Elder Law Teaching and Scholarship: An Empirical Analysis of an Evolving Field

Abstract:     
As the American population ages, the emerging field of elder law stands poised to play an increasingly important role in both legal practice and legal education. Relatively little, however, is known about how elder law is taught in America’s law schools, or about the nature and impact of elder law scholarship. This article fills the void by providing findings from a broad-ranging empirical study of the current state of elder law teaching and scholarship. These findings suggest that elder law is on the threshold of becoming a mainstream part of the American legal academy. They also suggest that, at this critical stage, significant barriers to the field’s development remain. By describing the current state of the field and the challenges it faces, this article paves the way for future efforts to guide and support the field’s growth.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 18

Keywords: law school, legal education, elder law, teaching, scholarship, aging

Accepted Paper Series