ABSTRACT Elder abuse is a serious and under-detected problem. Law reform agencies and legal profession regulatory authorities have called for action to ensure that lawyers meet their ethical obligations to older clients, including identifying and acting on risk factors for abuse. Screening tools to detect situations of elder abuse exist, but they are targeted mainly at health and social care practitioners. Drawing on international literature, this article identifies and discusses screening tools that could be adapted for use by legal professionals. Three general categories of screening are relevant for lawyers who serve older clients: (1) elder abuse screening tools that cover all domains of abuse or target specific behaviours, such as financial exploitation; (2) screening for decision-making capacity, especially taking account of the impact of abuse or neglect on capacity; and (3) screening to probe the suitability of a person to act in a formal decision-making role for an older person. The article emphasises the importance of implementing screening processes and follow-up actions in a manner that fosters a therapeutic relationship between the older client and the lawyer. It concludes with recommendations for further research in this important area.

中文翻译：

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虐待老人和律师的道德责任：将筛查纳入实践

摘要 虐待老人是一个严重且未被发现的问题。法律改革机构和法律职业监管机构呼吁采取行动，确保律师履行对老年客户的道德义务，包括识别滥用风险因素并采取行动。存在检测虐待老人情况的筛查工具，但它们主要针对健康和社会保健从业人员。本文借鉴国际文献，确定并讨论了可供法律专业人士使用的筛选工具。三类筛查与为老年客户服务的律师相关：(1) 老年人虐待筛查工具，涵盖所有虐待领域或针对特定行为，例如经济剥削；(2) 决策能力筛选，特别是考虑到虐待或忽视对能力的影响；(3) 筛选以探讨一个人是否适合担任老年人的正式决策角色。文章强调了以促进老年委托人与律师之间治疗关系的方式实施筛选程序和后续行动的重要性。最后，对这一重要领域的进一步研究提出了建议。