Debra Bookout is the Directing Attorney of Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada’s Guardianship Advocacy Project, a project which guarantees the right to counsel to any person facing guardianship in our community. The vision behind the project is to ensure that guardianship is not wrongly imposed and that the least restrictive alternative to guardianship is explored so as to maximize the independence and legal rights of those facing guardianship. Debra began her work with Legal Aid Center in 2013, representing individuals who were wrongly trapped in guardianship. She served on the Commission to Study the Creation and Administration of Guardianships in Nevada’s Courts from July 2015 through September 2016 which was created to examine abuses in the State’s guardianship process. Out of that study committee came the recommendation of a right to counsel. Debra then helped grow Legal Aid Center’s Guardianship Advocacy Project to one which accepted a couple of cases to one now representing over 3,500 individuals, including minor children, while still providing vigorous advocacy. The model of representation she created was recently featured here. Prior to coming to Legal Aid Center, Debra worked at the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Las Vegas representing indigent petitioners in federal habeas corpus proceedings. She appeared in both state and federal courts on various habeas matters and argued before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on numerous occasions. Before moving to Las Vegas, Debra was an Assistant Public Defender in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she worked in the Appellate Division for six years, obtaining relief for many of her clients, and the Trial Division for five years, litigating over 45 jury trials. Debra earned a Bachelor’s degree from The University of Houston in 1986 and received her Juris Doctor from The University of Texas School of Law in 1992.

Jim Berchtold joined Justice in Aging’s Elder Rights team in 2022 to focus on the numerous issues surrounding guardianship and guardianship reform. Prior to joining Justice in Aging, Jim was a directing attorney at Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada where he led a team of attorneys fighting for the economic rights of low-income Nevadans. He also developed and managed Legal Aid Center’s Guardianship Advocacy Program, which provides direct legal representation to older adults and people with disabilities who are facing or under guardianship, and the Civil Law Self-Help Center, a court-based center that provides free legal assistance to self-represented litigants. Before his public service career, Jim was a partner with a regional law firm where he practiced commercial and corporate litigation. Jim graduated magna cum laude from the University of Utah in 1992 and from the University of Utah College of Law in 1996, where he was a William H. Leary Scholar and on the Board of Editors of the Utah Law Review.

Sara Planthaber, JD, MSW, is an Aging Services Program Specialist with the Office of Elder Justice and Adult Protective Services in the Administration for Community Living, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. At ACL, Sara works on elder rights and elder justice programs, including legal assistance enhancement programs, highest state court guardianship reforms, economic security, and Older Americans Act initiatives. Prior to joining ACL, Sara was a staff attorney at Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania in West Chester, PA, where she handled matters in family law, disaster relief, domestic violence, property tax, and public benefits. She also conducted outreach at food banks and the local department of aging, and was the legal representative on several multi-agency case conferencing teams.