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Ideals and High Heels - A Look at Wake Forest University's Elder Law Clinic

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openalex:w7213712259

Authors

Kate Mewhinney

Reported year

2006

Reported language

en

Source type

article

First detected

2026-11-09T19:04:47.816576+00:00

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2026-11-09T19:04:47.816576+00:00

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Documentary abstract — original language

BY KATE MEWHINNEYwould like to help my parents as they get older.I want to give back to the community.I am thinking of elder law as a possible career path.I learn better by doing.Wake Forest's law students give many reasons for signing up to take the course called The Elder Law Clinic.As their professor, I have learned there is more to this story.Why put in long hours at the clinic, meeting clients, juggling cases, and tackling new legal issues? 1 To quote one student, "I learned to wear heels in this course."The students really like wearing those nice outfits and looking like young professionals!Even better, their classmates ask them if they have that most valuable of things: a job interview.Changing from college garb to office attire is just the superficial side of the many changes going on in these soon-to-be lawyers.Besides trying on that new persona in a power suit, students want to help those in need and to explore a rapidly growing field of practice.As their mentor and professor, it is a genuine pleasure for me to teach them and watch them mature as attorneys.Coming to The Elder Law Clinic wellprepared by the school's traditional faculty, the students are eager to put into practice what they learned about civil procedure rules, will drafting doctrines, and family law principles.Only after the mid-point of law school are they permitted to actually represent clients. 2 Whether students are headed for a general civil practice that is seeing more "elder law" cases 3 or to a corporate setting that addresses the "mature market," this clinical experience is a good strategic move on their part.4 Let's first take a look at some basics about the program. Short History and the StructureAround 1990, Wake Forest Law School Dean Robert K. Walsh learned that the university's medical center was planning a multi-disciplinary center on aging.Looking to increase the law school's clinical offerings, Dean Walsh collaborated with then dean of the medical school, Dr.Richard Janeway, 5 to include an elder law program.With a gift from R.J.

Identifiers

OPENALEX

W7213712259

Documentary context

Documentary family

Scholarship

Source-reported types

article

Natural entities mentioned

Forest

Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.

Sources

OpenAlex · Record 1 · Record 2

• Document · https://wakespace.lib.wfu.edu/handle/10339/26087
• OpenAlex · https://openalex.org/W7213712259

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