Career Guide for the Future Healthcare Attorney

Health Law Colloquium, Vol. 4, Issue 1, pp. 2-7, 2012

7 Pages Posted: 22 Dec 2012

See all articles by Thaddeus Mason Pope

Thaddeus Mason Pope

Mitchell Hamline School of Law; Queensland University of Technology - Australian Health Law Research Center; Alden March Bioethics Institute; Saint Georges University

Date Written: January 1, 2012

Abstract

I have two objectives in this Article. First, I will outline the wide range of career paths available to you as a health lawyer. Second, I will describe the experience and credentials that you should acquire to make yourself a competitive candidate for these jobs.

The plethora of health law career opportunities can be roughly grouped into twelve categories. As an entry-level lawyer, you could (1) clerk for a judge or (2) complete a health policy fellowship. As an attorney, you could do either (3) litigation or (4) transactional work for healthcare clients. Or you could practice in the particularly fast-growing areas of (5) public health law or (6) elder law.

But I hasten to add that not all health law jobs involve working as an attorney or lawyer. Law school is excellent training for legal non-attorney careers in: (7) compliance, (8) regulatory affairs, (9) risk management, (10) clinical ethics consultation, (11) legal nurse consulting, and (12) dispute resolution. Most of the strategies for success for aspiring health lawyers are the same are those for any other law student. I have taken the liberty to customize these strategies for the future healthcare attorney. I have grouped my law school strategies for success into five categories: (1) work experience, (2) moot courts, (3) writing, (4) networking, and (5) coursework.

Keywords: Career, health lawyer, employment, legal job, healthcare, elder law, risk management, dispute resolution, public health law

JEL Classification: K32, I1, I18

Suggested Citation

Pope, Thaddeus Mason, Career Guide for the Future Healthcare Attorney (January 1, 2012). Health Law Colloquium, Vol. 4, Issue 1, pp. 2-7, 2012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2186219

Thaddeus Mason Pope (Contact Author)

Mitchell Hamline School of Law ( email )

875 Summit Avenue
Room 320
Saint Paul, MN 55105
United States
651-695-7661 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.thaddeuspope.com

Queensland University of Technology - Australian Health Law Research Center ( email )

2 George Street
Brisbane, Queensland 4000
Australia

Alden March Bioethics Institute ( email )

47 New Scotland Ave
MC 153
Albany, NY 12208
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.thaddeuspope.com

Saint Georges University ( email )

West Indies
Grenada

HOME PAGE: http://www.thaddeuspope.com

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