client? Ethical Issues in an Elder Law Practice. 16 J. Am. Acad.
Matrimonial Law 463 (2000).
Michael J. Myers, “Elder-Comp., L.L.C.” A Multi-Disciplinary Prototype for Tomorrow’s
Elder Law Practice, 45
San Diego L. Rev. 540 (2000)
Nancy C. Nawrocki, Ethical Challenges in
Serving the Elderly Client, 37-May Advocate (Idaho) 16 (May 1994)
Nancy C. Nawrocki, Ethical Challenges in
Serving the Elderly Client, 72 Mich. Bus. J. 24 (1993)
Janice Cooper Pasaba & Alison Barnes, Public-Private
Partnerships and Long-Term Care: Time for a Re-Examination?, 26 Stetson L.
Rev. 529 (1996)
L. Ray Patterson, An Analysis of Conflicts
of Interest Problems, 37 Mercer L. Rev. 569 (1986)
Anne K. Pecora, The Constitutional Right
to Court-Appointed Adversary Counsel for Defendants in Guardianship Proceedings,
43 Ark. L. Rev. 345 (1990)
Anne K. Pecora, Representing Defendants in
Guardianship Proceedings: The Attorney's Dilemma of Conflicting
Responsibilities, 1 Elder L.J. 139 (1993)
Jeffrey N. Pennell, Ethics, Professionalism, and Malpractice Issues in Estate Planning and
Administration, ALI-ABA CLEW (June 20-25, 2004)
Lee A. Pizzimenti, The Lawyer's Duty to
Warn Clients About the Limits on Confidentiality, 39 Cath. U. L. Rev. 441
(1990)
John Price, Duties of Estate Planners to
Nonclients: Identifying, Anticipating and Avoiding the Problems, 37 S. Tex.
L. Rev. 1063 (1996)
Jan Ellen Rein, Ethics and
the Questionably Competent Client: What
the Model Rules Say and Don’t Day, 9 Stan. L. & Policy Rev. 241 (1998)
Jan Ellen Rein, Clients
With Destructive and Socially Harmful Choices -- What's an Attorney to Do?:
Within and Beyond the Competency Construct, 62 Fordham L. Rev. 1101 (1994).
Hanson S. Reynolds, The Impact of Probate
Litigation, CA39 A.L.I.-A.B.A. 735 (Sept.7, 1995)
Joseph A. Rosenberg, Adapting
Unitary Principles of Professional Responsibility to Unique Practice Contexts:
A Reflective Model for Resolving Ethical Dilemmas in Elder Law, 31 Loy. U.
Chi. L.J. 403 (2000)
Randall W. Roth, Current Ethical Problems
in Estate Planning, Advanced Estate Planning Techniques, SB32 A.L.I.-A.B.A.
615 (Feb. 20, 1997)
Ronald Rotunda, The Notice of Withdrawal
and the New Model Rules of Professional Conduct: Blowing the Whistle and Waving
the Red Flag, 63 Or. L. Rev. 455 (1984)
Robert Rubinson, Constructions
of Client Competence and Theories of Practice. 31 Ariz. St. L.J. 121
(1999).
Patricia B. Rumore, Elder Law: Pitfalls
for the UnWary: Malpractice Criminal Penalties Code Violations, 58 Ala. L.
Rev. 160 (1997)
Charles P. Sabatino, Representing
a Client with Diminished Capacity: How Do You Know It and What Do You Do About
It? 16 J. Am. Acad. Matrimonial Law. 481 (Winter 2000).
Jay J. Sangerman, Ethical Issues in Elder
Law, N.Y. St. Bus. J., Sept.-Oct. 1993, at 35.
Jay J. Sangerman & Jerome T. Levy, The
Attorney's Role in the Hospital Discharge Planning Process for the Elderly,
65 N.Y. St. Bus. J., Feb. 1993, at 22
Stephanie L. Schneider, Planning Options
for the Elderly and Disabled, 10- Jun. Prob. & Prop. 8 (May/June 1996)
Thomas Shaffer, The Legal Ethics of
Radical Individualism, 65 Tex. L. Rev. 963 (1987)
Linda F. Smith, Representing the Elderly
Client and Addressing the Question of Competence, 14 J. Contemp. L. 61
(1988)
Edward D. Spurgeon & Mary Jane Ciccarello, Lawyers Acting as Guardians: Policy and
Ethical Considerations, 31 Stetson L. Rev. 791 (2002)
Marc I. Steinberg & Timothy U. Sharpe, Attorney
Conflicts of Interest: The Need for a Coherent Framework, 66 Notre Dame L.
Rev. 1 (1990)
Lisa Stewart et al., The InterDisciplinary
Team Focus: A Strategy for Developing a Successful Practice of Elder Law,
19 Nova L. Rev. 647 (1995)
Holten D. Summers, Competency and Undue
Influence: Issues for Elder Estate Planning, 84 Ill. Bus. J. 18 (1996)
Timothy L. Takacs & David L. McGuffey, Medicaid Planning: Can it be Justified?
Legal and Ethical Implications of Medicaid Planning, 29 Wm. Mitchell
L. Rev. 111 (2002)
Evelyn Betts Thomason, How Estate Planners
Can Cope with the Increasing Risk of Malpractice Claims, 12 Est. Plan. 130
(1985)
Paul R. Tremblay, Counseling Clients Who
Weren't Born Yesterday: Age and the Attorney-Client Relationship. 16 Fam.
Advoc. 24 (Summer 1993)
Robert Whitman, Exoneration Clauses in
Wills and Trust Instruments, 4 Hofstra Prop. L.J. 123 (1992)
Linda S. Whitton, Durable Powers As a
Hedge Against Guardianship: Should the Attorney-at-Law Accept Appointment as
Attorney-in-Fact?, 2 Elder L.J. 39 (1994)
Bruce J. Winick, Advance Directive
Instruments for Those with Mental Illness, 51 U. Miami L. Rev. 57 (1996)
Nancy Stanger Wood, Selection of
Fiduciaries and the Role of the Attorney Draftsperson, Ethical Considerations,
Administrative Powers, Simultaneous Death and Tax Apportionment, PLI Order
No. D4-5236 (Oct. 21, 1992)
Marie A. Yoakum, Representing the Older
Client: Ethical Considerations. 12 J. Am. Acad. Matrimonial Law. 75 (Summer
1994)
Fred C. Zacharias, Reconceptualizing
Ethical Roles, 65 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 169 (1997)