Professor Wendy Netter Epstein completed her undergraduate
education at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, where she was
pre-med, majoring in political science. Prior to applying to medical school,
Professor Epstein decided that she had stronger interests in the policy and
legal questions in the health care field than she did in the practice of medicine.
At this point, she went to receive her J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she
was President of the Harvard Law & Health Care Society and edited the
Recent Developments Section of the Journal
of Law, Medicine & Ethics. After clerking for a federal judge,
Professor Epstein went on to work for Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago, where
she was a partner in the commercial litigation practice. In that capacity, she
represented health industry clients like BlueCross BlueShield, Baxter, and
Medtronic. In 2011, Professor Epstein transitioned to full-time academia.
Professor Epstein was drawn to DePaul in part because of its top-notch
health law institute, fabulous students and colleagues, and its very strong
reputation in the community. In regards to the Jaharis Health Law Institute,
Professor Epstein is very proud of the work that has been done to update the
health law curriculum to bring it in line with areas of growth in the field.
She is also proud of the new degree offerings, such as the joint JD/LLM, which
can be completed in three years, as well as the new Master of Jurisprudence (MJ)
degree, which was designed for those who would benefit from education in health
law but do not need a law license. Another development Professor Epstein is
proud of is the Chicago Health Law Colloquium, which is a joint program with
Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where world-renowned scholars are
brought in to present their work to a combined group of students, faculty, and
practitioners. Professor Epstein notes that no accomplishment is hers alone,
and behind every success is a dedicated group of students, faculty, and
administrators.
As Faculty Director of the Jaharis Health Law Institute,
Professor Epstein works closely with the Executive Director, Professor
Katherine Schostok. Together, they focus on student services, events and
programming, alumni relations, and strategic initiatives. For the students,
they advise and mentor on careers, course selection, and externships. Professors
Epstein and Schostok work with the student board and journal members to plan
the lecture series and symposium that take place throughout the school year.
They also work with the Advisory Board to make sure the Jaharis Health Law
Institute keeps on top of the ever-changing health law field, and to keep
alumni apprised of the goings on at DePaul. Professors Epstein and Schostok are
constantly working to explore new opportunities for students and the Institute
through partnerships and collaborations. For instance, the Institute's Summer Scholars Program awards exceptional students with a
scholarship to spend their summer working in the legal department of a health sector company or firm.
This past year, the Institute was awarded an endowment and
has been renamed in the donors’ honor as the Mary and Michael Jaharis Health
Law Institute. This endowment provides the Institute the support to expand and
strengthen scholarly and educational programs in an area where two dynamic legal
fields are increasingly intersecting—intellectual property and health law. This
is an area of focus for both the short and long term of the Institute.
Professor Epstein also mentions that the Institute is looking to draw upon and
further expand its relationships with area hospitals. She would love to see the
Institute take advantage of more opportunities to collaborate with other health
professionals. This would mean additional collaboration within our own broader
institution as well. Professor Epstein makes it her goal to support the
students to help enrich their law school experiences and future careers. The
students remain her number one priority. Professor Epstein sees the Jaharis
Health Law Institute as a go-to source for cutting edge content and student
talent in the future. She wants the institute to be both a thought leader and
to train future industry thought leaders.
Students can get involved by attending the Jaharis Health
Law Institute’s events and consider joining the student board. Professor
Epstein recommends that students take advantage of leadership opportunities and
connect with attorneys practicing in the field. She mentions that students
should ask what opportunities exist to get published while still a student.
Alumni can be involved with the Health Law Institute by
having a student as a mentee, volunteer to peer edit articles for the journal,
help coach the health transactional moot court teams. The Institute is always
looking for engaging speakers, and Professor Epstein suggests for alumni to
reach out at any time if they are interested in doing so.
Professor Epstein views herself as very fortunate to have a
robust and diverse list of faculty who teach courses in all areas of health law
here at DePaul. The Institute is always looking to expand and update the
offerings, as well as bringing in additional speakers and panelists for the
spring symposium.
Professor Epstein mentions that students and alumni should
be looking forward to the great programming coming up, particularly in the
lunchtime CLE series and spring symposium hosted by the DePaul Journal of
Health Care Law. In order to receive the latest information regarding the Mary and
Michael Jaharis Health Law Institute, Professor Epstein suggests following the E-Pulse, liking the Institute on
Facebook, and following the Institute on Twitter (@DePaul_HealthLaw).
Kate Reynolds is currently
a 2L at DePaul University College of Law. Ms. Reynolds completed her
undergraduate degree at the University of Illinois Springfield. Ms. Reynolds
wishes to pursue a career in Health Law after graduating in May of 2017.