Elder law practitioners from across the country gathered at Syracuse University College of Law for the 2026 National Aging and Law Conference, an annual event of the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Law and Aging (COLA).
Important topics covered included changes to the ABA Model Rule of Professional Conduct 1.14 that governs how lawyers work with clients with decision-making limitations, guardianship and its alternatives, and what Medicare might look like in the future, including a review of new pilot projects and their implications for beneficiaries. Over the course of the conference, there were 14 breakout sessions, including “Counseling Clients on Healthcare Planning and Decision-Making,” that featured Associate Professor of Law Grace Orsatti presenting on her scholarship on advance care planning. Orsatti is a COLA Commissioner.
There was also a pre-conference workshop, “Healthcare to Guardianship Pipeline,” that brought together practitioners to share experiences and discuss possible interventions to address unnecessary guardianship of older adults.
“What stood out to me was seeing attendees making new connections and plans to follow up after the conference,” noted Professor Nina Kohn. “It was also an opportunity to introduce College of Law students interested in this area of the law to experts and potential career paths.”
Holding the conference at Syracuse University provided an opportunity to highlight the aging-related research being conducted across campus. The conference’s opening plenary featured researchers affiliated with the University’s Aging Studies Institute, including Janet Wilmoth, director, Aging Studies Institute, and Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs.
“The conference was a terrific opportunity to learn—and to teach,” said Kohn. “I enjoyed the chance to discuss my research on long-term care financing, guardianship, and reform of ethical rules for governing attorney-client relationships with advocates who are working on these issues every day.”
Several Syracuse Law students attended the conference sessions. "I attended the National Aging and Law Conference to gain more insight into opportunities in estate planning. In 'Counseling Clients on Health Care Planning and Decision Making,' it was fascinating to hear Professor Orsatti and Dr. Christine E. Kistler compare how capacity is evaluated in a medical setting versus a legal setting. Seeing those two perspectives side by side showed me how much interdisciplinary understanding matters when advising older clients,” said Ryan Gregory L’28.
He continued, “The student-focused sessions, 'Fellowships and Careers in Aging' and 'Law School Opportunities in Aging,' were especially motivating. Judge Heather Galvin, the probate judge for Beaufort County, South Carolina, said the field needs more new attorneys and that demand is constant, which I found encouraging.”