With 33 percent of Florida lawyers being over the age of 55, The Florida Bar has taken on the challenge of responding to the issue of aging lawyers. The Bar’s Aging Lawyers Working Group has embarked on a plan to help identify lawyers with cognitive impairments before they harm clients or become entangled in a disciplinary process. Having created a self-assessment that will be available online at the University of Florida (UF) and modeled after the UF College of Medicine’s “Florida Cares” program for physicians, the goal is to help aging lawyers identify and be self-reflective about signs of aging. The assessment will be voluntary and anonymous. This effort comes after Florida’s Rule 1-3.5 was amended regarding permanent retirement, an option when an aging lawyer faces grievance proceedings because a complaint has been filed.
For the Florida Bar’s article, click here.
For information on age related cognitive decline, see a recent article by the Oregon Attorney Assistance Program, titled “Putting the Brakes on Age-Related Cognitive Decline“
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