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Education:
J.D., University of Miami
B.A., University of Arizona
Professor Pearson joined the Law School in 1995, after having served as a member of the clinical faculty of the University of New Mexico
School of Law, and after having worked as a law clerk to a federal trial judge, as a trial lawyer in private practice, and as head of the
civil rights division of the Albuquerque, NM Legal Department, representing police officers charged with constitutional violations. At
Penn State Law Professor Pearson teaches evidence and conflict of laws. In addition to teaching traditional doctrinal courses, Professor Pearson has developed a dynamic approach to advocacy on behalf of the elderly, by creating an integrated elder law curriculum that includes seminars or workshops on law and aging policy, and an Elder Law and Consumer Protection Clinic that offers students opportunities for direct representation of older adults and their families on cutting edge issues.
Recognized throughout the legal community for her expertise on legal issues facing older citizens, Professor Pearson has been selected to
speak before the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the National Council on Family Relations, at the National Aging and the Law
Conference in Washington, D.C., and at conferences on elder law studies hosted by the Canadian Centre for Elder Law at the University of
British Columbia. In 2008-09, her research on filial support laws was cited by AARP's publications. Professor Pearson has been named the
Peterson Visiting Scholar in Gerontology and Family Studies at Oregon State University for the 2009-2010 academic year. She will spend
the Fall 2009 term of her sabbatical in residence at OSU, where she will focus on interdisciplinary responses to exploitation patterns
involving disabled persons or older adults.
Professor Pearson's recent articles analyzing third-party liability for health and long term care have led to legislation, drafted by
students under her supervision, introduced before the Commonwealth's House of Representatives. The Pennsylvania Bar Association honored
Professor Pearson with a special achievement award for her work on elder law topics and for her guidance in advancing legislative
initiatives. In 2006-2008, Professor Pearson served as the co-chair for a task force on diversity and academic interests for the
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and she is the 2008-09 Chair-Elect for the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Elder Law Section.
She frequently teaches a Cross-Border Family Law course with an international elder law perspective for summer programs abroad,
including Mexico City and London, and has been a visiting professor of law at American University 's Washington College of Law and the
University of San Diego School of Law.
Contact Information:
E-mail:
kcp4@psu.edu
Phone: (717) 240-5219
Principal Office: Carlisle
Personal Web page with links to publications
Selected Publications:
Elder Law in Pennsylvania (3rd Ed.), with Jeffrey Marshall, Esq., forthcoming 2009.
"Filial Support Obligations in Pennsylvania: Adult Children, Parents and Spouses," the 2008 Supplement to Elder Law in Pennsylvania (2d Ed. by Jeffrey Marshall, Esq.), 2008.
"Partners in Outreach and Advocacy: Interdisciplinary Opportunities in University-Based Legal Clinics," with L. Johnston-Walsh, Journal of Higher Education Outreach & Engagement, 2007.
"Finances, Families and Filial Laws: The Real
World as Classroom," invited essay for National
Council on Family Relations Report,
2006.
"Continuing Care Retirement Communities, State
Regulation and the Growing Importance of Counsel,"
Pennsylvania Bar Quarterly, 2006.
"Why Mexico? Why Mexican Law? Why Now?," with J. Smith & M. Rustad, Penn State International Law Review, 2005.
"Re-Thinking Filial Support Laws In A Time Of
Medicaid Cutbacks," Pennsylvania Bar Quarterly,
2005.
"Representing Smith and Jones: The Lawyer's
Ethical Considerations in Medicaid Planning for the
Elderly," Pennsylvania Bar Quarterly, 2004.
"The Responsible Thing to Do About 'Responsible
Party' Provisions in Nursing Home Agreements: A Proposal
for Change on Three Fronts," University of
Michigan Journal of Law Reform, 2004.
"Departing from the Routine: Application of
Indian Tribal Law Under the Federal Tort Claims Act,"
Arizona State Law Journal, 2000.
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