This concentration offers a comprehensive foundation in the areas in which health law intersects with business, public policy and a variety of federal regulations concerning the pharmaceutical and biomedical industries.

You’ll examine key topics such as bioethics, public health law, healthcare fraud and disability law, and you’ll explore methods of dispute resolution used specifically in healthcare. We also give you the flexibility to chart your own path through the program and select courses that most interest you and that provide the skills to assist the type of clientele you plan to represent.

Because the School of Law shares a campus with our medical, nursing and health sciences schools, you’ll also have opportunities for interprofessional collaboration and access to a wide range of research materials related to the healthcare industry. Starting in your second year, you can participate in our diverse clinic and externship courses, and be part of our medical-legal partnership, or our Health Law Externship, where you may be placed with the Department of Public Health, a hospital or pharmaceutical legal department, or a law firm practicing health law. And you may apply to write for Quinnipiac’s Health Law Journal, join the Health Law Society and attend our speaker series that invites prominent figures from the health law field to campus. 

For specific information on the concentration offerings, please contact:

Professor Leonard Dwarica
Quinnipiac University School of Law
275 Mount Carmel Avenue
Hamden, CT 06518
Telephone: 203-582-3879
Fax: 203-582-3244
Email: leonard.dwarica@qu.edu

Health Law Concentration

Requirements

(effective for students entering their second year in Fall 2018 or later):

To be eligible for the Health Law Concentration Certificate, a student must complete 21 credits as described below.

  • Students must take Administrative Law (LAWS 114) (3 credits) and either Business Planning (LAWS 393) (4 credits) or Business Organizations (LAWS 205) (4 credits). Credits for these courses will not count toward the 21-credit concentration requirement, but grades will count toward the GPA honors requirement. If a student elects to take both Business Organizations and Business Planning, the higher grade will count toward the GPA honors requirement, but the credits will not. 
  • In addition, students must take Health Law (LAWS 345) (2 or 3 credits). Credits for Health Law will count toward the 21-credit concentration requirement and grades will count toward the GPA honors requirement. 
  • These three courses do not have to be taken prior to taking other courses in the concentration, but it is strongly recommended that Administrative Law and Health Law be taken in a full-time student’s second year, if possible. Part-time students should try to take them in the second semester of their second year or the first semester of their third year. 

1. Coursework

In addition to the above requirements, in order to receive the Certificate for this concentration, a student must earn an additional eighteen (18) health law specialty credits, divided as follows:

Core Health Law Courses:

At least 12 credits must be earned from the Core Health Law courses. (Not all of these courses are offered every year.)

LAWS 320Public Health Law3
LAWS 350Health Care Antitrust3-4
LAWS 352Health Care Business Transactions3
LAWS 409Drug and Device Law2-3
LAWS 539Intro. to Dispute Res. in Healthcare2-3
LAWS 545Healthcare and Hospital Administration2
LAWS 549Bioethics3
LAWS 601Managed Health Care2
LAWS 625Health Information Privacy and Security2-3
LAWS 633Intellectual Property in Health Care2
LAWS 685Health Policy3
Non-Core Health Law Courses:

The balance of the credits (to 18), if any, may be earned from the Core Health Law courses above or from the following Non-Core Health Law courses. (Not all of these courses are offered every year.)

LAWS 292Independent Research Project W2
LAWS 293Independent Research Project W3
LAWS 340Corporate Compliance in Health Care Industry 13
LAWS 344Law, Science and Technology3
LAWS 349Antitrust3
LAWS 370Family Law3
LAWS 373Products Liability3
LAWS 379Environmental Law3
LAWS 384Juvenile Law3
LAWS 388Elder Law2
LAWS 414Food Law2-3
LAWS 450Nonprofit Organizations2
LAWS 457Health Care Compliance Law 13
LAWS 587Disability Law2
LAWS 588
LAWS 589
Health Law Journal I
and Health Law Journal II
3
LAWS 564Poverty Law2
LAWS 604Medical Malpractice2
LAWS 676Anatomy for Lawyers2
1

 Online course.

2. Recommended Client-Based Courses

Students should consider what group(s) of clients they plan to represent in their practice of health law. The following recommendations are intended to assist the students in determining which courses are best suited toward different types of clients. These are only recommendations. Students are free to choose any courses they wish, as long as they take the required concentration courses and achieve the required 21 credits, as described above.

Providers (e.g., hospitals, physician groups, nursing homes)
LAWS 549Bioethics3
LAWS 350Health Care Antitrust3-4
LAWS 625Health Information Privacy and Security2-3
LAWS 539Intro. to Dispute Res. in Healthcare2-3
LAWS 320Public Health Law3
LAWS 545Healthcare and Hospital Administration2
LAWS 676Anatomy for Lawyers2
LAWS 604Medical Malpractice2
LAWS 601Managed Health Care2
LAWS 352Health Care Business Transactions3
LAWS 450Nonprofit Organizations2
LAWS 457Health Care Compliance Law3
LAWS 340Corporate Compliance in Health Care Industry3
Business & Governmental Entities (e.g., insurance carriers, pharmaceutical and device manufacturers, biotechnology research/manufacturing entities, regulatory agencies)
LAWS 340Corporate Compliance in Health Care Industry3
LAWS 344Law, Science and Technology3
LAWS 350Health Care Antitrust3-4
LAWS 352Health Care Business Transactions3
LAWS 373Products Liability3
LAWS 409Drug and Device Law2-3
LAWS 414Food Law2-3
LAWS 457Health Care Compliance Law3
LAWS 539Intro. to Dispute Res. in Healthcare2-3
LAWS 601Managed Health Care2
LAWS 625Health Information Privacy and Security2-3
LAWS 633Intellectual Property in Health Care2
Private Parties (e.g., patients, LLCs, individual practitioners)
LAWS 350Health Care Antitrust3-4
LAWS 370Family Law3
LAWS 373Products Liability3
LAWS 384Juvenile Law3
LAWS 388Elder Law2
LAWS 549Bioethics3
LAWS 587Disability Law2
LAWS 604Medical Malpractice2
LAWS 676Anatomy for Lawyers2

3. Clinical Requirement

Students must earn at least 3 credits (not including LAWS 599 IRC) in a Clinic (i.e., Civil Justice Clinic, Tax Clinic, Prosecution Appellate Clinic, Defense Appellate Clinic) and/or in a health law externship. These credits are in addition to the basic 21-credit concentration requirement. 

a. Determination of the “health law” status of any given externship will be made by the concentration director and the director of field placement programs.

b. The clinic/externship requirement will be waived only in rare circumstances, and only if the student has substantial health law–related work experience or substantial experience in the healthcare field. This determination will be made by the concentration director. A full-time student seeking a waiver from the clinic/externship requirement must apply for the waiver no later than the beginning of the first semester of their third year.

c. If the clinical requirement is waived, the student must earn the 3 credits by taking an additional course(s) in the concentration. 

4. Writing Requirement

The substantial paper written to fulfill the Advanced Writing Requirement (Section I.E.) must be on an approved health law topic. The topic must be approved, in advance, by the concentration director unless the paper is written in connection with one of the listed “core” courses or for the Quinnipiac Health Law Journal. A paper written for another journal may qualify, if the topic is approved, in advance, by the concentration director.

5. Honors

Students who achieve a GPA of 3.20 or better in the coursework used for the concentration will receive the certificate for the concentration with honors. 

6. Waiver of Requirements

The concentration director and the associate dean for academic affairs may waive any requirements for the concentration (other than the GPA requirement), if they both agree to do so.