Marshall Elected President of PAELA

LLA member, Jeffrey A. Marshall, CELA, has been elected President of the Pennsylvania Association of Elder Law Attorneys, the organization announced this week. He will succeed Marielle Hazen, CELA, a Harrisburg attorney who served in the position since January of 2008. Marshall will assume office for a two year term beginning on January 1.

Building on the accomplishments of the past two years, Marshall plans to continue building partnerships and expanding PAELA's voice as an advocate for the elderly and people with special needs.

"PAELA is a resource for families and their lawyers and a stakeholder in the legislation and programs that affect our elder and special needs communities. As individual attorneys we make a difference everyday in people's lives. Collectively the organization protects seniors and special needs families through education and advocacy in both Harrisburg and Washington," said Marshall.

This past year PAELA helped organize a statewide coalition of organizations to defeat proposed expansions of Medicaid estate recovery, worked to protect the spouses of nursing home residents by filing a brief in an important Federal Court case, submitted comments on proposed Assisted Living Regulations, and worked to establish standards to protect seniors from deceptive annuity sales. More information on PAELA’s public policy activities is available on the organization’s website, www.paela.info.

PAELA has also committed to making the expertise of its members available to younger attorneys and other professionals who are learning about elder and special needs law. "We've succeeded in establishing a membership of some of the best, most well respected elder and special needs attorneys in the state. Now, we need to ensure that each and every one of those members is engaged and active and that we are creating ways for others to tap into our experience for the benefit of their clients," said Marshall.

Marshall is Managing Attorney of Marshall Parker & Associates which has law offices in Williamsport, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, and Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania.