Recent Grad Honored with Fellowship

Annie Mullican, L’20, is the recipient of a prestigious Borchard Fellowship in Law & Aging for 2020-2021. For over 20 years, the Borchard Foundation has awarded up to three annual fellowships to law graduates to pursue professional careers in law and aging. 

Mullican’s interest in elder care law stemmed from her work with Professor Leigh Melton in the Medical-Legal Partnership program, serving residents at the Dominion Place independent living facilities. She was impressed by how “lawyers worked together with medical professionals, nurses, and social workers to really improve the outcome of patients and clients.”

Building on that interest, Mullican worked with Allison Held, L’96, director of VCU Health System’s Medical-Legal Partnership program, to develop a project plan for her fellowship year. Under Held’s supervision, Mullican will work with VCU Health to create and coordinate comprehensive education, outreach, and direct services to older adults and other vulnerable populations in Richmond. She’ll continue the work she started in law school of conducting clinics to provide low-income patients and families with wills, powers of attorney, and advance medical directives. 

The overall goal is to create a more prepared aging population in Richmond. In her project proposal, Mullican described the benefit of this work as two-fold: “It will provide peace of mind to our elderly and disabled community, and eliminate conflict amongst family members, confusion for clinicians, and the need for guardianships,” she explained. “I look forward to using my expertise as a lawyer to further serve the Richmond community.”

Mullican plans to start her fellowship work in September 2020. “We believe this fellowship provides an excellent opportunity for Ms. Mullican to develop her skills and knowledge in elder law, while also advancing VCU Health’s mission to improve community health and well-being,” said Held. “We look forward to welcoming Ms. Mullican to our team!”