NCJ Number
117550
Journal
Bar Leader Volume: 14 Issue: 3 Dated: (November-December 1988) Pages: 18-22
Date Published
1988
Length
5 pages
Annotation
State bar associations have set up panels to provide legal assistance offered to AIDS victims for such services as wills and powers of attorney, have sponsored education programs for the legal profession and the public, and have worked with State legislatures on bills that protect human rights.
Abstract
The American Bar Association's AIDS Coordinating Committee indicates that more than 40 percent of State and local bar associations have AIDS assistance programs. In 1986, the Bar Association of San Francisco set up an AIDS assistance program that now includes 229 volunteer lawyers. About 22 lawyers voluntarily participate in the Denver Bar Association's AIDS program. The Denver program and others have found it necessary to better educate the legal profession and the public about misperceptions regarding AIDS. The Iowa State Bar Association has been influential in getting AIDS-related legislation passed and has organized a continuing legal education program. The Los Angeles County Bar Association has provided legal assistance to hospice patients since 1984. In 1986, its hospice/AIDS program made 60 referrals to nine volunteer lawyers who agreed to provide legal assistance to AIDS patients. The program now has 160 lawyers and has handled 900 cases.