Thursday, February 8, 2007, LENDING ISSUES IN AMERICA
LENDING ISSUES IN AMERICA
GUEST LECTURER: JIM SUGARMAN
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2007 3:30 PM — 4:45 PM HOLY CROSS HALL, ROOM G-108
Jim Sugarman is Supervisory Attorney of the Consumer and Financial Abuse Unit of AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly (LCE). Prior to working for LCE he was a staff attorney for Mountain State Justice in Charleston, West Virginia where he handled consumer law, child advocacy and prisoner rights litigation. He began his legal services career at DNA-Peoples Legal Services representing indigent clients from the Navajo Nation and Hopi Reservation and specializing in tribal trust property issues.
AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly (LCE) is the primary provider of free legal services and advocacy for older people in the District of Columbia. We handle legal cases for DC residents 60 years of age and older in a wide range of areas. LCE also serve as the Long-Term Care Ombudsman and operate a number of law-related projects in DC.
LCE was created in 1975 by a grant from the federal Administration on Aging to pioneer the use of non-attorney volunteers to assist older persons with their legal problems. Since then, LCE has continued to serve as a laboratory for determining better methods of delivering legal services. LCE has developed a number of innovative delivery systems that have been adopted by others nationwide. LCE works in close collaboration with the AARP DC State Office, especially in areas involving systemic reform.
Under federal law, each state and the District of Columbia must designate a legal services developer for free or low-cost legal assistance to older individuals. Legal Counsel for the Elderly performs this service in DC.
In addition, the federal Older Americans Act and District law requires that an organization be selected to advocate for the rights of older individuals living in nursing homes and board and care homes. LCE performs this function on behalf of older individuals in the District of Columbia, through its DC Long Term Care Ombudsman Program.