Gadget of the Month

Bose Frames | Bill Ramsey & Phillip Hampton

If you have heard us speak this year, you know that we are all about immersive technology these days. The key to immersive technology is the removal of barriers to utilize technology in our daily lives. The less devices we have to physically hold in our hands and the less buttons we have to push, the better, in our view. So, it was no surprise that we were attracted to our latest gadget, the Bose® Frames audio sunglasses. These specially equipped sunglasses allow us to listen to audio content from our phone, take calls, and even dictate commands completely hands free and without any headphones or ear buds. Talk about freedom!

First of all, the Bose Frames look like regular sunglasses to the casual observer. They remind us of the traditional Ray Ban look with the classic black styling. If you look more closely at them, you will notice that the arms of the sunglasses that rest on your ears are a little thicker than normal sunglasses because they house the electronics that make the frames work. Each arm contains small speakers along with a microphone that allows the wearer to both hear and speak handsfree. While these electronics add a little bit of heft to the sunglass frame, they do not feel excessively heavy on your face. We have worn our pair casually while driving and also while walking or running outside and have not felt that the frames were too heavy.

The Bose Frames connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth; and then you can listen to any content from your phone via the speakers located in the frame arms. The music or other audio content from your phone is delivered to your ears using something that Bose calls their Bose Open Ear AudioTM. The sound is surprisingly good for not being a device that fits over your ear like a headphone or in your ear canal like an ear bud. We especially like using our Bose Frames when taking a walk to our favorite restaurant at lunch so we can listen to a podcast or catch up on our voicemails all hands free while still being able to hear sounds from the physical environment around us. Complete ambient noise cancellation is great if you are sitting on a noisy plane but is not optimal if you are navigating downtown traffic on foot. So, we joyfully wear our smart sunglasses while walking to court or to the office; and no one on the street really knows that we are listening to music, voicemails, podcast, or whatever. Even if we pass somebody in a close encounter on the street, the person next to us cannot hear the audio from the Bose Frames. The only clue they might have that we are either using a smart device or we’re crazy is when they see us talking to no one in particular, or dancing like nobody is watching.

Yes, the mic on the Bose Frames is good enough to carry on a phone conversation much like you would with your phone on speakerphone mode. We did notice on one occasion when we were taking a call while walking outside on a particularly windy day, that the other party could hear a lot of wind noise over the mic. Of course, this happens also when using either Bill’s Air Pods or Phil’s Galaxy Buds.

The Bose Frames come in several different styles from classic looks to more stylish and sporty looks. The lenses on the frames can be interchanged for different colors and gradients. On its website, Bose also indicates that it can provide frames with prescription lenses via special order.

Bose touts the battery life on the Frames to be up to 5.5 hours. We have not challenged that limit yet as we typically don’t wear them more than an hour at a time. The sunglasses come with a proprietary charging cable. We wish that the charging cable was something more standard like a USB-C cable, but that is a minor irritation.

All in all, we are very pleased with our new “immersive” tech gadget. Contrasted with the garish Bluetooth earpieces that executives used to wear conspicuously around the office ostensibly to indicate how busy they were; we love the incognito nature of the Bose Frames that lets us use our tech while appearing to be completely unencumbered to those around us.

- Bill & Phil n

port on capacity.33 Although the report is prima facie evidence of lack of capacity, it is also hearsay. Typically, however, no objection to the report is filed.

It has been the author’s experience that some people are so obviously incapacitated or are so well known to their regular doctors that an internist is fine for performing the evaluation. If it is a closer question, one can turn to neurologists or psychiatrists. A “forensic” doctor is a doctor who will come to court.

Many physicians would agree that a neuropsychological examination can be extremely helpful. A neuropsychologist administers a battery of tests to determine intellect, reading comprehension, language usage and understanding, attention/concentration, processing speed, learning, memory, executive functioning, mood, and personality.

How Do the Model Rules of Conduct Affect Our Understanding of Our Duty as Attorneys?

The American Bar Association (ABA) Model Rules of Professional Conduct were adopted by the ABA House of Delegates in 1983. Tennessee adopted (with some modifications) the Model Rules in 2002.34

Rule 1.14: Client with Diminished Capacity, states as follows: (a) When a client’s capacity to make adequately considered decisions in connection with a representation is diminished, whether because of minority, mental impairment, or for some other reason, the lawyer shall, as far as reasonably possible, maintain a normal client-lawyer relationship with the client. (b) When the lawyer reasonably believes that the client has diminished capacity, is at risk of substantial

physical, financial, or other harm unless action is taken and cannot adequately act in the client’s own interest, the lawyer may take reasonably necessary protective action, including consulting with individuals or entities that have the ability to take action to protect the client and, in appropriate cases, seeking the appointment of a guardian ad litem, conservator, or guardian.35 As part (b) of the rule sets out, therefore, a lawyer can have a duty to take protective action.

Comment (5) under the topic Taking Protective Action is especially enlightening in the situation where an attorney-ad-litem is appointed to represent the respondent in a conservatorship action and the client has been diagnosed with dementia. The duty to take protective action comes into play when the “the client lacks sufficient capacity to communicate or to make adequately considered decisions in connection with the representation.”36 The comment concludes with the following sentence: In taking any protective action, the lawyer should be guided by such factors as the wishes and values of the client to the extent known, the client’s best interests and the goals of intruding into the client’s decision-making autonomy to the least extent feasible, maximizing client capacities and respecting the client’s family and social connections.37

Accordingly, the wishes and autonomous decision-making of a client with dementia are important, but so are the client’s best interests.

How Should We Advocate Then as Retained or Appointed Counsel in a Conservatorship Action?

The first question for the attorney ad litem in a conservatorship case will always be: Is the client incapacitated? The answer to that question will determine whether we must abide by the client’s decisions about the objectives of the representation or whether we are also called upon to consider the client’s best interests under Rule 1.14 of the Rules of Professional Conduct.

It is quite common that the client has said: “I don’t need a conservatorship!”38 There is even a medical term for our inability as humans to understand and perceive our illness and the deficits that our condition may be causing: Anosognosia. The client’s persistent belief that he or she does not need help may be the very reason for the conservatorship action.

Under the guidance of the ABA and American Psychological Association, we must exercise our judgment from the outset, even in determining whether it is a close case and the client needs an evaluation by a professional.39 In the author’s opinion, if it is obvious that our client is demented, then Rule 1.14 applies, and we need to consider our client’s best interests in going forward.

What if an attorney ad litem is not certain about whether the client is incapacitated; i.e., needs the assistance of the court? Depending on your client’s resources, you will need to have your client evaluated by another “physician . . . psychologist or senior psychological examiner.”40 If there are conflicting evaluations about whether the client lacks capacity, one can ethically advance the client’s expressed wish not to have a

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