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Career Counseling

Counseling generally begins with work on resumes and cover letters or focuses on networking and introductions. U.S.-based students will often receive assistance applying for a practicum. International students will work with on their options for off-campus legal experiences. Career support capitalizes on the particular strengths, interests and marketability of the student. Counseling will also include insights into the health law employment market and preparation for making the most of attendance at local health law conferences.

Practicums and Internships

The Health Law LL.M. has relationships with many of the leading hospitals, nonprofits and other health law organizations in the Seattle metropolitan area. During a practicum, a student receives school credits while gaining practical legal experience under the guidance of an experienced supervising attorney. An internship is similar in nature except students are paid for their work and the hours do not qualify for school credit. Our Health Law LL.M. students are highly regarded in the community and organizations often host our health law students for a quarter or more during the school year.

Students make excellent connections and usually obtain strong local references as a result of their work. Externships and internships help students build their résumés as well as their practical skills and knowledge

Organizations that have recently hosted our students include:

• PATH
• Washington State Hospital Association
• MultiCare Health Systems
• Kaiser Permanente (previously Group Health Cooperative)
• State of Washington Attorney General’s Health Care Unit
• The Polyclinic
• Seattle Children’s Hospital
• Seattle Cancer Care Alliance — Risk Management Department
• State of Washington’s Attorney General’s Office — Health Law Unit
• Fred Hutchison Cancer Center
• Northwest Health Law Advocates
• Northwest Immigrants’ Rights Project
• Legal Voice
• Landesa
• Quorum Review IRB
• University of Washington Hospital’s Medical Compliance Office

Students receive one hour of school credit for each thirty hours of work and can receive a maximum of 6 credit hours, which allows them to work up to 180 hours. Some of our strongest students complete practicums for two different organizations during the course of an academic year.

UW Student Health Law Association

The Health Law LL.M. program works closely with our Student Health Law Organization (SHLO) to organize health law job panels and other events. LL.M. students are encouraged to participate in the opportunities offered by SHLO and to meet and work with our J.D. students who are also pursuing health law careers.

Washington State Society of Healthcare Attorneys

The Washington State Society of Healthcare Attorneys (WSSHA) is the primary organization of health law attorneys in the Northwest. Students are encouraged to attend the association’s two large legal education conferences each year. The Health Law LL.M. program hosts WSSHA’s spring conference at the law school each year. These conferences provide students with the chance to learn from leading practitioners as well as an unparalleled opportunity to meet health care attorneys. Students will also participate in networking receptions where health law faculty and staff will facilitate helpful introductions. Students may also attend WSSHA’s quarterly seminars in between conferences.

Global Health Law Events

Students interested in global health law are supported and encouraged to attend the annual GlobalWA conference held here in Seattle. At the GlobalWA conference, students will meet members of the Seattle global health community and hear speakers from around the world address topics of interest in the field. Another conference that may be of interest is the Western Regional International Health Conference. In addition, ºìÌÒÊÓƵ hosts a weekly lunchtime speaker through the Global Mondays series.

ºìÌÒÊÓƵ Career Services

ºìÌÒÊÓƵ’s Center for Career Development offers career workshops and other training events on subjects like résumés, cover letters, networking and job-search strategies to all students. The Center for Career Development provides a wealth of job seeking information, including sample resumes and cover letters.