Exhibit 5.1




               [Jenkens & Gilchrist Parker Chapin, LLP Letterhead]






                                  May 13, 2002

American Medical Alert Corp.
3265 Lawson Boulevard
Oceanside,  NY  11572


Dear Gentlemen:

         We have acted as counsel to American  Medical  Alert Corp.,  a New York
corporation (the "Company"), in connection with a Registration Statement on Form
S-3 (the  "Registration  Statement"),  being  filed  by the  Company  under  the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Act"), with the Securities and Exchange
Commission relating to the potential resale of (i) 910,000 shares (the "Shares")
of the Company's common stock, par value $0.01 per share ("Common Stock"), which
were issued  pursuant to a stock and warrant  purchase  agreement (the "Purchase
Agreement"),  dated as of March 27,  2002,  by and  between  the Company and the
selling  shareholders  identified in the  Registration  Statement  (the "Selling
Shareholders"),  (ii)  227,500  shares of Common  Stock (the  "Investor  Warrant
Shares"), which may be issued by the Company pursuant to the exercise of certain
warrants issued to the Selling  Shareholders (the "Investor  Warrants") pursuant
to the Purchase  Agreement,  and (iii) 113,750 shares of Common Stock  (together
with the Investor Warrant Shares, the "Warrant Shares"),  which may be issued by
the Company pursuant to the exercise of certain warrants issued to the Company's
placement agent (together with the Investor Warrants, the "Warrants").

         In rendering the opinions  expressed below, we have examined  originals
or  copies,  satisfactory  to us, of (i) the  Registration  Statement,  (ii) the
Company's Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, (iii) the Company's By-laws,
(iv) the Purchase Agreement,  and (v) the written consent of the Company's board
of directors  authorizing  the  issuance of the Shares,  the  Warrants,  and the
Warrant  Shares.  We have also  reviewed  such  other  matters of law as we have
deemed relevant and necessary as a basis for the opinion hereinafter  expressed.
In all of our  examinations,  we have  assumed the  accuracy of all  information
furnished to us, the authenticity of all documents  submitted to us as originals
and the conformity with the original






                     Jenkens & Gilchrist Parker Chapin LLP


American Medical Alert Corp.
May 13, 2002
Page 2


documents of documents  submitted to us as copies, as well as the genuineness of
all signatures on all such documents.

         Finally,  we are counsel  admitted to practice only in the State of New
York, and we express no opinions as to the applicable  laws of any  jurisdiction
other than those of the State of New York, and the United States of America.

         Based upon the  foregoing,  we are of the  opinion  that (i) the Shares
have been validly issued,  fully paid and  non-assessable,  and (ii) the Warrant
Shares,  when issued in  accordance  with the terms of the  Warrants,  including
payment of the exercise price therefor,  will be validly issued,  fully paid and
non-assessable.

         We  hereby  consent  to the use of our name  under the  caption  "Legal
Matters" in the prospectus constituting a part of the Registration Statement and
to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the  Registration  Statement.  In
giving this consent,  we do not thereby admit that we are within the category of
persons  whose  consent is required  under  Section 7 of the Act,  the rules and
regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission  promulgated thereunder or
Item 509 of Regulation S-K promulgated under the Act.

                                 Very truly yours,



                                 /s/ Jenkens & Gilchrist Parker Chapin, LLP
                                 JENKENS & GILCHRIST PARKER CHAPIN, LLP