NHeLP Job Announcements:

- Managing Attorney - Los Angeles Office (Oct. '07)

-Reproductive Health and Justice Staff Attorney (Los Angeles, Washington, DC, or Chapel Hill, NC)(June '07)



Part-Time Internships

The National Health Law Program is currently seeking qualified candidates for its year-round internship program in its Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and Chapel Hill, North Carolina offices. Applicants should have completed their first year of law school and have an interest in quality of care and health care access for low-income populations. Good research, writing and interpersonal skills are necessary and a demonstrated commitment to public interest is preferred.

NHeLP offers valuable educational opportunities. Students working with us:

• will develop an understanding of the problems facing low-income communities and the variety of public interest legal advocacy methods which may be used to resolve these problems;
• will gain considerable experience in legal research and writing.
• will have their work thoroughly critiqued from a practitioner's perspective; and
• may be exposed to class action litigation involving issues of vital importance to low-income persons.

These internships are unpaid, volunteer positions.

BriefDescription of Some Ongoing Projects

Ensure that special needs of children, adolescents, the elderly and non-citizens are addressed at the national and state levels in an era of rapid changes in Medicaid, managed care, health care and welfare reform.

Provide legal analysis and support to a network of health advocates throughout the country to maintain access to health care for medically needy persons.

Conduct a state-by-state analysis of state and local government responsibility for providing access to health care for low-income populations. Projects include developing strategies for preserving or maximizing health access which can be used by community advocacy groups and legal service providers.
Ensure low-income consumer participation and protection in managed care/HMO systems.


Examples of Specific Tasks

Write one or more articles that would be published in either NHeLP's newsletter, The Health Advocate, or its website at www.healthlaw.org. This newsletter and website presents: (a) reports and analyses of newly promulgated or pending legislation; (b) case notes; and (c) reports on litigation trends. Students would be presented with an array of subjects from which they can develop one or more articles.

Provide research assistance to staff attorneys on special projects and advocates in the field working with low-income clients.

Assist in the production of substantive manuals for use by legal advocates. The production of these manuals requires extensive and careful legal research and analysis. Students may be given the responsibility to update or develop a discrete section of a manual.

Attend Hill briefings and meetings, track legislation and administrative agency actions and draft comments and correspondence.

Assist with litigation including research and drafting legal pleadings.


Supervision/Feedback

At a minimum, students will meet weekly with each supervising attorney for whom they are doing work. Assignments are generated and coordinated by the supervisors, who meet regularly to discuss which project(s) might be suitable for student involvement, and how that involvement should be coordinated and scheduled. The supervising attorneys have an appreciation for the fact that feedback to both the student and learning institution be timely and specific. Written products will be given particular attention.

Supervising Attorneys

Los Angeles Office
Laurence Lavin, Director(310) 204-6010

Washington DC Office
Steve Hitov (202) 289-7661

Chapel Hill, North Carolina Office
Jane Perkins (919) 968-6308

Applications:

Send a cover letter, resume, writing sample, transcript and a list of two references to:

Manjusha Kulkarni
National Health Law Program
2639 South La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034

Gabriella Rodriguez
National Health Law Program
1101 14th Street, NW, Ste 405
Washington, DC 20005

OR

Jane Perkins
National Health Law Program
211 N. Columbia Street, 2nd Floor
Chapel Hill, NC 27514