Photo of Adam Dexter

Adam Dexter

  • Hosted by Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc.
  • Sponsored by U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims of Crime
  • Service location Olean, New York
  • Law school City University of New York School of Law
  • Issue area Elder Abuse
  • Fellowship class year 2020
  • Program Elder Justice Program

The Project

Adam’s project focused on organizing new and existing partners to fight the widespread, multi-faceted, and vastly underreported abuse and neglect of older adults while representing client victims of financial exploitation in consumer debt actions, bankruptcy, housing, and matters involving advanced directives and estate planning.
Adam grew up in Buffalo, where an early consciousness of inequality and his own privileges motivated a social vision of personal success and led to a law school tenure focused on service to the least powerful and most vulnerable members of society. Social work, the human rights paradigm, and non-profit legal services organizations contribute to the ongoing American movement toward more widespread institutional recognition of the dignity of all human beings. Adam aimed to bring all components to bear in his project.

Fellowship Highlights

During the two-year Fellowship, Adam:

  • Provided updates on frequent legal problems facing older adults to the county’s long-term care council
  • Conducted trainings for adult protective services and community organizations
  • Delayed and prevented evictions of elderly, often disabled tenants during the pandemic
  • Reduced or eliminated enormously shocking medical debt, including defending against nursing home debt collection actions

Next Steps

Following his Fellowship, Adam will continue with Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc. as a staff attorney. In this role, he will contribute to the organization’s ongoing anti-racism efforts and provide free services to the most vulnerable.

Media

Six Ways Public Interest Attorneys Can Combat Elder Abuse in Any Practice Area

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