Thursday, October 30, 2014
NAELA Commentary: Roles For Attorneys In Facilitation Or Avoidance Of Financial Abuse
Our friends Stetson Law Professor Roberta Flowers and Pennsylvania Elder Law Attorney Amos Goodall have joined forces in writing a very interesting article, "In Fear of Suits: The Attorney's Role in Financial Exploitation" published in the Fall 2014 issue of the NAELA Journal.
To examine the potential for attorneys to facilitate or hinder financial abuse of elders, they take a close look at key players in the Brooke Astor case. For example, they discuss the elderly philanthropist's purported execution of three codicils, pointing out that each document was "drafted by superbly educated, well-respected and even renowned 'establishment' lawyers." The authors ask whether more could have been done by these lawyers to protect Astor from the machinations of two other individuals, her son "Marshall" and Attorney Morrissey, both of whom were eventually convicted, but only after Mrs. Astor's death.
To provide insight into this key question, Flowers and Goodall take a step back from specific facts of the Astor case, to discuss key ABA Model Rules, including Rule 1.2 (Protection of Client's Objectives), Rule 1.7 (Protecting Clients from Divided Loyalties), Rule 1.14 (Protecting Clients with Diminished Capacity) and Rule 4.2 (Protecting Clients Who Are Represented from Overreaching).
I can see this article providing a great platform for discussion, both among law students and practicing attorneys.
https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/elder_law/2014/10/naela-commentary-roles-for-attorneys-in-facilitation-or-avoidance-of-financial-abuse.html