Getting Healthy in the Law

What a relief to know what I am doing this summer!  Of course I still have to figure out how to support myself through it as my internship with the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence is unpaid.  I didn't intend for law school to be lucrative for me, but there is still a need to cover the basics -- rent and food.  I am basically putting my hopes on a Public Interest grant from the law school.  I am particularly excited to have a legal mentor who is a career attorney.  

My internship choice is part of my efforts to build a specialty of purpose in my law school education.  First and foremost I need to learn how to write and speak well -- in legal terms.  One of my struggles has been unlearning my long acquired skills in these areas to be able to effectively execute them in the legal realm.  Secondly, I feel it is to my benefit to develop a knowledge base in a particular area of law.  I am careful not to tailor my "expertise" too narrowly.  Thus far I have been focusing on issues related to the health of the individual.  

Health law is a growing field.  Not one to disappear anytime soon and an area of law that affects us all.  I am trying to take advantage of opportunities to learn more about health law and the health industry in general.    

I interviewed with ABC for Health, Inc. (a non-profit firm) that provides direct service to clients, provides community education, and does legal advocacy.  An internship with them would provide a broad introduction to health law.  They offer multiple opportunities to work with them, so I asked them to hold my resume and will try to work with them during the academic year as opposed to the summer.   

Last week I attended a reception at Quarles & Brady where I spoke with some of the attorneys about my interest in health law.  It was particularly useful to speak with someone who directly works in this area now.  Health law is so broad.  Not being firm-centric it was extremely valuable to think about the ways in which I may be limiting myself by not considering the positive work firms do related to the health industry.  

Law Students for Reproductive Justice (LSRJ) also co-hosted a condom casino last week to raise money for two women's health projects in Africa.  LSRJ was the first student organization I joined in the law school, and I am so glad I did.  Without a doubt it has been the most influential, non-classroom experience I have had this year.  This semester I have participated in educational programs sponsored by the medical school, attended a rally to support a UW abortion clinic, been a guest on campus radio "Gender Talk", and helped raise funds for health projects in Africa.  LSRJ allows me to put to action now why I am in law school.  LSRJ has been a great outlet for getting to know other students on campus, too.  

I think the Patient Partnership Program, a clinic involving medical, pharmacy, and law students, would be another great opportunity to learn about health law while building relationships across campus.  Unfortunately there is no funding for this clinic, so it wasn't a choice for me this summer.  Instead, I hope to be able to take advantage of it during an academic year.  In addition, I am going to check out the public health program to see if there are any courses which would be particularly useful in building my knowledge.  I figure it will serve me well to leave law school with as big as a network as I can create, including those working in other areas of the health industry.