Elder Law Courses

Stetson has created four programs to educate students about the special legal needs of the elderly. The Elder Law Clinic allows eligible students to attain hands-on experience in legal problems of the elderly by working on actual cases. Some students work in legal services offices and actually represent elderly clients with civil legal problems. Other students work with assistant state attorneys prosecuting cases where elders are victims of consumer scams. The other three courses are: Aging and the Law, the Elder Law Seminar and the Elder Law Internship. Course descriptions for each are listed below.

Elder Law Clinic

The clinic student, under the Florida Integration Rule, will be certified to practice law under the supervision of a licensed attorney in the clinic. Some clinic students will represent age 60 and older clients who meet income eligibility guidelines of the local legal aid program. Those students will be responsible for all phases of client representation, including interview, investigation, drafting pleadings/documents, negotiations, administrative hearings and trials. Other students will be placed with assistant state attorneys, prosecuting consumer fraud misdemeanor cases where the victims are elderly.

Elder Law Seminar

This seminar exposes students to a variety of legal topics that impact the elderly. Students write in-depth papers on a topic of law impacting elderly clients and their families. The paper satisfies the school's writing requirement. This is the advanced course for those students interested in elder law.

Elder Law Internship

Students will be placed with several of the agencies in the Tampa Bay area, including the Guardianship Hearing Masters in Hillsborough and Pinellas, the State Attorney General's office, and the State Attorney's office. In addition to the hours at the assigned placements, students produce 25 pages of research and maintain journals.

Introduction to Aging and the Law

This three-credit course is a survey of the variety of issues of law and ethics that face elderly people and their families. This course is offered once a year and is the introductory course for those students interested in elder law.