At Florida State University, Clinical Professor Rima Nathan is leading a hands-on elder law clinic that trains future lawyers by tackling several crises for low-income senior citizens.
The Claude Pepper Elder Law Clinic is a holistic, interdisciplinary program dedicated to strengthening the well-being and resilience of low-income older adults through legal advocacy and community education. Clinical students handle real cases and work on policy initiatives while helping seniors navigate turbulent times.
Estate planning is one of several areas that the clinic assists with, according to Nathan.
“Two-thirds of Americans have no plan for what’s going to happen when they can no longer talk to the doctor, or what’s going to happen to all their things after they pass away,” Nathan said. “These can be overwhelming concepts for people because it contemplates death. What the students get to experience is how to walk a client through those questions in a way that’s empathetic, and in a way that also prepares them to be good lawyers.”
Nathan teaches her students how to walk the fine line of communicating with a client effectively while making sure they provide the best service. Prior to directing the Claude Pepper Elder Law Clinic, she practiced in the areas of complex civil litigation, trials and appeals, and served as a judicial clerk to Justice Jorge Labarga of the Supreme Court of Florida.
As an Alumna of FSU, Nathan earned her bachelor’s degree in international affairs and political science. She then obtained her juris doctor in 2019 at the FSU College of Law, where she focused on work at the FSU Public Interest Law Center’s Children’s Advocacy Clinic, the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Her experience in public interest law positions her to teach the complexities that come with elder law – a multidisciplinary field that involves issues related to healthcare policy, guardianship, housing, consumer protection, scams and much more. As the baby boomer population ages and long-term care costs continue to rise, the practice continues to be as important as ever in ensuring senior citizens are protected and empowered to make dignified choices for themselves.
Nathan offers students a chance for experiential learning that accelerates their career growth – a point of pride for the clinic.
“The Claude Pepper Elder Law Clinic is like an on-campus internship that law students and graduate students in other fields can enroll in,” Nathan said. “Whereas with externships, you might go off campus, go work at the public defender’s office or at a court, our clinic acts as a legal aid firm on the law school’s campus that serves people who are 60 and older and low income.”
“The Claude Pepper Elder Law Clinic is like an on-campus internship that law students and graduate students in other fields can enroll in.”
– Rima Nathan, director of The Claude Pepper Elder Law Clinic
The forward-thinking nature of the clinic shines a light on how the FSU College of Law views education at its best – molding future practitioners with hands-on experience and graduating the next wave of community leaders.
“The students get their grade based on the work that they’re doing in the clinic, and they get to interact directly with clients,” Nathan added. “It’s a really great chance while you’re in law school to get an opportunity to have autonomy over cases and feel that responsibility before you’re out there in the legal world.”
One of the most important aspects of trusted legal support is when students help to uncover deeper systemic and financial harm for their clients. Amidst tough conversations, other legal issues can arise. An example included a recent client who was scammed for $10,000 after signing a solar power company contract that she could not afford.
“If we talk about those hard things now, we can plan ahead and make a better situation, not only for our clients, but also to protect the court system, which is overrun with so many cases,” Nathan said. “We want to set things up in a way that gives people the necessary tools and protects their rights to decide how they want to live their life as they age.”
By pairing rigorous legal training with empathy and advocacy, Rima Nathan is shaping lawyers who not only understand the law, but use it to protect dignity, independence and choice for Florida’s most vulnerable seniors.
To learn more about the Claude Pepper Elder Law Clinic, visit the College of Law’s website.