Kate Mewhinney

Kate Mewhinney

Professor Emeritus

Former Clinical Professor Kate Mewhinney was the managing attorney of The Elder Law Clinic, where she supervised upper level law students in representing actual clients in civil matters. She was Certified as an Elder Law Attorney by both the National Elder Law Foundation and the N.C. State Bar Board of Legal Specialization. Kate was a Fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. On the state level, she was Chair of the N.C. Bar Association's Elder Law Section and was a Certified Superior Court Mediator with additional certification to mediate guardianship and estate disputes. Kate was also an Associate in the School of Medicine's Department of Internal Medicine (Section of Geriatrics and Gerontology). She was rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings, the highest rating available for attorneys. Her teaching goals were to inspire law students to work for social justice and strive for excellence in their legal work.

Twitter: @KateMewhinney


Education

  • JD, Northeastern University School of Law, 1978
  • BA in History, cum laude, Tufts University (following a year at the American College in Paris), 1973

Publications

Book Chapters

  • State-of-the-Art Problem-Solving: Mediation of Guardianship Disputes, in Comparative Perspectives on Adult Guardianship (Kimberley Dayton 2013).
  • Geriatric Care: Elder Law in the Health Care Setting with Eric J. Hardt, M.D., in Poverty, Health and Law: Readings and Cases for Medical-Legal Partnership (Elizabeth Tobin Tyler 2011).
  • Medical-Legal Partnerships and the Older Patient, in Poverty, Health and Law: Readings and Cases for Medical-Legal Partnership (Liz Tobin Tyler, JD; Ellen Lawton, JD; Megan Sandel, MD; Barry Zuckerman, MD 2011).
  • Legal Aspects of Geriatric Medicine, in Principles of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology (1993).

Articles

  • Into the Elder Law Trenches at Wake Forest University School of Law, Vol. 33/No.3/Summer 2018 Virginia Center on Aging publication, Age in Action.
  • Book Review of Theories on Law and Ageing: The Jurisprudence of Elder Law, Vol. 6, No. 1 Theories on Law and Ageing: The Jurisprudence of Elder Law 83-87 (2010).
  • "The Human Touch: The Clinical Teaching of Elder Law", 40 Stetson L. Review 151-235 (2010).
  • May I Introduce You to Your Lawyer: How We Built the Legal Resources We Will Need, 19 Experience Magazine (ABA Senior Lawyers Division) 13-19, 39 (2009).
  • Board Certification in Elder Law: Coming Soon to Your State Bar, Vol. 7 1 (2008).
  • Ideals and High Heels: A Look at Wake Forest University's Elder Law Clinic, 11 North Carolina State Bar Journal (2006).
  • Gifts with Powers of Attorney -- Are We Giving the Public What it Wants?, 35 Wake Forest Jurist Magazine 14-17 (2005).
  • Variables Predicting the Completion of an Advance Directive by Older Adults, 6 Annals of Long-Term Care (1998).
  • Book Review of Advanced Medical Directives, by Alan J. Lieberson, J.D., M.D., VII The Elder Law Report (1996).
  • A Youthful Approach to Elder Law, 6 Experience Magazine (ABA Senior Lawyers Division) 16-20 (1996).
  • The Deed That Bites Back: Why You Need to Know About Medicaid, 15 N.C. Bar Asso. Real Property Section Newsletter (1994).

Other

  • How Can N.C.'s Mediation Programs Address the Needs of an Aging Population? (Part 2), The Peacemaker (newsletter of the N.C. Bar Association Dispute Resolution section) (April 2018).
  • How Can N.C.'s Mediation Programs Address the Needs of an Aging Population? (Part 1), The Peacemaker (newsletter of the N.C. Bar Association Dispute Resolution section) (October 2017).
  • Advance Care Planning, Web-GEM (Geriatric Education Module), POGOe - Portal of Geriatric Online Education.
  • Elder Law Clinic Newsletter - Spring 2016 (May 2016).
  • Member of planning committee, Aging Re-Imagined Symposium, March 17-18, 2016. Wake Forest University. (March 17, 2016).
  • Program Planner, Joint CLE of NCBA Law Practice Management and GP, Small Firm, and Solo Sections; Cary, Feb. 17, 2006. (February 17, 2016).
  • The Protected Consumer Credit Freeze: A New Tool to Prevent and Stop Financial Exploitation of Incapacitated Adults (October 2016).
  • "What is Elder Law?" (manuscript for 2013 Basics of Elder Law, a CLE of the NC Bar Foundation), Part of a one day continuing legal education program sponsored by the NC Bar Foundation and the NC Bar Association Elder Law Section (October 2013).
  • Sponsored multi-disciplinary program to train health care providers how to spot elder exploitation., The training is part of a national initiative, the Elder Investment Fraud and Financial Exploitation Prevention program (EIFFE). Co-sponsors of the event included the N.C. Bar Association Elder Law Section and the Section of Geriatrics of the Wake Forest School of Medicine. (March 2012).
  • The Rights of Older Persons: A Collection of International Documents. (September 2008).
  • North Carolina Tries Mediation for Estate and Guardianship Disputes, Bifocal (newsletter of the ABA Commission on Law and Aging) (February 2007).
  • The Mediator: Coming Soon to a Guardianship Case Near You?, Elder Law (newsletter of the N.C. Bar Association Elder Law Section) (March 2005).
  • Three Simple Steps Lawyers Can Take to Protect a Home: Medicaid and the 'Intent to Return Home' Rule, Elder Law (newsletter of the N.C. Bar Association Elder Law Section) (March 2003).
  • Course planner, Seventh Annual Elder Law Symposium, N.C. Bar Association, Cary, N.C., Feb. 2003. (February 2003).
  • Elder Law Becoming Popular Specialization for Recent Grads, Elder Law (newsletter of the N.C. Bar Association Elder Law Section) (June 2002).
  • Medicaid Myths, Elder Law (newsletter of the N.C. Bar Association Elder Law Section) (March 2002).
  • Prosecuting and Preventing Financial Abuse Under Powers of Attorney, Elder Law (newsletter of the N.C. Bar Association Elder Law Section) (January 2002).
  • Guest Editor, special issue on elder law developments in other countries, NAELA Quarterly (The Journal of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys) (October 2000).
  • Special issue on elder law developments in other countries, NAELA Quarterly (The Journal of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys) (October 2000).
  • Elder Law Symposium, Wake Forest Law Review (July 1997).
  • Author of Amicus Curiae brief for the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, filed with N.C. Supreme Court in 1996, in First Healthcare Corporation et al v. Nell H. Rettinger et al., Reported at 467 SE2d 243. (January 1996).

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Kate Mewhinney
Contact Information

Expertise
  • Clinical Legal Education
  • Disability Law
  • Elder Law