Navigating the Ethics of Representing Clients with Diminished Capacity (2025 State Bar Convention)
Total Credits: 1.5 CLE, 1.5 Ethics
- Average Rating:
- Not yet rated
- Categories:
- Mental Health and Elder Law
- Faculty:
- Rebecca Hall | David Mitchel Majchrzak | Daniel Joseph Mazza | Rachael Marie Mitchell | Lynda C Shely
- Format:
- Audio and Video
- Original Program Date:
- Jun 23, 2025
Description
This comprehensive program will delve into critical ethics topics such as representing clients with diminished capacity, representing clients serving in fiduciary roles, and addressing other ethics considerations. This seminar will also address common bar complaints received by elder law attorneys as well as what happens when a lawyer has diminished capacity.
What You’ll Learn:
• Understand the ethical and practical considerations when advocating for clients who may have cognitive impairments
• Gain insights into the obligations and best practices for representing clients in a fiduciary capacity, ensuring their interests are protected
• Understand the steps to take when a lawyer experiences diminished capacity
Presented By: Elder Law Mental Health & Special Needs Planning
Handouts
M13-Materials (1.8 MB) | 23 Pages | Available after Purchase |
Faculty
Daniel Joseph Mazza Related Seminars and Products
Practicing since 2012, Phoenix-Scottsdale based attorney Danny has represented hundreds of clients in estate planning, probate, guardianship, and conservatorship matters with the utmost care and empathy. He is the immediate past-president of the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Arizona and is a member of ASU’s School of Political and Global Studies Alumni Advisory Board. Recently, Danny was named a Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2017 and 2018, a distinction that is limited to just 2.5% of attorneys, and is based on peer nominations and a comprehensive evaluation of 12 indicators of professional achievement.
Danny attended law school in Arizona, where he excelled in Gift & Estate Taxation and served as Vice President of the Student Bar Association. During law school, he was honored to serve as one of only two legal interns to Governor Jan Brewer. Additionally, Danny obtained a Certificate in International Commercial Arbitration from Georgia State University College of Law while studying overseas. Before attending law school, Danny graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Minor in Business, and interned in the office of U.S. Senator John McCain as an undergraduate.
Danny is dedicated to community involvement. He currently serves on the Paradise Valley Village Planning Committee, a position he was appointed to by the Mayor and City Council. Prior to his career in law, Danny worked in politics, government, and public affairs. He has traveled the country working on political campaigns, most notably spending time in New Hampshire during the 2008 Presidential primary season. Previously, he served as the Government & Public Affairs Manager at Arizona Federal Credit Union.
The son of two real estate professionals, Danny grew up in the real estate business, and has a special interest in probate matters involving real property. Danny has been licensed by the Arizona Department of Real Estate since 2013, which has enhanced the scope of his knowledge, enabling him to more fully advise his law clients on issues related to real property matters.
Originally from Hackensack, New Jersey, Danny moved to the Scottsdale area with his family in 1991. He attended Horizon High School where he met his wife, Bonnie. Danny and Bonnie reside in Phoenix with their two beautiful young children.
Rachael Marie Mitchell Related Seminars and Products
Lihn Law Group
Rachael Mitchell is an attorney at Lihn Law Group. She focuses her practice on elder law, including estate planning, probate and trust administration, guardianship, conservatorship, and special needs planning. Rachael graduated from Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. During law school, Rachael participated in the American Bar Association’s Jurimetrics Journal, judicial and non-judicial externships, and served as President of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law’s Business Legal Assistance Program (BLAP). She presently serves as Chair of the State Bar of Arizona’s Elder Law, Mental Health and Special Needs Section and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Arizona Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). Rachael is dedicated to advocating for the unique needs of older adults and individuals with disabilities. In her free time, you’ll find Rachael with her family, hiking, or horseback riding.

Lynda C Shely Related Seminars and Products
Rosing Pott & Strohbehn
Lynda C. Shely is a partner in the Phoenix, Arizona office of Rosing Pott & Strohbehn (in partnership with Zelms Erlich Lenkov) where she provides legal ethics, risk management, and ABS regulatory advice to lawyers, law firms, and law firm investors. She was the 2020-2023 chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, an Arizona Delegate in the ABA House of Delegates, and currently volunteers with several other nonbillable entities involved in legal ethics matters, including as a member of the Arizona Supreme Court’s Alternative Business Structure Committee, the Arizona Supreme Court’s Committee on AI in the Courts, the ABA Standing Committee on Professional Regulation, and the State Bar of Arizona Ethics Advisory Group. She is a past president of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, the Scottsdale Bar Association, and the National ABS Law Firm Association. She has been an adjunct professor at all Arizona law schools, teaching professional responsibility. Lynda has received several awards for her contributions to the legal community including the 2007 State Bar of Arizona Member of the Year Award, the 2022 Maricopa County Bar Member of the Year Award, the 2023 Maricopa County Bar Hall of Fame, and the 2024 Arizona Women Lawyers' Association Annual Sarah Herring Sorin Award. Lynda had her own law firm for 21 years before joining Rosing Pott & Strohbehn. Prior to opening her own firm, Lynda was the Director of Lawyer Ethics for the State Bar of Arizona. Before moving to Arizona, Lynda was an attorney with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Washington, DC. Lynda received her BA from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA and her JD from Catholic University in Washington, DC.