Quick Jump:
This past May, Alera Group hosted the annual Jaharis Reception to celebrate the successes of the past year.
The Jaharis Health Law Institute offers students a well-rounded experience inside and outside the classroom. Students can choose from a robust curriculum of both in-person and online coursework. They have a variety of opportunities to engage in experiential learning and to hone their writing skills in courses, through participation in the DePaul Journal of Health Care Law, and through writing for the new Jaharis blog. Our student organizations, programs and competitions are faculty-supported and are an opportunity for students to develop and refine their skills while engaging in real-world practice.
Program of Excellence: Health Law
Certificates
- JD, Certificate in Health Law
- JD/LLM in Health Law
- LLM in Health Law
- Health Care Compliance Certificate
- Master of Jurisprudence (MJ)
- Health Law
- Health Care Compliance
Health Law Courses*
- Antitrust Issues in Health Care=
- Bioethics & the Law
- Child Protection: Abuse & Neglect
- Data Breach Notification Laws
- Disability Law
- Elder Law
- Externship: Health Law
- Food and Drug Law
- Health Care Compliance and Regulations
- Health Care Delivery Systems
- Health Care: Fraud and Abuse
- Health Information Technology Law & Policy
- Health Innovation and Intellectual Property
- Health Policy and the Law
- Insurance Law
- Legal Aspects of the Biotechnology Business
- Legal Drafting: Health Law
- Medical Malpractice Survey
- National Moot Court Competition: Health Competition
- The Practice of Health Care Law
- >Privacy Law
- Risk Management and Patient Safety
- Senior Research Seminar: Patent Policy in the Health Industry
- Sexual Orientation and the Law
- Special Topics in Health Law
- Transactional Health Law Practice
* Course offerings vary by semester. An extensive list and specific program requirements are available at law.depaul.edu.
DEPAUL JOURNAL OF HEALTH CARE LAW
Founded in 1996, the journal has long been one of the nation’s premiere student-run scholarly publications and provides insightful and progressive articles by academics and practitioners that analyze the legal complexities of the rapidly evolving health care field. The journal’s staff writers and editors also have opportunities to submit their work for publication. The journal is one of the few peer-reviewed health law journals in the nation.
JAHARIS BLOG - E-PULSE
The E-Pulse provides short, blog-style posts on current issues in health law, as well as information on Institute activities. E-Pulse publishes submissions from JHLI student fellows as well as from faculty and practitioners who have expertise in special areas of interest. Look to the E-Pulse for a constant stream of current, thought-provoking articles for health law scholars and practitioners alike.
HEALTH LAW FELLOWS
DePaul students selected as Health Law Fellows have opportunities to participate in JHLI’s programs and substantive work. Fellows are involved in a variety of activities including organizing lectures and annual events, assisting with research and writing, and participating in mentorship and career-focused programs.
JHLI STUDENT ADVISORY BOARD
Working as the liaison between the students and the (Alumni) Advisory Board, the Student Advisory Board has the opportunity to initiate new programmatic ideas based on student feedback and promote student and practitioner engagement through educational and networking events.
HEALTH LAW COMPETITIONS
JHLI sponsors student teams to compete in two national competitions: The L. Edward Bryant Jr. National Health Law Transactional Moot Court Competition at Loyola University Chicago and the Health Law Regulatory & Compliance Competition at the University of Maryland. The competitions expose our law students to the core competencies of the corporate and regulatory practice of health care law. Students are challenged to apply corporate lawyering skills and to navigate the complex regulatory landscape of health care law in hypothetical situations.
EXTERNSHIPS
During the school year, JHLI students have the opportunity to participate in externships
throughout the Chicagoland area. Students work with prominent health care practitioners and
companies to develop practical skills and gain exposure to various facets of health law.
JHLI’s programs, in addition to its mentorship program and expanding advisory board, strengthen the connection between practicing health law attorneys in the city and DePaul College of Law students. Through its relationships with health systems, law firms, pharmaceutical companies, health information technology companies, and health care associations, JHLI is able to develop uniquely challenging and immersive programs. For example, JHLI recently developed an intensive externship program alongside Lurie Children’s Hospital that accommodates one student each school year, in addition to the three or four externs the hospital hosts each summer.
3YP
Health Law students can take advantage of DePaul’s Third Year in Practice program, known as 3YP. The 3YP program allows a select number of law students to complete general JD course requirements in two years and then spend most of the third year of law school engaging in the
actual and simulated practice of law.
JHLI Summer Scholars
JHLI also coordinates the Summer Scholars Job Placement Program, which has been recognized for its success by various associations and publications. Thanks to generous donors and
participating employers, the program offers students a $5,000 stipend for their summer externship work.
The Summer Scholars Program places students at some of the most distinguished health law firms and health organizations in Chicago. Examples of past placements include:
- American Medical Association
- The Joint Commission
- Baxter International
- Hill-Rom
- Husch Blackwell
- Advocate Health
- Nixon Peabody
- Alera Group
- Anne & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
- R1 RCM
- Rush Medical Center
- American Medication Association
- United Benefit Advisors
- Sinai Health System
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Hannah Sullivan
Summer Scholar at the American Medical Association (2018), Alera Group (2019)
Hannah Sullivan has participated in the Summer Scholars Program for two consecutive years. Her externship at the American Medical Association (AMA) in a role focused on the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA) enriched her knowledge of the health law issues she studied in class. In supporting the judicial process for reviewing infractions to AMA membership, for example, she gained insight into how doctors and lawyers analyzed real-life situations. “It gave me a new perspective on how I might approach an issue with a client or how I might argue an issue in court.”
Her favorite part of her AMA externship was writing for the Journal of Ethics. She was published as a sole author and also wrote an article with her supervisor, Scott Schweikart. “It was a great privilege to be able to publish. I learned a lot in that summer, and it was fun to be able to control what I was doing and to really dive into research.”
Her externship at Alera Group this past summer was pivotal in terms of establishing long-term goals for her legal career. She worked closely with DePaul adjunct professor Danielle Capilla, Alera Group’s Director of Compliance, to onboard, assess, and provide guidance to health care clients. After the externship, Hannah stayed on part-time at Alera Group to continue developing her expertise in ERISA and other health care legislation.
All in all, Hannah considers the experience she has gained through the Summer Scholar program as vital to her time at DePaul. “I saw that my coursework had really prepared me. I got to apply my academic achievements to real client issues, and that was incredibly rewarding.”
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Vjosana Mataj
Summer Scholar at The Joint Commission
Vjosana Mataj’s experience as a Summer Scholar at The Joint Commission has made a significant impact on the way she views her future, from the classes she decides to take to the relationships she invests in—and, ultimately, the goals she will pursue after graduating from DePaul.
During her externship, she performed research on privacy and accessibility laws, working closely with The Joint Commission’s Chief Compliance Officer to ensure the company’s compliance with regulatory standards. She had the opportunity to see recommendations that she had developed regarding privacy policies transition to the implementation phase. She was also responsible for a comprehensive project involving research into how numerous countries’ privacy legislation has been affected by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) passed in 2018.
Her on-the-ground experience has advanced her knowledge of the practical and ethical decisions that attorneys face. Reflecting on the relationships and the valuable advice that she has gained from her externship, she also recognizes the Summer Scholar program as an amazing networking opportunity. “Networking with privacy policy lawyers gave me an idea of what being a privacy lawyer looks like.” For Vjosana, perhaps the most invaluable part of her Summer Scholars experience was the opportunity to recognize and develop her interest in pursuing a practice focused on privacy legislation. “I can say that it gave me a perspective on what I want to do as a lawyer. Before starting the scholarship program, I didn’t have this intention in my mind. And now, it’s pointed me to a direction in which I really like to see myself going.”