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Duke Law School Offers Program to Meet the Evolving Needs of HIV Positive People

published April 16, 2023

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( 15 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5)
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Summary

As the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to evolve, it is becoming increasingly important to ensure that individuals living with the virus have access to the support and resources they need to make informed decisions. The Duke Law School HIV/AIDS program is dedicated to helping those living with HIV/AIDS stay informed and address the unique legal challenges they face.


Duke Law School's program was founded in 2004 and has since become a nationally recognized leader in providing comprehensive legal education and assistance to those living with HIV/AIDS. The program is focused on addressing the complex legal challenges faced by the HIV/AIDS community. Their goal is to provide legal education and advice to individuals living with HIV/AIDS so that they can better understand their legal rights and how to effectively use the law to better their lives.

The program employs several full-time faculty members who provide legal assistance, research, and advocacy and also sponsors a variety of clinical and research experiences for students. The program partners with local and state organizations and government agencies to advocate for HIV/AIDS policy reforms and provide legal advice to those living with the virus.

The Duke Law School HIV/AIDS program also offers a variety of educational opportunities for students. These include educational workshops, seminars, and publications that are designed to help individuals living with HIV/AIDS understand their legal rights and responsibilities. courses on topics related to HIV/AIDS and health law, such as policy, public health, and public safety.

The work of the Duke Law School HIV/AIDS program is critical as they seek to ensure that those living with HIV/AIDS have access to the resources and support they need to navigate their legal challenges. The program serves as a place for those living with HIV/AIDS to seek legal advice, learn about their legal rights and responsibilities, and stay informed on the ever-evolving HIV/AIDS epidemic. The Duke Law School HIV/AIDS program is a model of how legal education and advocacy can be used to empower those living with HIV/AIDS.
 

Addressing the Changing Landscape for HIV Positive People

In order to address the changing needs of HIV-positive individuals, Duke Law School's Center on Law, Ethics, and National Security (LENS) has established a program called the HIV/AIDS, Rule of Law, and Human Rights Project. The program was launched in May 2011. It is designed to promote the protection of legal rights associated with persons living with HIV/AIDS.
 

Educating Courts and Institutions on HIV Law

The program works to educate both institutions and courts on issues of HIV law, as well as to promote awareness about HIV/AIDS-related human rights laws and their enforcement. It also provides resources and technical assistance to organizations and lawyers advocating for HIV-positive individuals facing legal issues.
 

Promoting Human Rights of HIV-positive Individuals

The HIV/AIDS, Rule of Law, and Human Rights Project also seeks to promote HIV/AIDS-related human rights legislation and enforcement. It is also involved in research and advocacy projects that aim to ensure that HIV-positive individuals receive the protection they need. Additionally, the program works to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations to effectively protect the rights of HIV-positive individuals.
 

Advocating for HIV-Positive Rights Globally

The program works on a global scale, collaborating with organizations and institutions to understand the legal landscape and the needs of HIV-positive individuals. It also advocates in support of the rights of HIV-positive individuals, and works to strengthen the capabilities of those working to protect the rights of HIV-positive individuals. The program is primarily funded through grants from the U.S. State Department, allowing it to have an impact locally and internationally.

Students working with Duke Law School's AIDS Legal Assistance Project in Durham, NC, seek to provide legal assistance for local, low-income people with AIDS or infected with HIV. The project, a law school clinic that gives academic credit, started in 1996. It accepts 10 students per semester and hires summer interns as well.

The project asks students for a large time commitment, requiring 100 hours of direct client representation over the course of one semester, in addition to a two-hour class that meets once a week, says Professor Carolyn McAllaster, Clinical Professor of Law and director of the project. Professor Allison Rice also supervises the clinic.

"The law students do everything" for the project's clients, says McAllaster, from doing the intake interviews to drafting documents to representing clients in hearings. North Carolina, like many states, has a third-year practice rule, so those in their third years can go to court and represent clients under the supervision of a licensed attorney.

Third-year Duke Law student Stacy Hauf represented a client at a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) a few weeks ago in an appeal of a Social Security disability benefits denial. The first step in these cases is to "make sure to have as much information as possible" about the project client's medical history, to demonstrate disability, says Hauf. Clients often see applications denied because of incomplete documentation.

If, after the full slate of medical documentation is provided, the application is still denied, then there can be a hearing before an ALJ. Last semester, project law students asked the ALJ to decide on the case record with no hearing, but the ALJ declined.

Hauf then primed herself for the hearing—building on the work of other students in the previous semester, getting updated affidavits from physicians, and prepping to examine a vocational expert and a third-party witness. It was her first hearing, and Hauf says it went well. "I'm pleased. I think we were well prepared."

In some cases, McAllaster has secured permission for students to represent project clients in federal courtrooms, she says. One such case involved discrimination of a client who was being denied access to certain hospital services because of the client's HIV-positive status.

Other discrimination cases the project sees involve employment or housing issues, says McAllaster. More often, the project's law students will work with clients on trying to get Social Security disability benefits or on establishing living wills, advanced directives, or health care power of attorney.

"We have a lot of single parents," says McAllaster, so making provisions for children is also a top priority. In North Carolina law, there is a provision for establishment of standby guardianship. This allows a guardian to be appointed for a child while his/her parent is still living. If the parent dies, then the guardian is legally able to take responsibility immediately so the kids are never "in legal limbo."

Some legal issues for people infected with HIV have changed over the past 10 years with the advent of new medications. With fewer clients dying from AIDS, says McAllister, the project is seeing fewer requests for viatical settlements—where terminally ill people sell their life insurance policies before their deaths to use the money to pay for medical treatments. "We haven't had a case of that in four years," says McAllister.

Living longer with HIV infection raises more legal issues. Clients are on disability insurance for longer periods of time, and some people who are on disability want to return to work on a limited basis.

In addition, living longer has brought more credit card debt to the project's clients. Some people with HIV who were no longer able to work and with little money would live on their credit cards, expecting death soon. But longer life also brought more debt and problems with repayment. New federal laws in the works limiting the ability of people to declare bankruptcy will complicate things further.

Ironically, too, some of the treatments keeping HIV-infected people alive also cause side effects that create disability where the infection might not. Medications for HIV sometimes make cholesterol levels increase, says McAllaster, leading to heart attacks and the need for heart bypass surgery among people infected with HIV. Trading one health problem for another is "a real balancing act" for the project's clients, she says.

Most of the Duke Law students who have worked in the AIDS Assistance Legal Project go on to work in large law firms after graduation, says McAllister, but their reasons for doing the project in the first place "varies. We get everybody," she says. Some students are looking for experience in wills and estates, others want introductions to public interest law, and some have relatives with AIDS. Most tell her they want to do this work to help people, says McAllister. "We tend to get very active students."
 
See Top Law Schools Analyzed and Ranked By America's Top Legal Recruiter Harrison Barnes for more information.

published April 16, 2023

( 15 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.