Recognized both locally and nationally as a leading authority on planning and health carefor the elderly, Steve Feldman practices law in the Philadelphia area firm of Feldman & Feldman. He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Temple University, Beasley School of Law. He has been appointed as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the state of North Dakota to represent its Department of Human Services in the appeal of Geston v. Olson, No. 11-CV-044, 2012 WL 1409344 (D.N.D. 2012) pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Steve has a long and unique history of leadership and advocacy with SeniorLAW Center. He began as a legal assistant while attending law school in the evening when the organization, then known as Senior Citizen Judicare Project, or Judicare, was less than one year old in 1978. He then became its Executive Director upon graduation from law school. During his tenure, he expanded the program by tripling its grant support, hiring its first full time staff attorney, three full time paralegals and a full time secretary. The Project also expanded services from the central portion of the city to the entire city of Philadelphia . By the end of his tenure as Executive Director, the American Bar Association’s Commission on Legal Problems of the Elderly recognized the Project as one of the preeminent legal service programs for the elderly in the country. Steve left the staff of Judicare in 1984 to begin his own private practice focusing on law and aging, but his powerful impact on our work continued. Steve joined the Board of Directors in 1985 and became Board Chair in 1993, a position he continued until 1998. He often takes credit for hiring the current long-serving Executive Director in 1997, and was instrumental in her transition and the organization’s enduring growth and success. After 26 years on the Board, Steve stepped down from board service. He continues to be a critically important resource for our staff and leadership (and continues his unique tradition of taking SeniorLAW Center’s summer legal interns each year to the Palm for lunch — an outing few nonprofit interns enjoy).
Steve has also served on the Advisory Panel for the National Institute on Aging’s Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center (ADEAR), and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Alzheimer’s Association of Delaware Valley (where he formerly served as Vice President) and the Board of Directors of Federation Housing, Inc. of Philadelphia. He previously served as President of the Board of Directors of the Alzheimer’s Association of Southeast Pennsylvania, and as Treasurer of the Board of Directors of Community Legal Services. He also formerly served on the Board of Directors of the Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly (CARIE) and the Long Term Care Advisory Board of the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging (PCA), the Philadelphia Area Agency on Aging. Mr. Feldman was the first chair of the Philadelphia Task Force on Elder Abuse and a draftor of the Pennsylvania Protection of the Elderly Act which was signed into law by Governor Casey in 1987.
Steve continues his regional and national advocacy on issues of law and aging, which has powerful impact on SeniorLAW Center’s work and client communities. Some of his is significant litigation includes:
Some of his significant litigation includes:
Lewis v. Richman, et al., 501 F. Supp.2d 671 (E.D. Pa. 2007) (Motion to Dismiss), Lewis
v. Alexander, 276 F.R.D. 421 (E.D. Pa. 2011) (Merits) aff’d in part and rev’d in part 685 F. 3d
325 (3d Cir. 2012) cert. denied 133 S. Ct. 933 (2013), a case of first impression certified as a class action challenging the constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s special needs trust law which unlawfully restricted the rights of the disabled to establish and administer special needs trusts.
Wagner v. Fair Acres, 49 F.3d 1002 (3rd Cir. 1995), a case of first impression filed in
1994 under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 seeking declaratory and injunctive relief from discrimination against an Alzheimer’s Disease patient by a county nursing facility for its refusal to admit the patient because of the difficult behaviors associated with the disease.
Cleary v. Waldman, 959 F. Supp. 222 (D.N.J. 1997), aff’d. 167 F. 3d 801 (3d. Cir. 1999),
cert. denied 528 U.S. 870 (1999), an action challenging the adequacy and application of New
Jersey’s implementation of the Spousal Impoverishment provisions of the Medical Assistance
Act.
Hurly v. Houstoun, et al., Civ. Action No. 93-3666 (E.D. Pa.), a case of first impression
when filed as a class action in 1993 on behalf of a class consisting of all nursing home residents
with spouses living in the community. The action challenged the adequacy and application of
Pennsylvania’s implementation of the Spousal Impoverishment provisions of the Medical
Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §1396r-5.
Chalfin v. Beverly Enterprises, 745 F. Supp. 1117 (E.D. PA 1990), a case of first
impression filed in 1988 under alternative theories of tort, breach of contract and consumer
protection violations under Pennsylvania law for discharging a nursing facility resident after
applying for Medical Assistance. Established the right of nursing facility residents in
Pennsylvania to file suit for violations of nursing home residents’ rights guaranteed under the
Medical Assistance Act pursuant to the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade
Practices and Consumer Protection Act.
Buck v. Com., Dept. of Public Welfare, 566 A.2d 1269 (Cmwlth. Ct. 1989) Case of first
impression in Pennsylvania unsuccessfully seeking to establish a spouse’s property interest in her
institutionalized husband’s pension for purposes of determining eligibility for medical assistance.
Subsequent legislation passed by Congress protected spouses’ interests in the institutionalized
spouse’s income and resources.
We are honored to formally express gratitude to our great leader, advocate and partner Steve Feldman, with his induction as a member of the inaugural class of the SeniorLAW Center Hall of Fame — for a lifetime of leadership and his unmatched dedication to pursuing justice for elders.
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