"Elder Law" Textbook by Frolik & Barnes

The fourth edition of the fine, comprehensive law school textbook, Elder Law: Cases and Materials, will soon be available in print, as written by Professor Lawrence A. Frolik, of the University of Pittsburgh Law School (Pittsburgh, PA), and Professor Alison McChrystal Barnes, of the Marquette University Law School (Milwaukee, WI). It will be published by LexisNexis.

The publisher had announced the new edition last May, in an email message sent to some law school professors, which was reposted on the Wills, Trusts & Estates Professor Blog, in an entry dated May 25, 2007, entitled "Fourth Edition of "Elder Law: Cases and Materials" to be Released in July 2007":

LexisNexis is pleased to announce the forthcoming availability of the Fourth Edition of Elder Law: Cases and Materials, by Lawrence A. Frolik (Pittsburgh) and Alison McChrystal Barnes (Marquette). You will automatically receive a copy of the new edition of Elder Law: Cases and Materials (ISBN 142241163X) and the updated companion documentary supplement (ISBN 1422411648) in late July.

The Fourth Edition of Elder Law integrates new developments in law and policy into the familiar framework of past editions. A mix of the specific and the general, the book examines the response of our society to an aging population, the legal rights of the elderly, and the legal, economic, and health challenges of the elderly. The authors use carefully edited classic and new cases, excerpts from the experts, and descriptive commentary to challenge and instruct students. Questions and problems provide the instructor an opportunity to query students and expand their understanding of the material.

The perspectives of legal practice and legislative development receive due attention in chapters that cover income and employment, housing and supportive services, nursing home quality and costs, substitute health and final decision making, and elders and crime. The broad scope of the book builds on foundational legal education in property rights, civil and human rights, and government action, while permitting the teacher the opportunity to supplement or expand upon the material.

The Teacher’s Manual provides the authors’ pedagogical insights and answers to the Questions. In addition, the companion statutory volume, Elder Law: Selected Statutes and Regulations, includes all relevant statutes and regulations.

If you would like to review the page proofs, please contact Sean Caldwell (513-721-2506 / sean.m.caldwell@lexisnexis.com). The PDF version of the page proofs will be available in late June.

Those "page proofs" were made available on July 3, 2007. Because I use this Elder Law textbook in our course of the same name at Widener University Law School (Harrisburg Campus), I downloaded & skimmed the text.

Larry & Alison have done a great job in updating a textbook about this fast-changing area of the law. The scope of their Elder Law textbook is indicated by its Table of Contents:

SUMMARY TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication (iii)
Preface (v)
Table of Contents (ix)
Chapter 1 AN AGING POPULATION: THE CHALLENGE TO THE LAW (1)
Chapter 2 LEGAL PRACTICE AND ETHICAL ISSUES (39)
Chapter 3 AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT (85)
Chapter 4 INCOME MAINTENANCE (151)
Chapter 5 HEALTH CARE (205)
Chapter 6 LONG-TERM CARE (279)
Chapter 7 HOUSING (387)
Chapter 8 GUARDIANSHIP (439)
Chapter 9 PROPERTY MANAGEMENT (503)
Chapter 10 HEALTH CARE DECISION MAKING (535)
Chapter 11 ELDER ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND CRIME (607)
Table of Cases (TC-1)
Index (I-1)

This lengthy, well-organized textbook, however, is not just for law students. It is an excellent reference for anyone -- a provider, a professional advisor, or a consumer -- who wants to learn about, or who must navigate the issues involved in, elder law. With a cost under a hundred dollars, this book could be a wise investment for many libraries.

Since Larry is a Pennsylvanian, a founder in the "elder law" movement by teaching the first law school course offered on this subject, and a dedicated advocate for older Americans, I am pleased to post his smiling photo & quote his wise words:

"Law is not static, for as society changes, so does the law. The aging of our population presents new challenges because persons over age 65 have different legal needs than younger people. How the law responds tells us much about our fundamental societal values. How these values are translated into law is primarily the responsibility of lawyers and law schools."