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Touro Law Positioned as Leader in Aging and Longevity Law

State Approves New Online LL.M. Program

December 1, 2016

Touro Law Center Dean Harry Ballan is pleased to announce the New York State Education Department has approved Touro Law Center’s plan to offer a new online LL.M. program in Aging & Longevity Law. The program, which will be available to law graduates and practicing attorneys in the U.S., will prepare lawyers to help serve society’s increasing aging population, which is creating a crisis for elderly individuals, their families, the institutions that provide services to the elderly as well as the legal system.

Dean Ballan stated, "I am delighted and proud that Touro Law is offering this innovative program on Aging and Longevity. It will be an opportunity for practitioners and other interested persons to explore the intersection among diverse but related disciplines such as elder law, trust and estates, estate and gift tax, long-term financial planning, the economics of insurance and insurance planning, as well as nursing homes, at-home care, public and private reimbursements, issues of elder abuse and of fraud. In our aging society, these issues are critical, and the time for a program such as this is now. I don't believe there is another in the country like it, and I think it will prove an indispensable part of the American legal educational landscape."

Touro College and University System President Dr. Alan Kadish commented, “Touro is at the forefront of healthcare education nationwide and we are proud of the fact that the Law Center is taking the lead in Aging and Longevity Law. Robust programming already in place coupled with this new graduate degree program highlight the innovative curriculum at the Law Center, designed to meet the demands of today’s marketplace.”  

The new LL.M. program requires students to complete 24 credits, including 12 credits in three required courses and a 3-credit capstone paper or project. Required courses include Core Issues in Aging in Longevity Law, Estate Planning, or Financial Planning for Aging and Incapacity, Ethical Issues in Representing Aging Clients and Their Family Members as well as an Independent Writing Project.  Elective courses will complete the other 12 credits. 

This graduate degree program builds on Touro Law’s strengths in Aging and Longevity Law. In 2013, Touro Law established its Aging and Longevity Law Institute and began offering a concentration in Aging and Longevity Law for J.D. students. The Aging and Longevity Law Institute (ALLI) was designed to provide members of the bench and bar, law students, professionals from other disciplines and members of the community with the information, tools and resources required to address the legal needs of the approximately 100 million Americans that are 50 years of age and older. The ALLI recognized that an interdisciplinary approach was essential to understanding the legal needs of the elderly and developing proposals to assist them. Since its establishment, the ALLI has held several conferences bringing together experts from a number of disciplines and from different Touro schools, to explore the capacity crisis and aging in place.  The Institute regularly holds lectures and hosts a national conference titled “Aging in Place.” This past spring, ALLI began publication of on online interdisciplinary journal, the Journal of Aging, Longevity, Law and Policy.  

“This new graduate law program helps to position Touro Law as a leader in the field of Aging and Longevity Law,” stated Bob Abrams, co-founder and executive partner at Abrams and Fensterman, nationally recognized expert in Health and Elder Law and a co-founder of Touro’s Aging and Longevity Institute. “This field of law is expanding as we serve a larger population with greater legal needs. It is important that lawyers are trained to address the wide variety of educational areas that are critical in the care of the aging, including fragility of capacity, adult children with needs, bankruptcy, confidentiality, financial planning, mental health issues and so much more. Touro provides a thoughtful program that will prepare attorneys for addressing the needs of our aging population.”   

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Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center’s 185,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art law school is located adjacent to both a state and a federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York. Touro Law’s proximity to the courthouses, coupled with programming developed to integrate the courtroom into the classroom, provide a one-of-a kind learning model for law students, combining a rigorous curriculum taught by expert faculty with a practical courtroom experience. Touro Law, which has a student body of approximately 650 and an alumni base of more than 6,000, offers full- and part-time J.D. programs, several dual degree programs and graduate law programs for US and foreign law graduates. Touro Law Center is part of the Touro College system.

Touro Law’s newly implemented Portals to Practice is a cutting-edge, experiential learning program that reconceives and restructures the law school experience. Portals to Practice expands the scope and quality of legal education by focusing on the development of legal professionals, from pre-law through post-graduation. 

About the Touro College and University System 
Touro is a system of non-profit institutions of higher and professional education. Touro College was chartered in 1970 primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage, and to serve the larger American and global community. Approximately 18,000 students are currently enrolled in its various schools and divisions. Touro College has 29 branch campuses, locations and instructional sites in the New York area, as well as branch campuses and programs in Berlin, Jerusalem and Moscow. New York Medical College; Touro University California and its Nevada branch campus; Touro University Worldwide and its Touro College Los Angeles division; as well as Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Ill. are separately accredited institutions within the Touro College and University System. For further information on Touro College, please go to: http://www.touro.edu/news/

For more info contact:
Patti Desrochers
Director of Communications
pattid@tourolaw.edu
(631) 761-7062

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