Seton Hall Law Review Issue on Accountable Care Organizations

Just a quick note to commend this issue to readers of HRW. As I note in an introduction to the volume, the articles are uniformly insightful contributions to very topical issues in health law and policy.

Recent Selected Seton Hall Law Faculty Scholarship & Presentations in Health & IP Law

David W. Barnes

Professor of Law
Scholarship

Free-Riders and Trademark Law’s First Sale Rule,

27 SANTA CLARA COMPUTER & HIGH TECH. L. J. 457 (2011), selected for inclusion in the 2012 edition of the INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY LAW REVIEW as one of the best intellectual property articles published in the last year.

Presentations

L’Ecole Superieure Catholique de Droit de Jérémie,

Haiti, Intellectual Property and Global Public Health

(March 2012)

Prosecutor’s College, New Jersey Attorney General’s

Advocacy Institute with the County Prosecutors’

Association of New Jersey, Computer Crimes Update (September 2011)

Gaia Bernstein
Professor of Law and Margaret Gilhooley Research Fellow

Scholarship

Prohibitions on Gamete Donor Anonymity and their Impact on the

Practice of Surrogacy, IND. HEALTH L. REV. (Symposium)

(forthcoming 2012)

Patent Law, Technological Dissemination and the Forgotten Non-

Creative User, Selected for Plenary Panel Presentation at the 2011

Intellectual Property Law Scholars Conference (August 2011)

Over-Parenting, 44 U.C DAVIS L. REV 1221 (2011) (with Zvi Triger)

Presentations

American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics 35th Annual Health

Law Professors Conference, Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law,

Arizona State University, The Impact of Prohibitions on Gamete Donor

Anonymity on the Practice of Surrogacy (June 2012)

PatCon2, Boston College Law School, Incentivizing the Ordinary

User, Plenary Presentation (May 2012)

Fifth Annual Emerging Family Law Scholars and Teachers

Conference, Fordham University School of Law, Intensive

Parenting, Social Networks and Children’s Privacy (May 2012)

Symposium, Imagining The Next Quarter Century of Health Care

Law, IND. HEALTH L. REV., Indiana University, Robert H. McKinney

School of Law, Prohibitions on Gamete Donor Anonymity and their

Impact on the Practice of Surrogacy (April 2012)

Edward D. Manzo Scholars in Patent Law Presentation, DePaul

University College of Law, Incentivizing the Ordinary User

(February 2012)

Faculty Workshop, Pace Law School, Incentivizing the Ordinary User (January 2012)

Second Annual Tri-State Regional Intellectual Property Workshop, Fordham University School of Law, Incentivizing the Ordinary User (January 2012)

Symposium, IP Bullying or Proactive Enforcement?, FORDHAM INTELL. PROP. MEDIA & ENT. L.J., Fordham University School of Law, Incentivizing Ordinary Users (November 2011)

Research Seminar for Future Academics, New York University School of Law, Incentivizing Ordinary Users (November 2011)

International Surrogacy Panel, International Law Association

Meeting, Fordham University School of Law (October 2011)

Faculty Workshop, University of Virginia School of Law, Patent Law,

Technological Dissemination and the Forgotten Non-Creative User

(September 2011)

Symposium, State of the Family, University of Richmond School of

Law, Intensive Parenting, Social Networks and Children’s Privacy

(September 2011)

Intellectual Property Law Scholars Conference, Plenary Panel

Presentation, DePaul University College of Law, Patent Law,

Technological Dissemination and the Forgotten Non-Creative User

(August 2011)

Other News

Elected to the Board of Intellectual Property Section by the
Association of American Law Schools (AALS)

Kathleen M. Boozang

Professor of Law

Scholarship

The New Relator: In-House Counsel and Compliance

Officers, J.H. & LIFE SCIENCES (forthcoming October 2012)

Toward Evidence-Based Conflicts of Interest Training for

Physician-Investigators, J.L. MED. & ETHICS (forthcoming 2012) (with Carl H. Coleman and Kate Greenwood)

An Argument Against Embedding Conflicts of Interest Disclosures in

Informed Consent, 4 J.H. & LIFE SCIENCES 230 (2011) (with Carl H. Coleman and Kate Greenwood)

Responsible Corporate Officer Doctrine: When is Falling Down on the

Job a Crime?, ST. LOUIS U.J. HEALTH L. & POL‘Y (forthcoming 2012)

PHARMACEUTICAL AND MEDICAL DEVICE COMPLIANCE MANUAL

(Kathleen M. Boozang with Simone Handler-Hutchinson eds., American Health Lawyers Association, 2012)

Presentations

The Intersecting Worlds of Drug, Device, Biologics, and Health

Law; Food & Drug Law Institute and the American Health Lawyers
Association (AHLA), Washington, D.C, The Newest Compliance

Threats for Life Sciences: Responsible Corporate Officer Doctrine

and Corporate Officers as Relators (May 2012)

Hot Topics in Life Sciences Law, Seton Hall University School of

Law, In-House Counsel, Auditors and Compliance Officers and

Qui Tam Relators (April 2012)

Twenty-Fourth Annual Health Law Symposium: Drugs & Money,

Saint Louis University School of Law, Responsible Corporate Officer

Doctrine: When is Falling Down on the Job a Crime? (March 2012)

Other News

Appointed to the Board of Trustees for the St. Joseph’s Healthcare System

Symposium Co-Organizer (along with Sr. Melanie DiPietro), Is a For-Profit Structure a Viable Alternative for Catholic Health Care Ministry?, Seton Hall University School of Law (March 2012) (Proceedings forthcoming, 2012)

Zack Buck

Visiting Assistant Professor

Scholarship

The Indefinite Quarantine: A Public Health Review of Chronic Inconsistencies in Sexually Violent Predator Statutes, 87 ST. JOHN‘S L. REV. (forthcoming 2013)

Presentations

The American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics Health Law Professors Conference, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University, Insurance Coverage for Mental Health Services Under the ACA: Essential and Expanding? (June 2012)

Carl H. Coleman

Professor of Law and Director of Global Initiatives

Scholarship

End-of-Life Treatment Decisions in United States Law in SELF-DETERMINATION, DIGNITY AND END-OF-LIFE CARE: REGULATING ADVANCED DIRECTIVES IN INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE (Stefania

Negri ed., Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2012)

The Role of Informed Consent in Tuberculosis Testing and Screening,

39 EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY JOURNAL, 1057 (2012) (with Michael Selgelid, Andreas Reis, Lee Reichman and Ernesto Jaramillo)

Toward Evidence-Based Conflicts of Interest Training for Physician-Investigators, J. L. MED. & ETHICS (forthcoming 2012) (with Kate Greenwood and Kathleen M. Boozang)

Presentations

Course Director for World Health Organization Workshop,

Nairobi, Kenya, Developing a Legislative and Regulatory

Framework for Clinical Trials (June 2012)

World Health Organization Workshops on the Ethics of Tuberculosis

Prevention, Care, and Control, Baku, Azerbaijan (December 2011) and Beijing, China (June 2011), Ethical and Legal Aspects of Public Health Measures in TB Care and Control

Università Bocconi, SDA Bocconi School of Management, Milan, Italy, Ethics as a Global Health Challenge (May 2012)

Hot Topics in Life Sciences Law, Seton Hall University School of Law, Proposed Revisions to Common Rule: Implications for Life Science Companies (April 2012)

Executive Course on Intellectual Property, Diplomacy and Global Public Health, co-sponsored by Seton Hall University School of Law and the Graduate School of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland, Intellectual Property and Global Public Health: Key Concepts and Challenges (February 2012)

European Healthcare Compliance Ethics & Regulation Program, co-sponsored by Seton Hall University School of Law and Sciences Po, Paris, France, Lessons Learned from U.S. Healthcare Fraud and Abuse Enforcement and Compliance Programs (November 2011)

Other News

Rapporteur, joint World Health Organization/University of Paris ethics review of research proposal on fexinidazole as a treatment for late-stage Human African Trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) (February 2012)

Drafter, World Health Organization publication, Standards and Operational Guidance for Ethics Review of Health-Related Research with Human Participants
(with Marie-Charlotte Bouesseau, Nancy Kass, Juntra Laothavorn Abha Saxena and Sheryl Vanderpoel) (2011)

Member, Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections (SACHRP), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (2010-2013)

Margaret Gilhooley

Professor Emerita

Scholarship

Drug User Fee Reform: The Problem of Capture and a Sunset, and the Relevance of Priorities and the Deficit,41 N.M. L. REV. 327 (2011)

Kate Greenwood

Research Fellow & Lecturer in Law

Scholarship

Toward Evidence-Based Conflicts of Interest Training for Physician-Investigators, J.L. MED. & ETHICS (forthcoming 2012) (with

Kathleen M. Boozang and Carl H. Coleman)

The Affordable Care Act’s Risk Adjustment and Other Risk-Spreading Mechanisms: Needed Support for New Jersey’s Health Insurance Exchange (policy brief issued by the Seton Hall University School of Law, Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy for the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy and the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, with funding provided by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services) (forthcoming 2012)

Implementing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in New Jersey: The Health Insurance Exchange, the Medicaid Program, and the Apportionment of Responsibility for Determining Eligibility and Effectuating Enrollment (policy brief issued by the Seton Hall University School of Law, Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy for the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy and the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, with funding provided by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (forthcoming 2012)

An Argument Against Embedding Conflicts of Interest Disclosures in Informed Consent, 4 J.H. & LIFE SCIENCES 230 (2011) (with Kathleen M. Boozang and Carl H. Coleman)

Presentations

American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics 35th Annual Health Law Professors Conference, Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law, Arizona State University, A First Amendment Offensive: An“Emboldened” Drug and Device Industry Attacks the Ban on Off-Label Promotion in Court and Before the FDA (June 2012)

American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics 35th Annual Health Law Professors Conference, Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law, Arizona State University, Conflicted Physicians: Changing Judicial Conceptions and the Implications for Drug and Device Company Liability (June 2012)

Hot Topics in Life Sciences Law, Seton Hall University School of Law, First Amendment Challenges to the Ban on Off-label Promotion (April 2012)

Media Briefing, Affordable Care Act, Seton Hall University School of Law, Constitutional & Statutory Issues (with John V. Jacobi & Tara Adams Ragone) (March 2012)

The American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Conflicts of Interest in the Practice of Medicine: A National Symposium, University of Pittsburgh, Toward Evidence-Based Conflicts of Interest Compliance Training for Physician-Investigators (October 2011)

John V. Jacobi

Dorothea Dix Professor of Health Law & Policy,

Faculty Director of the Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy

Scholarship

High Utilizers of ED Services: Lessons for System Reform, 21 ANNALS OF HEALTH L. (forthcoming 2012)

Health Insurance Exchanges: Governance Issues for New Jersey, policy brief prepared by the Seton Hall University School of Law Center for

Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy for the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy and the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, with funding provided by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (2011)

Presentations

American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics 35th Annual Health Law Professors Conference, Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law, Arizona State University, All Deliberate Speed: New Jersey and the ACA (June, 2012)

Symposium, Is a For-Profit Structure a Viable Alternative for Catholic Health Care Ministry?, Seton Hall University School of Law, Health Care: Public Good or Private Good? (March 2012) (Proceedings forthcoming, 2012)

Media Briefing, Affordable Care Act, Seton Hall University School of Law,Constitutional & Statutory Issues (with Kate Greenwood & Tara Adams Ragone) (March 2012)

Symposium, Healthcare Reform in the United States: Legal Implications and Policy Considerations, CONN. L. REV., CONN. INS. L.J., University of Connecticut Law School, Health Reform and People with Disabilities (November 2011)

New Jersey Interagency Working Group on the Affordable Care Act, Stakeholder Forum, feature presentation, Health Insurance Exchanges: Governance Issues for New Jersey (November 2011)

Symposium, Implementing the Affordable Care Act: What Role for Accountable Care Organizations?, SETON HALL L. REV. and the Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy, Seton Hall University School of Law, Lessons from ACO Implementation in New Jersey (October 2011)

David W. Opderbeck

Academic Director of the Gibbons Institute of Law, Science & Technology and Professor of Law

Scholarship

Cybersecurity and Executive Power, 89 WASHINGTON L. REV. 795 (2012)

Presentations

Gibbons Institute of Law, Science & Technology, Newark, New Jersey, Moderator, Patent Litigation at the ITC (April 2012)

U.S. Military Academy, West Point, Cybersecurity, Cyberwar, and Civil Liberties (April 2012) Petrie-Flom Health Law Center Colloquium, Harvard University

School of Law, From Transparency to Intelligibility, Health Information Technology’s Role in Health Reform (March 2012)

New Jersey Prosecutors’ Cybersecurity Law Roundtable, New Brunswick, New Jersey (February 2012)

Conference, The Competing Claims of Law and Religion, Pepperdine

University School of Law, Intellectual Property and the Metaphysics

of Social Relations (February 2012)

New Jersey Public Defenders, Continuing Legal Education, Trenton,

New Jersey, Cybersecurity and Computer Crimes Update (January 2012)

Conference, Radical Emancipation, Notre Dame Center for Ethics and

Culture, University of Notre Dame, Law, Neurobiology, and the Soul

(November 2011)

Symposium, Counter-Terrorism, New Jersey Institute of Technology

and New Jersey Marine Corps Reserve Association, Newark, New

Jersey, Cyberterrorism and Computer Crimes (November 2011)

Program, Think Like a Lawyer, Ask Questions Like a Geek, Practicing

Law Institute, New York, New York, Hackers (With Tim Ryan, F.B.I.)

(November 2011)

Prosecutor’s College, New Jersey Attorney General’s Advocacy Institute

with the County Prosecutors’ Association of New Jersey, Computer Crimes Update (September 2011) 

Jordan Paradise

Associate Professor of Law

Scholarship

Synthetic Biology: Does Re-Writing Nature Require Re-Writing Regulation?, 117 PENN. STATE L. REV. (forthcoming 2012) (with Ethan Fitzpatrick)

Reassessing ‘Safety’ for Nanotechnology Combination Products: What Do ‘Biosimilars’ Add to Regulatory Challenges for the FDA?, 56 ST. LOUIS U. L.J. 1 (2012)

Claiming Nanotechnology: Improving USPTO Efforts at Classification of Emerging Nano-Enabled Pharmaceutical Technologies, 10(3) NW. J. TECH. & INTELL. PROP. 169 (2012)

The Devil is in the Details: Health Care Reform, Biosimilars, and Implementation Challenges for the Food and Drug Administration, 51 JURIMETRICS J. 279 (2011)

Follow-On Biologics: Implementation Challenges and Opportunities,

41 SETON HALL L. REV. 501 (2011)

Presentations

American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics 35th Annual Health Law Professors Conference, Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law, Arizona State University, Synthetic Biology: Does Re-Writing Nature Require Re-Writing Regulation? (June 2012)

Food & Drug Law Institute, 55th Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., Moderator, Developments in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (April 2012)

J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland, Assessing FDA Regulation of New Drugs, Animal Drugs, and Cosmetics as Applied to Microbes Modified Using Synthetic Biology (January 2012)

Third Annual Pharmaceutical Reimbursement & Market Access Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The Devil is in the Details: Health Care Reform, Biosimilars, and Implementation Challenges for the Food and Drug Administration (October 2011) 

Other News

Elected as Chair of the Food & Drug Law Institute’s Academic Committee for 2012-2013

Frank Pasquale

Schering-Plough Professor in Health Care Regulation and Enforcement

Scholarship

Practical Privacy: Rethinking the Collection, Analysis, and Use of

Health-Inflected Social Network Data, in GOVERNANCE OF SOCIAL

MEDIA (J. Obar, ed., forthcoming, 2013)

Accountable Care Organizations in the Affordable Care Act,

42 SETON HALL L. REV. (forthcoming 2012) (invited piece, Symposium)

The Hippocratic Math: How Much Should Society Spend on Health Care?

(Review of Gregg Bloche, THE HIPPOCRATIC MYTH: WHY DOCTORS ARE UNDER PRESSURE TO RATION CARE, PRACTICE POLITICS, AND COMPROMISE THEIR PROMISE TO HEAL) (Palgrave, 2011), 32(4) J. LEGALMED. 529 (2011)

Joining or Changing the Conversation? Catholic Social Thought and Intellectual Property, 29 CARDOZO J. A. & L. (2011)

Network Accountability for the Domestic Intelligence Apparatus,

62 HASTINGS L.J. 1441 (2011) (with Danielle Citron)

Review of John Culhane, ed., Reconsidering Law & Policy Debates: A Public Health Perspective, at Health Reform Watch (2011)

Review of Amy Kapczynski and Gaelle Krikorian, eds., Access to

Knowledge in the Age of Intellectual Property(Zone Books, 2010),

at Concurring Opinions

Presentations

Harvard-Georgetown Market Democracy Working Group, Georgetown University, Equal Surveillance Under Law (July 2012)

Future of Health Privacy Summit, Plenary Session, Georgetown University School of Law, From Medical Record to Medical Reputation (June 2012)

AALS Midyear Session, U.C. Berkeley Law School, Social Network Privacy Law Update (June 2012)

George Mason Law School, Antitrust in High Tech Network Industries: three different talks on privacy, remedies, and market definition (November 2011, and January and May 2012)

ABA Section on Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice, Spring Conference, The Administrative Agency in an Electronic Age, Princeton University, Regulating “Big Data” (April 2012)

Petrie-Flom Health Law Center Colloquium, Harvard University School of Law, From Transparency to Intelligibility: Rethinking Disclosure in Health and Finance Reform (March 2012)

Interdisciplinary Colloquium on Law, Medicine and Public Health, Columbia University, Rethinking Health Care as an Information Industry (March 2012)

The CFPB After a Year, BROOK. J. CORP. FIN. & COM. L., Brooklyn

Law School (February 2012)

Legal Theory Workshop, University of Miami School of Law, Protecting Consumer Reputations in an Era of Pervasive Surveillance and Secret Analytics (February 2012)

Panel, Co-Chair, Pharmacogenomics, Privacy, and Innovation, as Chair of AALS Section on Defamation and Privacy, AALS Annual Conference, Washington, D.C. (January 2012)

ABA Antitrust Section, Committee on Unilateral Conduct, Unilateral Conduct in High Tech Network Industries (October 2011)

Senior Faculty Reviewer, St. Louis Law School Health Law Scholars Workshop (September 2011)

Tara Adams Ragone

Research Fellow & Lecturer in Law

Scholarship

Structuring Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations to Avoid Antitrust

Challenges, 42 SETON HALL L. REV. (forthcoming 2012) (invited piece, Symposium)

The Affordable Care Act and Medical Loss Ratios: Federal and State

Methodologies, Issue Brief prepared by the Seton Hall University School of Law, Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy for the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy and the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, with funding provided by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (forthcoming 2012)

Evaluating Federal and New Jersey Regulation of Rating Factors and Rate

Bands, prepared by the Seton Hall University School of Law, Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy for the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy and the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, with funding provided by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (forthcoming 2012)

Presentations

P.I.C.O. New Jersey, Panelist, Exploring the Legal Hurdles of Coordinating Care, One Year Later: The New Jersey Medicaid Accountable Care Organization Demonstration Project (August 2012)

New Jersey Attorney General’s Advocacy Institute, Legal Ethics for the Health Care Lawyer (February 2012 and June 2012) (with Kim Ringler, Esq.)

Media Briefing, Affordable Care Act, Seton Hall University School of Law, Constitutional & Statutory Issues (with Kate Greenwood & John V. Jacobi) (March 2012)

Symposium, Health & Hospital Law, New Jersey Bar Association, Legal Ethics for the Health Care Lawyer (November 2011) (with Kim Ringler, Esq.)

Symposium, Implementing the Affordable Care Act: What Role for Accountable Care Organizations?, SETON HALL L. REV. and the Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy, Seton Hall University School of Law, The Role of Competition in Integrated

Delivery: ACO’s, Federal and State Antitrust Law, the State Action Doctrine, and Clinical Integration (October 2011)

OTHER NOTEWORTHY SCHOLARSHIP

Edward Hartnett

Richard J. Hughes Professor of Law

Scholarship

Facial and As-Applied Challenges to the Individual Mandate of the Patient Protection and the Affordable Care Act,46 RICHMOND L. REV. 745 (2012)

Marina Lao

Professor of Law

Scholarship

The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good: The Antitrust Objections to the Google Books Settlement, 78 ANTITRUST L. J. 201 (2012)

Graduate Certificate Program in Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Law & Compliance to Start Again, October 7, 2012

Seton Hall Law School’s Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy starts classes again on October 7th for the Graduate Certificate in Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Law & Compliance. The priority application date is September 24, 2012.

The Graduate Certificate in Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Law & Compliance is a non-degree program designed for individuals who seek in-depth knowledge about legal, regulatory, and ethical issues related to the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Taught exclusively online, it offers students nationwide a targeted immersion in key substantive issues along with the practical skills necessary to research and communicate effectively about the law.

The intensive program is geared to busy professionals who want to cover a significant amount of material in a relatively short period of time. The program is open to students who have earned a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university. It is specifically designed to meet the needs of mid- to senior-level professionals in the health care industry, but highly motivated students from other backgrounds are also welcome to apply. It is not necessary to have prior academic or work experience in health care in order to do well in the program.

Additional information and registration is available here.

Why study pharmaceutical and medical device law at Seton Hall School of Law?

Seton Hall Law School has specialized in health law for more than a decade, and its health law program is consistently ranked among the top ten in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.  The Law School’s health law faculty specialize in a wide range of health law topics, including healthcare organizations, nonprofit governance, healthcare financing, healthcare fraud and abuse, food and drug law, research with human subjects, genetics and the law, public health law, and bioethics.  In addition to training future lawyers, Seton Hall Law offers a Master’s of Science in Jurisprudence degree for individuals working in the health care industry, as well as an innovative compliance certification program for pharmaceutical and medical device professionals.  Seton Hall Law is also a center for scholarship and public policy development related to health care, particularly through its Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy, whose mission is to foster informed dialogue among policymakers, consumer advocates, the medical profession, and industry.

Online Graduate Certificate Programs in Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Law and Health & Hospital Law

The next sessions for the Seton Hall Law Online Graduate Certificate Programs will commence in June, 2012. These 8-week non-degree programs are designed for individuals who seek a greater understanding of key aspects of the health care field.

The Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Law & Compliance Program will begin on June 10, addressing the legal, regulatory and ethical issues related to the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Priority application deadline is May 24.

The Health & Hospital Law Program will commence online on June 24 and offers an exploration of the legal, regulatory and ethical issues regarding health care delivery. Priority application deadline is June 2.

Click here to learn more about the Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Program and to apply; here to learn more about the Health & Hospital Law Program and apply. For further information, please contact Helen Cummings, Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs, at helen.cummings@shu.edu or call 973-642-8380.

Online Graduate Certificate Programs

The next sessions for the Seton Hall Law Online Graduate Certificate Programs will commence in February 2012. These 8-week non-degree programs are designed for individuals who seek a greater understanding of key aspects of the health care field.

The Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Law & Compliance Program will begin on February 12, addressing the legal, regulatory and ethical issues related to the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Priority application deadline is January 26.

The Health and Hospital Law Program will commence online on February 26 and offers an exploration of the legal, regulatory and ethical issues regarding health care delivery. Priority application deadline is February 2.

Click here to learn more about these programs and apply. For information, please contact Helen Cummings, Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs, at helen.cummings@shu.edu or call 973-642-8380.

Livestream Podcast, Seton Hall Law Review ACO Symposium

In conjunction with the Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy, this year’s SETON HALL LAW REVIEW Symposium explored recent changes in the structure of health care delivery, in particular the rising popularity of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs).

Legal scholars and practitioners from around the country presented in panel discussions on structural development, public health implications and lessons learned from state ACO programs. The luncheon keynote speaker was Dr. Jeffrey Brenner, founder of the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers.

Streaming Audio Podcasts of Each Panel are Below, Beside the Radio in Blue–Just Click and Listen

Panels & Panelists

Introduction to Accountable Care Organizations

Introduction to ACOs Panel, Seton Hall Law Review_Symposium_1.asx

Jorge Lopez (Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP): Promise and Pitfalls: Health Reform’s Medicare ACO Shared Savings Program

Hal Teitelbaum (CEO and Managing Partner, Crystal Run Healthcare): The Prospect of Being Hanged: Focusing the Physician Mind on ACOs

Michael Kalison (Chairman of Applied Medical Software, Inc.; Of Counsel, McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney, & Carpenter): The Lessons of Gainsharing

ACOs in Theory: Issues Raised by Integrated Delivery

ACO Theory: Issues, Seton Hall Law_Review_Symposium_2.asx,,

Jessica Mantel (Co-Director, Health Law & Policy Institute, University of Houston, Law Center): ACOs: Can we have our cake and eat it too?

Priscilla Keith (Adjunct Professor and Director of Research and Projects, Hall Center for Law and Health, Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis): The Impact of Accountable Care Organizations on Public Health

Tara Ragone (Research Fellow, Seton Hall Law School): The Role of Competition in Integrated Delivery: ACOs, Federal and State Antitrust Law, and the State Action Doctrine

Keynote

Dr. Brenner, Seton Hall Law_Review_Symposium _Keynote.asx

Jeffrey Brenner, M.D., Founder & Executive Director, Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers

Jeffrey Brenner is a family physician and has practiced in Camden for eleven years as a front-line primary care provider for patients of all ages. Having owned a private practice in Camden, he has experience in implementing electronic health records and running a paperless office, open-access scheduling, as well as first-hand knowledge of the various challenges facing primary care in the current health system.

He currently serves full-time as the Coalition’s Executive Director, where he spends much of his time meeting with stakeholders and policymakers, advocating for the models of care the Coalition has developed and demonstrated through data centric results. Jeff is a faculty member of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Camden and is also a former resident of Camden, having lived in the city for over 8 years. He is a graduate of Vassar College and the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

ACOs in Practice: Research on Current Implementation of ACOs

ACOs in Practice, Current Implementation Research, Seton Hall Law_Review_Symposium_3.asx

Louise Trubek (Adjunct Professor of Law, Seton Hall Law, Clinical Professor Emerita, University of Wisconsin Law School), Barbara Zabawa (Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek, S.C); Felice Borisy-Rudin (University of Wisconsin Law School): Accountable care organizations in two states: A preliminary analysis

Sallie Sanford (Assistant Professor of Law, University of Washington – School of Law & School of Public Health): State-based ACO and Medical Home Pilots: Early Lessons from the Other Washington

John Jacobi (Faculty Director & Dorothea Dix Professor of Health Law & Policy, Seton Hall University School of Law), Lessons from ACO Implementation in New Jersey.

Thomas Greaney (Chester A. Myers Professor of Law and Director, Center for Health Law Studies, Saint Louis University School of Law), Accountable Care Organizations: A New New Thing with Some Old Problems.

A Symposium Law Review with papers from the event is forthcoming. For more information regarding the Symposium, please contact Gianna Cricco-Lizza, Symposium Editor, at gianna.criccolizza@student.shu.edu

Introducing Professor Zack Buck to Health Reform Watch

We are pleased to introduce and welcome Professor Zack Buck to Health Reform Watch. He is a Visiting Assistant Professor here at Seton Hall Law and specializes in various health law topics, focused primarily on issues surrounding mental health law and public health law. Professor Buck teaches health law courses, including mental health law and healthcare fraud and abuse. He holds a J.D. from the University Pennsylvania Law School (2009), a Masters of Bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania (2009), and a B.A. with highest distinction, in Political Science and Journalism, from Miami University (2006). Prior to joining Seton Hall, Professor Buck was a litigation associate at Sidley Austin LLP in Chicago. He is a member of the bar of Illinois (2009) and is a former legal writing instructor at Penn Law (2008-09).

His first post, ACA Litigation, Implications for Medicaid and Mental Health Care, may be found below.

ACO Symposium: Professor Louise Trubek, Barbara Zabawa, Felice Borisy-Rudin to Present: Accountable care organizations in two states: A preliminary analysis

In conjunction with the Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy, this year’s Seton Hall Law Review Symposium on October 28, 2011, will explore recent changes in the structure of health care delivery, in particular the rising popularity of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). For more information or to register, click here.

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Jeffrey Brenner, founder of the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers, and legal scholars and practitioners from around the country will present panel discussions on structural development, public health implications and lessons learned from state ACO programs. A trio of such distinguished presenters are Louise Trubek, Adjunct Professor of Law, Seton Hall Law School, and Clinical Professor of Law Emerita, University of Wisconsin Law School; Barbara Zabawa, Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek, S.C; and Felice Borisy-Rudin, University of Wisconsin Law School. They will take part in the panel on “ACOs in Practice: Research on Current Implementation of ACOs,” and will be presenting Accountable care organizations in two states: A preliminary analysis.

Louise G. Trubek is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Seton Hall Law School and an Emerita Clinical Professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin and the Yale Law School, Louise is an active scholar and teacher in the fields of health law, public interest law, and regulation and governance. She is publishing three articles in 2011. The recent articles are: “Improving Cancer Outcomes Through Strong Networks and Regulatory Frameworks: Lessons from the United States and the European Union” Journal of Health Care Law and Policy spring 2011 (with others); Public Interest Law: Facing the Problems of Maturity, University of Arkansas/Little Rock Law Review 2011; New Roles to Solve Old Problems: Lawyering for Ordinary people in Today’s Context” New York Law Journal 2011(with Marsha Mansfield).  Louise is a co-organizer of a Law and Society sponsored International Research Collaboration on Reflective Practitioners/Public Interest Law.She is coordinating the IRC with Scott Cummings (UCLA) and Frank Munger (New York Law School). She is teaching a seminar on Health Law and Governance at Seton Hall in 2011.

Barbara Zabawa is an attorney in the Madison, Wisconsin, office of Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C. Ms. Zabawa practices business and intellectual property litigation. From 2003-2005, Ms. Zabawa clerked for the Honorable Barbara B. Crabb in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin and worked on numerous litigation matters, including patent infringement, civil rights, employment and contract matters. She also was a Skadden Fellow through the Skadden Fellowship Foundation, working on private health insurance issues from 2001 to 2003.

In addition to her valuable litigation experience and skills, Barbara has almost 20 years of experience in the health care field, first receiving her Master’s in Public Health from the University of Michigan before attending law school at UW Madison.

Barbara’s passion for improving health care and coverage is unmatched and is demonstrated through her representation of stakeholders across the spectrum of health care stakeholders throughout her career. Her depth and breadth of experience provides her clients with an important understanding of all sides of the pressing issues facing health insurers and providers today.

For example, Barbara clerked for the Wisconsin Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, helping prosecute Medicaid fraud cases. She maintains contact with the current Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Director, and develops continuing legal education programs regarding Medicaid and Medicare fraud cases. In private practice, Barbara has defended health care providers against investigations by the Wisconsin Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, investigations by the US Attorney’s Office and the Office of Inspector General and qui tam actions.

In addition, Barbara is adept at drafting and reviewing provider and insurer contracts, federal and state reimbursement and fraud and abuse rules, and advising on HIPAA and HITECH privacy and security requirements. She has been at the helm of health care reform in Wisconsin, being appointed to the Legislative Study Committee on Health Care Reform. She also currently serves as Chair of the State Bar Health Law Section and has taught Health Law at the UW Law School. Barbara has written and spoken on Medicaid expansion initiatives, health information privacy concerns and the impact of health reform on various health care stakeholders.

Felice Borisy-Rudin holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a B.S. in Biology from Caltech. Felice is a third year law student with special interests in patent law, emerging biomedical technologies, and health law. Pursuing this interest, she has taken courses in: Administrative Law, Antitrust,  Business Organizations, Health Law & Administration, Intellectual Property, Patent Law and Tax Law. Felice has interned at Clean Wisconsin and at the Center for Patient Partnerships and is a Managing Editor for the Wisconsin Law Review. Felice is currently serving her third term as Trustee for the Village of Shorewood Hills. She enjoys long walks, science fiction and spending time with her family and friends.

ACO Symposium: Michael Kalison, Chairman of Applied Medical Software, Inc.; Of Counsel, McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney, & Carpenter, LLP to Present The Lessons of Gainsharing

In conjunction with the Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy, this year’s Seton Hall Law Review Symposium on October 28, 2011, will explore recent changes in the structure of health care delivery, in particular the rising popularity of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). For more information or to register, click here.

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Jeffrey Brenner, founder of the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers, and legal scholars and practitioners from around the country will present panel discussions on structural development, public health implications and lessons learned from state ACO programs. One such distinguished presenter is Michael Kalison, Chairman of Applied Medical Software, Inc.; Of Counsel, McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney, & Carpenter, LLP. He will take part in the panel concerned with the “Introduction to Accountable Care Organizations,” and will be presenting The Lessons of Gainsharing.

Michael Kalison is Chairman of Applied Medical Software, Inc., which successfully worked with the New Jersey Hospital Association to commence a CMS approved 3 year pilot project approved in 2009 called “Gainshairing.” As Healthcare Finance noted at the time, “Under gainsharing, physicians may share a portion of the savings that are realized by working with the hospital to make a patient’s stay more efficient. The overall savings could ultimately benefit the Medicare program.”

In addition, Mr. Kalison is Of Counsel at McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP. He is a graduate of the Wharton School of Economics (B.S., 1967) and the University of Pennsylvania School of Law (J.D., 1973). He has served as Law Secretary to the Hon. Nathan L. Jacobs of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1973-1974. Mr. Kalison concentrates his practice in health and hospital law, healthcare reimbursement, finance, administrative law and general corporate law. His current focus is aligning provider incentives, including the Medicare Physician-Hospital Collaboration Demonstration involving hospitals in New Jersey and New York.

In 1976, Mr. Kalison led the development of a prospective payment system for acute care hospitals, based on patient case mix, for the New Jersey Department of Health. This system, which used Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs) as the basis of payment, became the model for the Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS). Mr. Kalison also co-authored the methodology for prospective capital payment that was incorporated into PPS. He has published many articles and has been a frequent lecturer on the financial and corporate issues affecting hospitals. He has consulted to Congressional committees and individual members of Congress. Mr. Kalison is consistently named to the “Best Lawyers in New Jersey” list in New Jersey Monthly Magazine, and to “The Best Lawyers in America,” published by Woodward / White.

Mr. Kalison is admitted to practice in New Jersey and to practice before the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.  He is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association (Member, Board of Trustees, 1990-1996) and is certified by that organization as an Alternative Dispute Resolver.

ACO Symposium: Tara A. Ragone to present: The Role of Competition in Integrated Delivery: ACOs, Federal and State Antitrust Law, and the State Action Doctrine

In conjunction with the Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy, this year’s Seton Hall Law Review Symposium on October 28, 2011, will explore recent changes in the structure of health care delivery, in particular the rising popularity of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). For more information or to register, click here.

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Jeffrey Brenner, founder of the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers, and legal scholars and practitioners from around the country will present panel discussions on structural development, public health implications and lessons learned from state ACO programs. One such distinguished presenter is Tara Adams Ragone, Research Fellow & Lecturer in Law at Seton Hall Law School’s Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy; she will take part in the panel concerned with “ACOs in Theory: Issues Raised by Integrated Delivery,” and will be presenting The Role of Competition in Integrated Delivery: ACOs, Federal and State Antitrust Law, and the State Action Doctrine.

Tara Adams Ragone joined the Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy as a Research Fellow and Lecturer in Law in 2011. Her research and writing for the Center focus on implementation of health care reform, accountable care organizations, health care access, bioethics, and issues related to the representation of health care professionals. Ms. Ragone also advises the health law moot court team and regularly contributes here at Health Reform Watch.

Ms. Ragone came to Seton Hall Law from the State of New Jersey, Office of the Attorney General, Division of Law, where she served as Deputy Attorney General in the Professional Boards Prosecution Section. She primarily prosecuted licensing actions before the State Board of Medical Examiners and the Office of Administrative Law and represented the State in federal civil rights actions brought by licensees. Before joining the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, Ms. Ragone served as a law clerk to the Honorable Allyne R. Ross of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York and the Honorable Robert A. Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Symposium: Implementing the Affordable Care Act: What Role for Accountable Care Organizations?

In conjunction with the Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy, this year’s SETON HALL LAW REVIEW Symposium will explore recent changes in the structure of health care delivery, in particular the rising popularity of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs).

Legal scholars and practitioners from around the country will present panel discussions on structural development, public health implications and lessons learned from state ACO programs. Luncheon keynote speaker will be Dr. Jeffrey Brenner, founder of the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers.

Scheduled Panels & Panelists include

Introduction to Accountable Care Organizations

Jorge Lopez (Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP): Promise and Pitfalls: Health Reform’s Medicare ACO Shared Savings Program

Hal Teitelbaum (CEO and Managing Partner, Crystal Run Healthcare): The Prospect of Being Hanged: Focusing the Physician Mind on ACOs

Michael Kalison (Chairman of Applied Medical Software, Inc.; Of Counsel, McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney, & Carpenter): The Lessons of Gainsharing

ACOs in Theory: Issues Raised by Integrated Delivery

Jessica Mantel (Co-Director, Health Law & Policy Institute, University of Houston, Law Center): ACOs: Can we have our cake and eat it too?

Priscilla Keith (Adjunct Professor and Director of Research and Projects, Hall Center for Law and Health, Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis): The Impact of Accountable Care Organizations on Public Health

Tara Ragone (Research Fellow, Seton Hall Law School): The Role of Competition in Integrated Delivery: ACOs, Federal and State Antitrust Law, and the State Action Doctrine

Keynote

Jeffrey Brenner, M.D., Founder & Executive Director, Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers

Jeffrey Brenner is a family physician and has practiced in Camden for eleven years as a front-line primary care provider for patients of all ages. Having owned a private practice in Camden, he has experience in implementing electronic health records and running a paperless office, open-access scheduling, as well as first-hand knowledge of the various challenges facing primary care in the current health system.

He currently serves full-time as the Coalition’s Executive Director, where he spends much of his time meeting with stakeholders and policymakers, advocating for the models of care the Coalition has developed and demonstrated through data centric results. Jeff is a faculty member of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Camden and is also a former resident of Camden, having lived in the city for over 8 years. He is a graduate of Vassar College and the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

ACOs in Practice: Research on Current Implementation of ACOs

Louise Trubek (Clinical Professor, University of Wisconsin Law School), Barbara Zabawa (Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek, S.C); Felice Borisy-Rudin (University of Wisconsin Law School): Accountable care organizations in two states: A preliminary analysis

Sallie Sanford (Assistant Professor of Law, University of Washington – School of Law & School of Public Health): State-based ACO and Medical Home Pilots: Early Lessons from the Other Washington

John Jacobi (Faculty Director & Dorothea Dix Professor of Health Law & Policy, Seton Hall University School of Law), Lessons from ACO Implementation in New Jersey.

Thomas Greaney (Chester A. Myers Professor of Law and Director, Center for Health Law Studies, Saint Louis University School of Law), Accountable Care Organizations: A New New Thing with Some Old Problems.

The event will take place at Seton Hall Law School with luncheon served at The Newark Club, One Newark Center, 22nd floor. There is no charge for Seton Hall Law alumni; cost for all others, $25.  Four NJ/NY CLE credits will be available. Visit http://law.shu.edu/lawreviewsymposium to register. For more information regarding the Symposium, please contact Gianna Cricco-Lizza, Symposium Editor, at gianna.criccolizza@student.shu.edu.

Distinguished Guest Practitioner Mark Swearingen Lectures on Trends in Healthcare Law Enforcement

On Wednesday, September 21, 2011, Distinguished Guest Practitioner Mark Swearingen spoke at Seton Hall Law School on a number of healthcare law enforcement topics that were of keen interest to the audience of health lawyers and health lawyers-in-training.  Mr. Swearingen, who graduated from Seton Hall Law in 1998, is a shareholder at Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman, P.C., a large  healthcare law boutique based in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Among other things, Mr. Swearingen discussed two recent Stark Law cases: United States v. Tuomey Healthcare System, in which a jury award of $49.4 million is currently on review in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and United States v. Bradford, a summary judgment decision from the Western District of Pennsylvania that also largely favors the government.

As the court in Bradford explains, the case involved two physicians, Kamran Saleh and Peter Vaccaro, who leased a nuclear camera so that they would no longer have to refer their patients to the local hospital, Bradford Regional Medical Center, for nuclear imaging.  Faced with the prospect of losing over a third of its $2,274,094 in annual gross nuclear medicine revenues, the hospital responded by threatening to revoke the doctors’ admitting privileges.  Lengthy negotiations ensued, at the end of which the hospital agreed to sublease the camera from the two physicians; the camera remained at the physicians’ offices but other physicians with privileges at the hospital could use it.

Four local physicians who “provide[d] the same or similar services to patients as Drs. Saleh and Vaccaro” brought a qui tam action alleging that the sublease violated the Anti-Kickback and Stark Acts and that the defendants falsely certified compliance with those laws in connection with claims submitted to Medicare in violation of the False Claims Act.  The court agreed that the defendants violated the Stark Act, because the amounts the hospital paid under the sublease were inflated to account for the referrals the hospital lost as a result of Drs. Saleh and Vaccaro’s decision to lease their own camera.  The court deferred on the Anti-Kickback and False Claims Act charges, because it was unable to conclude at the summary judgment stage that the defendants acted knowingly.

As Mr. Swearingen commented, even if the sublease arrangement in Bradford was, on paper, above approach, the facts leading up to it were not good for BRMC and Drs. Saleh and Vaccaro.  That the hospital responded to losing business to the two physicians by first threatening to revoke their privileges and then entering into a financial arrangement that brought them back into the fold suggests that the sublease was about more than the use of a camera.  The facts in Tuomey were in several key respects similar to those in Bradford.  Tuomey, too, involved a hospital faced with the prospect of a group of physicians performing outpatient procedures elsewhere, which would have meant a loss to the hospital of $6-9 million in annual revenues.  To keep the physicians in the fold, the hospital entered into part-time employment contracts with them.  The government alleged– and the jury presumably found–that the contracts would have been money-losers for the hospital but for the associated facility and other fees that the hospital was able to bill in connection with the physicians’ services.

Mr. Swearingen also highlighted the fact that the hospital in Bradford lost the case despite having obtained an expert opinion that the amount it paid for the camera under the sublease was fair market value.  The defendant hospital in Tuomey similarly lost despite having obtained not one but two valuation analyses and multiple legal opinions.  The hospital in Tuomey relied on an advice of counsel defense and, notably, attorney-client privileged communications were entered into evidence at trial.  Going forward, Mr. Swearingen emphasized, fair market value and legal opinions “will be scrutinized” and “may not be dispositive.”

Congratulations Jordan Cohen ’11 and Katherine Freed Matos ’11

Tonight just a fond farewell and congratulations to two of our finest student bloggers: Jordan Cohen and Katherine Freed Matos, both of whom have graduated from Seton Hall Law, with each receiving  the much vaunted  Health Law Award. They are both now hard at work studying for that fiendish quiz they offer each year at the end of July to see if would be lawyers were paying attention (it is a horrible exercise, I assure you, and if someone you know is studying for the Bar– bring them some food, and leave them alone– they’ll reemerge into the land of the living soon enough). As such, it will be awhile until we hear from them (at least on this blog) again.

After the Bar Exam, Jordan Cohen will be off to employ in the law offices of Brach Eichler, LLC., a preeminent law firm in the New Jersey metro area and a recognized leader in the field of healthcare law.

Katherine Matos has been named to the Office of the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she will work in the Office of Counsel to the Inspector General, Administrative and Civil Remedies Branch.

You will both be missed. It was a pleasure to work with you, and this blog is better for your having been here. Can’t thank you enough, or wish you enough luck– I expect great things– as it is simply the usual for you both.

Health Reform Watch Welcomes Tara Adams Ragone

Health Reform Watch is pleased to welcome Tara Adams Ragone, Research Fellow and Lecturer in Law here at The Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy at Seton Hall Law. Ms. Ragone’s research and writing for the Center will focus on implementation of health care reform, accountable care organizations, health care access, and issues related to the representation of health care professionals. Ms. Ragone comes to us from the State of New Jersey, Office of the Attorney General, Division of Law, where she served as Deputy Attorney General. She handled the prosecution of licensing actions before the State’s professional boards and the Office of Administrative Law. Prior to her work with the Attorney General of New Jersey, Ms. Ragone served as clerk to The Honorable Robert A. Katzmann, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Her first post for HRW can be found immediately below.

Develop Your Lawyering Skills Now and Your Health Law Job Will Follow

On Friday I attended the Fourth Annual Student Health Law Conference: Taking the Health Law Career Path co-sponsored by Seton Hall Law School and the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics (ASLME).  Originally I planned to attend only the morning session — both for my own benefit as a possible health law practitioner and because I’m a research assistant at the law school’s Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy — but I found the panelists to be so engaging that I stuck around for the afternoon session and the networking reception.

Despite some recent good news concerning the job prospects for law students, especially for those in New Jersey, recent graduates and third or fourth year law students don’t need a Magic 8-Ball to tell them that compared to the hiring fests of 2005 and 2006,  the present “outlook [is] not so good.”  So what about health law jobs?  There are regular reports on how the healthcare industry has weathered the economic storm better than others (see Michael Ricciardelli’s blog posts on the continued growth of the healthcare industry here and here).  Peter Leibold, Executive Vice President & Chief Executive Officer of the American Health Lawyers Association, delivered a great keynote speech at the Conference emphasizing, among other things, how the field of health law is growing and, in particular, which areas of health law are flourishing.

Still, in the current clime finding a job as a health law practitioner fresh out of law school can seem like a rather daunting challenge.  But should it be?  Not so, said the panelists.

I attended five panels (out of 18) addressing the career opportunities available for those interested in “When a Medical License is at Stake,” “Health Information & Technology Practice,” “In-House Counsel: Pharmaceutical Companies,” “Government Enforcement of Health Care Fraud, and “Hospitals & Medical Groups: Compliance & Risk Management.”  The panelists represented a variety of employers, including the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, Bristol-Myers Squibb, sanofi-aventis, Saint Peter’s University Hospital, and Saint Barnabas Health Care System.  Three panelists had worked for boutique or large firms but eventually branched out on their own.

Many of the panelists relayed a mixture of humor and frankness in their discussions about the current job market and their own past experiences in job searching.  Several noted that their current job came from prior work experiences that had built upon one-another.  Others outlined networking strategies and urged students to apply for internships.  However, one piece of advice could be heard over and over again: develop your lawyering skills now and your health law job will follow.

Maybe you want to work for a law firm specializing in health law. Maybe you want to be in-house counsel for a pharmaceutical company.  Or maybe you want to work for the government.  Regardless of which career path appeals to you, a recent law school graduate may hit a wall with potential employers looking for experienced candidates.  Both in-house counsel panelists acknowledged that pharmaceutical companies tend to prefer people with a few years of work experience. So if it’s in-house pharma you really want, you’ll just have to work your way there.

So while you search for a health law job, focus on developing a solid set of skills by taking that first job — even if it isn’t in health law — and learning how to be an effective lawyer.  That way you will have a marketable set of skills at the ready when a health law job does come your way. Always working towards the goal.

If you’re a recent graduate but you haven’t found a job, it’s suggested that you try the small firms, solo or dual practitioner offices– where you’re as likely as not to have complex files and entire cases dropped in your lap– amounting to invaluable and marketable experience. Barring that, look for freelance work or volunteer your legal services with an organization.  It’s better for you to have some legal experience on your resume than none at all.  For example, the Division of Law within the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General has a Volunteer Associate Program which enables recent graduates, deferred associates, and similarly-situated attorneys to hone their skills.  Participants must commit to 20 hours per week for 3 months.  Search around the internet or contact your career services office to find other organizations and government agencies offering similar programs.

Below are some other tidbits of information I gathered from the Conference.

Make yourself an expert and then use social media to market yourself. It is never too early to start making yourself an expert in a particular area of health law.  As a health law student or as a recent graduate, you can write articles on topics covered in class and then get your name “out there” by submitting those articles to blogs and other health law news sources.  If your articles are published, make sure to maintain a portfolio that you can present to prospective employers and update your resume accordingly.  If your articles are published online, you also can create a Twitter account and then make links to those articles. If you doubt the value in that, look up in the right hand corner of this blog and see in “Places Cited” where articles from Health Reform Watch have been cited– everything from the Health Care Blog to the New York Times and Washington Post and Maggie Mahar’s Health Beat. In addition, Seton Hall Law student Jordan Cohen presently holds one of the top rated google searches in America for “Accountable Care Organization.” Not a bad accolade or writing sample to bring a prospective employer.

Intern while you’re in school. Internships are key in this economy.  Internships help you develop lawyering skills, add work experience to your resume, provide work references, and give you additional contacts for your job search.  Note: if you are interested in working for the government, focus on internships with state and local agencies as well as federal agencies.

Remember your cover letter. To get your foot in the door for an interview, pay attention to your cover letter as well as your resume.  This is especially so if your background does not exactly match the position to which you’re applying (e.g., person with public interest background applies for a hospital compliance officer position).  Your cover letter presents the best opportunity to answer any questions that might arise in a prospective interviewer’s mind.  Be sure to check for typos.

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