Attorney Contributors

Andy Braver is a health care attorney and candidate for the Master of Laws in Health Law degree at Seton Hall University School of Law.

Prior to entering the LL.M. program in August 2010, Andy spent five years as a healthcare provider, running a state of the art medical diagnostic imaging center.  During that time, he dealt with many important health law issues faces by providers today, including Fraud and Abuse, Medicare and Medicaid licensing and reimbursement, state and private accreditation organizations, private payers, electronic health records, and HIPAA and other privacy issues, to name just a few.

Graduating from Union College in 1991, and New York Law School in 1995, Andy served as Executive Notes and Comments Editor of the New York Law School Journal of International and Comparative Law.  He has broad experience outside of the law, having worked in the world of professional sports and finance.

Andy is licensed to practice as an attorney in New York. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and three children.  Andy may be reached via email at andrew.braver@student.shu.edu.

Amy Catapano is a health care attorney who recently completed her Masters of Law (LL.M.) in Health Law at Seton Hall Law. She received her Juris Doctor degree, graduating cum laude, from Seton Hall Law in 2007 and thereafter served in a clerkship in the Superior Court of New Jersey with the Honorable Barbara A. Curran in Hudson County. During law school, she was a member of the Journal of Sports & Entertainment Law, the St. Thomas More Society, and held an externship with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish.

Ms. Catapano wrote her LL.M. thesis on the HITECH Act and data breach insurance. She is interested in health information technology, HIPAA and privacy law, and health care reform. She is licensed to practice in New Jersey and New York, and is a member of the NJSBA Health and Hospital Law Section and the NYSBA Health Law Section.  She has significant experience in medical malpractice litigation, as well as insurance defense and health law matters, having worked at a boutique defense firm in Milburn, New Jersey and in New York, New York.  She can be reached at amycatapano@gmail.com.

Conrad Dillon is a health care attorney and candidate for the Master of Laws in Health Law degree at Seton Hall University School of Law.  He is the first recipient of Seton Hall Law’s Garfunkel, Wild & Travis Health LL.M. Scholarship.

Drawing upon his experience as Health Advocacy Fellow with Medicare Rights Center, Mr. Dillon was an Editor of Health Reform Watch and contributed primarily on issues related to Senior Living and Medicare.  Mr. Dillon graduated with honors from University of Dayton School of Law.  In law school, he received the CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Health Care Law and the Pro Bono Service Award.

Mr. Dillon has been involved in public interest work for many years.  He was a legal extern with Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. in Dayton, Ohio, where he performed substantial research and analysis on issues involving consumer protection, housing discrimination, and access to health care.  He has also worked for Legal Aid of Western Ohio, Inc. and Music for America.

Mr. Dillon is licensed to practice as an attorney in New York. He may be reached via email at Joseph.dillon@student.shu.edu

Justin M. Goldstein recently graduated from Gonzaga University School of Law and is a candidate for a Master of Laws (LL.M) degree in Health Law at Seton Hall University School of Law.  Justin Goldstein specializes in health law and policy relating to private insurance matters and fraud and abuse. His LL.M thesis will concern current and unresolved issues dealing with the Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark Law, and False Claims Act.

During law school at Gonzaga University School of Law, Justin Goldstein worked at a low-income elder law clinic counseling clients who had various consumer law issues.  This experience provided Justin the opportunity to litigate cases from start to finish. He also served as clerk to the Honorable Gregg Tripp at Spokane County District Court and was a board member of Gonzaga University’s Health Law Society, serving as Vice President in 2007 - 2008, and President in 2008. As such, he was a frequent attendee of conferences and events hosted by the Washington State Society of Healthcare Attorneys (WSSHA) relating to Stark Law regulations and Economic Credentialing as well as the National Consumer Rights Litigation Conference in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Goldstein is an active member of the American Health Lawyers Association and the American Hospital Association.

He may be reached via email at Justin.Goldstein@student.shu.edu

Valerie Gutmann Seton Hall University School of Law, Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy, Faculty, Research. Ms. Gutmann joined the Center in 2009. Her initial research and writing will focus on public policy issues related to institutional oversight of health care quality. Her interests include the interface between health care, medicine, ethics and public policy.

Valerie came to Seton Hall from Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where she represented, among other clients, pharmaceutical companies in a variety of litigation and IP matters. Her experience included assorted patent infringement cases for both generic and branded pharmaceuticals, as well as various FDA-related matters. Prior to law school, Valerie worked at the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the ABA Coordinating Group on Bioethics & the Law.

Valerie Gutmann graduated from Harvard Law School, where she served as an author and Editor-in-Chief of the Recent Developments Section of the Journal on Law, Medicine, and Ethics. Her independent research focused on the legal and public policy issues arising from pharmacogenomics. She graduated from the Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs and Public Policy at Princeton University, magna cum laude, in 2001, where she was co-president of the Princeton Bioethics Forum.

She may be reached via email at Valerie.Gutmann@shu.edu

Tara J. Hopper recently graduated from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center, where she received her Juris Doctor (J.D.) with a concentration in Health Law, and has a Masters of Social Work (M.S.W.) with an emphasis in mental health from Barry University.  Tara Hopper is a candidate for a Master of Laws (LL.M) degree in Health Law at Seton Hall University School of Law. Tara Hopper has a strong background in mental health, public policy, and has become a strong advocate for creating awareness of methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) after her best friend died of MRSA at the age of 33 in 2008. She is researching various legislative remedies for model legislation to prevent MRSA and to protect MRSA patients.

Before law school, Tara Hopper worked as a mental health therapist, a mental health advocate and legislative advocate for the Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities, Inc., and as the senior legislative aide to Florida State Senator Walter “Skip” Campbell while he was acting as Senate Chair of the Committee on Children and Families. During law school, Tara Hopper worked as a legislative advocate for ChildNet, Inc., the privatized foster care system in Broward County, Florida, was a Public Service Fellow of The Florida Bar at The State of Florida Guardian ad Litem program, and was a law clerk for a prominent South Florida plaintiff’s law firm that specializes in products liability, personal injury, toxic torts, and medical malpractice.

Tara Hopper was also a Junior Editor of Nova Law Review, a member and board representative of Nova Southeastern University’s mock trial team, served as Campus Public Relations Coordinator for Nova Southeastern University’s Health Law Society (PULSE!), and served as 1L Representative of Nova Southeastern University’s Student Bar Association in 2008 - 2009.

She may be reached via email at Tara.Hopper@student.shu.edu