Lawrence Frolik

Professor Emeritus of Law

Biography

Professor Frolik is a national expert on the legal issues facing older Americans. One of the founders of the field of  Elder Law, he is the author, co-author or editor of over a dozen books. He is the co-author of the treatise, Advising the Elderly or Disabled Client (Warren, Gorham, and Lamont, 2d ed. 1999 with annual Supplements), a work that is widely praised by the practicing bar. He is also the co-author of the first casebook on the legal problems of the elderly, Elder Law: Cases and Materials (tth ed. LexisNexis, 2011) and is the co-author of the casebook Law of Employee Pension and Welfare Benefits (3rd ed. LexisNexis, 2012).  He is the co-author of the acclaimed treatise, ERISA Litigation (4th ed. BNA 2011). He is also the author of The Law of Later-Life Health Care and Decision Making (ABA 2006) and Residence Options for Older and Disabled Clients (ABA 2008). He is the co-author of Everyday Law For Seniors (Revised ed. Paradigm Press 2012).

He has published widely on law and aging issues as well as legal issues faced by persons with disabilities in such journals as the Stanford Journal of Law and Policy, the Arizona Law Review, the Ohio State Law Review, the Hastings Law Journal, Notre Dame Law Review and the San Diego Law Review. He has served as Chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Elder Law Section, Chair of the American Association of Law Schools Section on Aging and the Law, served on the Executive Council of the Pennsylvania AARP, and is an Academic Fellow of both ACTEC and the Special Needs Alliance. He has also served  as a Fellow on the Academic Advisory Council of TIAA-CREF. He has been honored by being named to the Council of Advanced Practitioners of the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys and in 1995 was a Congressional appointed delegate to the White House Conference on Aging.

He serves as a Visiting Professor at the University of Miami Law School’s LL.M Program in Estate Planning.

From 1996-2000, he was the co-director of the prestigious Gruter Institute’s Conference on Law, Biology and Human Behavior held annually in Squaw Valley, California.

Key/Recent Publications

Books

  • End-of-Life Decision Making, Chapter in The ABA Practical Guide to Estate Planning, (J. Soled, ed., 2011).
  • ERISA Litigation, 4th ed., (with J. Zanglein, BNA, 2011).
  • Elder Law: Cases and Materials, 5th ed. (with A. Barnes, LexisNexis, 2011).
  • Two Supplements for Advising the Elderly or Disabled Client, (with M. Brown).
  • Law of Employee Pension and Welfare Benefits, 3rd ed. (with K. Moore, LexisNexis).
  • Residence Options for Older and Disabled Clients, (ABA, 2008).
  • The Law of Later-Life Health Care and Decision Making, (ABA, 2006).
  • Elder Law in a Nutshell, (with R. Kaplan, West, 4th ed., 2006). Authored prior eds: (3d ed., 2003), (2d. ed., 1998), (1st ed., 1995).
  • The Law of Employee Pension and Welfare Benefits, (with K. Moore, Matthew Bender, 2004). Includes Statutory Supplements.
  • Elderlaw: Cases and Materials, (with A. Barnes, LexisNexis, 3d ed., 2003). Includes Selected Statutes and Regulations Supplements. Authored prior eds.(2d ed., 1999), (Michie, 1st ed., 1992).
  • The Grapes of Wrath: Can Justice Be Found on Route 66?, Screening Justice – The Cinema of Law: Significant Films of Law, Order and Social Justice, (R. Strickland, et al. eds., William S. Hein & Co., 2006).

Articles:

  • Core Values in Conflict: The United States Approach to Economic Assistance to the Elderly, 1 Phoenix Law Review 325 (2008). Available on SSRN.
  • An Essay on the Need for Subsidized Mandatory Long-Term Care Insurance, 21 Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy 517 (2007).
  • Challenges of Estate Planning With a Very Old Client, 34 Est. Plan. 3 (May 2007).
  • An Essay on the Need for Subsidized Mandatory Long-Term Care Insurance, 21 Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy 517 (2007).
  • The Challenges of Estate Planning With a Very Old Client, 34 Est. Plan. 3 (May 2007).
  • Issues Facing Elderly Americans, American Association for Justice (Feb. 2007).
  • 'Sufficient' Capacity: The Contrasting Capacity Requirements For Different Documents, (with Mary F. Radford) 2 NAELA J. 303 (2006). Available on SSRN.
  • Paying for Long-Term Care, 17 Experience 35 (ABA Senior Lawyers Division, Fall 2006). Available on SSRN.
  • 'Old Age with Fears and Ills': Planning for the Very Old Client, 38th Annual University of Miami Philip E. Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning (2004).
  • Assuring Nursing Home Quality Care: A Case of "Market Failure," 9 Ethics, L. & Aging Rev. 43 (2003). Available on SSRN.

Presentations:

  • “Guardianship Decision Making in Theory and Practice,” July 24, 2011, Southeastern Association of Law Schools Annual Meeting, Hilton Head, South Carolina.
  • “Guardianship Decision Making Under the UPC,” Oct. 20-21, 2011, ACTEC Conference.
  • “Review of the Uniform Probate Code,” Univ. of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
  • “Guardianship: Vulnerability & Protection versus Autonomy & Independence,” Oct. 22, 2011, and “Aging in the United States: The Next Civil Rights Movement,” Beasley School of Law, Temple Univ., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  • Foundations of Guardianship Decision Making,” Jan. 6, 2012, AALS Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C..
  • “The Doctrinal Dimensions of Elder Law,” Jan. 12, 2012, Univ. of Iowa College of Law, Iowa City.
  • “End-of-Life Decision Making: Informed Consent Has Become Family Consent,” March 25, 2012, Columbia Univ. Seminar Conference on Death” New York, New York.
  • “Update on Guardianship,” June 24, 2012, ACTEC Annual Summer Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia.
  • “Guardianship Decision Making,” Oct. 14, 2012.
  • Participant, Speaker, and Voting Delegate at National Guardianship Reform Conference, Univ. of Utah College of Law, Salt Lake City, Utah.
  • “Dealing with the Partially Incapacitated Client: How to Prevent Financial Abuse, Undue Influence and Other Ills of Aging,” December 14, 2012, Hawaii Bar Association, Honolulu, Hawaii.
  • “Update on Estate and Elder Law Issues,” Feb. 25, 2012, Pennsylvania Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania.

Other Activities

  • Secretary of the Board of Directors, Pennsylvania Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
  • Out-going Chair of AALS Elder Law Section.
  • Chair, ABA Real Property, Probate and Trust Section Committee on Long- Term Care Needs, Medicaid and Special Needs Trusts.
  • Member, Programming Committee, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NA ELA) Certified Advanced Practitioners.
  • Member, Elder Law Committee, ACTEC.
  • Member, Special Needs Alliance Public Policy Committee.
  • Member, ACBA Elder Law Committee.