Why You Should Attend
Lawyers in many practice areas will run into situations where a client's diminished capacity is an issue. This program will address the challenges and ethical issues for pro bono and legal services lawyers that arise when representing individuals with diminished capacity, whether because of mental illness, substance abuse or other factors. The panel will explore ethical issues that lawyers must address and offer approaches and strategies that lawyers may consider in carrying out representation in these circumstances.

What You Will Learn
After completing this program, participants will be able to:

- Recognize and understand the unique confidentiality concerns that can arise when working with clients experiencing mental health, substance abuse or capacity issues
- Manage complex conflicts and communications issues
- Navigate the duty of loyalty
- Assist clients with diminished capacity in a variety of contexts
- Apply and practice these newly developed concepts and skills through hypothetical fact patterns to illustrate how these ethical questions arise in legal services and pro bono practice settings

Who Should Attend
Pro bono volunteers at law firms and corporate law departments, legal aid and nonprofit attorneys, law students, solo and small firm practitioners, social service providers working with legal services, along with attorneys in any practice setting working with clients experiencing diminished capacity, would benefit from attending.

Special Feature(s): Scholarships are available to participate in this program. For more information and to apply please visit: https://learning.pli.edu/scholarship.

Program Level: Update

Prerequisites: An interest in learning about diminished capacity and applying ethics rules to real-world scenarios.

Advanced Preparation: None

If you work for an IRC Section 501c3 organizations dedicated to providing direct pro bono representation, your organization may be eligible to receive a PLI Pro Bono Membership which provides free access to PLI programs. For more information please go to the following link: https://www.pli.edu/globalassets/pro-bono/pro-bono-application-march-2022.pdf