Students will help young adults with disabilities and their parents (or other caregivers/supporters) draft and execute Supported Decision Making (SDM) agreements. The young adults and/or their parents have been counseled about guardianship and alternatives to guardianship such as SDM agreements at previous INCLUDE pro bono clinics. SDM agreements and other alternatives to guardianship (medical and statutory powers of attorney, etc.) allow individuals with disabilities to maintain maximum control over their lives, and avoid unnecessary and costly probate proceedings.
Organization
INCLUDE Project, Mithoff Pro Bono Program
The INCLUDE Project enables students with interests in disability and probate law to provide free legal serves to persons with disabilities and their families. Through INCLUDE, law students advised more than 100 families on guardianship alternatives during the 2015-16 academic year following the passage of the Texas Supported Decision Making Act, a law that is the first of its kind nationally and that incorporates certain protections afforded by the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Texas Law. The INCLUDE Project is an internal project of the Richard and Ginni Mithoff Pro Bono Program, in partnership with the William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law. The Signing Clinic is being conducted in partnership with the Austin Independent School District.
Project Details
- Project Date
Saturday, March 25
- Project Time
- 9am-2pm
- Approximate hours of work requested
- 6 hours, including training
- Training
- Students must attend a 1 hour training session on Wednesday, March 22, 12pm-1pm, in TNH 2.124
- Skills used
- Client interviewing/counseling; mediating between those with divergent interests; cultural competence; document preparation
- Project location
- Law school (rooms TBD)
- Number of student volunteers requested
- 10
- Class year preference
- 1L, 2L, 3L, LLM
- Required skills
- Strong English skills required; Spanish very helpful but not necessary; students with an interest in probate and disability law are strongly encouraged to apply; prior experience with INCLUDE also helpful but not necessary
- To Apply
- Submit email stating interest, any language skills, and any work experience touching on specific kinds of disability to Sarah Sedgwick at ssedgwick@law.utexas.edu