It is the time of year when law students often stop by my office for a visit to explore possible ideas for their case notes for law review or for other student writing opportunities.   Here are a few recent topics I think have some interesting law/aging/ethical/finance issues:

  1. The Impact of Big Pharma Products on Balance?  See the recent New York Times’ Column, The New Old Age, by Paula Span:  “Why Are More Older People Dying After Falls?” 
  2. Will Medicare Cover Cutting Edge Treatments for Older Adults?  See “A Pill to Health the Brain Could Revolutionize Neuroscience,” By Rachel Gross, New York Times
  3. What Concerns Are Being Addressed by Justice in Aging?  Sign up for their free watchdog newsletters that offer a plethora of resources at  Justice in Aging: Fighting Senior Poverty Through Law
  4. How Can State and Local Governments Fight “Deed Fraud”?  See e.g. recent articles such as this one from the Philadelphia Inquirer:  “Philadelphia Created an Automated System That Checks Whether Home Sellers are Dead.”  
  5. Are there ethical issues associated with “early” tests for dementia? — especially tests that could be given “years before” diagnosis?  See e.g. “Early Alzheimer’s Brainwave Text Detects Memory Decline Years Before Diagnosis,”  published By MedicalXpress.com  

Photo of Katherine C. Pearson Katherine C. Pearson

Katherine C. Pearson is a Professor of Law and the Arthur L. and Sandra S. Piccone Faculty Scholar at Penn State Dickinson Law in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Her scholarship focuses on laws and policies connected to aging and she has frequently included age-related issues…

Katherine C. Pearson is a Professor of Law and the Arthur L. and Sandra S. Piccone Faculty Scholar at Penn State Dickinson Law in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Her scholarship focuses on laws and policies connected to aging and she has frequently included age-related issues in her teaching of courses on contract law, conflicts of law and nonprofit organizations law.  She is a regular speaker for continuing education programs, both for consumers and lawyers, to address cutting edge concerns in consumer protection for older adults.  She is the author of articles and chapters on access to justice, senior living options including continuing care and life plan communities, long-term care financing and filial obligations, and is the co-author of a treatise, The Law of Financial Abuse and Exploitation (Bisel 2011).

She authored chapters for the Research Handbook on Law, Society and Ageing, published in 2024 as part of a series on law and society handbooks offered by international publisher Edward Elgar. She is a 2024-2025 Fulbright Scholar in Canada and was in residence at the University of Ottawa in the Fall of 2024 as the Research Chair in Health Law, Policy and Ethics.  Her earlier experience as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar (based at the Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, and working in Ireland, Portugal, and the U.K. in 2009-10), resulted in publications, including an article with an international, historical perspective on ethical concerns for attorneys representing older adults, entitled “The Lesson of the Irish Family Pub,” published by Stetson Law Review.

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