Health care represents the greatest aggregate area of non-military spending in the United States on both the federal and state levels. It also represents the primary cost for business outside product and service based expenditures. Of course, health care is critical in maintaining our ability to seek and fulfill our personal and professional goals. Hence, Health Law & Policy is an important area that touches virtually all aspects of economic and social facets of society.

The Health Law & Policy concentration is geared toward providing a sound grounding in Health Law & Policy, using didactic processes, experiential learning, and, most importantly, research and writing. Because the nature of health care illustrates some of the most rapidly developing and changing interactions of complex factors, the ability to synthesize and address issues in health care through broad study and research is essential to understand and formulate solutions to the most difficult health care issues of today and tomorrow.

Candidates for the Health Law & Policy Concentration should file a Concentration Proposal with the Executive Director of the Institute of Health Law Studies (“Executive Director”) or his/her designee early in their second year of law school, preferably prior to the third trimester. The proposal must be filed at latest before registration for the student’s fourth trimester.

The Health Law & Policy concentration requires successful completion of course work, scholarly writing, a major project, a pro bono, and internship experience.

I. Course Requirements

In addition to completing all courses required for graduation, candidates for this area of concentration must earn a minimum grade of 79 or higher in each of the six courses selected from the requirements set out below.

The area of concentration will carry an Honors distinction where the combined average of the grades for the six courses (including independent study) is 85 or higher.

All decisions with respect to satisfaction of the requirements for the Health Law & Policy concentration will be made by the Executive Director or his/her designee.

A. Core Courses – Students Must Take Any Two of the Following

Bioethics

Health Law & Policy

FDA Law

Medical Malpractice

Note: Any of the Core Courses may be counted towards the six courses required for the concentration.

B. Related Courses

Related A: Up to four courses may be taken from this section to fulfill the Related Courses requirement

Aging, Law & Public Policy

Bioethics

Biotechnology Seminar

Business Planning

Children and Families

Children and the Law

Domestic Violence Seminar

FDA Law

Health Law & Policy

Health Law: Selected Problems

Law, Medicine & Public Policy

Medical Malpractice

Mental Health Law

Problem Solving & Prevention in Health Care

Problem Solving & Preventive Law

Public Health Law

Representing Healthcare Organizations

Seminar in Child Advocacy

Survey of Health Law

Topics in Health Law: Techniques For Analysis of Contemporary Legal & Policy Problems

Related B: up to two courses may be taken from this section to fulfill the Related Courses requirement

Administrative Law

Advanced Mediation

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Business Organizations

Human Rights Law

Immigration Law

Interviewing, Counseling, and Planning

Mediation

Women & the Law

II. Scholarly Writing Requirement

Each candidate is required to complete a scholarly writing paper in the Health Law & Policy concentration. A scholarly writing produced in a seminar as part of CWSL’s Scholarly Writing Requirement may be counted so long as it applies to a topic from either Core Courses or Related Courses and relates directly to Health Law & Policy and receives approval by the Executive Director or his/her designee. Note that although a CWSL Scholarly Writing Requirement seminar paper or an independent study project may fulfill the requirements of this section, the Major Project Requirement, infra, must still be separately fulfilled.

If a candidate wishes to fulfill the requirements of this section using a paper written for a seminar, the proposed topic must be submitted in writing to the Executive Director or his/her designee for approval at the same time it is submitted to the seminar professor for approval. If a candidate wishes to fulfill the requirements of this section through an independent study project, the proposed topic must be submitted in writing the Executive Director or his/her designee before submission for administrative credit approval. In either case, the completed paper must be submitted to the Executive Director or his/her designee for certification that it meets the requirements stated in this section.

III. Major Project Requirement

Each candidate is required to complete a "Major Project" involving research and writing in the area of health law & policy to fulfill this portion of the Health Law & Policy concentration. This study and resultant manuscript must assess and propose solutions to a current Health Law & Policy issue, must be of publishable quality, and must be submitted for publication to at least one academic legal, medical, or public policy journal. Ideally, this work should also be presented at a conference, academic meeting, legislative hearing, or other substantive forum. The project must involve some level of empirical research, that is, be based in part on statistical evidence, the observation of the writer, field work in the form of interviews or other data collection, or the like.

The Major Project may be completed in a seminar as part of CWSL’s Scholarly Writing Requirement, as an independent study, or as a law review project. Note that although a seminar paper or an independent study project may fulfill the Major Project Requirement, the Scholarly Writing Requirement, supra, must still be separately fulfilled.

If a candidate wishes to fulfill the requirements of this section using a paper written for a seminar, the proposed topic must be submitted in writing to the Executive Director or his/her designee for approval at the same time it is submitted to the seminar professor for approval. If a candidate wishes to fulfill the requirements of this section through an independent study project or law review project, the proposed topic must be submitted in writing to the Executive Director or his/her designee before submission for administrative credit approval. The completed paper must be submitted to the Executive Director or his/her designee for certification that it meets the requirements stated in this section.

Subject to the approval of the Executive Director, any faculty member at CWSL may supervise the Major Project, and in extraordinary circumstances candidates may request special dispensation from the Executive Director or his/her designee for professors or other individuals from other, affiliated institutions to serve as supervisors of the Major Project.

IV. Pro bono / Internship Requirement

Students must perform an internship through the Internship Program and fifty hours of pro bono work in the area of health law & policy as part of the Health Law & Policy concentration. Before beginning an internship or pro bono work in fulfillment of the requirements of this section, the students must secure the approval of the Executive Director or his/her designee.

V. Health Law & Policy IHLS/HLS Community Service

Candidates for the Health Law & Policy concentration must participate in twenty hours of Institute of Health Law Studies/Health Law Society community service. The Health Law Society is an integral part of the Institute of Health Law Studies, and engages jointly with the Institute in research, community service, and other Health Law & Policy activities. IHLS/HLS Community Service shall count toward the pro bono requirements in section IV, supra. If desired, a student may complete all of his/her pro bono / Internship Requirement through IHLS/HLS Community Service.

VI. Interdisciplinary Activities

Candidates are strongly encouraged to engage in interdisciplinary activities involving Health Law & Policy. The understanding of health care issues, their impact, and their solutions do not neatly fall within strict academic borders, and hence inter- and crossdisciplinary efforts are essential for fundamental understanding and lasting and effective solutions.