Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-dnltx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T05:19:44.226Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Public Health Law as a Way to Explore and Develop Professional Identity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Abstract

Lawyers are most often portrayed and understood to be zealous advocates for individual clients in adversarial litigation or zero-sum transactions. Law schools provide excellent preparation for this type of lawyer role, but lawyers' unique understanding of the law is also needed for systemic advocacy, policymaking, and legal education to solve the most difficult societal problems. An interdisciplinary public health law class is one way for law schools to provide students an opportunity to explore and develop these other professional identities.

Type
Symposium Articles
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 2016

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

For a description of the faculty fellowship program, see Scott, C., “Transforming the Future of Public Health Law Education through a Faculty Fellowship Program,” Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 44, no. 1, Supp. (2016): 617.Google Scholar
The syllabus for this course is available through the fellowship program’s online teaching resources library. See Network for Public Health Law, “Public Health Law Faculty Teaching Resources,” available at <https://www.networkforphl.org/faculty_teaching_resources/> (last visited January 13, 2016) (this site is password protected; faculty may request a password from the Network on the site) (see “Public Health Law” in the Syllabi section of this website).+(last+visited+January+13,+2016)+(this+site+is+password+protected;+faculty+may+request+a+password+from+the+Network+on+the+site)+(see+“Public+Health+Law”+in+the+Syllabi+section+of+this+website).>Google Scholar
Michaelsen, L. K., Parmelee, D. X., McMahon, K. K., and Levine, R. E. (eds.), Team-Based Learning for Health Professions Education: A Guide to Using Small Groups for Improving Learning (Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, 2008): at 4647.Google Scholar
Gawande, A., “The Hot Spotters,” The New Yorker, January 24, 2011, available at <http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/01/24/the-hot-spotters> (January 13, 2016); R. D. O’Brien, “New York Officials Push Right to Counsel in Civil Cases,” Wall Street Journal, April 5, 2015), available at <http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-officials-push-right-to-counsel-in-civil-cases-1428278799> (last visited January 13, 2016); A. F. Beck, M. D. Klein, J. K. Schaffzin, V. Tallent, M. Gillam, and R. S. Kahn, “Identifying and Treating a Sub-standard Housing Cluster Using a Medical-Legal Partnership,” Pediatrics 130, no. 5 (2012): 831-838; M. Regenstein, J. Teitelbaum, J. Sharac, and E. Phyu, Medical-Legal Partnership and Health Centers: Addressing Patients’ Health-Harming Civil Legal Needs as Part of Primary Care (February 2015), National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership, available at <http://medical-legalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Medical-Legal-Partnership-and-Health-Centers.pdf> (last visited January 13, 2016); Connecticut Practice Book, Connecticut Rules of Professional Conduct 1.8(f) and 5.4 (Commission on Official Legal Publications, 2015), available at <http://www.jud.ct.gov/publications/PracticeBook/PB.pdf> (last visited January 13, 2016).+(January+13,+2016);+R.+D.+O’Brien,+“New+York+Officials+Push+Right+to+Counsel+in+Civil+Cases,”+Wall+Street+Journal,+April+5,+2015),+available+at++(last+visited+January+13,+2016);+A.+F.+Beck,+M.+D.+Klein,+J.+K.+Schaffzin,+V.+Tallent,+M.+Gillam,+and+R.+S.+Kahn,+“Identifying+and+Treating+a+Sub-standard+Housing+Cluster+Using+a+Medical-Legal+Partnership,”+Pediatrics+130,+no.+5+(2012):+831-838;+M.+Regenstein,+J.+Teitelbaum,+J.+Sharac,+and+E.+Phyu,+Medical-Legal+Partnership+and+Health+Centers:+Addressing+Patients’+Health-Harming+Civil+Legal+Needs+as+Part+of+Primary+Care+(February+2015),+National+Center+for+Medical-Legal+Partnership,+available+at++(last+visited+January+13,+2016);+Connecticut+Practice+Book,+Connecticut+Rules+of+Professional+Conduct+1.8(f)+and+5.4+(Commission+on+Official+Legal+Publications,+2015),+available+at++(last+visited+January+13,+2016).>Google Scholar
Manchanda, R., “What Makes Us Sick? Look Upstream,” TED Talk, August 2014, available at <http://www.ted.com/talks/rishi_manchanda_what_makes_us_get_sick_look_upstream?language=en> (last visited January 13, 2016).+(last+visited+January+13,+2016).>Google Scholar
See, e.g., Olivia Pope & Associates in ABC’s Scandal and Atticus Finch in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and the national angst created by the author’s recently released Go Set a Watchman.Google Scholar
Palmer, P. J., “A New Professional: The Aims of Education Revisited,” Change (Nov.-Dec. 2007), available at <http://www.changemag.org/archives/back%20issues/november-december%202007/full-new-professional.html> (last visited January 13, 2016).+(last+visited+January+13,+2016).>Google Scholar
Davis, S., “Educating the New Public Health Professional,” Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 44, no. 1, Supp. (2016): 3540.Google Scholar
American Bar Association, Model Code, Canon 3, EC 3-5 (1983) (“It is neither necessary nor desirable to attempt the formulation of a single, specific definition of what constitutes the practice of law.”), available at <https://www.law.cornell.edu/ethics/aba/mcpr/MCPR.HTM> (last visited January 13, 2016); Restatement (Third) of Law Governing Law § 3, comment d (2000) (“What constitutes the practice of law for the purposes of defining unauthorized practice by a lawyer varies with the reason for which the lawyer is no longer authorized to practice.”) and § 4, comment c (“The definitions and tests employed by courts to delineate unauthorized practice [of law] by nonlawyers have been vague or conclusory, while jurisdictions have differed significantly in describing what constitutes unauthorized practice in particular areas.”).+(last+visited+January+13,+2016);+Restatement+(Third)+of+Law+Governing+Law+§+3,+comment+d+(2000)+(“What+constitutes+the+practice+of+law+for+the+purposes+of+defining+unauthorized+practice+by+a+lawyer+varies+with+the+reason+for+which+the+lawyer+is+no+longer+authorized+to+practice.”)+and+§+4,+comment+c+(“The+definitions+and+tests+employed+by+courts+to+delineate+unauthorized+practice+[of+law]+by+nonlawyers+have+been+vague+or+conclusory,+while+jurisdictions+have+differed+significantly+in+describing+what+constitutes+unauthorized+practice+in+particular+areas.”).>Google Scholar
Institute of Medicine, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health (National Academies Press, 2011): at 98, available at <http://iom.nationalacademies.org/Reports/2010/The-Future-of-Nursing-Leading-Change-Advancing-Health.aspx> (last visited January 13, 2016).+(last+visited+January+13,+2016).>Google Scholar
American Bar Association Task Force on the Future of Legal Education, Report and Recommendations (January 2014): at 14, available at <http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/professional_responsibility/report_and_recommendations_of_aba_task_force.authcheckdam.pdf> (last visited January 13, 2016).+(last+visited+January+13,+2016).>Google Scholar
The original student responses from which these quotes are excerpted are on file with the author. Permission has been granted to reproduce them in this essay.Google Scholar
Lola v. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, No. 14-3845-CV, 2015 WL 4476828, at *6 (2d Cir. July 23, 2015).Google Scholar
National Association of Social Workers, Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers, Preamble (2013) (“Social workers promote social justice and social change with and on behalf of clients. ‘Clients’ is used inclusively to refer to individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.”), available at <http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/code.asp> (last visited January 13, 2016).+(last+visited+January+13,+2016).>Google Scholar
American Nurses Association, Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements, Provision 2 (2015), available at <http://nursingworld.org/DocumentVault/Ethics_1/Code-of-Ethics-for-Nurses.html> (last visited January 13, 2016).+(last+visited+January+13,+2016).>Google Scholar
American Medical Association, Principles of Medical Ethics VII (2001), available at <http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-ethics/code-medical-ethics/principles-medical-ethics.page?> (last visited January 13, 2016).+(last+visited+January+13,+2016).>Google Scholar
Parmet, W. E., Populations, Public Health, and the Law (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2009): at 14.Google Scholar
Black’s Law Dictionary, 10th ed. (Thomson West, 2014).Google Scholar
Benner, P., Sutphen, M., Leonard, V., and Day, L., Educating Nurses: A Call for Radical Transformation (San Francisco: 2010): at 195200.Google Scholar
National Association of Social Workers, supra note 14, Rule 6.01.Google Scholar
Gaines, M. E., Grob, R., Schlesinger, M. J., and Davis, S., “Medical Professionalism from the Patient’s Perspective: Is There an Advocate in the House?” in DeAngelis, C., ed., Patient Care and Professionalism (Oxford University Press, 2014): at 117.Google Scholar
Parmet, W. E., Smith, L. A., and Benedict, M. A., “Social Determinants, Health Disparities and the Role of Law,” in Tyler, E. Tobin, Lawton, E., Conroy, K., Sandel, M., and Zuckerman, B., eds., Poverty, Health and Law: Readings and Cases for Medical-Legal Partnership (Durham, N.C.: Carolina Academic Press, 2011): at 2730.Google Scholar
American Bar Association, “Model Rules of Professional Conduct,” supra note 22, Rule 2.1 (2015).Google Scholar
National Association of Social Workers, supra note 14, at Preamble.Google Scholar
Gerardi, D., “The Culture of Health Care: How Professional and Organizational Cultures Impact Conflict Management,” Georgia State University Law Review 21 (Summer 2005): 857890.Google Scholar