Alison is the Director and Managing Attorney of the Michigan Elder Justice Initiative and the elder law attorney at the Michigan Poverty Law Program. She is also a consulting attorney for the Crime Victims Legal Assistance Project-Elder Justice. Alison engages in systemic advocacy on behalf of older adults and people with disabilities on issues related to individual rights, long term care, public benefits, and elder abuse. Previously, Alison was a staff attorney at Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service (now Disability Rights Michigan); a staff attorney, director of the Elderly Law Project, and Director of Planning at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia; and served as a law clerk in federal district court.
Alison is co-editor and one of the authors of Advising Clients on Elder and Disability Law (ICLE, 2018). She serves as the co-chair of the Medical Care Advisory Council and was appointed to serve on the Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Task Force and the Governor’s Nursing Home Workforce Stabilization Council. She is serving her second term as President of the Governing Board of the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long Term Care and was a Commissioner of the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging. Alison also served for seven years on the adjunct faculty of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and for more than 20 years on the adjunct faculty of the University of Michigan Law School. Alison received her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her J.D. from Yale Law School.
Alison can be reached at hirschel@meji.org or (517) 827-8023.