Law

Health Law Concentration

Students pursuing a J.D. may earn a concentration in health law by completing required courses of study, specified co-curricular activities, and a practical experience requirement through the University of Cincinnati College of Law’s Health Law Concentration.

The Health Law Concentration allows students to explore and demonstrate an interest in the study of health law. Students pursuing this concentration will be prepared to represent health care providers and systems, work in the public sector, or provide individual advocacy.

Recent graduates of the University of Cincinnati Donald P. Klekamp College of Law have obtained jobs at the nation's leading law firms specializing in health law; large health care systems and hospitals; federal and state agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services; national trade associations or biotechnology or pharmaceutical firms. Students' post-graduation opportunities are geographically and substantively diverse.

Requirements:

For the Health Law Concentration, students will be required to take a minimum of 22 credit hours. Requirements for the concentration in health law include:

  • core health law courses, seminars, and electives with a grade of "C" or better
  • a health law research paper or blog post of publishable quality
  • participation in the Health Law Society
    • attendance at five of the Health Law Society’s Speaker/Programs
    • attendance at the annual Joint JD/MD Meeting
  • practical health law-related experience

Health Law Courses and Seminars:

Each semester, full-time faculty members teach a wide range of foundational health law courses and policy seminars. The Health Law Concentration also utilizes adjunct health law faculty, who are experienced health law practitioners, to provide a selection of professional skills courses and seminars in health law as available.

Required Core Offerings.

Each student must take at least four core classes which include the following courses and seminars:

  • Bioethics and the Law
  • Health Law
  • Public Health Law
  • Disability Law
  • Regulation of Human Subjects Research

Electives

The remainder of the 22 credit hours may come from the selection of courses from the Core Offerings, electives, and any externship courses.  The following courses are currently eligible elective courses, but the list is subject to change by the University of Cincinnati Donald P. Klekamp College of Law from time to time. Note that some of these courses will have their own prerequisites.

  • Administrative Law
  • AI and the Law
  • Business Associations
  • Employee Benefits
  • Employment Discrimination Law
  • Employment Law
  • Federal Income Tax
  • Food, Drug and Device Law
  • Fraud Law
  • Government and Internal Investigations
  • Health Law Compliance
  • Informational Privacy
  • In-House Counsel: Introduction to the Role of In-House Counsel in Modern Organizations
  • Legal Perspectives on AI: Ethics, Regulation, and Liability
  • Insurance Law
  • Labor Law
  • Legislation and Statutory Interpretation
  • Mediation
  • Medical Malpractice Litigation
  • Mental Health Law I
  • Mental Health Law II
  • Negotiations
  • Products Liability
  • White Collar Crime
  • Any course approved by full-time health law faculty or the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs

Publishable Paper or Blog Post

Students must submit a publishable health law paper or blog post to be reviewed and approved by full-time health law faculty or any other full-time faculty member approved by the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.  Papers completed for a health law seminar, Independent Research Project (IRP), or journal note/comment or blog posting can satisfy this requirement.

Health Law Related Externships

Experiential learning is a critical component of the Health Law Concentration.  Concentration students must gain supervised experience in a health law practice setting. Students are encouraged to satisfy this requirement by enrolling in the UC Klekamp College of Law’s externship program and completing either a judicial or legal externship.  Students are regularly placed in the following organizations within the Cincinnati community:

  • Catholic Health Partners/Mercy Health System General Counsel’s Office
  • Christ Hospital Legal Department
  • Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Legal Department
  • Cincinnati Drug Court
  • Cincinnati Juvenile Court
  • Cincinnati Probate Court
  • Comfort Keepers General Counsel’s Office
  • Ohio Attorney General's Office
  • ProKids
  • ProSeniors
  • Trihealth General Counsel’s Office
  • Trihealth Risk Management Program
  • UC Health General Counsel’s Office
  • University of Cincinnati School of Medicine
  • U.S. Attorneys' Offices, Fraud Division
  • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Wellpoint

Life of the College

  • Concentration students must be members of the Health Law Society at the University of Cincinnati Donald P. Klekamp College of Law and attend at least five of their programs.
  • Students must also participate in and attend the annual joint JD/MD Meeting between the University of Cincinnati Donald P. Klekamp College of Law and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the Concentration, students should be able to:

  • explain the structure of the United States health care system, including the legal relationships among health care providers, insurers, life sciences companies, regulators, and public health institutions;
  • explain constitutional foundations of health law, including the authority of federal and state governments to regulate health care and public health and the constitutional limits on that authority;
  • identify and explain regulatory frameworks governing the health sector, including statutes, regulations, agency guidance, and administrative systems affecting health care delivery, insurance programs, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and biomedical research;
  • explain legal doctrines governing accountability for health-related harm, including medical malpractice, professional liability, and product liability;
  • explain employment and professional regulation in health care institutions, including workplace discrimination law, credentialing, and discipline of health professionals;
  • conduct legal research and interpret legal authorities governing the health sector, including statutes, regulations, agency guidance, case law, and contractual agreements affecting health care institutions and related organizations;
  • represent and advise clients on legal issues affecting health care institutions, public health agencies, and life sciences organizations;
  • evaluate ethical principles and policy considerations shaping health law, including patient autonomy, informed consent, protection of human research participants, allocation of health resources, and population health policy;
  • begin developing a professional identity consistent with the expectations of the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Commission on Professionalism and the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct.