Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-29-2019
Abstract
This post discusses surgeon Atul Gawande’s wonderful book, Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, which critiques the way that the medical profession helps elderly patients make decisions. The post notes similarities with lawyers’ interactions with clients to help them make decisions in legal cases. It argues that Dr. Gawande’s prescriptions for medical practice also are relevant to legal practice. Lawyers generally should do a better job of listening to their clients, providing reasonably clear and accurate information about potential risks and benefits, helping them make hard decisions, and respecting their autonomy.
Recommended Citation
John Lande,
Helping People Make Hard Decisions – And Making Them Ourselves
(2019).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/fac_blogs/29