Penn State Dickinson Students to Attend Elder Law Attorneys Symposium

Carlisle, PA (April 19, 2006) – Eleven Penn State Dickinson School of Law students have received fellowships to attend the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) Symposium, which will take place on April 20-23 at the Capitol Hill Hyatt Regency in Washington, D.C. The invitation includes speakers on national topics such as long-term care planning and public interest litigation.

Two Dickinson law students have special roles to play at the NAELA Symposium. Third-year student Jacqueline Olexy will receive the top award for NAELA's 2006 National Student Writing Competition for her article entitled “Revisiting the Indian Health Care Improvement Act: An Important Step Towards Improving Long Term Care for the Rural Native American Elders.” Irene Kang, another third-year student, will introduce her video-tape on creating ethnic-specific programming for elders, focusing on her work in the Korean-American community in New York City. Both Jacqueline and Irene have received offers of publication for their articles in an upcoming NAELA journal.

Penn State Dickinson Professor Katherine Pearson will also attend the symposium to present "Mediation Advocacy: Is this an Oxymoron Or a Less Stressful, More Successful Way to Practice Law?" with co-presenter Ed Phelps from California.

With more than 4,800 members, NAELA is devoted to the health, security and advocacy of seniors. For more information on NAELA and the symposium, visit www.naela.org.