Solomon Center Scholar Discusses Research and Careers at Cutting Edge of Elder Justice
The Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School continued its tradition of training the next generation of elder law experts by hosting a conversation with Distinguished Scholar in Elder Law Nina A. Kohn on Sept. 17. Kohn, a distinguished professor of law at Syracuse University College of Law, is a leading authority in elder law and the civil rights of older adults. She spoke to first-year law students interested in health and aging about how to make the most of their time at Yale.
Kohn began by highlighting the importance of cutting-edge academic research in shaping elder protections. She emphasized that many of the legal tools used to advance elder rights have gone understudied or fallen out of sync with demographic shifts and other societal changes, making it critical for legal scholars to re-evaluate them and propose reforms. Kohn pointed to recent scholarship as an example of how to leverage research for positive change. She highlighted an article in the Elder Law Journal she co-authored with 2024–25 Solomon Center Research Fellow Wendy Jiang and others, which uncovers little evidence that mandatory elder abuse reporting laws improve outcomes for older adults and proposes ways to reorient such requirements.
Kohn then spoke about how new attorneys passionate about elder justice can craft impactful careers. She noted that while policymakers often assume they will need to erect regulatory frameworks from scratch, there are many options to strengthen and better enforce laws already on the books. Kohn underscored that some of the most important opportunities exist at the state level. She encouraged students to explore ways to use their legal training to support state agencies on the front lines of aging policy, such as state health departments and attorneys general offices.
The event concluded with questions from the audience, as well as a discussion of the courses students should take to prepare for a career dedicated to increasing older adults’ wellbeing.
About the Solomon Center
The Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School is the first of its kind to focus on the intersection of law and the governance, practice, and business of health care. The center brings together leading experts and practitioners from the public and private sectors to address cutting-edge questions of health law and policy, and to train the next generation of top health lawyers, industry leaders, policymakers, and academics.
