The Lawyer's Dilemma

• Author: Mary Lou Dingle
• Pages: 115-119



TheLawyersDilemma

MaryLouDingleQC*

Mostpeople whoare seeking legal services areclearly capableA few

arec learlyincapablelike the ladywho didnot knowi fher longterm

spousewasdeadoraliveortheman whodidnotknowhisownname

Where lawyers require professional assist ance is in assessing people

whosecapacityisunclearandspoingthepossibilitythatapersonwho

appears competent is not.

Many factors aect the ability of lawyers to assess competency

Mostlawyershavenomedicaltraininga lthoughovertimetheyabsorb

aplethoraofpract icalknowledgeForinstance goodsocialskillsoen

camouagemental decits somespouses minimizeor even conceala

partnersincapacitya nda person whois confused in the ocetoday

maybe lucid at home tomorrowThose who are i nstitutionalized s el-

domknowthedatet henonnancialspousewi lllackspecic nan-

cialknowledgeandthe lesscomplicatedtheconceptthemore easilyit

isunderstoodSincemostclients areclearlycapablemostlawyershave

limitedexperienceinrecog nizingsubtlesignsofincapacity

Ofcourse willa ndpowerof aorneyclients continueto expectto

paya modestfee aproblem lawyerscreated fort hemselvesyears ago

bytreatingwi llsaslossleadersAsar esultlawyersmaylimitthet ime

spentwithac lientwhichmaylessenthevalueofthelawyersas sessment

oftheclientsabilityThevastmajorityofelderlyclientsaredeliveredto

anappointmentbyfolkwhoarevital lyinterestedintheoutcomeofthe

* OfLazierHickeyLawyer sLLP