This interactive session, presented by Deirdre Lok and Brooke Santoro of The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Center for Elder Justice at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, will use case studies and real world examples to provide attorneys with practical tools to assess and intervene in cases of suspected elder abuse. This session will review how attorneys can spot elder abuse and the ways in which guardianship proceedings can be utilized as a mechanism to address the abuse. Capacity and cognitive impairment can fluctuate and may be challenging for an attorney to assess. Compounded with red flags of abuse, financial exploitation, and unmet needs, guardianship proceedings may be the best way to ensure the safety and well-being of an older adult.
Learning Objectives:
Deirdre M.W. Lok, Esq. is the Assistant Director and General Counsel for The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Center for Elder Justice at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale. She manages the operations of the shelter, including providing legal services to victims in Supreme Court, Housing Court and Family Court. An Adjunct Professor at Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Lok directs the law school’s HELP (Helping Elders through Litigation and Policy) Clinic. She is a frequent speaker on the issue of elder abuse and the law, and has guest lectured at Penn State Dickinson School of Law, Cardozo Law School, Touro Law, Hofstra Law School and CUNY Law School and has provided training to attorney’s through the New York State’s Judicial Institute, the Queens Bar Association, the Bronx Bar Association, and is a faculty member of Lawline. Ms. Lok is appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio to the Age-Friendly NYC Commission, is chair of the American Bar Association’s Senior Lawyer’s Division, Elder Abuse Prevention Committee, and served as Chair of the Policy and Procedure Subcommittee of the New York State Committee on Elder Justice. Prior to joining The Weinberg Center, she was a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Oahu, Hawaii and an Assistant District Attorney in the Queens County District Attorney’s Office where she focused on domestic violence cases. She is the recipient of the New York Law Journal 2017 General Counsel Impact Award.
Brooke Santoro, LMSW, is the Community Outreach Specialist at The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Center for Elder Justice at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale. She received a Bachelor of Social Work, magna cum laude, from Central Connecticut State University and is a graduate of Columbia University School of Social Work, where she received a Master of Science in Social Work focusing on work with older adults.
Brooke has completed various internships with the older adult population, most recently at Jarvie Commonweal Service, and was also employed at an Area Agency on Aging.
Great presenters!
This seminar was informative and I enjoyed listening to the speakers.
Engaging. Sincere. Relevant. Great job.
Very thorough.
Highly recommended. Could use case cites, if possible.
Great Presentation.
Great presentation, not only because the materials and discussion are timely, but also because it was delivered with enthusiasm, energy and obvious interest in helping other lawyers to recognize and be prepared to work, compassionately, in this field.
Outstanding program.
Knowledgeable presenters ably review the basics of elder abuse; discuss role of a social worker; and examine guardianship proceedings in the context of case studies and real-world examples.
I appreciated information on advances in elder neuroscience relevant to cognitive capacity.
A lively presentation.
Awkward topic, but the presenters were very engaging, even remotely!
The interaction of the two presenters made it more interesting
Really enjoyed how this course was presented. Great job!
Very informative speakers
Presenters were excellent. Used very good examples.
These presenters are excellent!
I enjoyed the co-teaching/back-and-forth dialogue and perspective between the presenters.
Great topic! Very informative!
Well done! There was an appropriate level of interaction between the presenters which made the presentation much more engaging.
Very informative.
very timely as this issue has arisen in my practice just today
very interesting
great team of presenters
Good straight forward presentation.
Presenters were very knowledgeable and organized, very well done!