Nina Kohn
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ninakohn.bsky.social
Nina Kohn
@ninakohn.bsky.social
1.1K followers 500 following 71 posts
Distinguished Professor @SyracuseU. Elder Law Scholar with Yale's @SolomonCtrYLS. I write about older adults’ civil rights, including in #LongTermCare, medical & financial #decisionmaking, #voting & #guardianship. Also: legal ethics & #highered.
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ninakohn.bsky.social
Happy to be back at Yale Law School as a Visiting Professor. I'm enjoying introducing another terrific group of students to elder law. And having good fun collaborating with @solomonctryls.bsky.social.
Image of a red casebook entitled "Elder Law: Practice, Policy, and Problems" in front of an open window that looks out onto a courtyard surrounded by gothic-inspired buildings.
September 18, 2025 at 12:11 AM
ninakohn.bsky.social
New book alert! Law & the 100-Year Life explores how our laws should adapt to unprecedented longevity. Happy to join a terrific group of authors under the leadership of editors Anne Alstott, @abbegluck.bsky.social & Eugene Rusyn.

Bonus: the book is open access.
Image of the cover Law and the 100-Year Life. Words associated with the image read "Law and the 100-Year Life explores how legal systems must adapt to longer lives--from work and marriage to housing and healthcare. Discover a bold vision for aging, equity, and opportunity.
May 23, 2025 at 4:13 PM
ninakohn.bsky.social
Congratulations to Kansas on adopting the Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship, & Other Protective Arrangements Act! It will help reduce unnecessary & overbroad #guardianships.

It's a huge win for older adults & people with #disabilities. As the Act's Reporter, I'm thrilled. #Disabilityrights
Map showing states that have adopted, or are considering adoption, of the uniform act on guardianship and conservatorship.
April 14, 2025 at 5:30 PM
ninakohn.bsky.social
One joy of academic life is sharing your ideas with others. Grateful to @uarizonalaw.bsky.social faculty for inviting me to talk on my new article, and for their fabulously helpful critiques (shout out to @orentaoren.bsky.social and colleagues). Added bonus: a visit the Sororan Desert.
Informal picture of author with saguaro cactus in background.
April 11, 2025 at 2:54 PM
ninakohn.bsky.social
Some good news! Utah just became the 2nd state to adopt the new Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act. It makes it easier for patients to ensure their wishes are understood and respected.

As the Act's Reporter, I couldn't be prouder.

www.uniformlaws.org/committees/c...

#ACP #healthcare #elderlaw
Map showing states that have enacted or introduced the Uniform Health Care Decisions Act.
April 1, 2025 at 5:41 PM
ninakohn.bsky.social
Excited to share my new article, Ageless Law, now forthcoming in N.C. Law Review. It asks: should law be age-blind?

With states amending constitutions to protect against #age #discrimination & #SocialSecurity under attack, it's a question we can no longer ignore.

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Image of the abstract of "Ageless Law." It reads: Chronological age is currently used to determine everything from eligibility for public benefits and tax breaks, to the allocation of health care resources and employment opportunities, to discounts at public parks. But this central feature of American social welfare law is poised for change. As states respond to the overturning of Roe v. Wade and concerns about retrenchment of federal civil rights protections, they are considering expanding state constitutional protections against discrimination—including age discrimination. Indeed, in November 2022 and 2024 respectively, Nevada and New York voters overwhelmingly voted to amend their state constitutions to add age as a protected class. It is in this political environment that this article asks a simple question that is, remarkably, largely unexplored in the legal literature: should law be “ageless”? That is, should rights and responsibilities be distributed among adults in a way that is ageblind? After providing a comprehensive typology of how age-based classifications are used in the American legal system, the article outlines the theoretical justifications for the use of age-based classifications to distinguish among adults and explores whether the objectives currently served by age-based policy could be met through alternative approaches. It then evaluates the potential impact of state constitutional amendments that make age a protected class, and the jurisprudential factors that would mediate that impact. After showing how wholesale rejection of age-based distinctions among adults would impede efficient and effective policy, it urges states to enhance protection against age discrimination not by adding language that would require “age-blindness,” but rather by embracing language that would permit age-based distinctions that are substantially related to important objectives.
March 19, 2025 at 4:47 PM
ninakohn.bsky.social
Felt great to see the new edition of #ElderLaw casebook out in "the wild" at #AALS2025.
Red casebook entitled "Elder Law: Practice, Policy, & Problems" on display at Aspen Publishing's conference booth.
January 10, 2025 at 4:51 PM
ninakohn.bsky.social
Winter break: that special time of year when academics grade from beautiful locations.
Background: hummingbird on vine, surrounded by mist and trees. Foreground: exam rubric.
January 2, 2025 at 8:09 PM
ninakohn.bsky.social
Join us for a 🆓 webinar tomorrow on the Uniform Health Care Decisions Act (for which I served as Reporter).

We'll outline how the Act improves the law governing #AdvanceDirectives-- and medical decision-making for people with #disability more broadly.

Register ➡️tinyurl.com/2fuw3f7s #Medsky #HAPC
Blue and green flyer advertising webinar on November 20th at 12pm Central and listing speakers as Stephanie Anderson, David English, Nina Kohn, Beth Russo, & Nora Winkelman. Gives website for more information: uniformlaws.org
November 19, 2024 at 8:26 PM
ninakohn.bsky.social
Most people don't have an advance directive. Those who do often have one that doesn't fully reflect their wishes & values. Adopting the Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act could change that.

Learn more at this free webinar Nov. 20th: tinyurl.com/2fuw3f7s

#medsky #hapc #endoflife #elderlaw
Image advertising a webinar on the Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act hosted by the Uniform Law Commission. The images lists webinar speakers: Stephanie Anderson, David English, Nina Kohn, Beth Russo, and Nora Winkelman.
November 12, 2024 at 6:48 PM
ninakohn.bsky.social
Happy to share that the new edition of my #ElderLaw casebook was just published! It includes expanded coverage of intergenerational justice issues.

#legaled #aging
Image of red, hardcover textbook entitled "Elder Law: Practice, Policy, and Problems"
October 17, 2024 at 2:37 PM
ninakohn.bsky.social
Taught my final torts class of the semester at Cornell Law yesterday. At the end, peer mentors greeted my students with cupcakes to celebrate the end of their first semester of law school. It was a sweet reminder that small gestures can have a big impact on a sense of community.
Image of a carrot cupcake on torts casebook.
December 1, 2023 at 4:11 PM
ninakohn.bsky.social
So happy to announce my new article in the William & Mary Law Review! It shows how regulators can leverage existing law to address our country’s nursing home crisis.
What a pleasure it was to work with my fabulous coauthors
--all fellows with @SolomonCtrYLS. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
.
Image of green and white reprint of a law review article. It shows the article's title ("Using What We Have: How Existing Legal Authorities Can Help Fix America's Nursing Home Crisis") and all author names (Nina A. Kohn, Adrianna Duggan, Justin Cole & Nada Aljassar).
November 30, 2023 at 3:41 PM